When you think of home renovation, what first comes to mind? Interior or exterior?
Consider saving some of the reno budget for an external living space to enjoy. Even if you only have a small area out the back, this doesn’t mean you can’t utilise it and give it a purpose.
Take a look at these incredible ideas to inspire your next foray into garden design.
Zones
It doesn’t matter how much square footage you have to play with in your garden, it’s vital that you create some order to your exterior. In the same way as walls help you configure your home interior, you can create zones for your exterior. Consider constructing a glorious alpine rockery if you have a tiered space full of heathers, cacti, and granite. Perhaps, look into creating a patio area for a spot of al fresco dining and to entertain guests when you have a barbecue or dinner party. Maybe you’d like to set up a vegetable patch to become more self sufficient and to enjoy cooking up a storm in the kitchen with your homegrown delights. Whatever it is that you want from your garden, now is the time to plan it out.
Get a designer on board or utilise your technical skills to draw out a birds-eye view to scale drawing of your garden detailing your ideas. This will give you the best idea of how much space you have to play with and the sorts of features and areas you can create.
Extravagance
If you have enough money in the bank, you might have plans for something a little more luxurious than a lawn in your back garden. Consider setting aside some of your garden for a swimming pool. This could be the perfect solution to needing to find solace in those hotter months. The kids will relish the opportunity to be outdoors rather than indoors playing on their consoles, and you can enjoy inviting friends around on a warm evening after work.
While swimming pools aren’t cheap, they are relatively easy to maintain if you stick to a cleaning schedule. You can find plenty of retailers of Onga water pumps and water filters as and when they need replacing, and you don’t have to choose a fifty metre Olympic sized pool to satisfy your family’s needs. You could go kidney shaped, square or round. Think about what’s best for your garden and go for it.
If a swimming pool isn’t really your thing, how about a hammock area, a fire pit or a tiered water feature to add a touch of interest to your plot. Fountains and waterfall like features are very on trend at the moment. The calming sound generated from a water feature is relaxing. If the weather is the problem, and it rains more than it shines, having outdoor patio roofing to cover up your patio area or creating a sheltered area can create a space that gives you the benefits of being outdoors in inclement weather. It gives you the ideal opportunities to make the most of the garden area during any time of year.
Planting
A garden isn’t a garden without at least some plants. If you are incredibly green fingered you might choose to plant an array of different flora and fauna. Rose bush varieties, daffodils, hyacinths, and sweet peas make for a perfect English country garden like effect. Alternatively, you might prefer the bold lines of firs, palms and fruit trees. Think about the sort of style you are looking to emulate whether this is traditional or sculptural and match your plants accordingly. Don’t forget to heed the advice on the labels and sow seed, water, and feed when necessary to ensure maximum life expectancy of your plant.
If you’d rather plant vegetables than flowers, there are a variety of options to get you started. Nifty little vegetable troughs come in all shapes and sizes and can be freestanding. These fit discreetly in any part of the garden and are ideal for smaller exteriors. Alternatively, you could zone off an area of your garden and dedicate this to an allotment of sorts. You could put up a shed for your tools, and even install a greenhouse to dedicate to cucumbers and tomatoes.
Children
If you have a young brood or you have plenty of friends and family over to visit with lots of little human beings in tow, it’s important that your garden is child-friendly. While not necessarily full of hazards, your garden will have dangers for little ones. Put a guard around any pond or water features, ensure that every visitor is aware of your rowan tree if you have one and never allow children to play close to any steep tiers of your exterior.
Encourage your little ones to take an interest in your garden, get them to plant some seeds and give them ownership of some flowers and vegetables. Before long you may have a family of gardeners on your hands.
Getting outside and giving your garden a makeover can really add to the square footage of your home.
