Easy Tips To Turn Your Garden Into An Exotic Paradise
The warmer it gets, the more it makes you think about being on holiday and enjoying the sunshine. Why should only those who live in exotic places have all the fun? Read on for some inspiration and see if you can turn your garden into an exotic paradise.
Colours
The first step to making your garden feel like the tropics is to choose the right colours. When you think of sunny, far-away destinations, bright, bold colours come to mind. If you’re choosing anything for your garden, make sure that it will compliment tropical colours. You also want to include darker colours such as greens and browns to balance it out.
Water Features
Exotic gardens bring water features to mind. Waterfalls are beautiful, so why wouldn’t you want to have a waterfall in your garden?
If you’re thinking of something ambitious, you may wish to speak to an expert and see what will work for your garden. If you’re updating your garden on a budget, you could try to make a DIY water feature.
Ponds are another way to include a water feature in your garden. Depending on space, a pond can be as big or as small as you like it to be! You can add plants that thrive in water and even light it with fairy lights.
If you want to go all the way, purchasing tropical fish will make your garden feel exotic in an instant. Remember, caring for tropical fish can be tricky. If you want to include some wildlife that’s easy to look after, visit an aquarium and they’ll be able to tell you the best option for you.
Decking
Decking doesn’t sound too tropical in the first instance. But, if you choose the right decking you can create a secluded garden area that 5-star hotels would envy. High-end hotels will often have an outdoor area where you can relax on big sofas and cushions by the beach.
You don’t need to own the beach to steal this idea! Once you have your decking area, the accessories are what will make it feel like you’re in the tropics. Wicker outdoor furniture and soft lighting are enough to make a garden feel luxurious.
You can even get creative and make a tiki-style outhouse with a weaved roof and bamboo features!
Pathways
Creating winding paths in your garden gives it a sense of excitement. These needn’t be huge paths if you only have a small garden. Well placed rocks and other materials can create small pathways that add a little bit of magic to your garden.
If you do have the luxury of a big garden, create a walkway that leads to a feature such as a pond or seating area. It will make every trip feel like a mini adventure!
Flowers
Flowers, of course, are one of the most important parts of creating your exotic garden. The flowers you choose will depend on the climate in which you live. Tropical flowers often need a lot of heat to stay beautiful. Don’t let that put you off.
Use flowers which blossom in bright colours that are right for you climate. Consider purchasing evergreen shrubbery that flower in the colder months. Your garden still feels tropical when it’s cold!
Don’t shy away from using artificial flowers too. You can find artificial flowers that created with incredible detail for beautiful decorations.
Foliage
Most exotics gardens have more foliage than flowers. If you’re not clued up on gardens, foliage just means plant life grown collectively together.
If you want your garden to have more of a jungle feel, you should plant lots of leafy greens and exotic trees in pockets. Foliage help to create a feeling of being lost in the wilderness, without having to leave your home!
If you want to concentrate more on the floral elements, you should still include some foliage to fill in any gaps. Choose foliage with long, separate leaves for that palm-tree feel.
Garden Lighting
We’ve briefly touched on how lights can help you create your perfect garden. Fairy lights are ideal for a bit of magic at night time. For lighting in larger areas, choose lighting that makes you think of warm evenings on holiday.
You can find lights that look like a flaming torch or a bamboo branch, choose something that suits your garden.
It’s also worth placing spotlights in areas where you want to show off features in your garden. Even just lighting up walkways can bring a garden to life at nighttime.
Planning
Planning the most important part of your garden transformation! It’s not always the fun part but you can make it exciting if you have a goal.
Spend time thinking about how you’d like to see your garden. Then you can search online, in magazines or even look at other people’s gardens for inspiration. Collect plenty of images together and create a mood board so you know what you want.
Once you have an idea, you can start planning what you need to get. Set a budget so you don’t overspend (no matter how pretty the plants are!). Consider visiting a garden centre where you can speak to an expert. Gardening centres will be able to explain which flowers and plants will grow well in your environment. It helps if you bring your mood board so you can show them the look you have in mind. You can then use this look and the help of the experts to choose the most similar plants possible.
After you’ve bought everything you need, you should plan which areas of the garden need working on first. Work in a logical pattern so that you don’t get lost in all your new foliage and garden accessories!
If you’re struggling to get the job done, call an expert to offer advice or to help out. Proper planning will make it easy for you to turn your garden into the exotic paradise of your dreams.