Wednesday 11th May 2016
"> 1. Bring Your Garden To Life With a Lick of Paint
There was a time when the most exciting colour you would see in an Irish garden was a pair of particularly flashy jocks hanging on a clothes-line. Then Cuprinol Garden Shades came along and changed the game. Walking into some Irish gardens these days, is like stumbling into a work by the artisit Banksy.
Both Ronseal and Cuprinol have introduced a range of paints for garden wood that really add vibrancy to your garden. You could paint your fence a rich Beach Blue, your shed a quirky Sunny Lime and to round it all of you could paint your tables and chairs a cream colour Puff Daddy would be proud of. For some great garden design ideas and colour inspiration check out the Cuprinol inspiration section of their website.
2. Nothing says, “My Garden Is The Place To Be” Like a Garden Firepit
A firepit is the garden equivalent of a tuxedo T-Shirt. It says, “my garden is formal, but it is also great for a party”. Firepits are great places to gather around during long-summer evenings, have a few beers and talk about how that summer six years ago was far warmer.
3. Create The Pitch Perfect Lawn
When it comes to garden design ideas quite a few people overlook the piece de resistance of any good garden, the lawn or as we on the fairer side of the atlantic call it, grass. Getting the perfect grass is not rocket science, but it does require a bit of elbow grease and a dash of brain power. You need a good lawnmower, decent fertilizer and a good water distribution system (or hose).
A dull blade on a lawnmower is to your lawn what a heavy shoulder tackle is to a Premiership footballer, devastating. A dull blade rips the grass causing unhealthy tears and can even cause disease or fungal growth. Any good lawnmower should have a blade that can be easily popped out and sharpened with a hand file. Remember your blade does not need to be razor-sharp, you are not cutting diamonds!
When it comes to lawn feed it is best to go with a trusted brand like Growise or Hytrol. They have a range of products that will give Mother Nature a helping push so that your your grass will look healthy, green and strong.
4. Some Snazzy Looking Garden Furniture
There is such a wide array of garden furniture on the market these days that you could swing down to your local hardware store and find garden sets that wouldn’t look out of place in 15th Century Versailles.
The rattan sets are very popular, but if you really want to push the boat out you can go for something like a hanging egg chair or a lounge bed. If you want to get garden furniture that you can add your own style to with a paint brush and some funky paint, go with garden furniture made from solid wood.
5. Build Yourself Some Winding Paths
Renowned Irish garden designer Diarmuid Gavin got together with Kilsaran to design a range of paving flags for the garden. Our personal favourite is the Vintage Stepstone range. Stepstone paving slabs add a wow factor to your garden without a huge financial outlay or even a huge amount of work!
Most garden design ideas involve either choosing between wooden decking or paving flags. Our opinion is why not have both! You can connect your decking to other areas in the garden with these beautiful Kilsaran Stepstones.
6. Landscaping With Decorative Stones
When people think of landscaping with decorative stones, they conjure up images of professional gardeners and get nervous about large sums of money changing hands. Decorative stones can be surprisingly affordable and can easily be used by home gardeners and DIY enthusiasts.
Decorative stones can be used to fill in boring gaps between your lawn and fences, they can be used to add colour and personality to your garden or some people like to mix and match with paving stepstones to create winding paths around a garden.
Before purchasing decorative stones make sure you have a sturdy wheelbarrow and a shovel.