Tips and Ideas for Adding More Colour to Your Garden

Are you looking for fun and easy ways to bring your garden to life? Colour is a great place to start. If you’re aiming to create a beautifully colourful and vibrant garden scape that brings lots of joy to outdoor living, then this is the blog for you.

Just as we do in our homes, a garden should reflect your own personal design preferences and tastes. Whilst some prefer a garden with a relatively neutrally modern or rustic natural look, there are lots of people looking for ways to embrace colours across all corners of their garden.

The wonderful thing about colourful gardens is that colour can be used as subtly or as ‘stand-out’ as you like.

Whether you’re all about bright and prominent colours or are looking for something a little more subdued, yet equally as stunning visually, we’ve got some great tips on how and where to use colour in your garden.

Start by choosing a garden colour pallet

It helps to start by choosing a few key colours and sussing out a pallet before deciding how and where to drip-feed your favourite colours of the rainbow across your outside space.

Having a colour pallet guide will help you to consider the different ways that colour can be added to your space.

If you’re stuck here are a few ideas that are trending right now!

Pastels: for something light and subtle, why not bring some pastel tones into your garden space? For something more natural, pastel green is a great pairing with cream and white tones. For colours that pop, why not mix together pastel blue and yellow? Or for the palm of violet appeal, you could bring pastel purple into the mix, contrasted against dusky greys or off-white cream colours.

Image source: Pintrest

Be bold with blue: blue is a great colour choice for a garden because of the way it can lift the space and create contrast against other colours. Duck egg blues work well as the main standout colour, but for a little more vibrancy, why not choose a bright and bold peacock blue? This looks great with other bright colours such as blood fire orange, flamingo pink and even mustard yellow.

Image source: @ broskom_home

Classic with sage: sage green has always been a popular garden colour. It’s timeless and a perfect colour if you’re aiming to brighten your garden with a little au natural appeal. It pairs well with more muted tones such as grey, black and white, as well as natural textures found in timber garden materials such as timber fences, sleepers and decking.

Image source: Pinterest

Perfectly pink: if you really want your garden to be vibrantly lifted with colour, pink has got to be one of the best choices. Dusky pinks are great if you’re looking to create a cute and quaint country cottage style. However, if it’s the tropical feel you’re going for, it’s got to be bright fuchsia pink. There is lots of fun to be had with a pink garden and so many ways this stunning vibrant colour can be drip fed across your garden landscape design.

Image source: Shabby Chic Treasures

How to add colour to your garden

Once you’ve worked out what colours you want to include in your garden and in what proportions, next it’s time to work out where you will use these colours. You may add colour to existing features. However, if you’re going for a full garden revamp, you might want to consider how adding different elements can be used to create the colourful look you’re going for.

Get your paint on

Paint the garden fence

Image source: @stone_still_haven

It seems like a fairly obvious starting point, but actually, there are different ways you can use paint to bring a colourful lift to your space.

You could paint the whole fence one bright and bold colour. Or, for a subtle addition of colour, you could paint timber fence posts, only. Alternatively, you could create a colour contrast between the panels and the posts to add more depth and texture to your garden space.

Another creative way to add colour to your fence is by choosing a fence with a lattice top. Use the lattice to grow vibrant green climbing plants that allow the painted colour to subtly show through in and amongst the greenery.

Image source: Family Handy Man

It’s important to remember that you should really only paint a fence that is structurally in good condition. There’s not a lot of point in painting over rotten or broken fence panels or posts as whilst this may hide a problem for a short period of time, your fence is still going to be susceptible to wind and weather damage.

You may need to repair or replace elements of the fence, such as the posts, panels or arris rails, or even the entire fence before you get started.

Paint your decking

Image source: House Beautiful

When we think of decking, most consider a traditional-looking timber deck. However, did you know that you can paint your decking to create the ultimate garden centrepiece?

This is a really simple trick that gives you the flexibility to create a stunning decked area that can be as bright and bold as you want.

Looking to do something a bit different? Why not add a few coats of bright blue, fuchsia pink or vibrant orange paint? Or if you’re looking to create a contrast between florals or statement furniture, opt for grey or black paint.

Turn a shed into a feature with paint and florals

Image source: Melanie Jade Designs

Sheds are really useful garden features, ideal for storing away garden tools, equipment and furniture. However, if you’re aiming to achieve a colourful garden look, the shed may stand out like a sore thumb as a feature that doesn’t quite match the rest of the garden.

Instead, why not include your shed within the colour scheme and turn it into a key point of focus? You could paint the whole of the shed one colour or mix between a few colours for the door and window frames.

To finish off the look, you could surround your shed with raised beds or hanging baskets filled with complementary floral colours or evergreen plants.

Create colour with flower beds

Flowers are one of the quickest and easiest ways to change up your garden colour scheme. From hanging baskets and plant pots, there are lots of different ways to distribute floral colour across a garden.

However, to establish a floral layout that works to complement the size and shape of your garden, raised sleeper beds are a fantastic choice.

The wonderful thing about sleeper beds is that they can be built to a custom size and shape, as well as into raised banks and terraces in sloping gardens.

They also offer a really sophisticated way to use and decorate your space, whilst providing an ideal planting environment for a range of beautifully colourful florals.

What’s more, a raised bed allows you to create specific growing environments to meet the needs of different plants.

Sleepers used to make these visually stunning raised beds are available in a choice of styles. If you’re opting for a more rustic or rugged look, why not choose reclaimed Tropical Hardwood sleepers? Or, for something a little more contemporary, French Oak sleepers or softwood sleepers are a great choice.

Leave the sleepers as they are to naturally weather, or paint them monotone or relatively subdued contrasting colour such as white, ash grey, slight sage green or black, to allow your florals to stand out.

Once your raised beds are built, apart from the odd treatment or re-paint, they don’t require an awful lot of maintenance.

The next thing to do is plant your flowers. You could choose one solid colour, or mix between a few different tones and colours. Here are a few raised bed flower ideas for different garden colour schemes:

Pink and purple garden flower ideas:

Image source: Shakespeareslandscapes.co.uk

Nerines – they need well-drained soil and sun, making them ideal raised bed flowers. They typically bloom pink later in the year
Astilbe – these feathery flowers need rich soil to bloom from spring to summer
Echinaceas – a textured late-blooming floral
Camellias – they can flower as early as January
Japanese Anemones – flower in autumn, helping to extend the season of colour in your garden
Society Garlic – a spring garlic-smelling perennial with lavender-pink blooms from mid-summer to early autumn
Osteospermum – a bold and bright daisy-look-alike with vibrant pink petals blooming all summer long
Lavender – a fragrant flower and the perfect addition to a raised sleeper bed

Yellow garden flower ideas:

Primrose – a popular yellow perennial used to fill raised beds, blooming in spring
Gold dust – an evergreen perennial producing clusters of tiny golden yellow flowers in spring through to the end of summer
Daffodil – a bulbous perennial that needs to be planted in autumn to bloom from as early as February
Cup Plant – a pretty shrubby plant that requires a loam-based growing medium
Goldenrod ‘Goldenmosa’ – golden clusters of yellow flowers with pale yellow stems that require a sand-based growing medium
Drumsticks – a fun and quirky floral with spherical-shaped flowers heads
Bears Ears – a hardy perennial with dainty star-shaped flowers that bloom in spring
Early sunrise – yellowy orange blooms that flower in spring through to August

Blue garden flower ideas:

Fairy Thimbles – a low-maintenance perennial that requires low-moisture soil
African Lily – violet blue bell-shaped flowers
Cornflowers – a pretty wildflower loved by bees and other pollinators, requiring well-drained soil and lots of sun
Gentians – an autumn bloomer that is easy to grow in neutral to acidic soils
Meconopsis – a beautiful blue, poppy look-alike that grows well in shady areas
Sea Hollies – electric blue perennials with a unique flower
Hydrangeas – acidic soil keeps these stunning big blooms blue
Jacob’s Ladder – lavender blue flowers with bold orange stems that flower in late spring through to summer when planted in well-drained soil
Bluebells – ideal for shady gardens

Red and orange garden flower ideas:

Alonsoa meridionalis ‘Rebel’ – this gorgeous red bedding plants blooms from June through to October
Bergamot – a tough, herbaceous perennial that grows best in moist soils
Callistemon citrinus ‘Splendens’ – striking flowers with a lemon-scented flower that blooms spring – summer
Peonies – a characterful flower available in a choice of colours
Penstemons – deep rich red florals that look similar to foxgloves and bloom from mid-summer to the first frost
Red Velvet – a fun and feathery floral that blooms from June – September
Helenium ‘Moerheim Beauty’ – a striking red and orange floral that blooms from mid-summer
Zinnia tenuifolia ‘Red Spider’ – a dainty, spider-like flower with bright red-orange petals
Red Lark – salmon-red flowers that bloom in June and July
Tulips – these UK garden favourites bloom in April and May and show off an array of red, pink and orange colours depending on the variety you choose
Fuchsia ‘Chang’ – an orangey red Fuchsia with a long blooming period

Grow vertically with a trellis

Image source: Pinterest

Trellis is a superb way to bring flourishing floral colours into a garden to brighten up even the dullest corners.

Maybe the side of your garage is an eye sore, or perhaps your garden backs onto an alleyway with a wall; a trellis is the perfect way to not only cover up unattractive garden features, but it also offers a means of bringing colour and texture into your garden space.

Once your trellis is installed, you can grow a range of colourful climbing plants. You will need somewhere to plant these. If you can’t directly plant into the ground, why not build a raised sleeper bed?

Here are a few different types of colourful climbing plants and wall shrubs you could consider:

Wisteria: perfect if you’re looking to achieve a classic and quaint country cottage look, Wisteria is available in a range of colours including purple lilac, rich pink, mauve pink, white and lavender blue
Clematis: fast growing and blooms in the summer, choose from a vast range of colours including red, blue, purple, pink and white
Parthenocissus: a beautiful red and orange leaf in the autumn that copes well in sun or shade.
Trachelospermum: a glossy evergreen foliage with fragrant summer blooms. Opt for T.jasminoides ‘Pink’ for beautiful pink summer flowers.
Hydrangea petiolaris: ideal for cooler and shaded spots, this slow-growing climbing plant features large heart-shaped leaves with white flower heads.
Honeysuckle: a firm favourite amongst bees and birds thanks to its bright, textured blooms and berries. Choose from either flowing pink or flowering yellow varieties.

Alternatively, you could use your trellis as a space to hang mini pots of colourful blooms.

Image source: Own The Yard

Choose bright and bold furniture and accessories

Image source: Lisa Dawson Styling

To really give your garden an extra lift of all-year-round colour, consider how you can use colourful furniture pieces.

The great thing about this is that you don’t have to spend a small fortune. Even something as simple as painting a picnic bench is a superb way to add a colourful lift to your outside space.

Alternatively, you can use textiles and accessories to give your furniture items a colourful boost. Maybe you’ve created a cosy outdoor living space on a decked area with outdoor seating – you can bring extra colour to this space with fun and funky cushions or throws.

Or perhaps you’re planning on building a stunning outdoor family dining area with a bespoke table made from sleepers. Why not add an extra hint of colour by painting the bench seating different colours to coordinate with your outdoor dining crockery, placemats or table runner?

There are so many ways to create a visually stunning outdoor living space that breathes life and colour through your garden with just a little creativity.

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