For many, a garden is simply an outside space that is purely functional and they give little thought to the aesthetics of their garden.

However, the truth is, a garden can be just as functional with added beautiful design features. Plus, you won’t only have a functional garden, but a beautifully designed one as well.

A brilliant way to make your garden look wonderful is to introduce focal points into the design.

A focal point is an area that is designed to immediately draw attention to a specific space. There are many ways of achieving this in an outside space, for example installing a pond or a statue as the main feature of your garden.

Without further ado, I will touch on 7 ways to create a stunning focal point in your garden.

Summer House

Summer House

A summer house is a perfect example of creating a beautiful yet functional piece in your garden, giving something that draws the eye as well as a place to enjoy your summer afternoons.

Summer houses (also known as pagodas) are often relatively pricey, though the more DIY savvy among us may be able to construct one for a fraction of the price of a prefab summer house.

Garden Paths

Garden Path

A beautiful pathway can definitely inject a bit of life into an otherwise lacklustre garden.

Whether comprised of basic paving stones or a complex, geometric , mosaic pattern, you can make it as simple or as elaborate as your heart desires.

There is simply no end to the creative prospects you can bring to the garden path table and it can be done with relatively little funds and technical ability.

Sculpture

Statue

Statues have steadily fallen out of fashion in modern garden design. However a sculpture can be a very stylish addition to your property and can add an air of class, providing a timeless piece of style to your outside space.

Granted, you won’t be able to commission Michelangelo to create a master centrepiece on your lawn, but with a bit of searching you may be able to find the perfect piece of sculpture to give your garden that classic, renaissance feel or an ultra modern facelift, depending on your style.

Decking

Decking

If you ask me, no garden looks complete without decking. Not only is it a very attractive visual feature to have in your garden, but it’s also a very functional piece of design, providing a fantastic outside space to relax and entertain.

However, for the more aesthetic-oriented garden owner, plain decking can look a bit, well…plain.

Well, the good news is there are many creative remedies one can apply to spruce up decking!

How about painting it wild and crazy colours? Training climbers and vines to wrap around the balustrade of your decking can really help to marry your decking and garden too.

Decorative Pots

Decorative plant pot

There are many, many shapes, colours and styles of pots, so finding the right one for your garden can be challenging. They’re great for adding a splash of decoration to planting borders, scarce areas of patio and even arranged amongst the flowerbeds. Hanging pots from the outside of your house can really brighten up a dull looking wall as well.

And who says you need a pot to plant things in? Repurposing everyday household objects as growing containers can really create a touch of creativity to your garden. Using things like old watering cans, bird cages, wellington boots and even antique bathtubs as planters can be an exciting and innovative garden idea.

Ponds

Pond

Some garden owners are put off buying a pond due to their size.

However, a pond can be as big or small as you want it and can also be tailored to perfectly fit your garden.

A small 2×2 foot pond could fit snugly into the corner of your garden or patio and provide a lovely home for fish, frogs and other aqueous wildlife.

It’s easier than you think to choose the best pond for your garden.

Fountains

Fountain

If a pond just doesn’t quite cut it in the style department, a fountain could be more your thing.

Originally a purely functional object used to channel spring water into a basin for drinking and washing, fountains gradually migrated from being used to being admired.

These days, fountains can be found as a main decorative feature in many gardens around the world. Some, such as King Fahd’s fountain in Saudi Arabia can even fire jets of water, in this case up to 260 metres into the air!

BIO

Hayley is the PR manager for millracegardencentre.co.uk. She enjoys spending her time gardening, drinking coffee, and ebaying her socks off!

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