Easy ways to add colour to your garden

At this time of year, gardens up and down the country are erupting into a riot of colour. Flowers are blooming, trees are budding, and shrubs are expanding in every direction. Colour is all around us, from increasingly blue skies to the healthy green hues of well-nourished grass.

However, not everyone has the patience and diligence required to keep a garden looking colourful throughout the summer months. Many of us struggle with anything more complex than preserving bedding plants. Yet an aversion to weeding and seeding doesn’t have to mean your garden, yard or patio remains a monochrome desert. In fact, there are plenty of ways to add colour to a garden without resorting to trowels or compost bags…

Buy ready-made planters

Our first tip is to outsource planting and landscaping to someone else. Garden centres recently reopened, stocking numerous plastic and ceramic pots filled with a blend of flowers, alpines, herbs and shrubs. Some have exposed soil for further adaptation, whereas others are covered with pebbles or gravel to improve drainage and eliminate ongoing maintenance. Adding a couple of planters to a balcony or patio will transform its appearance, while attracting bees and butterflies (which themselves bring colour and character).

Paint the fence

Last year’s lockdown saw many people ordering timber paint online, with green and grey the leading colours. However, you can decorate a fence in any shade you want. Hit-and-miss slats may result in paint escaping onto the neighbours’ side, which might not go down well. Also, most boundaries are jointly owned, so it’s best to check in with next door before embarking on a project. It’s often safer to mount solid screening on your side of a wooden boundary, like pre-assembled six-foot high panels. These can then be painted, just like a shed or pergola.

Install decorative lights

Shops and online retailers sell chains of LED bulbs or lamps, often with contrasting coloured glass around each filament. Strategically positioned lighting accentuates existing focal points, such as flowering trees or deciduous shrubs. It additionally provides a point of interest during long nights, though solar lights won’t deliver much illumination in winter. It’s better to get mains-powered lighting wired in by a qualified electrician, using waterproof junction boxes and internal sockets.

Add colourful accessories

In recent years, metal garden decorations have grown in popularity. From planters and bird scarers to abstract sculptures, these weather-resistant items are durable and portable in equal

measure. Artificial flowers appear authentic from a distance, lasting for several years once they’re embedded in a polystyrene-filled planter. Similarly, fake ivy covers entire fence panels while adding maintenance-free privacy and colour in equal measure. These fake climbers are often sold in seductive shades of crimson or emerald.

Upcycle and recycle

Giving old things a new lease of life is a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution. Old wooden benches or barrels can be transformed into statement pieces with a few tins of bright weatherproof paint. It’s possible to upcycle colourful plant pots into eye-catching features, or pour cheap sand into a spare bucket/sandpit before sprinkling coloured sand over the top to create pretty patterns. Even adding coloured numbers to wheelie bins helps to brighten up a mundane but unavoidable component of every property’s outside space.

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