Vegetation
It is difficult to imagine a beautiful area without green spaces. Properly selected compositions of shrubs, flowers and trees will add a fabulous atmosphere to the most unsightly area.
However, the opposite effect can be achieved with the same success if important nuances are not taken into account at the planning stage:
- trees tend to grow, creating interference with neighbors/buildings/other plants, so the place for planting them should be chosen carefully if you don’t want to have to deal with regular pruning in the future;
- Flowers and herbaceous shrubs may have different flowering periods; in order for the composition to be uniform throughout the season, you need to select plants with the same characteristics for this indicator;
- Pests can spoil the appearance of your beautiful garden; the problem can be partially prevented by planting wormwood along the perimeter - most harmful insects cannot tolerate it;
- if there are beds with vegetables, alternating with annual clubs will not only give an openwork look, but will also help reduce the load on the soil; to do this, just swap the beds and flower beds at the end of the season.
By selecting plants by height and color, you can create stunning optical illusions. For example, imitate the effect of a wave, alternating low-growing flowers with tall ones, planting a country flag or more complex designs.
Climbing plants, such as hops or grapes, will enhance the fence and walls of the house, radically changing the appearance of the entire garden. Living walls can also be used to divide a site into functional zones; it is enough to provide them with reliable vertical support.
If the hedge does not seem particularly dense, there is the option of diluting it with artificial imitating elements; they are cheap and almost invisible among living plants, and they cost a penny.
If the climate allows, the plant fence can be made of cypress. In colder latitudes, Christmas trees are an excellent solution; they will also add a unique aroma to your garden.
Functional areas of the garden plot
The design of the site of a country house fulfills not only an aesthetic, but also a practical task. With the help of decorative elements, correctly located structures, and fences, you can divide the territory into parts, identifying the main zones. Typically this is:
- the front area is the pride of the hostess, the basis of the decor. Located in plain sight, not far from the driveway, near the house;
- a recreation area containing a gazebo or covered terrace, a place for barbecue, barbecue, chairs, a hammock, an area for outdoor games, a swimming pool;
- the area of outbuildings includes sheds, a garage, a bathhouse, and a cellar. It is usually hidden from prying eyes;
- garden and vegetable garden area, optional, but quite popular. Even on the most luxurious plots you can find fruit trees and shrubs, greenhouses, greenhouses, and beds with herbs.
Paths
Sticking to regular dirt paths is a cheap and easy option, but who likes stomping through mud after the rain? For comfortable walks, it is better to choose another solution.
Wooden paths fit perfectly into the naturalistic style. Peculiar platforms made from small boards not only have an attractive appearance, but are also practical in terms of operational properties - it is problematic to slip on such material.
The path paved with sawn logs will look original. Among the disadvantages, we note the fragility of such a coating.
If you are not a resident of seaside areas with a large abundance of large pebbles, using stone or tiles will cost more, but will give wide scope for bold design solutions and give the area an aristocratic feel. In addition, such paths are durable and perfectly survive any natural disasters.
Borders in this case are an optional attribute, but on thematic forums where people share their photos of beautiful areas, you can often see the borders of paths decorated with perennial herbaceous shrubs. It looks really harmonious.
Sculptures
Home improvement stores are replete with garden sculptures for every taste. And many people buy them, not realizing that even the most beautiful pieces of art, when piled up in a disorderly manner, bring the effect of garbage, not sophistication.
Therefore, when choosing your next plaster cat or house-elf, think about whether they will look good together with the pink elephant you already have?
Decorating in one theme will give the site the feeling of a stylish, professional project. Inspiration can be a favorite book, a fairy tale from childhood, or some ethnographic style.
And something else
New responsibilities for old tools
Old hoes, rakes and pitchforks are another simple, but very effective way to decorate a site with your own hands. By placing them on a tripod in the center of the flower garden, you will get an excellent stand for climbing plants. Such a green pyramid will add charm to the entire landscape.
Old tool in garden decor
Bright accent
In the spacious garden you can create an unusual clearing, the main element of which will be Scheherazade’s multi-colored tent. It is made from a suspended hoop, to which a colorful translucent lightweight fabric is attached. Its ends can be left in free flight or attached to nearby branches. Wicker furniture and a hammock would look good under such a canopy.
Hoop tent
Through the Looking Glass
Optical illusions in garden decor are quite impressive. The reflection effect adds depth to the space. Mirrors should be hung in areas of the fence behind trees. If you choose their location correctly, you will immediately notice how the boundaries of the site are erased.
The reflection effect adds depth to the space
Non-standard bench
An old bench with a sunken seat can be repurposed as a decorative element for the garden. The remaining frame can be filled with plants in flower pots.
Original flowerbed from an old bench
Branched installations
Dry branches and driftwood can also be used to decorate a summer cottage. From them you can lay out or weave something like arches and gates, which will very successfully separate the yard from the garden.
Arch made of branches
Welcome guests
It is not at all necessary to make the garden sedate and prim. It can also create a fun environment. Gloves painted in different colors hanging on the picket fence will help show off his funny side.
Masking unnecessary elements
If there are not very aesthetically pleasing but extremely necessary objects in the garden, they should be converted into decorations for the garden plot, but this should not be done by rebuilding or dismantling, but simply by hiding the unaesthetic objects under decorative covers.
Magic lanterns
Fans of evening gatherings in the garden know well that in this case they cannot do without lighting. However, an ordinary light bulb can hardly be considered a garden decoration. It takes away the mystery from the atmosphere.
Let yourself enjoy the effect of waiting for a miracle, filling the night with magic and romance. Add homemade lanterns to your garden decor. They can be based on tin or glass jars.
Lanterns made from cans will fill the space with magic
In the tin, according to a pre-drawn pattern, holes are filled with a nail. A burning candle is placed inside the prepared container. If you plan to hang the lantern to decorate the garden plot, then attach a wire handle to the tin.
Lanterns made from tin cans
Glass jars are painted with stained glass paints. Then they proceed according to the already described algorithm.
Decor in the winter garden
For many, a dacha is a place of permanent residence, and not just a home for a seasonal holiday, so the desire to see its territory attractive in winter is quite natural.
How to decorate a summer cottage in the cold? Take advantage of weather twists and turns. To decorate the garden, you can make colored ice cubes.
Making colored ice balls
The work is not difficult. Prepare several containers of water and dilute food coloring or regular watercolors in them. You can add glitter or crushed Christmas tree rain to the mixture. We pour the prepared solutions into balloons, tie the container and send it out into the cold.
Colored ice decor
We remove the frozen ice from the rubber film and lay out the resulting elements along the paths, under the trees, in general, wherever you like.
Creative
You don't have to spend money on decorative items. If you have imagination and unnecessary items, you can make your own decorations for your site. For example, an old bicycle, dusty in the garage, can be painted over in a bright color and buried among the flower beds. It will turn out quite original.
Plastic bottles will make an excellent material for making various crafts that can be used to decorate decorative fences and beds.
Old tires are widely used as flower beds, borders and fences; you just need to paint them in positive colors with moisture-resistant paint.
You can use stones to lay out alpine slides, visually divide the area into zones and create unusual borders. For those who ask what is so creative about them, we remind you that the stones can be painted.
It is also useful to decorate the garden with handicrafts of your own making - from stone, wood, plaster. Handmade items are much more pleasing to the eye than purchased ones.
DIY site decor
You can make your dacha area charming without overexerting yourself by activating your own imagination and using everything that comes to hand. Even a broken flower pot can be the key to success. It’s not difficult to transform cracked and chipped ceramics into Thumbelina’s house. How to decorate your summer cottage with other items?
Plastic decor
“Plastic garden decor is not pretentious, but you can’t deny its originality.”
Modern plastic containers are rarely rented out by ordinary people. It is simply sent to trash containers, although at the dacha bottles are ready to become an indispensable raw material for all kinds of crafts. Perhaps plastic garden decor is not pretentious, but you cannot deny its originality. Having a mountain of containers in stock, set up an artificial plantation of cacti and palm trees in the middle of a living garden. The unexpectedness and exoticism of the element will allow it to become the highlight of the landscape composition.
Garden decor made from plastic bottles
If you don’t have monumental supplies of plastic, stop at a few penguins, which will greatly enliven the decor of your summer cottage, especially in winter, when it’s time to decorate the Christmas tree. Representatives of the younger generation will be happy to take part in such fun.
When working on garden decorations, pairs of bottles are used. Each pair is cut so that a ten-centimeter lower part remains. The separated bottoms are connected into a barrel and covered with white acrylic paint. The workpiece is ready. Next, all that remains is to paint the decor for the garden, dressing it in a black tailcoat, a yellow cap, a scarf of a matching color and draw the eyes with a beak. A pompom made of polystyrene foam or an old tennis ball is attached to the top.
Penguins made from plastic bottles
Similar manipulations are repeated several times. The little penguin shouldn't be bored. You can make a whole family of cheerful birds and give them a cozy clearing on your site.
The flexibility and pliability of plastic allows you to create miracles from it. When decorating a summer cottage, it can be used in all sorts of ways. A plastic bottle can be equally successfully transformed into both a lawn fence and garden furniture.
Fence for flower beds made of plastic
Mosaic decor for the garden
A summer cottage is a fantastic space to express your individuality and demonstrate your creativity. If you are not alien to bright ideas in garden design, then mosaic placers will be exactly what you need. You can use mosaics to lay out garden paths and lake shores. It can be used to decorate fences and inlay garden furniture.
Decorating garden furniture with mosaics
This garden decor is truly universal. This is a great way to update garden decorations, such as worn-out sculptures. Mosaic masonry is made with pieces of old tiles, broken porcelain, and glass.
How to decorate a summer cottage with mosaic scatterings? For such works you do not need to have an artistic gift. It is enough to carefully lay out the compositional elements. If you wish, you can try to create a specific drawing.
Using mosaics for garden decoration
Old tire as a flower bed
Getting a used tire is easier than ever these days. But they are an excellent material for decorating a site with your own hands, because they are ideal for building cute little maxi-pots for flowers. To make it more decorative, the tire is cut on one side so that the teeth can be seen. The base of the future flower bed is painted. Then the elements are laid out around the site, covered with soil and planted with your favorite flowers.
Flower garden made from old tires
An old barrel in a new way
By painting a rusty barrel with bright patterns, you can arrange a house for hanging plants in it. It is often converted into a vertical bed by cutting holes in the sides. Barrels can be included in garden decor and as ordinary water storage facilities. In this case, the emphasis should be on the originality of their painting.
Decorative painting of barrels for the garden
If there are no watering cans or basins left to decorate your summer cottage, and the flow of creative ideas does not dry up, take up wicker baskets. They are not so durable, but after treatment with wood preservatives they can last for more than one season. They decorate the porch, terrace, gazebo.
Wicker baskets for garden decoration
Interesting garden decoration ideas
We can talk for a long time about how to decorate a summer cottage. Let's try to choose the most attractive solutions.
A chair thrown away by someone can become the basis of a mini-flower garden. For an absolute transformation, you need to throw away the seat, replacing it with geotextiles, fill it with nutritious soil, and you can plant flowers with a superficial root system, such as mosses, juveniles, sedum. A couple of bindweeds, which can beautifully entwine the back and legs of the structure, wouldn’t hurt either.
A chair can become the basis for a mini flower garden
If your garden decor does not have a real pond, but you really want to get a nice bridge into it, put it in a mixborder. Pouring water will be imitated by low-growing or creeping plant species, and irises and other tall grasses will help decorate the banks of an impromptu stream.
Climbing plants imitate flowing water
Don't know how to decorate your summer cottage? Find an old umbrella, bicycle or car and transform it into a makeshift flower garden. The highlight of your flowerbed collection can be boots and shoes used as pots. Mismatched shoes can be placed around the garden, along paths, or nailed to the fence.
An old bicycle will become a highlight of your garden decor
Do not rush to repair damaged paving slabs on paths. These potholes are an excellent opportunity to decorate your garden plot with your own hands. The resulting holes are filled with soil and low-growing sedums, mosses, and pansies are planted in them.
The garden plot is always full of natural materials that are quite suitable for transformation into garden decorations. For example, it is easy to create an original flowerbed in a stump by hollowing out its core. You can place a plant in a pot in the resulting hole or plant a flower garden in the standard way, pouring soil into the stump and planting beautiful flowers. It is good to plant liana-like and climbing plants in high-cut dry trunks. Falling beautifully from above, they form green or flowering columns, which can be used in a unique way in landscape design.
Flower bed in stump
Floating flower beds
The presence of a pond on the site is a real gift for a novice designer. The object can become the main decoration of the garden plot. To do this, it will be enough to decorate the surface of the water with a floating flowerbed. They are easy to construct. You will need:
1. A piece of foam.
2. A plastic container or an unnecessary basin.
3. Soil.
4. Ornamental plants.
The bottom of the plastic container is perforated and lined with geotextile. This will prevent the soil from being washed away by water. The improvised flowerpot is filled with soil mixture and planted with flowers.
Foam base for floating flower bed
To give the floating flower bed greater stability, it is placed on a foam stand, the snow-whiteness of which is masked. You can hide the protruding edges under turf or the cascading shoots of climbing plants.
Masking the flower bed tray
When creating water decorations for your summer cottage with your own hands, give preference to aquatic plants. This category includes low-growing daylilies, marsh irises, and hostas. Floating flower beds are equipped with an anchor or set free to float.
Floating flowerbed in a pond
A leaky boat standing on the shore can also be turned into a flowerbed. It will become not just a logical addition to the landscape, but an aesthetic link between two elements - water and earth.
Flowerbed from an old boat
Lighting
Today, artificial light is a full-fledged element of decorating spaces, both internal and external.
LED strips, autonomous solar-powered flashlights, mini-spotlights with automatic switching on at dusk - with the help of all this, the area can be made truly romantic and cozy at night. The level of efficiency of modern lighting devices allows you not to worry about spending on electricity.
Everyone has different concepts of beauty and comfort, and there are hardly any universal instructions on how to decorate an area near a house or in a country house.
Use the recommendations and determine the options that suit you, so that after putting them into practice, the result will please you and your household.
