Garden ideas – New Victorian

I love Ideal Home‘s garden look of the month, ‘New Victorian’, putting a modern (and ambitiously sunny) spin on elegant Victorian style. Apparently it’s all about decorating your garden as if it was an outdoor room (that’ll be the rain talking again) with outdoor clocks, birdcgae lanterns and embroidered cushions.

Choose ironwork furniture in cream and team with vibrant and colourful accessories in grape, pink and white… then sit back and pray to BBC weather!

roomenvy - Victorian-style garden design

Plan the perfect potting shed

Summer may be on its way out, but there’s never been a better time to organise your garden shed. Take advantage of the long balmy evenings (or cold drizzly nights), grab your wellies and tackle those cobwebs with vigour!

Why not create a snoozy spot with a comfortable leather armchair? Textured throws in a variety of colours will give it instant appeal after a long afternoon in the garden.

Gardner's chair - Country Homes & Interiors - Roomenvy

Love browsing your favourite journals? Use mossed flower pots as bookends. They will add instant country charm and give your shed a cosy, lived-in feel.

Plant pot bookends - Country Homes & Interiors - Roomenvy

Another great little trick is to up-end old apple crates and screw them together to create shelves for storing pots, plants and accessories. Wire baskets are also good for storing bulbs as they allow air to circulate.

Potting shed storage - Country Homes & Interiors - Roomenvy

Need more inspiration? Subscribe to Country Homes & Interiors and get it delivered to your door every month!

Garden party ideas for the weekend

I’m hosting a garden party this weekend and am DESPERATE for ideas, so feel free to send any over! I’ve already set up lots of lovely lanterns, so that we can keep chitter chatting after dark, and I’ve got the food and wine. Now all I need to do is hand some bunting and create a cute table setting for the nibbles.

I really like the cute tips in this garden party ideas video – especially their idea for personalising your cocktails… perfect if you’re the only one not drinking, ahem – and I LOVE the garden party accessories. It’s getting me all excited!

Garden ideas – something for the weekend!

Anyone seen the July issue of Ideal Home? Ahem, ok, to rephrase, anyone looking to create a STUNNING garden to relax in allllllllll weekend long? Ah ha, now you’ve perked up!!

Here’s how to create this … I’m going to say MAGICAL … outdoor space in just 5 easy steps.

1) Find a quiet corner of the garden and finally put it to use (or in my tiny garden’s case, transform the ENTIRE space).

2) Revamp old furniture with a coat of varnish and pretty cushions. Go for natural linens and cottons in greys, beiges and whites. Team with dark wood furniture for an exotic feel.

3) Make it easy to set up. Nothing says ‘it’s winter again’ like your newly updated garden furniture withering in the rain – choose folding furniture so you can stash it away.

4) Add plenty of shade. I adore this exotic Indian parasol from The White Company… enough to use as a regular umbrella.

5) Grab book, grab cocktail and LAZE!

roomenvy - exotic relaxed garden

Garden design ideas from the experts

If ever there’s a new exciting way to add drama to your garden, Homes & Gardens‘ Arabella St John Parker know about it! I’m always asking her for her top garden tips. This week she’s shared her 5 top tips on how to create a garden with the wow-factor, and BOY did they give me and my little patio something to think about!

Country garden ideas – oh for lazy days!

As much as I’m enjoying being surrounded by Christmas trees and mince pies this week, my eyes are still being kept on the summer garden prize! Check out these country garden ideas. I love the idea of spending an afternoon surrounded by relaxed canopies, floral accessories, and … well … a cupcake doesn’t hurt anyone!

Usher guests to the garden with a welcoming sign…

roomenvy - country garden ideas

Create a homemade sunshade by tying a floral voile to bamboo poles…

roomenvy - country-style canopy

Dress the table with a broderie Anglais cloth, colourful tableware and pretty lanterns…

roomenvy - pretty alfresco dining table

And relax! Sneak off with a good book to a hammock packed with cushions and throws. I want to be there immediately.

roomenvy - blissful garden hammock

Contemporary garden designs

Once you start flicking through garden photo galleries you just can’t stop – despite my efforts to limit myself to browsing just twenty designs! What do you think of these contemporary garden schemes?

I’m still holding out for a cute country garden myself, but I think these outdoor spaces are just as eye-catching. Here are my favourite three.

Eye-popping garden furniture and accessories…

roomenvy - contemporary garden ideas

Sunken walled garden and a cowhide rug…

roomenvy - walled garden

Smart alfresco dining area… but where’s the food?

roomenvy - alfresco dining area

Garden updates

After spending an afternoon eating too much barbecue food on the terrace of a swanky flat overlooking the Thames, I decided THAT’S IT! I may never be able to afford even a room of one of those flats, but by GUM, will I make the most of what I’ve got!

I’ve been searching for easy garden updates and I love these cute high-impact, low-effort ideas. So by the end of the summer, I hope my outdoor space will have at least two out of three of these things.

1) An amazing alfresco dining table, with colourful glassware and chunky crockery!

roomenvy - jungle fever alfresco dining table

2) A mini herb garden! I like the idea of a chalkboard in the garden too – ideal for listing your garden ‘to do’s or for games with friends and family.

roomenvy - herb garden

3) A country swing! No mean feat on a roof terrace I assure you … maybe I’ll just hang it over the stairwell!

roomenvy - garden swing

Garden ideas, tips and advice!

Not that I think the general (and sweaty, most probably) baking hot public AREN’T already thinking about spending time in the garden this weekend, but if you are planning on doing something more green-fingered than dipping your fingers in a questionable green cocktail, then check out housetohome’s garden webchat at 1pm today.

Former TV gardener and CEO of CafeDirect, Anne MacCaig will be answering all your questions from where to buy garden lighting to ‘what an earth do I do about my milk-carton-sized patio??’

I’ll see you there!

roomenvy - garden webchat with Anne MacCaig

Small space living – urban patios

As much as I love browsing large swanky gardens, my teeny ‘5 people max or it may buckle’ little patio reminds me that I have to be realistic, since plenty of us city-dwellers don’t have the luxury of a garden lake, outhouse, unicorn and so forth!

Housetohome has come up with some great space-saving ideas for urban gardens. You’ll love them. From creating a mini garden wall, to sexy outdoor storage, they’re all about making the most out of ‘what you got’ – very Gok Wan!

roomenvy - vibrant small garden