Garden

Fresh from the brand that is synonymous with ‘flat-pack’, IKEA have launched their eagerly anticipated 2009 Summer collection. Inviting you to “create an outdoor space that you will never want to leave”, IKEA’s garden range delivers everything you would expect from IKEA: great quality, minimalistic furniture and living solutions all available at affordable prices. The Swedish company have once again managed to create a stylish range whilst upholding their promise to maximise the use of raw materials.

Our top picks from their stunning new garden range include the following:

From the ÄPPLARÖ series, the ÄPPLARÖ Rocking Chair – a bargain at only £59.00, this stylish chair is made from the highest quality solid Acacia hardwood. Perfect for relaxing during those warm summer evenings.

From the VÄNÖ range, IKEA brings you the Easy Chair – available in assorted colours and made from weather resistant plastic rattan. This low maintenance, highly quirky chair is the ideal show piece for your garden in 2009.

Add some pizazz to your garden this summer with a DYNING Hammock. Made from Heavy polyester fabric which is an extra hard-wearing and durable material. DYNING Hammocks are available in an array of assorted colours. Could anything feel as good as swinging in the summer sunshine?

For a family functional table and chair set, IKEA brings you the TULLERÖ Garden Set. Once again this is designed from Solid acacia durable hardwood, which is renewable and recyclable!

Finally, if you want to create a stylish space for all your funky new furniture to be showcased upon, then IKEA have the solution… from the PLATTA range, IKEA have designed affordable decking made from Solid acacia durable hardwood. With prices starting at an astonishing £2.99 (per 45cm x 45cm) there really is no excuse not to ‘deck out’ your garden!

Accessories to the garden range include vibrant cushions and colourful seat pads, from ranges including SÄRÖ, RÅSSÖN, SÄLSÖN, HÅLLÖ and LÖVÖ, and an array of Parasols from the KARLSÖ range.

Garden water features, of course, first started to capture the public imagination when they were incorporated into the garden designs produced by celebrity gardener, Alan Titchmarsh, in the BBC television series “Ground Force”. There is no denying that a water feature can add movement, a touch of drama, and soothing background noise to any garden but you do need to include it properly in your initial garden design, rather than as an afterthought.

If you wish to include a pond for example, remember that it should receive 5 hours or more of sunlight a day so that aquatic plants – and fish if you want them – can flourish. Overhanging shrubs or trees can choke a pond with fallen leaves but, in any case, it should be cleaned out at least once a year; spring is the best time of year for cleaning as plants have the opportunity to re-establish themselves in time for the summer months.

If you’d prefer a running water feature such as a fountain, stream, or waterfall, remember that you may need a tank to act as a reservoir and probably a pump to push water uphill at some point. Electricity for such a pump can be provided by the domestic mains via a suitable extension cable and transformer or, of course, via solar panels, which require no wiring per se. If you have a sunny garden patio, for example, you might like to consider a tiered cascade fountain which allows water to trickle gently from one tier to the next under the power of the Sun.

You are, of course, not limited to traditional water feature designs and nowadays there are any number of pebble pools, spheres and water walls – freestanding or incorporated in the wall of the garden itself – all of which are based on the principle of pumping water from a reservoir at the base of the feature to its highest point letting it fall under gravity and so on.

Improving your garden – whether it be by hard landscaping, in the form of a garden patio, decking, etc., or constructing an extra room such as a garden office, studio, or gymnasium – is likely to not only increase your use and enjoyment of your outdoor space but also the overall value of your home. You do, of course, need to do some planning based on the size and orientation of your garden and what you actually want to do with it, but garden design may not be as difficult as you first imagine.

The trick is to divide the garden space into sections and tackle each section individually according to its purpose. It is also worth remembering that a garden is a space to be enjoyed by people and animals; immaculate topiary or delicate planting is all very well but not very practical if you need to ban your children and/or pets from playing in your garden because of the damage they may cause.

There are other practical considerations, of course. If you are creating a patio or outdoor dining space you probably want the area to experience some, but not excessive, sunshine so you may need to determine how the sun moves across your garden during the day. A south-facing space will experience sunshine all day (weather permitting, of course) whilst a west-facing space faces the sunset and may be ideal for intimate soirees. By the same token, if you are considering a wooden shed or a larger structure to add living or working space to your garden, you may or may not require planning permission. This is not usually needed for sheds of average size but do be careful if you are considering something larger or close to your house or if you live in a conservation area.