Transform your garden in an afternoon

Paint, plants, a lot of imagination and just a little elbow grease can give your garden a fresh burst of life. By Pattie Barron

 

Staying power

Plant some daisies - the cheery flowering perennials will flood the border with colour from now until the first frosts. The best of the late-summer long-bloomers include Rudbeckia fulgida var sullivantii 'Goldsturm', Aster x frikartii 'Mönch', Echinacea purpurea and Helenium.

 

A room outdoors

During a spell of fine weather, drag a few chairs out of the house on to the patio. Choose metal or painted pieces that will survive the odd shower, or lightweight items that are easy to take back inside. Add cushions and covers to complete your outdoor room. Click here for how to revamp your garden furniture.

 

Take the inside out...

Bring houseplants out for a holiday. Indoor greenery such as ficus, bay, palm and asparagus fern will benefit from exposure to the elements and, in their decorative pots, will add glamour as well as a cool green note to the patio.

 

Wall cover

Cloak an unsightly wall with rich carmine or violet by adding a Clematis viticella. Buy from the garden centre, plant now at the base of the wall and this scrambling climber should still put on a considerable spurt of quick-covering growth before autumn. Click here for tips on planting climbers

 

Continental charm

Give your garden a containerful (or three) of French country chic by planting mint green, lilac or white hydrangeas in expansive pots or tubs. The look is crisp and fresh and will last until the first frosts.

 

 

 

New from old

Simple seats add a sculptural element. Reclaim what you can - perhaps bring in a wooden block that's an offcut or a piece of local stone that fits the landscape. Plant several Stipa grasses around the base for an instant settled-in look.

 

Quick fix

Renovate garden furniture with a lick or two of paint. Changing the colour will give fresh inspiration for border planting as well as breathing life into the garden. For wood, use an all-weather paint such as Sadolin Superdec (www.sadolin.co.uk). For metal, use a specialist metal finish such as Hammerite (www.hammerite.com.uk).

 

Shade with style

Put up a three-cornered, lightweight shade sail. It will not only provide a shady corner, but also give your patio an attractive floaty ceiling - perfect for parties. You can buy weatherproof canopy kits that include fixings (www.shadesails.co.uk) - or make your own by attaching the fabric of your choice to vine eyes on a wall, or to freestanding poles.

 

Beat the weeds

Hide bare patches of earth and suppress weeds by adding a thick mulch of bark chippings. Or fill spaces with a display of instant flowers: drop plant-filled pots into the border (trumpet lilies are high on razzamatazz), then remove them at summer's end.

 

Neatly does it

Transform the lawn by going around the edges with a half-moon cutter to create a defined outline between grass and plants. It will make the lawn easier to mow, too.

 

Star quality

Invest in one high-impact plant that will make a statement. See what's on offer at the garden centre - it might be a tripod of fully grown lazy susan flowers, an aubergine plant dripping with purple fruit or a freestanding grape vine.

 

Cheat's bouquet

Add a splash of sunshine for a party, whatever the weather, by giving the garden a bouquet of sunflowers - dwarf or full size. Buy them ready potted or cheat with a Van Gogh-style bunch of cut flowers, prodding the stems into compost. Click here for how to create a sunflower centrepiece

 

Design trick

Erect a sturdy panel of trellis against the patio wall, painting it first in a contrasting colour so it looks great even if you keep it bare. Double the impact by backing the trellis with a mirror to catch the light and make the patio appear bigger.

 

Cruel to be kind

Cut back plants that are showing signs of late summer straggle: perennials may reward you with a second flower show, shrubs can be fashioned into sculptural shapes, while herbs take on fresh vitality.

 

Wall art

For vibrant, eye-distracting Mediterranean colour, fix metal ring brackets (www.spanishrings.com) to the patio wall and drop standard-issue terracotta or pretty ceramic pots into each, adding a pink or scarlet perlargonium.

 

Focal point

Make the most of the patio: after all, this is the time of year you use it most. Dress it as an outdoor living/dining area, adding a container of seasonal flowers to the table, or, if you like to eat outside, a few pots of herbs for fresh pickings. Click here for how to create a potted herb display

 

Shed transformation

Turn the shed into a summerhouse: paint it a brilliant blue, pale violet or peppermint green, then paint nearby pots in the same shade of emulsion, filling them with plants in toning colours. Click here for how to make the most of your shed

 

Colour match

Brighten your boundaries. Stain the fence a shade of soft green or blue, or paint the patio wall or a rendered raised bed a creamy primrose to reflect light and make a flattering backdrop.

 

Only after dark

Lanterns can make the garden magical: cluster votives on a table or ledge, add a fat hurricane lamp to either side of the patio entrance, and string lanterns on the branches of a tree or down a garden cane, adding nails to hook them in place. Click here for how to make your own lanterns

 

All for show...

Visit the garden centre and pick out a few of the best plants for containers. As they are temporary crowd-pleasers, focus on colours and textures that work together rather than growing conditions.

 

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