If your outdoor room enjoys all-day sun and you live in a frost-free climate, drape a pergola in bougainvillea. Plant it in pots if you want to curb its growth, or prepare to prune every six months to stop it getting too out of control. Pruning it back is likely to make it flower again within the month.
If you live in a cooler area that’s prone to frosts, opt for wisteria instead of bougainvillea for your pergola. With dense foliage and clustered flowers, it provides the shade you need in summer but easily allows the winter sun to shine on in.
Create a covered walkway. Pergolas aren’t just for outdoor lounging and dining zones, they can also frame a walkway and bring structure to a backyard.
A simple display of potted bougainvillea creates a worthy focal point for any Italian-styled garden. Add some cushions to your outdoor seating area in complementary colours and you’ve just given your backyard a real lift.
An outdoor kitchen like this one brings a taste of Tuscany to your life in more ways than one. Use rendered bricks to create a rustic effect.
8. Mood lighting
Design your outdoor kitchen with lighting in mind – it will make evening gatherings all the more memorable. Soft lighting along the back wall of this barbecue area give it an almost magical atmosphere.
Don’t have the need (or budget) to build something new? Even hanging pot plants on your front or back verandah can have a big impact. Geraniums are an easy-to-grow option that are back in vogue, and their bright flowers bloom all spring and summer long.
10. Balanced shades
English cottage gardens provide endless inspiration for homeowners looking to pretty up their yards. Picking a colour palette can bring a sense of harmony to a garden – pink, purple and white is a common combination that works well with this style.
Lining a pathway with foxgloves is a simple way to bring a little English country style home to roost. These long-flowered lovelies perform best if they’re kept well watered.
Hydrangeas may be old-fashioned, but what’s an English cottage garden if not old-fashioned? These hardy plants bring colour to pots and garden beds, and look particularly effective growing up against the house.
14. Tucking in
In Greece, Italy and Spain, growing food-producing trees in your backyard continues to be popular, and the same can be true at your house without too much fuss. In an inner-city courtyard that tends to get hot, olive trees and other hardy silver-leaved plants add mediterranean style with very little maintenance…
Dragon trees are similarly hardy for paved outdoor areas that get plenty of sun, and their sculptural form turns a courtyard into something special.
Olive trees grown in the garden rather than pots grow tall enough to downsize the dimensions of a large-scale home, and add a Mediterranean feel.
18. High and dry
Mass plantings of lavender bring Provincial appeal to any home. Lavender plants prefer well-drained soil, and they grow well on slopes, in pots and rockeries. Clay soils tend to hold too much moisture for lavender to thrive.
The soft, silver leaves of lavender look beautiful alongside rosemary, and the combined scents are heavenly.
1. Out to lunch
Who can resist the timeless appeal of a long lunch on a traditional Tuscan terrace? Walls rendered in a warm sandstone tone around exposed bricks set the scene, while comfortable seating makes it easier to linger longer and pop open another bottle of Chianti.
2. Sweeten the pot
Hang lanterns and install sconces to add atmosphere when the sun goes down, and plenty of pot plants will deliver Tuscan charm in spades.