Garden Trends for 2018

It has been a busy start to 2018 here at Vialii so we are slightly later than planned with our guide to garden trends for 2018. With the weather still not great for being outdoors it is the perfect time to curl up inside with a cuppa and plan what you want to do in the garden in the year ahead. Here are our tips to ensure you stay bang on trend for 2018…

COLOUR OF THE YEAR

The pantone colour of the year is Ultra Violet (Pantone 18-3838) so it’s a great excuse to add some stunning purple tones to your garden such as salva, lavandula, vinca, eryngium, nepeta and verbena!

GARDEN ART

Clients sometimes feel that garden art and water features are not for them but they can help add your own personal stamp on your garden. You add ornaments and pictures to your home after all so why not to your garden? From flamingos wading through your planting to a standing stone with water trickling down the edges there will be something to suit your style. Adding a corten steel lantern can look great as well as being practical. Or a sculpture on a plinth can add height and guide you to a certain part of the garden (we are always talking to clients about creating journeys!) and can be a lot less money than you would expect.

Garden art by Vialii

TRY ONE NEW THING FOR 2018

Gardeners are always up for something new and there are always funky new things to try and grow in the garden. As well as giving our front garden an overhaul this year we care going to experiment with growing strawberry spinach this year. What new plant will you grow in 2018?

SMALL IS THE NEW BIG!

We are always telling clients that even the smallest of spaces can make an impact. From small back gardens to postage stamp sized front gardens we have created makeovers for the smallest of spaces, giving the maximum effect. There is always space for “journeys”, focal points and stunning planting. It’s just about planning and carefully selecting the right materials and maximising space. It might be introducing raised planters which make the most use of height as well as doubling up on somewhere and considering planting vertically.

A small garden designed by Vialii

WILDLIFE GARDENING

Encouraging wildlife into your garden need not mean you let your garden get overgrown. It may not be a new theme for 2018 but it’s as important as ever. From beautiful birdhouses and stylish feeders to funky bug hotels and bee houses there are architectural homes for wildlife as well designed as their human counterparts! And of course by giving consideration to the planting you add to your garden you can easily attract lots of wildlife.

OUTDOOR ROOMS

Creating an outdoor space where you can both dine and relax is an important part of the designs we do. Choosing the right location and that might not always be just outside the kitchen door. We think carefully about where to build patios, looking at aspect, views, planting and of course those “journeys” we always talk about. Why would you want to sit right beside a brick wall if you can sit in a sunny, peaceful, private corner of your garden surrounded by fragrant planting?

A garden designed by Vialii

CONSIDER YOUR BOUNDARY

Creating good boundaries in your garden is really important both for privacy and security as well as creating a cohesive backdrop for your garden and planting. From handsome hedges to fabulous fences there are lots of options to suit your house style, setting and budget. Our top tip for 2018 is to paint your fences slate grey, a wonderful backdrop to show off planting to its best.

A garden designed by Vialii with slate grey fence

Most importantly we just want you all to get outside and enjoy your garden as much as you can in 2018. If you need any advice on any areas please get in touch for a free design consultation.

Vialii

Vialii Guide to Christmas Gardening Gifts 2016

It’s time for our annual recommendations for cool gifts to give to your loved one this Christmas which will brighten up your garden, appeal to wildlife, satisfy your tummy and help with the gardening chores. There is something to suit everyone so read on to find out more..

Get your presents wrapped stylishly at Wrapistry by Cherene

Koziol Pi:p Bird Feeder

It’s only fair that we share our gardens with the wildlife all around us and why not treat them to a stylish place to dine at the same time? This bird feeder looks great and will be a beautiful feature in any garden and the birds will be delighted too. £29

A stylish way to feed birds in your garden

Orla Kiely Grow Your Own Chillies Set

Orla Kiely is more famous for designing textiles but her designs look great on garden products too including tools and grow your own sets. We love this ‘grow your own chillies set’ which will look great on your windowsill. £19.95

Grow Your Own Chillies

Wood Fired Oven

Now this is on our own wish list. This wood fired oven is perfect for cooking pizza, using as a BBQ and even for smoking food. The lovely people at Calido will even throw in a free bag of logs to get your started if you mention Vialii when you order. £199.99

Perfect for pizzas!

Globe Enamelled Firepit

And yet another great offer from Calido. We LOVE this globe firepit perfect for keeping you toasty and extending evenings out in the garden. It’s gorgeous red colour and contemporary style makes it a wonderful focal point as well as providing welcome heat on a chilly evening. Remember to quote Vialii when you purchase from Calido to get your free bag of logs. £88.99

Stylish globe firepit

Garden Vouchers

If your loved one has everything they need apart from time then give them one of our unique garden vouchers this Christmas. From lawn treatments or weeding to garden designs and new plants they can choose whatever they want to spend their voucher on and you can choose whatever value you want to put on it. Perfect!

Get in touch to start creating your unique garden voucher

Windowsill Planter

This lovely planter is perfect for growing herbs on your windowsill and can be customised to have whatever stencilled message you like on it. Very sweet. £9.99

Customise your gift

Retro Garden Chair

Relaxing in your garden is always important and what better than one of these retro inspired chairs. £37.34

Affordable designer garden chairs

Garden Lizard

Garden art is a great way of adding a splash of colour and interest into your garden all year round. We love this colourful lizard, perfect for climbing up a garden fence. £14.99

A colourful lizard to add interest to the garden

Designer Watering Can

This two litre watering can not only looks stylish but is really affordable too. £4.40

A colourful watering can at an affordable price

Hopefully we have managed to find some things which will make your Christmas shopping a little bit easier and provide your loved ones with something a bit unusual and stylish to add to their garden this year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

All at Vialii

1. All prices and links correct at time of publication, November 2016.

2. Make your wrapping as cool as these gifts by getting them wrapped by the fabulous Wrapistry by Cherene.

Coolest Garden Gifts For Christmas 2015

We know what little time you have, so we have done all the hard work for you and collated the MUST HAVE list of the coolest things for your garden to give you ideas for gifts for Christmas 2015. You will be very popular if you give someone these Christmas pressies this year…

What beautiful gifts will you be wrapping this year?

Lighting

Garden lighting is a great addition and can allow you to use and enjoy your garden for much longer. However, it can be quite pricey to wire it up but how about these super cool bluetooth solar lights instead. AND, they can be controlled by your smartphone too. Wowsers. £39.95

Bluetooth solar lights for the garden

Seating

There is something about the simplicity of these garden Kube Stools which we just LOVE. A row of them in different colours makes a fabulous focal point in the garden and they are easily moved to make sociable seating around the garden. £65.00

Kube Stools make a great focal point as well as being practical

Art

Garden art can encompass pretty much anything. We love the work of Heather Gray, a wonderful local sculptor based in South Queensferry, Scotland. This seed head is so delicate and echoes the wonderful forms we have in our garden. Prices vary depending on style and size but pop along to Heather’s website (check it out, great name!) for more information…

This allium seedhead sculpture would be a great focal point

Clothing

Forget Hunter wellies, these cool boots from BOGS look great and offer great protection in the garden. They even have a handy handle built in. Yes please Santa!
Prices start from £60

LOVE these cool wellies

Tools

Having beautiful tools can add even more enjoyment to your pottering outside. These colourful OXO watering cans are stylish and practical. They come in a wide range of colours and have a bendable spout.
From £65

The OXO watering cans

Kids

It’s all about the kids at this time of year and there’s no reason they shouldn’t miss out on all the garden fun. One of the things our kids love doing is playing in a den and this Hideout Wigwam would be a very popular present for any kid this Christmas. £65

The Hideout Wigwam

For The Person Who Has Everything

Why not surprise them with a gardening gift voucher. Vouchers can be used towards absolutely any work in the garden from design to landscaping, grass-cutting to weeding. Just contact us to discuss what you would like.

A Vialii gardening voucher

Hope that helps with your Christmas 2015 shopping. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas indeed.

All at Vialii

(Prices correct at time of publishing, December 2015)

Get To The (Focal) Point – Part 2

In our recent blog on garden focal points we told you why they are such an important feature in the gardens we design. Here are a few more examples of some of the focal points we have used in our gardens…

Oil Lantern

This oil lantern is made from corten steel which is designed to give this beautiful rusted finish. It is wonderful focal point in this garden, guiding you round the path up to the seating area in the top corner.

An oil lantern made from rusted metal is softened by planting

Classical statue

This garden has a formal layout of raised beds and lends itself to having a focal point down the central aisle. A classical white statue looks great against the clipped hedge.

A formal layout is complemented with this classical statue focal point

Dry-stone seat

This wonderful seat is a lovely feature in this city centre garden. Hand crafted from stone without the need for any mortar it is a true work of art and a lovely focal point in the garden.

A dry-stane seat creates a wonderful focal points as well as a place to rest on your journey round the garden

Garden pod

There is no missing the main focal point in this garden – the garden “pod”. The bespoke pod was crafted from timber and has a living roof. Great to look at as well as a place to shelter from the Scottish weather!

The garden “pod” is a strong feature of this garden

Feature tree

This wonderful old apple tree was the only thing to be saved from the old garden that we transformed here. It had grown a bit wild but with a careful “hair-cut” it was restored to its true glory and became a wonderful feature in the new patio.

The gnarly old apple tree was sculpted and made the focal point within the new patio in this garden

Water feature

Water features can be a wonderful addition to the garden, providing a wonderful focal point to look and listen to (and feel if you are a child having lots of fun in the garden!) This lovely water feature sits in a bespoke vintage brick patio.

A beautiful water feature set into a patio creates a wonderful focal point at the end of the curving path

Garden Globe & Canal

The “canal” is a lovely feature in this garden, providing a contemporary pond for adults and wildlife to enjoy. It leads on to the metal globe focal point which leads your eye up and to the stunning view beyond.

Here, the water feature and metal globe draw the eye up to the beautiful views beyond

If you are would like some focal points introduced into your garden please get in touch to discuss what would work well in your space and to your budget.

Thank you for reading.

All at Vialii

Get To The (Focal) Point – Part 1

One of the many tricks a garden designer has up their sleeve is the use of garden focal points. Focal points can:

create a journey around the garden, literally leading you down the garden path!
draw your eye to a certain part of the garden or up and on to the landscape beyond
divert your eye from something in the garden or nearby
add interest to borders or other areas of the garden
create a mood in the garden (i.e. if you are trying to create a Renaissance garden then introducing some classical sculpture would be appropriate

A water feature is a great focal point

What is a focal point?

So what constitutes a focal point? Well pretty much anything! It’s a feature which draws the eye and could be anything from feature pots to sculptures, water features to arbours, birdbaths to feature trees. Anything goes. Just think about the location, the shape, the size and the journey to get there. Here are a few of the features we have used in some of the gardens we have designed or ones we have introduced into our own:

Feature gate

This Japanese inspired gate was designed especially for our clients and sets the mood for the garden beyond.

A Japanese-style bespoke gate creates a mood and the bespoke sculpture at the end of the path provides a focal point and encourages the journey into the garden

Feature plants

Choosing plants and locating them carefully can make them focal points in a garden. Here we used standard photinias to create an entrance to the new patio.

Standard photinias frame the entrance to the patio and form a focal point at the end of the path

Feature tree and stone

In this garden we used a feature tree to create height and add interest. A stone which was unearthed during excavations was kept in the garden and used as a free focal point!

Here, both the feature tree, Euonymus europaeus, and the unearthed standing stone are focal points in the garden

Arbour

Here we created an arbour and bespoke bench to provide clients with a lovely spot to sit in the shade on a sunny day.

A bespoke arbour can be a lovely central feature of a garden]

Themed focal points

In this Japanese garden we used traditional Japanese focal points including a lantern, water feature and koi bridge.

A Japanese lantern, water feature and koi bridge set the mood in this garden

Sculpture

We found this rusty rose made from corten steel in a local shop and we think it makes a wonderful focal point in the border, popping up between the herbaceous perennials.

Herbaceous planting will envelop this rusty rose so that it pops out of the border

Willow balls

These hand-made willow balls make a wonderful garden focal point. They can have lights installed inside them too to make a wonderful effect in the evening.

A willow ball with lighting set inside creates a wonderful focal point at night time

If you would like some advice on focal points in your garden, please get in touch.

To see more focal point ideas click here.

Thank you for reading.

All at Vialii