4 Garden Styles for Summer

Rustic Garden

A rustic garden is both quintessentially English and romantic, allowing scope for lovely flowerbeds and overgrowing climbers to partially claim the house and garden walls. The style exudes a lost-in-the-country aesthetic, with plenty of natural materials such as slate, stone and wood. Classic benches, relaxing swing sets and ornate metal dining sets all suit this style of garden. The rustic garden style is ideal for experienced gardeners or those seeking to become more green-fingered.

Suzanne Jenkinson, our expert from Mantis, gave us her advice when it comes to setting up gardening plot areas for flowers or vegetables: “Getting a fine tilth is essential for a planting area, ensuring you have ‘fed’ the soil with a good quality compost. This is especially true if you have clay soil, which has a tendency to clump and bake in the sun, or sandy/chalky soil, which is lower in nutrient content. Preparation should be started as early as possible to ensure you have the perfect conditions for growing once the season starts.”

With plentiful planting, masses of colour and alluring scents, a rustic garden has a simple layout with a focus on greenery and feature pieces of furniture. What’s great about this style is that it can also be adapted for small outdoor spaces with the use of copious climbers and folding wooden furniture.

Modern Garden

Modern gardens are all about sleek shapes, neat landscaping and lavish textures on different levels. The key is to keep it minimal and not overcrowd the space, meaning a contemporary design can be applied to any size garden. This dynamic and relaxing style benefits from symmetrical plant pots and beautifully crafted decking areas. Rattan garden furniture pairs perfectly with the modern garden style.

Mike Bird, our landscaping expert from Champion Timber told us, “Decking can really transform a contemporary garden of any size, by extending your living space into the outdoors. It can create a focal point, add an additional level to the garden and be used for alfresco dining or housing a sun lounger!”

Cut the grass regularly and keep plants within decorative pots to make the most of the look. The last thing you want is unkempt foliage spoiling the view.

Urban Garden

When it comes to an urban garden, it’s all about making the most of what limited space you have. There are many clever designs you can adopt to create the illusion of more space as well as bring your own stylish flair to the garden.

Many city residents favour the minimalist design, opting for the functionality of compact or foldable outdoor seating, whilst others endeavour to create a plant-filled sanctuary to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. If the latter is your preferred choice, be savvy with the greenery and install vertical planters and hanging pots to avoid over-crowding.

Whether you’re wanting to create a small green haven or a European-inspired getaway with bistro sets and compact seating, you can easily incorporate other elements from rustic or modern gardens to customise your urban space.

Family Garden

Family gardens are built with an underlying sense of durability in mind as children take over the outside space. Grass areas give them space to play, whether bouncing on a trampoline or scoring goals between jumpers, a stretch of green will keep them entertained on those hot summer afternoons. Gazebos are a great way to keep them protected from the sun and also double up as a den for them to explore.

Couple this with a patio space for alfresco dining and you’ve got the perfect combination for a family garden. Make sure you’ve got a garden dining set to accommodate every member of the family, with an extendable table and extra seats.

Win a rattan garden chair!

If you think your garden will benefit from new statement outdoor seating, then enter our competition today. All you need to do is take our quiz and tell us which garden style suits you best, to be in with a chance of winning a luxurious Monte Carlo pod chair. This gorgeous rattan chair is comfortable, almost circular in shape and can seat two people.

Terms and conditions:

1. UK only competition.
2. By submitting your entry, you are agreeing to Furniture Village using your email address for any future form of contact or marketing.
3. Inappropriate content will be removed and disqualified.
4. You must submit your entry by using the EmailMe form with all boxes fulfilled.
5. The winner will be selected at random from all those who provide the information requested.
6. The Competition closes at 11:59pm on 31/07/16.
7. All entries received after this time will not be considered.
8. The winner and 2 runners up will be contacted via email.
9. The winner has 5 working days to claim their prize, no response after this time will result in another winner being selected.
10. The winner will receive a Monte Carlo Pod Chair, RRP £1,395.