Early spring is the ideal time to start work on your garden space, in fact, we have been in the process of renovating our own garden since early February now, but we certainly have our work cut out!
Townhouse gardens are not often know for being the biggest, and they’re certainly not twins, as townhouse gardens can all look so different. From concrete courtyards to long but thin patches of grass, there’s no one size fits all, but there is plenty of inspiration to help you get started.
Let’s cover all the bases for getting your garden summer ready, from zoning areas for a seamless feel, to going all out with planters for a colourful ensemble.
1.Zoned Areas
If you have a long and narrow garden, zoning spaces will help to make the garden so much more usable. The key to getting it right is so everything flows perfectly.
Take inspiration from the below garden which takes you from a patio seating area to lawn and to a shed and another seating area at the end. It helps to maximise a long stretch of garden, but you get so much more interest and depth of colour throughout the space.
2. A Green Oasis
If you have a small courtyard area, greenery is always a winner.
Nothing elevates an outdoor seating area like shrubs and plants, layer differing types of shrubs and trees for varied interest. What could be better than having your morning cuppa here?
3. Soften With Gravel
When you’re zoning your space, gravel is an ideal solution that brings softness and contrast against turf.
Buy ton bags for a more cost effective method, it’s one of the easiest ways to transform a patch of concrete too without having to spend a fortune on tiles and renovations.
4. Deep Green Filled Flower Beds
Building out flower beds on the perimeter of a garden is a beautiful way to border unsightly fences, and transform a garden over time.
Plant with evergreen shrubbery and trees for a green feel all year round.
5. Add Colour With Flowers
Another easy and affordable update you can make to a garden is by adding flowers. Be that in existing flower beds or in a range of flower pots and planters.
Even if you don’t have the budget to refresh the remainder of your garden, plants really do go a long way!
6. Easy Maintenance With Fake Grass
If you have a small townhouse garden that you want to look good all year round with minimal maintenance, get some fake grass.
It will add instant colour to your garden, and as long as it’s laid with membrane underneath to stop weeds, you can enjoy the maintenance free element to it for years to come.
7. Introduce A Pergola
Adding a pergola or canopy lends itself to seating and patio areas that perhaps need that little bit of extra zoning.
Wrap solar powered lights around the structure for a cosier feel as evening sets in.
8. Decking Brings Interest & Depth
Decking remains a really popular and more cost effective way to build over concrete, whilst it tends to have more maintenance involved in the upkeep, a deep stain will add interest and depth to your garden.
9. Layer With Greenery & Flowers
How tranquil does this townhouse garden in the image below look? Intersperse both greenery and pots of colourful flowers for a vibrant look that feels like an escape from the city.
A mix of evergreen and seasonal plants will allow you to enjoy your garden all year round.
10. Soften With Curves
If you have plans to renovate your entire garden, this is the perfect opportunity to think about the landscaping and flooring you want to use.
These circular patterns of tiles are an interesting way to divide a space, adding an overall softness. Combining with gravel throughout the rest of the space which helps to keep tiling costs down.
11. Add A Patio For Seating
A patio base is ideal for creating a usable seating area in your garden. Townhouse gardens, specifically new builds tend to have a turf and patio mix like the below.
Elevate the patio area by adding an outdoor lounger set and some potted plants for colour.
12. Hang Solar Lighting
Enjoy your garden in the summer evening as the night draws in with some ambient lighting. Solar powered lighting will forever be my favourite addition to a garden that’s affordable and easy to achieve.
Festoon lights are a beautiful addition that can be used to light a pergola, elevate a shed or draw your eye down the length of the garden.
13. Wall Dividers Add Privacy
If you have an overlooked garden or perhaps you want to create a more private seating area, garden privacy screens will maximise your space and help you achieve a more private area.
Wooden slat dividers are affordable and can be painted to blend in with your house or the rest of your fences.
14. Use Shrubs To Bring Symmetry To Your Garden
For a minimal, maintenance free garden, fake shrubbery can be a fab way to introduce some greenery, without the upkeep that comes with it.
Add a sense of symmetry by using equal potted plants throughout.
15. Divide & Add Height With Shrubs
If you want a more natural divider in your garden for privacy or zoning purposes, adding height with planters and shrubs is a natural, and beautiful way to achieve it.
It creates a beautiful vantage point through the garden and is a nice idea for creating shade throughout the summer too.
16. Paint Floor Tiles For An Instant Uplift
If you’re looking for an affordable but noticeable refresh in your garden this year and have existing paving slabs, why not stencil and paint them?
The below is perfect inspiration for this idea, I adore the pops of yellow on the sides of the house for a beautiful contrast.
17. Combine Potted Plants & Flower Beds
What a pretty garden view!
Combine a mix of potted plants and flower beds for an interesting look as summer rolls around. Wildflower planting is ideal for attracting wildlife and it looks gorgeous when in full bloom.
18. Introduce Height With Zoned Spaces
If you’re landscaping your garden and zoning, adding height into those zones will elongate and make your garden feel that little bit bigger.
19. Use Black For Definition
Choosing the right fence paint colours can be an arduous task, but what about black? It will ground your garden, delivering definition and it’s one of the best colours for not showing dirt. What’s not to love?
20. Don’t Underestimate Plants!
I mean it! Plants are one of the best ways to create instant interest and colour in a space, creating a cosy feel.
If you don’t have the budget to redo an entire garden, plants are a great alternative that will keep on giving for years to come with the right care and attention.
21. Trail Plants On An Arch
Another way to effectively zone a garden is by adding an arch trellis which you can train your plants to grow up and over.
Whilst this isn’t something that happens over night, it’s a long term commitment that in a couple of years time will create a gorgeous walk through to the rest of your garden.
22. An Instant Garden With Turf
Turf will create an instant garden, it’s effective and with the right maintenance it will last a very long time. We have just turfed our own garden and the transformation literally is instant.
Yes, it comes with maintenance but for a townhouse garden it’s a fab way to bring colour and interest to a concrete space. Have a look at our laying turf YouTube video to see our own space start to come to life!
23. Transform A Terrace Courtyard
For those of you that have a small concrete terrace courtyard like I did, here’s what I did!
Concrete can be incredibly difficult to tackle, and we decided on decking for the best course of action in ours. It created an instantly usable space, adding a border perimeter in blue and a built in planter to introduce some colour.
Small townhouse gardens can still be beautiful!
