Finishing touches

Finishing touches
Sure, your garden is well established, but you can breathe new life into it by paying attention to small things – and these don't have to ruin your Christmas budget. Simply use items you have thrown away, picked up or forgotten. Here are five instant plans to get your imagination going.

Finishing touches

Paint the front gate
Any homeowner must have heard this before: it's first impressions that count. This is why it is a good idea to follow the example of these homeowners and paint your front gate blood red, especially if you have a stone wall such as this one behind which large, established trees and shrubs await. No visitor will feel unwelcome here!

Finishing touches

From post table to pot table
You know the feeling: the back yard is full of individual pots randomly positioned and making no impression at all. These homeowners decided to use an old table previously used for sorting mail as a display area for all their favourite plants. Obviously these tables aren't easy to find but handymen should be able to knock something similar together in no time at all. A modern wire rack or even an attractive garden shed will work just as well.

Finishing touches

Make magic with a garden door
Even the most beautiful garden door will disappear against a dull wall. Give the door (and wall) a new lease of life by 'framing' it with two striking pot plants.

Finishing touches

Pot luck
Any plant will feel privileged to be planted in a characterful old enamel pot such as this. Rummage in the bottom cupboard in the kitchen, have a look in the garage, or see what you can find in second-hand stores. Just remember to ensure that there is sufficient drainage by placing a layer of pebbles at the bottom and then watering the plant sparingly. However, if the rust has already taken its toll at the base of the pot you won't have a major problem.

Finishing touches

Unusual focal point
Are you trying to find an interesting way to make use of an old window frame standing in your garage; or, when you see an old frame in an antique shop, do you sometimes wish you were in the process of building a house? Think about using such a window frame as an attractive and unusual focal point in the garden. Encourage a lush potato creeper to grow around the frame, with nasturtiums and star flowers close on its heels. In the foreground is an ancient plum tree that has developed spring fever.

Finishing touches

By Anna Celliers
Photographs by Christo Lötter