1st garden swing
Relax in the garden and enjoy a break from everyday life and stress. Whether alone or in a cheerful group around a fire bowl - swings are not just for small children!
For this swing, Australian blogger Amanda O'Sullivan recycled a wooden pallet and hung it, well padded, from the strong branch of a tree on her property.
2nd fire pit
A campfire is also a great way to spend a cool summer night outdoors. Fire pits can be made of layers of natural stone like this DIY example. If you have less space, a metal fire bowl or fire basket will also keep you warm.
3. playing field
Plan a playing field in the garden! An area for French pétanque, often known colloquially as boules in Germany, or for the related ball sport boccia, which is mainly played in Italy, is ideal.
Chess is a universal game that has fans all over the world. How about a life-size playing field on the terrace?
4. second seating area
In this detached house by HPA+ Architektur from Cologne, two seating areas were created as soon as the house was built - one with concrete slabs and one with wooden decking. This allows the residents to take advantage of the different positions of the sun throughout the day and enjoy both the morning sun and the sunset.
A second seating area enables a change of perspective. In this case, the terrace next to the house overlooks the garden designed by Freiraumplus, while the second seating area looks out over the house. Two seating areas can also be used with visitors or at a garden party.
This second seating area also gives the owners a little distance from everyday life. Colorful, weatherproof furniture and recycled paving are a welcome change from the far simpler main terrace of the eclectic home of a family in San Francisco.
5. pavilion
A pavilion is ideal for visually emphasizing a second seating area, but also for screening it off and thus establishing it as an intimate retreat. And it enchants any garden - especially if you let climbing plants grow over the structure. In this example from Niedermaier Gärten und Freiräume, a romantic climbing rose is in bloom. Hello Sleeping Beauty!
6. garden sculpture
Garden sculptures are beautiful eye-catchers in both summer and winter. Important: Embed your sculpture in the overall design! This figure in a garden by Zeterre Landscape Architecture, for example, stands on a cushion of perennials and grasses.
Of course, sculptures do not necessarily have to be figurative. Natural-looking garden sculptures like the one in the photo often look better if they are not placed alone, but in irregular numbers and with slight differences in shape and color.
7. outdoor bathtub
Move your bathroom outside in summer. The best way to do this is with an outdoor bathtub. It doesn't necessarily have to be the latest model. If you want to bathe in it - fine. But I've also seen gardens where a bathtub has been used to collect rainwater or planted as a raised bed with vegetables and summer flowers.
8. garden lighting
Light gives the garden a further design dimension. It makes the garden usable and visible even at night. Even at times of year when there is little flowering in the garden, light can be used to create proverbial highlights. Lighting planners and garden designers can work with you to develop a harmonious and gentle concept.
Even simple outdoor fairy lights create atmosphere.
9. wood and pizza oven
Pizza from a real wood-fired oven simply tastes fantastic. I know families where all summer parties revolve around the clay oven in the garden at home. Each participant, whether big or small, rolls out their dough and tops it individually, into the oven and the pizza is ready in a minute! Once heated up, bread and cakes can also be baked in the clay oven - it just depends on the right temperature.
10. outdoor kitchen
If the pizza oven and fire pit are too rustic for you, try a garden kitchen - many manufacturers offer ready-made modules, but experts can also design bespoke solutions.
11. large pots or planters
Oversized pots and amphorae create special eye-catchers in the garden, especially if the selected ceramic and the planting match - here a combination with roses and steppe sage. Important: When choosing a pot, pay attention to its winter hardiness!
Reddish terracotta and the fresh green of the plants complement each other particularly well in terms of color. For a clever design, either choose a very special individual piece or place several pots in the garden at once.
12. gate or passageway
A gate or passageway creates a vertical accent in the garden and is also ideal for separating different areas from one another. Passages and gates can be made of stone or wood - and may also serve as a climbing frame for a climbing plant.
13th spring stone
Bring water into your garden! A fountain stone doesn't take up much space and is available in different styles and price ranges. The simplest version is a boulder with a hole cut in it by a stonemason. Landscape architect Verena Höhberger chose a granite sphere for this bubbling fountain stone and placed it in a shrub bed.
14. garden shed as a retreat
A garden shed doesn't always have to be a place to store garden furniture and tools. You can also use it to create a very special retreat in the countryside. Here you can see a Japanese-style teahouse. Place a construction trailer on your own property, for example. But be careful - there are different regional regulations for this. Your local building or regulatory authority can provide specific information.
15. outdoor fabrics
Make your patio or seating area in the garden cozy by furnishing it like a living room. Coordinate the garden furniture, cushions and upholstery. It is best to use somewhat more robust outdoor fabrics. There are now also many attractive outdoor rugs for an outdoor living room flair.
Whether in natural tones, pastel colors or with crisp accents - there are no limits to your imagination and your own taste when it comes to garden decoration with textiles.
