At this time of the year, with short daytime, we are all crying out for more light and colour in our lives. The days are getting longer now, but it seems to happen at a grindingly slow pace. When the sun is out, the low-angled light can have a wonderful effect, lighting up any berried plants, such as rose hips and crab apple crops. The autumn leaves are long gone and, apart from the premature appearance of some early blossoms because of the mild weather, we will have to wait till February or March for some proper spring growth. However, while we wait for the blue sky and new green shoots to arrive, there are things you can do to brighten up the garden at this time of year. Paint is a wonderful and underused product outdoors. It is also potentially an easily abused medium if its use is not properly thought through.
Colour fashions will come and go, but, with a combination of planting and applied colours, you can add life to a dull corner. Wood stain is now available in a spectrum of colours and can be applied to any timber structure in the garden. My advice would be to keep it subtle and resist the temptation to apply deep blue to all your fences. Small splashes of colour work far more effectively. A small pergola or arch will take stain well and, even with a clematis or wisteria to mask the full effect, you’ll still see glimpses of the underlying colour as the winter sun catches it. An old wall which may be beyond rescue can be smartened up with a splash of masonry paint, which can help set off anything planted in front. In this garden, above, an old and badly constructed block wall was painted terracotta red.
To contrast with this, the new walls retaining the lower terraces were painted two different shades of blue. Existing Victorian terracotta tiles were used to cap the walls in order to tie in with the rear wall. This type of rendered block wall is a cheap method of retaining soil in a sloping garden and, with the judicial use of paint, can add colour and light to a semi shady area. Another method to cheer up a dark corner is to use mosaics. In this example, above right, mosaics were used to decorate four corners of a town courtyard garden. With the themes of earth, fire, water and air, we included the mosaics along with glass brick lighting and a grid of Victorian paving framing stone slabs. In this case, the customers were a couple who were visually impaired and the paving pattern and lighting helped them navigate the space as well as enjoy added colour. So, keep it simple, keep it light and you can brush away those deep winter blues.
http://www.allgardendesigns.co.uk/
Colour fashions will come and go, but, with a combination of planting and applied colours, you can add life to a dull corner. Wood stain is now available in a spectrum of colours and can be applied to any timber structure in the garden. My advice would be to keep it subtle and resist the temptation to apply deep blue to all your fences. Small splashes of colour work far more effectively. A small pergola or arch will take stain well and, even with a clematis or wisteria to mask the full effect, you’ll still see glimpses of the underlying colour as the winter sun catches it. An old wall which may be beyond rescue can be smartened up with a splash of masonry paint, which can help set off anything planted in front. In this garden, above, an old and badly constructed block wall was painted terracotta red.
To contrast with this, the new walls retaining the lower terraces were painted two different shades of blue. Existing Victorian terracotta tiles were used to cap the walls in order to tie in with the rear wall. This type of rendered block wall is a cheap method of retaining soil in a sloping garden and, with the judicial use of paint, can add colour and light to a semi shady area. Another method to cheer up a dark corner is to use mosaics. In this example, above right, mosaics were used to decorate four corners of a town courtyard garden. With the themes of earth, fire, water and air, we included the mosaics along with glass brick lighting and a grid of Victorian paving framing stone slabs. In this case, the customers were a couple who were visually impaired and the paving pattern and lighting helped them navigate the space as well as enjoy added colour. So, keep it simple, keep it light and you can brush away those deep winter blues.
http://www.allgardendesigns.co.uk/