Top garden design ideas to create beautiful outdoor spaces

Keen to spruce up your outdoor space? These garden design ideas will help you create the perfect setting to enjoy the summer sunshine.

See below for all our top suggestions, from building timber pergolas to planting vibrant flower gardens that bees (and you!) will love.

7 DIY garden design ideas

1) Build a shed

It goes without saying that sheds are great for storage, giving you a place to keep all your garden tools out of sight.

But, you don’t have to limit them to storage spaces. Sheds come in a wide range of styles and sizes, suitable for numerous different purposes.

Maybe you could build a shed as a workshop, studio, office space or simply as a place to sit and unwind? There are so many options.

To elevate the interior, consider these shed panelling options.

Just be sure to check if you need planning permission before building your shed.

2) Add timber cladding to outbuildings

If you’ve gone one step further than a shed and built an outbuilding, timber cladding can create the finishing touches.

Alongside adding a rustic look to garden buildings, cladding has the added benefit of protecting walls from the elements.

By keeping rain out and the warmth in, cladding helps to keep your outbuilding cosy throughout the year.

Log lap cladding (pictured above) is a particularly popular choice, giving buildings the appearance of a log cabin.

3) Plant a bee-friendly flower garden

It’s no secret that bees are essential. So make sure you keep them in mind when planning your flower gardens.

To attract bees, try to include lots of plants in your garden that are rich in nectar throughout the year. This includes lavender, sunflowers and bluebells.

Bees also need water, so it helps to leave out a little bowl they can drink from.

And if you’re feeling creative, you could also build a bee hotel. The Wildlife Trust has some good tips on how to do this.

4) Build a wooden pergola

To add a bit of structure to a garden, pergolas are ideal.

You could potentially build them with pressure-treated timber (or hire a professional if you’re not feeling confident!).

If you add a few fairy lights to the beams, and place some comfy garden furniture underneath, you’ll have a gorgeous space to relax on warm evenings.

5) Update your garden fence

Is your fencing looking a little tired and weather-worn? One of the easiest garden design ideas is refreshing old fences with new panes.

Fencing panes can be arranged vertically or horizontally.

We sell pressure-treated fence slats in a range of sizes (up to 5.1 metres long), allowing you to build your fence with minimal horizontal panes.

6) Lay decking

If you’re looking to build a flat surface for your garden furniture, decking is definitely worth thinking about.

It offers a contrast to grass and paving stones, allowing you to create a designated space for your table and chairs.

For simple decking projects at ground level, you might find you can lay the decking yourself. However, for more complex decking, it’s generally advised to get an expert in.

7) Add potted plants to small gardens

Speaking from experience, adding potted plants with fragrant flowers makes such a difference, especially in small gardens.

Potted roses, like in the example shown above, are particularly lovely additions. Each year, you get the joy of seeing (and smelling) the flowers in bloom. You just need to stay on top of pruning and watering the plants throughout the year, but if you enjoy gardening, this shouldn’t really feel like a chore.

And anyway, the beauty of roses makes their up-keep worth it.

Looking for more garden design ideas? See our full guide to choosing the right exterior cladding for your summer DIY project.