Supercool backyard garden ideas

Super cool

BACKYARD GARDEN IDEAS

Winter is upon us, but it’s never too early to start thinking about spring and a garden makeover. In the world of garden design, trends are popping up all the time. When it comes to landscaping, the outside world moves slower so it makes sense to start planning now. Here are some outdoor ideas to get you stimulated while improving your lifestyle and increasing your property’s value.

Organic shapes

Natural forms and living designs are making a comeback. Rigid, formal gardens and overstructured outdoor areas are slowly being replaced with organic shapes. The formality of box hedges and similar are being replaced by cloud pruning and balls. Curved walls and irregular forms are replacing straight lines and right angles. While there will always be a place for a cost-effective formal-looking garden, today’s owners are looking for something different.

Instead of hosting friends and family inside, more of us are doing it alfresco. This means decks and firepits and builtin entertaining platforms. Pergolas are also making a comeback. These structures take centre stage and come in a range of designs and materials and colours. Decks are ever-popular, but with some imagination and professional advice you can create something individual and natural-looking. Grape vines and wisteria and climbing plants are the perfect accompaniment to any permanent structure.

Wild & scruffy

Untamed gardens are growing in popularity because of their vitality and energy and their low-maintenance appeal. Textured and layered gardens using a variety of plant species that are sustainable also feel more authentic. Instead of reaching for the lawnmower and secateurs, relax and let nature takes its course and enjoy the benefits. The desire and popularity to nurture ourselves and our backyard spaces is here to stay. Many homeowners today are turning over their outdoor spaces to smallscale food production, which also provide interactive and educational opportunities for children.

Native ingredients

If you want a sustainable and lowmaintenance garden, look no further than native plants which have seen a surge in popularity. The benefits are manifold, including creating a self-sustaining garden while conserving local biodiversity and encouraging native wildlife such as insects and lizards and birds.

Kids zone

Children love connecting with nature and interacting with outdoors. Kids also like getting dirty and experiencing new things and it gets them away from technology and screens. Consider interactive spaces as well as fruit and veggie plantings or create a space for older children to socialise with friends.