These 7 landscaping tips help you to create the ultimate outdoor sanctuary so you can enjoy your garden all year round.
1. Design your perfect patio
Patio paving is almost limitless in variety. Don’t restrict yourself to plain paving slabs; instead think about shapes and materials based on how you want your garden to feel.
Love the old-fashioned character and charm of a cottage garden? Consider terracotta bricks set in a herringbone pattern or circle. California dreaming of a patio bordered with potted cacti and desert succulents? Choose sand-hued crazy paving, complete with irregular edging for the rough charm of a ‘desert garden’ look. If you’re a lover of bright colour, a bold and unusual choice of patio is one made from bright mosaic tiles; why not try matching it to your flowerbeds and borders?
2. Lay a winding path
Let your eye be drawn through the garden in a wandering pattern by laying a snaked path. This breaks up straight lines for a more relaxed, meandering feel. Remember that the path materials will largely define the final effect. Round stepping stones set at intervals look very different to solid stone, for example, while wood chip offers softness and quietness underfoot.
3. Consider garden sculptures and ornaments
Outdoor sculpture has more to offer than garden gnomes and plastic animals. Enhance your landscaped space with something that reflects your unique tastes. An exotic, Eastern-style statue such as a Buddha or lotus flower lends a meditative tranquillity or, if space is limited, just a few patterned stone tiles can create a beautiful statement in a small garden.
4. Consider building raised beds
A useful trick to creating a beautiful landscaped garden is to play with height. Try a raised bed built from stone or brick, and fill it with trailing plants that cascade over the edges to add texture. Alternatively, keep it neat and minimalist with well-pruned, ‘boxy’ plants for a strong, ordered look.
5. Create a seating area
For many, the most essential element of any garden refuge is a peaceful space in which to sit and daydream. Choose your seating carefully depending on the size and style of the garden so as not to upset its overall balance. A grand, romantic, lichen-covered stone kissing seat works beautifully under a rose-covered arch trellis for traditional types, while a striped deckchair adds a splash of character for sun seekers looking to create an easy-going and informal lounging space.
To further enhance your sense of sanctuary, grow climbing plants such as ivy, honeysuckle or wisteria up garden walls and fences. This creates a secluded, cave-like effect.
6. Add some local character
Wherever you live, there’ll be something unique to the area that could add extra character to your dream landscaping design. Whether your region boasts dry stonewalls, thatched roofs or flint cottages, look around locally for materials to incorporate into your landscaped garden. If you opt to commission a local craftsperson to build a unique feature, always be sure that their materials are responsibly sourced.
7. Incorporate a water feature
Soothing and restful, nothing says ‘garden refuge’ like a water feature. Try a simple design of nothing more than a large, wide-mouthed and water-filled terracotta pot, and plant it with miniature water lilies and other small aqueous plants for a water feature to fit the smallest of outdoor spaces. Those with more space to play with might have a grander scheme of a waterfall or fountain; in this case, it’s best to talk to your local landscaping and paving expert.
How Minster Paving can help
We recommend that when you are drawing up your designs that you take advantage of the expertise of independent landscaping and paving suppliers in your area. With an eye for individual design coupled with an in-depth knowledge, we can guide you in the right direction based on your own personal vision. Browse our landscaping and paving products here for inspiration.
We manufacture stock in-house from local materials and even provide free advice on design, budget and build, so creating your little patch of paradise is easily within reach, whether yours is a grand country estate or a simple city window box.