Adding Character: New Build Garden Ideas

Moving into a new home is incredibly exciting, and new builds provide a lovely blank canvas ready for you to make your own. But when it comes to the garden, it can be quite daunting when faced with a basic rectangle with a lovely lawn, to know where to start in adding your personality and turning it into the kind of space you’d love to see.

Planning your new build garden

First things first, make yourself a hot drink, sit down with a pen and paper, and jot down everything you’d like to get from your garden space. A seating area for entertaining? Plants and structures with some height to give you privacy? Wildlife friendly? Inspired by your favourite holiday? All of the above? It doesn’t matter how small your space is, use your paper to dream. It’ll focus your mind on how you’re really planning to use your space, and will help make it easier to prioritise where you’re going to start.

Shaped pathways

Nomatter the size of the space you’re working with, think about the journey you want to take when you wander through it. When you’re looking at a relatively square blank canvas, it’s easy to think of straight lines and sharp corners. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s the look you’re aiming for, but for softer more country-garden vibes, consider adding curved and meandering paths in brick paving or mismatched stone.

Varying heights

Another temptation when looking at a newbuild garden, is to only think of ground-level flower borders. There are so many fantastic ways you can add different heights. Whether it’s built-up planters, trellis, pergolas, rose arches, trees, large pots, small walls with built-in seating, your imagination is the limit here. Adding height not only creates visual interest, it can also introduce privacy to a garden which may otherwise feel quite exposed to surrounding houses.

Antique features

If you’re looking to inject elements of storytelling and a sense of history into your garden, think about antique features, as opposed to new. A lovely weathered stone bird bath will be a hit with the local wildlife, as well as helping to age its surroundings. Our collection of antique Orcio oil jars, handmade in Impruneta in the 1800s would be a fantastic place to start looking for inspiration.

Use materials that weather

From the silver mellowing of ageing oak, to the gorgeous green oxide that appears on copper, using materials that react to their surroundings is a great way to add a sense of change and development into your garden, often taking less time than you might think for subtle-yet-beautiful changes to appear.

Statement furniture

Finally, think about what furniture you’d like! It could be brightly coloured and contemporary, or forged from iron and painted black, but if you’re going to be spending a lot of time in your garden then you’re going to want somewhere that you love, to sit down and take stock of all your hard work. Choose something that not only looks and feels fantastic, that also reflects a bit of your personality in the same way your interiors might. It’s a great way to add a practical yet beautiful flourish.

How can we help?

Would you like some advice on how to look after antique terracotta? Get in touch., we’d be more than happy to talk you through our ranges and find something perfect to help you make your outdoor space your own.