I would like the plot located next to my house or dacha to look like a piece of paradise. For a city dweller, this is, after all, more of a place to relax, although, if there are beds, this vacation is very unique. Nevertheless, decorating a plot - a country house, a garden plot, a personal plot - is a concern for all owners. The range of possibilities is wide. There are even different styles, so they all look different, expressing the personality of the owner. True, this is the case if you decorated it yourself, on your own. Even if not everything follows the canons of landscape design... But for some reason it is precisely these areas, designed by amateurs, that are more comfortable.
Site layout
The first thing you should do when receiving a plot is to think about what and where you will have it. You decide where the house will stand - at the beginning of the plot, in the middle, closer to its far edge. Then you “arrange” the rest of the planned buildings. If you are planning to build, determine a place for a bathhouse, then place outbuildings - a barn, a chicken coop, a firewood shed, vegetable garden beds and greenhouses, and decide where the garden will be. Next come resting places - these are canopies and gazebos.
The main buildings are on the plan; now paths are being laid between them. Straight paths are needed only in one case, if the area is long and narrow. In this case, a flat path to its far end will visually make it closer. For all other objects, it is better to make them sinuous, with smooth bends.
Site plan - placing the house and main buildings
Now it's time to think about placing decorations for the area. First of all, these are flower beds and flower beds. They are built quickly, planted with annuals in the very first season will delight you, while everything else is still under construction and is still far from beautiful. A longer task is the construction of rock gardens and rockeries. Pulling and laying a couple of tons of stones is no joke; besides, they are planted mainly with perennials, and they take their final appearance only after three to four years. And then, only on the condition that you immediately selected all the plantings and planted them correctly, which without experience is an unprecedented success.
Do you want to surprise your friends and neighbors? Paint the flowerpots with luminescent paint. When darkness falls, they will glow, giving your lawn an unusual look.
Clay pots painted with luminescent paint glow in the evening no worse than lanterns
The second option for turning ordinary things into extraordinary is to use car paint with a chrome effect. Paint several stones or the same pots and get mirror stones...
Mirror balls are balls painted with chrome effect paint.
Another traditional type of decoration is small or large bodies of water - ponds and small ponds. Very small ones are built quickly - from a tire, in a couple of hours. Larger ones may take a couple of days to arrange. But there is no point in constructing ponds before the house is built and the paths are laid. Save this decoration for closer to the finish. Also, after the main construction, it’s time to install pergolas, arches, and canopies. And just at the end of the day, they begin to play with lighting, although there are very simple and original ideas. For example, take a tin can, make holes in it, but not just like that, but according to a pattern, creating a pattern. You can put an ordinary low-power lamp inside, and if there is no electricity yet, put a candle and place/hang it near the house.
A completely unsightly jar turns into a wonderfully beautiful lantern...
Place a candle inside
And hang it on the veranda or in the gazebo
This decoration of the site can be hung in the garden or on the veranda. It’s not difficult to do, it looks great, although only in the dark))
Do-it-yourself summer cottage: where to start?
When starting the task of landscaping your backyard, the first thing you should do is to carry out a general cleaning of the area. First you need to clear the yard of leaves. You also need:
- remove various debris;
- uproot stumps;
- get rid of stones and other unnecessary objects present on the site.
When this work is completed, you can proceed directly to solving problems for improving your dacha. In order to carry out high-quality landscaping of your site with your own hands, while ensuring a harmonious combination of all elements of the future landscape design, it is necessary that all work on transforming the country property be carried out consistently. To do this, before starting work, you need to draw up a plan of activities that you will have to carry out to turn your dacha into a comfortable place to relax.
A little about styles
The most common style in our country is “naturgarden” , although many owners are not aware of it. These are those areas that have everything at once - an entrance-front area, a garden-vegetable garden, a recreation area. Moreover, the areas are small and all, or almost all, zones are visible. Natural style allows, focusing on the existing topography and soil, to create areas with any landscape. Is there a swampy lowland? Equip it slightly by adding a pond or making a swamp, leaving natural plantings and adding decorative ones, beautifying the banks. You can make a dry stream or build a natural one. Is the area flat? Organize the area like a meadow, perhaps an alpine lawn. Put up a gazebo and plant ivy.
The naturgarten style strives to make the landscape as natural as possible
For romantic natures, the same style is more suitable. It is characterized by rose-covered arbors, manicured lawns, flower beds, which are adjacent to thoughtfully overgrown secluded places.
Cozy places and arches, pergolas, flower beds, climbing roses - signs of a romantic style in the design of the site
The rustic style is easily recognizable by its characteristic “household” decorative elements. Internal fences are wattle fence or picket fence, flowers are in tubs, cans, carts. Benches and garden furniture are deliberately rough, and if they are painted, it is with a dark tinting composition, and not with covering paints.
Some examples of a rustic garden
Lawn lovers can choose the English style Any free area is sown with lawn grass. This type of garden can be described in two words: “all in a heap.” In English gardens, everything can really be mixed: a garden/vegetable garden is a single concept, besides, flowerpots are placed everywhere, and all free spaces are occupied by grass. Another feature is ivy-covered walls, a large number of roses, figurines and funny figures placed in suitable places.
Lush vegetation interspersed with manicured lawns - signs of an English garden
A classic garden is designed strictly according to the plan. This is the option when everything is clear, boundaries, shapes, height of bushes and borders. Everything is lined up and straight. Ornate benches are installed in strictly designated areas, next to which fountains are installed, decorative flowerpots with flowers, statues and columns are installed.
Clear geometry in everything is a sign of a classic garden
Flower beds, pond - additional design elements
When arranging your summer cottage with your own hands, do not forget about flower beds. Experts recommend planting flowers that are low maintenance and low growing.
If you have a sufficient plot of land, then your own small pond will only make it more comfortable. Near the pond you can soak up the coolness on a bench, talk with friends, or just relax in the shade of the trees.
When deciding how to arrange a summer cottage, it is worth remembering that the main thing in design is simplicity, elegance and modesty.
The garden, made in Japanese style, looks original. Everything in it is in harmony with each other, looks natural and compact. A feature of such a garden is the presence of small-sized architectural structures, while flower beds, paths and lawns must only be of the correct shape.
Flowerbeds in the style of the four seasons look very original.
Fences and picket fences
First of all, the area is fenced off. It’s understandable: building materials need to be produced, but how to protect them? It's easier behind the fence. If possible, it is better to immediately install a beautiful, solid, reliable fence. Not all of them cost much. Budget options can also be very attractive. The main thing in this matter is the idea, and they are in the photo. So, a combination of long and short boards can create an interesting fence, more transparent at the top and almost without gaps at the bottom.
An ordinary picket fence with a non-standard approach also looks good
If the boards are placed edgewise, the effect is even more interesting. Now, if you don’t see it, you won’t believe it...
Who would have thought that thin boards often nailed down would make such an interesting fence?
With thin, fresh boards you can make a beautiful fence that uses the principles of wattle fence. The boards are passed between the posts and bent.
Beautiful fence made of boards
You can make a unique fence from slabs. You'll have to tinker with it - treat it well against parasites, and match the boards one to the other so that there are as few cracks as possible. You may have to work on them with an ax or plane. But croaker is almost a waste material, its prices are low, so there is a chance to get a designer fence for little money.
A fence made of slabs is cheap and cheerful, but it’s a lot of work...
If funds allow, you can put up something monumental, such as a fence made of stone or brick. It will require a lot of work and money, but it will also last a long time.
My home is my castle…
For internal division of the site, such solid fences are useless. For a vegetable garden, you can install a trellis made of a thin bar, grow a hedge, or weave a wattle fence.
Internal fences for the site
If you are “lucky” and there is a blank wall facing your garden, you can also decorate it with a kind of fence along which climbing plants can be allowed to grow. An interesting option is presented below. When the ivy grows a little it will be very beautiful. Instead of ivy, you can plant clematis. In winter, the view is worse, of course, but in summer...
Ways to decorate walls
How to decorate a garden plot with flowers
This part of garden arrangement brings the fastest results. Annual flowers bloom within a few weeks after planting, perennials also delight, growing more and more every week. There is a separate article about regular flower beds, but here we will post some interesting ideas that can give impetus to choosing a garden style.
Decorating a site often consists of little things. For example, an ordinary wooden box can easily be turned into a garden decoration - interesting coloring and non-standard installation - hang on ropes that are shaped like hands. The pole is used as a basis for hanging pots with hanging flowers.
A little imagination and the most ordinary things become decoration of the site
Sculptures are made from ordinary pots. They select them in different sizes, fasten them with wire, add a little paint or plants - everyone has their own fantasies... the result is marvelous figures.
Man made from flower pots
Even leaky rubber gloves are useful. It's good that the colors are bright and the base is thick. They pour soil, plant annuals, tie them to trees or ropes, and nail them to fences. Fun and bright.
Hanging flower beds made from gloves
Everyone knows that flowerbeds and flowerpots are made from car tires, but probably few people know that you can make a wonderful flowerbed in the shape of a swan from planks. The result was such a wonderful swan: the “feathers” were cut out, fastened with wire, glued, the head and neck were cut out of a board.
Flower garden-swan made of planks
For those who are not afraid of difficulties, there is a more difficult option: a flowerbed in two tiers. We made an arch, laid out geotextiles and mesh, poured a layer of soil into which light-loving plants were planted. Shade-tolerant flowers grow in the niche formed below. This is such an unusual two-tiered flower garden.
Arch of flowers...
Highlights of our garden: ponds
Perhaps the second favorite decoration of the site after flower beds is ponds and small ponds. The picturesque combination of water and plants is mesmerizing and gives you coolness in the summer. Decorating reservoirs is a creative process and there are also many styles. You can make a flooring around it from boards. And so as not to have to worry about painting and impregnating them, they can be made not of wood, but of composite - there is a new material that looks very much like wood. The only difference is that it does not rot or change color. This material is called decking. It can be used to cover an open veranda or terrace near the pool. You can see an example of its use around a pond in the photo.
Flooring around the pond - it will be convenient to walk even after rain
You can also pave the space around with stone slabs. This arrangement will take more time, but many people like this option better. To prevent the entire finish from “floating”, you will have to remove part of the soil, fill it with crushed stone, compact it, and add a layer of sand on top. You can now lay slabs on it. The gaps can be filled with a mixture of sand and cement, the excess can be thoroughly swept away, and then either wait for rain or water the blind area - the cement will set, securing the slabs. The coverage will be reliable.
Beautiful red granite, and even a stream
Using the same technology, you can line the edges with boulders collected on the river bank (or purchased at a garden center).
Boulders are a great way to decorate the edge of a pond
If the paths in the garden are made of paving stones, it makes sense to decorate the shore of the pond as well. The technology is known, only the material is different.
Paving stones - no need to look for anything, everything is in the store
Decorating a garden or cottage with improvised materials
As you probably understand, you can make a garden decoration from any object or thing. The main thing is the idea, then a little imagination and work, and the decor is ready. For example, you can make a table, a small terrace, a bench around a tree and use this corner for relaxation.
Relaxation area around a tree
Often stumps remain on the site. It takes a long time to uproot them, in the process they will trample everything around them... They stick out until they become rotten and crumble on their own. And you can make very interesting things from stumps. For example, use it as a flower bed.
And even a stump on a spring day...
Or make an interesting figurine out of it for the garden.
Hemp garden decoration
A beautiful garden is the pride of the owner
As practice shows, the garden in summer cottages is small in size. The best option would be a landscape style location. To visually expand the boundaries of the site, it is recommended to plant shrubs, create rounded lawns, and meandering paths.
Remember that small areas should not have tall or bulky trees. If you still have one, it is advisable to give its crown an original shape. You can use pruning for this.
The design of a summer cottage can be done in either a classic style or any other. Choose trees according to your taste: plant birches, linden or maples. If you want to have a garden of fruit plants, it is better to choose dwarf varieties. You will free up space for lawns, and you can always place a bench for relaxation under the tree canopy.
About the prosaic but necessary - toilets
These buildings sometimes appear before fences, because without them it’s a disaster. Builders will develop all the nearby nooks and crannies, and who, I wonder, will like it. So, perhaps the most necessary building on the site is a toilet. Why are we talking about toilets in relation to decorating a site? But because this building can be made in such a way that it does not have to be hidden. Showing off is also not an option, but there is no need to disguise it either. For example, a standard birdhouse can be made from logs. You'll get a mini-hut.
Costs little, looks good...
Plant a plant around it, make a nice path, and this corner of the garden will also be attractive. For example, like the photo below.
Cozy corner
A few more options on the same topic. The same simple design can be designed in different ways. You choose the style depending on how the dacha or garden plot is decorated.
And just the roofs are made differently, and the windows are different
Well, if you need a stone toilet, then why not decorate it in the style of a medieval castle. Only crowds of tourists will need to be driven away...
An interesting embodiment in the style of the wall of the cross
Work on creating landscape design
Landscape design plays a special role in creating the design of a country residence. Firstly, it is beautiful, fashionable and cozy, and secondly, if you put in a little effort, your imagination and finances, the result will be amazing.
Work on landscape design should begin with planning and outlining the picture that you want to bring to life. Here there can only be your individual vision or simply a copy of the option you like.
When sketching on paper, do not forget to take into account existing buildings and plantings. It is also worth keeping in mind the area where your site is located. For example, if you live near a forest, then the landscape design should be in the style of the forest.
Don’t forget about the vegetation on the site. If you love fruit trees, then adding several types of wild ones will only add originality to the design. Plant linden, raspberries, blackberries, walnuts. These trees will both bear fruit and decorate the site.
Photo ideas for garden decoration
There are many ways to make your garden or summer cottage bright and beautiful.
Several of the ones we liked for their uniqueness were collected into a photo gallery. Maybe some of them will help you decorate your corner. A beautiful path made of slabs and a contrasting backfill of small crushed stone
Unusual gazebo - lawn grass is planted along the frame
Swing made of large stones
Figurine on a wooden fence))
Beautiful trellises for climbing plants
Variations on the theme of flower beds made from stumps
A cozy corner for relaxation - wooden benches covered with colored dermantine
Wicker canopy for relaxing on a hot day
Unusually made fence for a wooden gazebo
Even hemp can be useful on the farm - they made a bench out of it
Gazebo for a summer residence - which one to choose?
There are a lot of options for arranging and building a gazebo. You can order a ready-made version from the material you like or build it yourself.
If you love originality and the chosen design allows you to harmoniously fit the conversation into your summer cottage, then a forged building will be the best option. It will definitely be individual, since you yourself will be able to think over the type of elements.
A summerhouse made of wood looks good. You can also buy it ready-made or build it yourself. Pine building material is suitable for this.
The building itself can be decorated with climbing plants, which will help harmoniously fit it into the existing design. The main thing you must remember: a gazebo for a summer residence should be spacious and comfortable for spending time.
