10 Fun Garden Ideas to Try This Year

“In terms of design, there are no strict gardening rules”. Here are some excellent garden ideas to try.

Decorate your outdoor spaces as you would indoors. Although the typical garden saying is ‘bring the outdoors in’, the reverse can also be true for garden ideas. Using indoor design elements like tiles, soft furnishings and furniture in outdoor spaces can create a harmony and flow between the two areas while creating the illusion of a bigger living space. If you’re after the idea of living in nature, combining plants indoors and furnishings outdoors provides the perfect balance.

Make your garden melodious. The occasional sounds of birds and a rustle of leaves can cause an instant sigh of relief and relaxation. You can make this feeling a permanent feature in your garden by adding running water. Instead of the typical water fountain or pond, be creative by repurposing items such as teacups or old wine bottles for a quirky feature unique to your garden. What a great garden idea!

Garden towards the sky. Using space vertically isn’t limited to walls. Planting vertically on different levels of an object adds a dynamic element that allows you to easily engage with the plants in your garden. You can also use smaller plants in a greater variety without hiding them amongst the bigger plants because, as we know, dynamite comes in small packages!

Be bold with colour. Your plants don’t have to be the only source of bold, exciting colours in your garden. Walls, fences and doors can be painted with contrasting colours to make a serious design statement. Rather than competing, let bold colours complement each other and bring out the intricacies of the plants around them.

Find a place to grow food. A gorgeous garden that doubles as a source of healthy, home-grown food is a must. Let your garden give back to you this year by dedicating a space to grow food, whether that be vegetables, fruits or herbs. A dish made fresh from the garden is always more delicious than one from the shop, and cooking something you grew from scratch is an achievement with massive rewards.

Be creative with utility spaces. As the world becomes increasingly built up, space is at a premium. Utility spaces are also not usually first on a gardener’s mind, as they are generally aiming to fill their garden with the primary ingredient – plants. Be creative with utility spaces by incorporating them into the garden, under seating areas, built in or on your walls in order to use your limited space in more ways than one.

Use what you have. Sustainability is a huge buzzword at the moment, and with the environment in trouble it is for good reason. The best way to be sustainable this year is to reuse what you already have. You can give new life to a once-loved object or find ways to repurpose those household items sitting around and taking up space (plus it has the added bonus of being extremely cost-effective).

Plant water-wise plants. Most South Africans understand the importance of water conservation with the rise in recent droughts and decline in water resources. As a garden idea do your part by planting plants with low water requirements, like aloes, other succulents and tough plants that are both water-friendly and pocket-friendly. Some great water-wise plants are Dietes grandiflora or D. bicolor, Tulbaghia violacea, and the South African favourite, Strelitzia reginae.

Use houseplants. indoors and out It’s not really fair to label a plant as an ‘indoor’ or ‘outdoor’ plant, and as long as the conditions are right, lines can be blurred. Using indoor plants on a patio or in a shaded area creates a connection between your indoor and outdoor garden. As a garden idea use the patio as a great way to sustain the indoor plants you really want to grow but don’t have the space for indoors.

Have a bit of fun. In terms of design, there are no strict gardening rules. For champions of the non-traditional there are several ways to add fun and whimsy to your garden. Statues and features are an often-overlooked part of gardening that speak to your personality and make your garden unique. If there is any way to make a statement in your garden, this is it.

There are innumerable garden ideas to experiment with when it comes to gardening, there are no specific plans to stick to and no rigid rules to follow. The only limit is your imagination! This year in your garden, just try to think outside – no box required.

We would like to thank Plant Paradise Garden Centre for some of these great ideas.