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Most of us will agree that one of the best things about the warmer months is enjoying green spaces. So, if you’re lucky enough to have a garden, summer can be the perfect time to give it a mini makeover.
Luckily, injecting some life and vibrancy into your outdoor space doesn’t have to be expensive – there are plenty of affordable ways to make it more practical and beautiful.
From growing herbs and veggies to having fun with accessories and creating a DIY bar, here are 13 cheap and easy garden design ideas.
1. Get creative with pots and containers
Pots and containers are incredibly versatile, which makes them a great addition to any outdoor space.
They can be used to add greenery to patio or decking areas, making more space for plants if they’re stacked or hung, and can also bring colour and personality to your garden.
Not only that, but pots and containers come in an endless assortment of sizes, patterns, and designs, so you can treat choosing and arranging them like an interior design project.
Plus, it can be fun to consider what objects you might have indoors that could be turned into garden containers, such as old tins, wellies, or even an old bath!
For ideas on arranging your garden pots and what to put in them, check out this list of container gardening ideas from Homes & Gardens. Or, for more specific tips on creating garden containers, check out this DIY planter tutorial article from A Piece of Rainbow.
2. Add a water feature
Many consider water features elaborate and expensive, but they don’t have to be. It could be as simple as adding a bird bath to your garden, which could also boost birdwatching opportunities!
You can find plenty of DIY birdbath ideas – such as stacking terracotta pots and topping them with a water-filled plant pot saucer – in this article from Morning Chores.
You could consider building a pond in your outdoor space, which can add interest to your garden and attract more wildlife, such as frogs.
The materials needed to build a pond are often inexpensive and easy to find. For example, in this handy pond-building guide from The Wildlife Trusts, all you need is a plank of wood, a pond liner, a variety of pond plants, some large rocks, some building sand, and a spade (and some water, of course!).
Your pond can be as big or as small as you like. For advice on building a tiny pond (think washing-up bowl size), this page from The Royal Horticultural Society is particularly helpful.
3. Plant bright flowers
Bedding plants are an easy way to add instant colour to your garden and cost as little as £4 at garden centres. You can add them to hanging baskets, flower beds, and plant pots – and, in spring and summer, they’ll usually spread and bloom quite quickly.
If you’d like to use bedding plants that’ll produce bright flowers for much of the year, try violas and pansies.
Or, if you don’t mind waiting a little longer for your splash of colour and want to get more for your money, you could consider planting seeds, bulbs, or sprouts. Cornflowers, marigolds, and petunias are good options.
4. Paint fences and garden furniture
If your garden furniture or fences are looking a bit worn and shabby, you don’t necessarily need to buy new ones to keep your garden looking nice. Instead, you could freshen them up with a coat of paint – and there’s plenty of room to have fun with different colours.
You might want to experiment with bright colours like oranges, blues, and yellows – or keep things classic by sticking with something neutral like black or brown. You’ll find a variety of tips in Dulux’s garden paint ideas article.
For best results when painting old wooden garden furniture, you’ll likely need to prepare and repair the wood. Scrubbing it with a stiff wire brush to remove loose paint beforehand, applying glue to damaged areas, and sanding it are all helpful treatment tips.
After painting, there are also ways to make sure your work withstands the elements as much as possible, such as adding a coat of lacquer.
Check out this garden furniture maintenance guide from Lazy Susan Furniture for more tips on repainting wooden items.
5. Build a garden bar
Gardens are wonderful places to entertain loved ones or enjoy a glass of wine or homemade lemonade in the sun. If this sounds familiar, an outdoor bar could be the upgrade you’re looking for.
It’s the sort of DIY job where you can use old wood you might have lying around. In this video from DIY On a Budget, for example, the presenter uses pallets to make a freestanding bar.
Or, if you’d like to spend a little more on a bigger bar with a roof and extra shelves, the video below from Wickes will show you how to use decking and fence posts.
Once your bar is complete, you can also have fun decorating it. Creating bar signs and menus, and adding paint, fairy lights, or lanterns, are all good options.
6. Look after your lawn
Lawns often get overlooked, but they can significantly affect how lush your garden looks.
Mowing your lawn regularly and removing weeds as they crop up are some of the best things you can do to promote healthy growth.
You can also collect and store rainwater to hydrate your lawn during dry spells. And, if it’s looking particularly sparse in places, try adding grass seed. However, it’s important to skip this step if you have a dog, as grass seeds can cause injuries.
For more information, check out these lawn care tips from Gardeners’ World.
7. Add candles, lanterns, or solar-powered lights
If you’d like to create cosy, ambient vibes in your garden after dark, why not add candles, lanterns, or solar-powered lamps?
Whether you’ve got a tiny patio, a balcony, or the full works, lighting can work wonders in making your evenings more magical.
You can also get creative with the types of lighting you choose and how you arrange them. For example, you could use solar-panelled lamps to light up a ground-level path, present lanterns and candles in clusters on tables or walls, or drape fairy lights across fences.
With string lights, it’s best to put them somewhere birds and other wildlife won’t get tangled up. If you live in a place with a large glow worm population, it’s also best to avoid coloured lights, as these can confuse them.
Garden lighting can be bought cheaply from places like Amazon and Wilko – or you could try making DIY lanterns by punching holes in tin cans or placing string lights in a glass bottle.
8. Repurpose old furniture
Old interior furniture you no longer want or need can have plenty of use outdoors, instead. As mentioned earlier, bathtubs can easily be turned into planters and decorated in any way you like – for example, with paints or mosaics.
You could also place plant pots in broken chairs, or plant greenery in an old chest of drawers. Check out these 20 brilliant repurposing ideas from DIYnCrafts for inspiration.
Old step ladders can also make ideal homes for potted plants and herbs, and pallets can be used to make outdoor sofas or armchairs. Take a look at the creative examples in this furniture upcycling article from the Huffington Post.
9. Create borders
If you’d like to add some stylish touches to your garden while keeping the cost down, why not use garden borders? This can also be a helpful way to keep your outdoor space neat by dividing areas into separate ‘rooms’.
You can create borders or edges in various ways, but the most common is to add traditional lawn edging. It’s usually stuck into the ground with stakes between your flower beds and lawn.
Alternatively, you could separate areas of your garden using large rocks, stones, or shells – or by digging a border and filling it with pebbles. Gabion garden wall edging (a square or rectangular metal cage filled with rocks) is also becoming popular. Some people even use long grass or bedding plants to create borders.
To see some of these ideas, plus plenty more, head over to the Digs Digs website.
10. Have fun with accessories
Things like statues, hanging signs, wall art, and cushions can go a long way to make your garden feel more cosy and personal.
Budget stores like Wilko and The Range sell everything from Buddha statues and garden mirrors to wind spinners and decorative thermometers. Poundland can also be great for garden decorations and accessories.
For tips on choosing and positioning garden ornaments and sculptures, check out the video below from The Middle-Sized Garden. Though many of the sculptures in this video are quite large – which won’t be for everyone – Alexandra’s tips still offer inspiration and insight into experimenting with different textures and materials.
There are also plenty of garden ornaments and decorations that you can make yourself, such as succulent monograms and dragonfly fence hangings. This article from DIYnCrafts has these and plenty more projects to get stuck into.
11. Grow herbs and veggies
If you’d like to make your garden as functional as it is beautiful, consider planting some herbs and vegetables.
You can plant herbs in flower beds or pots. While flower beds can offer more space, pots are better for drainage. There’s debate over which is better, so we’d love to know what you think in the comments below!
If you’re new to herb gardening, some of the easiest ones to sow and grow from seed include basil, dill, parsley, and coriander. Our article, 10 easy herbs to grow, has more ideas.
The Royal Horticultural Society recommends avoiding herb plants sold in supermarkets as they’re usually grown under glass and are often too ‘lush and stressed’ to adapt well to life outdoors.
When it comes to veggies, plenty of seeds can be sown in summer, such as pak choi, spring onions, and spinach. To see which vegetables you can plant and when, check out our planting calendar.
12. Add a gravel path
Adding a path to your garden can create interest and intrigue – and it’s fairly easy to do, even if you’re new to garden landscaping.
For example, to create a gravel path, start by digging a channel to a depth of 100mm and edging it with timber. Then, to create a base for the gravel, line your channel with landscape fabric and add a sub-base layer (which will support the weight of the gravel and any foot traffic). Then you can add a layer of gravel. This garden path tutorial from Wickes will take you through the process in more detail.
Gravel is cost-effective, versatile, hard-wearing, and looks appealing in most gardens. Plus, it has practical benefits. It allows rain to permeate and soak into the soil – meaning it won’t become waterlogged. It’s also not too difficult to reverse later, should you wish to change your garden layout.
13. Introduce climbing plants
For gardens needing a lift – including small gardens with limited space – climbing plants are a must-have.
Climbing plants can be trained to grow up trellises, along pergolas, around archways, or across fences and sheds.
If you’re wondering what to plant, black-eyed Susan (Thunbergia alata), the cup and saucer plant (Cobaea), and the Chilean glory flower (Eccremocarpus scaber) will grow quickly from seed.
Or, if you’d like to buy and plant some climbers, clematis and rambling roses will produce stunning blooms in the warmer months. Both can be planted any time of year, but will need plenty of water if planted in summer.
Final thoughts…
We hope this article has shown you there are many ways to tap into nature and make your garden look beautiful without breaking the bank.
For more garden ideas and inspiration, you might like our other articles, such as 8 plants that look good all year and 8 superfoods that you can grow from home.
Are you planning to use any of the cheap and easy garden design ideas above? Or do you have any other ideas you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
* Links with an * by them are affiliate links which help Rest Less stay free to use as they can result in a payment or benefit to us. You can read more on how we make money here.
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