The autumn time signals that a change is in the air for your garden space. With a drop in temperatures, falling leaves, it’s easy to see why so many homeowners simply abandon their garden projects during the season, only to pick them back up again during the warmer springtime months. However, the autumn time need not be a time where you down tools, as it can provide you with a gorgeous, sumptuous canvas to build new garden themes and designs on top of, with its rich, crisp colours, giving you a great foundation for the new year. In this article, we will talk you through our favourite design ideas for decorating your garden space for the autumn. Let’s take a look…
Autumnal Colours
What colours do you think of when you picture the autumn time? We’d wager that you are probably imagining deep browns, rich reds and oranges, and intense purples. So, why not attempt to try and match this natural palette, by using these colours as inspiration for your own planting? There are plenty of orange, red, and purple flowers that can still thrive during the colder autumn months. Examples of colourful winter flowers include certain species of carnations, as well as pansies and tulips.
Even if you decide to move away from these kind of tones with the flowers themselves, the warm, earthy colour of traditional terracotta pots will perfectly complement the colours of the autumn time, contrasting gorgeously against the paler tones of any patio or stonework.
Decking
Decking is a fantastic way to work around an awkward, tiered garden space, as well as making a seamless extension from your house. It creates a superb platform for you to build a garden display on top of, with potted plants. Alternatively, you can border your decking with large, rectangular planters to help blend in the sharp corners to the rest of your lawn. There are many options available for decking material, including traditional timber, and newer alternatives, such as composite and aluminium.
Timber decking, when stained, can create a gorgeous, rich backdrop for any creative decorations. With composite decking, choosing teak or chocolate is a great way to try and replicate these more traditional colours. Alternatively, if you want the rich oranges and reds of the falling autumn leaves to stand out, choosing a more neutral canvas can help these colours to pop. Neutral decking colours can include the modern grey and the naturalistic antique.
Fencing
Though you may consider it easy to ignore, the material of your fencing can massively impact the overall look of your garden space. Thankfully, there are many fencing alternatives on the market that make it easier to find something that will suit your design ambitions. Timber remains the most popular fencing material, as the wood-stained aesthetic blends seamlessly with any natural planting. Making a “living fence,” essentially a border using dense hedgerows and planting, can also elevate that autumnal garden feeling. Similarly, creating a rustic, stone border, either freestanding or with rocks place into metal gabions, can maintain this natural atmosphere.
Should you want a more long-lasting garden border, we recommend choosing composite fencing. Composite fence panels come supplied in a range of premium colours and removes the time-consuming process of painting and staining. You can choose something traditional such as Chocolate or Teak to keep your fencing in line with a more natural aesthetic, or choose something bolder or more eye-catching, such as darker shades of deep Charcoal or Grey.
Garden Furniture
In the last couple of years, a prevailing trend is to treat your garden as its own outdoor room, a natural extension of your home rather than a separate space. By kitting out your garden with weatherproof furniture, you are more likely to spend more time in your outdoor space when it’s no longer the spring or summertime. There are many options available for weatherproof garden furniture, including recycled plastic, brushed steel table and chair sets with hydrophobic cushions, or rattan.
It is important to remember that timber furniture is susceptible to rot when exposed to moisture. Alternatively, with weatherproof outdoor furniture, you can simply wipe down any water with a dry cloth or tea towel. Organise your outdoor furniture in a crescent shape around a table, and create a quiet, secluded spot to relax, read a good book, or settle down with a tall, cold drink.
Fire Pits
A great way to spend more time outdoors in your garden even as the weather begins to get colder is to ensure there is a consistent source of heat. Most homeowners will not have the budget for extravagant outdoor heaters or underfloor heaters, but sometimes the best way is still the simplest. Fire pits can either be bought as bespoke items, that operate with either gas or wood burners, or you can simply dig an area of your garden to create your own.
Terracotta chimeras also serve as gorgeous garden ornamental features when not in use and create a rich autumnal tone in the same way plant pots do. Remember, it is important to make sure any area you place your fire pits on top of are appropriately fire rated. We would recommend only using fire pits on top of a patio surface, or alternatively, a composite or aluminium deck space.
Lighting
As the nights draw in, adding lighting to your space serves a functional purpose as well as decorative one, as it allows you to make more out of your garden even during those darker nights. Solar powered lights can be planted into soft soil, creating a soft level light to guide you through your garden pathways once it gets dark. Similarly, LED lighting can be installed into your decking boards, to help with your footing.
If you want a more ambient, stylistic style of lighting, you can invest in hanging lighting that can loop around metal archways. With a permanent outdoor shelter, balustrade, or trellis, you can hang string lighting above you to create a cosy illuminated space. Pepper the lighting around an outdoor seating area of fire pit and bring out some cosy blankets to enjoy your garden for longer.
