Garden Decor Suggestions - Color Magic

Garden design

There are many garden décor ideas to choose from and you may not be able to implement all of them, indeed, you may not want or need a patio, stable or gazebo. The size of your garden is a factor in choosing which plants, trees, ponds or ornamental features will be suitable for inclusion. Another factor is the type of soil on your land as this will dictate some of the plant choices as certain plants will only thrive in acidic soil while others will prefer alkaline clay. The following suggestions all deal with different garden features and you may only implement some of them, or perhaps bits and pieces of all of them (or something else entirely), but whatever you decide you will be doing your garden a good service.

Colored trees

and flowering trees

A tree with bright red berries such as a Hawthorn tree is quite beautiful to see. Another red berry tree worth a second look is the well known Holly tree which is a festive favorite and provides all our holly sprigs, berries and wreaths at Christmastime. A long expanse of garden can be planted with a line of trees to create an avenue of exquisite beauty (see image opposite). This can be achieved in a short period of time if you opt for fast growing trees, of which there are several varieties.

Decorative fruit trees

The more blossoms that appear on the fruit trees the more fruit will be produced. If your tree is abundant with blossom then you will need to take action before the fruit grows to full size. What is needed is to remove 50% of the fruit when it is small (the size of a pea) because failure to do so will result in the branches breaking with the weight of the fruit at maturity. The fruit from lemon, orange or plum trees is particularly heavy and broken branches are access points for disease so there is every reason to protect your tree from over production.

Paths for bigger gardens

The garden path may be covered by bark mulch or even a concrete style path can be used to reduce garden maintenance and the amount of grass cutting required. The main thing is to have the path bounded on both side by a variety of plants, herbs and shrubs. You may decide on a vegetable garden along one side and perhaps raspberry canes or blueberry bushes along the other. A perennial border works well too, and is at its best in mid-summer. My preferred walkway is a grass pathway, which even in wintertime is spectacular (see picture).

Gardening native species

Hedging your garden

A leylandii hedge will grow extremely large but works very well as a wind break. Smaller hedge plants might be incorporated inside the boundary to section the garden. A privet hedge is ideal for this purpose and is easily trimmed. The privet hedge, which is a nice green color, also works well in small gardens and yards as boundaries.

Planting wild flowers

A flower garden is simple to install and requires little by way of maintenance. Rose gardens are attractive but do require looking after. My preference is for a wild flower garden. Select a section of ground and scatter wild flower seed liberally and then wait for the magnificent display to arrive with no other effort on your part (see image below).

Non plant garden décor features

If your plot is big enough it can be divided into several smaller gardens, for instance you might incorporate a children’s garden with a slide, see-saw and garden swing. A patio or barbeque area is sure to be utilized and for shelter reasons you might consider building a gazebo, a pergola or an arbor.

Kid’s safety in the garden

Certain sections might be off limits for kids and might contain the more dangerous or breakable items such as garden statues, a swimming pool or a glasshouse. Although not contributing directly to the garden décor, the location of the garden workshop or shed needs to be considered in the overall design of the garden. The workshop might be made childproof too, especially if it contains sharp tools and equipment.

Controlling the sunlight on your plants

When you design upon your growing section of the garden do try to ensure that all the plants receive the sun equally. To do this have the plants graduated in a slope fashion so that the large plants are at the rear and the smallest growing ones at the front, with all the others graduated in between these two. You are thus ensuring that the plants never cast shadows across each other. The visual aspect is stunning too, and is sure to enhance your garden décor and reduce maintenance.