Ideas for Decorating Gardens

1. Choose plants that serve as decoration

Running out of ideas on how to decorate your garden? Perhaps you have thought of hiring a landscape artist, but you know it would cost a lot. Whether you have a small or a large yard for you to plant and do some gardening, that outdoor space always deserves to be beautiful and taken care of. Revamp your outdoor garden with these simple decorating ideas:

1. Choose plants that serve as decoration

There are plants that are inherently architectural, ornamental and decorative. If you want to define your pathways, choose plants that can serve as guiding lines like Italian cypresses. If you have a green, grassy yard, create accents by placing different-colored grasses like purple fountain grass, red New Zealand flax, and yellow feather reed grass. If you want to add life to your pale-looking garden, give some beauty and color by planting flowers like red peonies, pink hydrangeas, white lilies, yellow sunflowers, and purple hyacinths. Your choices are endless, but it’s best to choose those that suit your climate best.

2. Create contrast

Having one material to occupy a large space at ground level can make a garden look stark. Create contrast by combining different materials to add more interest. You may choose to add paving, decking or simply place ornamental aggregates like gravel and rocks. Complement concrete slabs or gravel areas with bricks and blocks. However, avoid mixing up a lot of different texture and colors to prevent creating a messy-looking garden.

3. Add outdoor furniture

Transform your garden as a hang-out area by putting up outdoor furniture. Place benches and chairs and add some colorful cushions to brighten up the garden space. Put up a small dining table with chairs – often made of metal, plastic or wicker – and install a parasol above it for some shade. Stack up some folding chairs you can use for your next backyard party. Add a little fun to those chairs by spray painting them with different, lively colors.

4. Use paint

Paint is very useful, and it can be applied to almost any area in the home you want to decorate. Paint your dull garden wall with cheerful and bright colors you like to create a fresh and fun space outdoors. If you have a large garden, coloring the walls can help establish zones and areas within the garden, each with an appropriate mood. You may pick a feature wall and paint it with a bold, striking color, or artwork or mural. The good thing with paint is that, when you get bored of it, you can always repaint and change its color.

5. Invest in raised beds

To bring height to the garden without using tall plants or trees, buy or create raised beds at eye level and let plants thrive on them. A lot of plants can be grown on raised beds, such as herbs, alpines, and shrubs. It creates variety and decoration to your garden, making the landscape more defined and visible. Besides that, using raised beds have a lot of advantages, too. With raised beds, your plants can receive good aeration, better drainage, easier weed control, and healthier root spread.

6. Be creative with planters

Breakaway from lining up your brown terracotta pots to form a pattern. You can do better than that.  Here are some ideas:

  • Paint your terracotta pots to create a statement. You may choose a theme, like pastels or stripes and work around creating a different style for each pot.
  • Label your herb planters. You may paint the names on the pots or use chalk to write on the pallet where you put those herbs on display. Or you may reuse materials, like those mason jar lids and create labels out of them.
  • Wrap around ropes on your pots to create texture and add a nautical flair to your garden.
  • Reuse materials and transform them into planters. Creating an awesome garden doesn’t need to be expensive. Recycle soft drink bottles, old milk cans, chicken feeders, galvanized mop buckets, and others – mother Earth will surely thank you. Just be creative in decorating any material you would use so your garden won’t look cheap.
  • Convert a colander into a planter. Just spray paint it with a color you like, and they can make a unique and decorative planter you can hang on walls or place on your potting bench.
  • Stack your planters to add dimension to your garden. Shallow-rooted, small plants work best for this.
  • Use an old tire. Spray paint your tire, and hang it on a pergola or ceiling using a hook and a chain to transform it into a lovely planter. Creeping plants that grow down works best for this style.
  • Or perhaps you can transform a tire into a wide pot. You can create a miniature succulent garden out of it. You may also wrap it in sisal rope, add some wooden legs, and voila, you now have an elevated planter.

7. Decorate your fence

In some cases, especially in a small garden, decorating the fence can make a huge impact on the whole garden. Here are some ideas on how to dress up your fence:

  • Do a little bit of vertical gardening. Put up a trellis or use the fence as a trellis for growing vines. Or reuse a wooden pallet and turn it into a mini vertical garden by placing small pots in them or by direct planting on them.
  • Repurpose a shoe pocket organizer and turn it into a cute outdoor planter. Hang it against your fence.
  • Attach plant boxes against your fence wall and create a ladder effect. This works best for plants with shallow roots. Or hang shadow boxes to create a display shelves effect. Make it strong enough to support plant pots.
  • Reuse old window frames and create mirrors out of them. Hang them from a fence to create a homey look that will add extra depth to your space. Mirrors can help small gardens appear bigger.
  • Paint a mural on your fence. If you have an artist in your household (or if you’re the artist) let them have a space to use to express their creativity.
  • Use old shutters to create a “fence” or to act as a privacy screen. Paint it with white or with a vibrant color you like to create a pretty backdrop.

8. Put up a garden arbor

Iron arches or arbors are both functional and decorative. Cover it with flowering vine plants and let them climb there. This can work as the main focal point in your garden and a stunning background for picture taking.

9. Install a water feature

If you have space, you can install a water fountain, a mini lagoon or a birdbath with fishes in your garden. The sounds of the trickle of water complete a relaxing garden. You may go for a modern look by buying new designs or go for the timeworn décor by picking some old world styles. Water features never fail to make a garden alluring and create a different range of moods. A still lagoon evokes a meditative, calm feeling, while fountain jets trigger emotions like excitement and thrill.

10. Use plants and foliage for garden boundaries

Hedges and banks of greenery work to conceal your unsightly garden walls or fences, while providing a neat and natural backdrop for your garden. You may choose from artificial or real hedges. If you want to plant a hedge, take into consideration the time you are willing to spend cutting and trimming it (unless you will hire a gardener). It would also take years to reach its full height. If you can’t wait for the hedge to grow, try alternatives like vines and climbing plants, or bamboo stems.

11. Install decorative screens

If your garden is visually accessible to your neighbors and people walking near your curb, add some privacy with screens. For gardens, it’s best to use decorative metal screen panels since they are durable and can withstand changes in weather. Or, you can place a trellis with climbing vines and plants to serve as your privacy screen.

12. Use string lights

String lights can easily make a romantic and enchanting aura to any place. Use a string of white lights or orange lights and wrap it around trees and bushes, or hang them from your fence or garden wall. It’s an easy and affordable way to make your garden look charming at night.

13. Hang a hammock

To create your new favorite relaxation spot, hang up a hammock. Nothing beats lying down on a hammock, being cradled while enjoying the wonderful view of nature. Choose two adjacent trees where you can tie it up on its full length. You can also attach string lights under the shades of those trees to make it perfect.

14. Use tree stumps

If you need to cut a tree, leave a few feet of the stump to transform it into an outdoor serving table. Take the flat round part of a wire wheel, attach it on top of the stump, and you have a unique outdoor table. Or if you already have stumps that are cut down low, use them as planters for shallow-rooted plants like ferns.

15. Build a garden playhouse

To encourage your kids to play outdoors, have a playhouse built on your garden. Or you can make it a cozy spot for relaxing and reading. Just fill it in with cushions and pillows and you’re good to go.