This post was written in collaboration with Very.co.uk.
When I moved into this house just over a year ago, the garden was pretty tasteful. Minimalist. Calm. Grey pots. Slate chips. A space that clearly belonged to someone who was a fan of minimalism.
I am not that person. My kids are definitely not those people.
Over the past year, my main contributions in the back garden have been metal birds, kitsch wall hangings tacked to the fence, solar fairy lights. Which, while delightful, did not exactly transform the space. It still felt like someone else’s garden, just with a few rogue personality traits creeping in. I much prefer the front garden, where I have entirely taken over with pots, statues and a lot of pond plants.
So this spring, I decided to stop pretending I was ever going to be a minimalist and actually make the garden more me by leaning quite heavily into slightly silly, colourful, mildly chaotic choices.
Step One: Reject Taste
I am no longer interested in a garden that looks like a Pinterest board titled ‘zen retreat’. My heart wants garden that feels fun and a bit whimsical, maybe even slightly unhinged.
Which means saying yes to things that make absolutely no sense from a design perspective, but bring me genuine joy.
For example, the solar frog fountain. Fill it up, plug it in, place it somewhere and listen to the sounds of calming water being spat out by the little frog.
Is it elegant? No. Is it necessary? Also no. Does it make me disproportionately happy every time I see it? Absolutely.
Step Two: Add Places To Sit
After moving them around to several locations, I’ve finally settled on the prime spot in front of the budding wisteria, and decided to replace my old peeling garden bench with some decent seating in the form of rocking chairs, which are a delight.
There is something about sitting in a rocking chair in your own garden that makes you feel like you’ve achieved something in life, even if that something is just ‘put together a chair’. Well, two chairs. There’s a little table too. And they all feel pretty sturdy, despite being put together by yours truly. it is an achievement.
If you’re starting from scratch or upgrading what you’ve got, there’s loads of garden furniture that doesn’t require a full redesign or a huge budget.
Step Three: Solar Lights
Lighting is where things start to feel magical, or it will when it’s not too cold to sit outside when it gets dark.
I already have solar fairy lights in various spots, but I’ve now added:
- a solar lantern that gives off a warm glow in the evening
- a tree of life solar wall light, attached to the back wall of the house.
It also means I can see the dog when I put her outside to pee at night withouth switching the outside lights on.
If you’re looking for ways to add that kind of detail, this is exactly the sort of thing you’ll find under garden decor ideas.
Step Four: Accept That Some Plants Will Be Fake
I love plants, and my jungle indoors is positively thriving. Outside is… less successful. I really want some big plants to hide the boring fences and the walls, but big plants take time to grow unless you buy them large, and then they are expensive.
So alongside my real plants (which are doing their best), I’ve added a fake eucalyptus tree.
It looks good, it fills the space and it has never once tried to die on me. We coexist peacefully.
Step Five: Embrace The Slight Chaos
At some point, I realised that what I actually wanted wasn’t a perfectly styled garden.
I wanted a space that felt like somewhere I’d sit with a drink (this is vitally important), that didn’t take itself too seriously.
And yes, that does mean a slightly odd mix of rocking chairs, solar lights, metal birds, maybe a dragon, and of course a ridiculous frog fountain.
A garden glow-up doesn’t have to mean expensive furniture, matching sets, or ripping everything out and starting again. It doesn’t need to mean neatly trimmed lawn edges and oft-weeded borders. Sometimes it’s just adding things you actually like, making the space comfortable enough to use and and letting it have a bit of personality (Even if that personality is mine).
