David Domoney takes a festive look at the garden patio

14 December 2021

 

Paving with a Festive Feel

This Christmas do more than 'deck the halls with boughs of holly' - deck your deck with decorations! Patios needn’t stand dormant whilst the weather’s cold. So, instead of reserving the reveries for inside, give your patio the festive feel with these top tips.

 

 

Peppy Pots

Get creative and craft your own Christmas cheer this year. Take a look at some of my Pinterest ideas for inspiration to get you started, a few alterations will make all the difference.  
For instance, renovate ordinary plant pots with red and gold paint and transform them with seasonal stencils to finish them off. Using paint gives the best result but it can be messy, and will turn the pots festive colours permanently, not the worst thing but you can decorate the pots with red ribbon, glitter and tinsel for an equally gleeful, but temporary, result.  
With plant pots that are under cover, Christmas wrapping paper can be used to cover them until the season is over-simple yet effective.

 

 

Spruce Up Your Pots

Don’t leave your pots in the shed. Bring some festive cheer to your patio and pot up some small christmas trees. Decorate with lights and baubles or why not spray with fake snow!

 

 

Festive foliage

Festive foliage will provide atmosphere and bring cheer long after the big day is over. Opt for red cyclamens or the orange-berried Hippophae rhamnoides (sea buckthorn) 'Leikora' for a warm hue of coverage.

 

 

Brooding evergreens like Skimmia japonica and the vibrant stems of Cornus alba (white dogwood) will also provide a striking display in order to create patio pageantry. Read more on seasonal colour here.

 

 

For blank walls, doors and windows you can create door and wall hangings. Much like a wreath, these can look really beautiful and since little ones can be tasked with foraging for pine cones to add to the display, it’s a great family activity. Check out my blog for instructions and for more festive craft ideas.

 

 

Luminous lighting

Christmas wouldn’t be the same without a string of sensational lights strewn about the garden. Twinkly lighting is a great way to brighten up dark outdoor spaces, converting them into cosy hideaways for minimal cost. Fairy lights are especially easy to acquire, with most retailers selling a range of colours and lengths. Wrapped around tree branches or draped through bushes, a string of lights instantly adds sparkle and you can buy them in Christmassy shapes - like snowflakes and prancing reindeers - from your local garden or home store. Make sure to check that yours are suitable for outdoor use or your awe-inspired elation will be short-lived! 

 

 

A Magical Scene

Personally, I love recycling glass jars by coating them with PVA glue and dusting with coloured glitter to make them glisten like frosted window panes. Fill your lanterns with a flickering candle or, if you have little ones around, opt for battery-powered LED lights instead.

 

 

Warm Up / Light Up

Another way to light for ambience, is with a fire pit. This will give off much-needed heat to any patio users over winter and the smoky scent leaves you feeling festive in no time! For lighting smaller areas, swap in Christmas lanterns.

 

Pretend snow can look really effective when sprinkled over a patio. There are lots of different products available to buy online and layering pretend snow over surfaces and in corners can really liven up your Christmas displays. For the kids, add some magic by treading in Santa’s footprints using wellies or style the snow into a snowman using a stone sphere to start. This will bring them the charm of Christmas without having to wait for the flurries to fall.

 

 

Snow flurries

For those of you with an outdoor Christmas tree, it can be fun to spray it with white ‘snow in a can’ products - again, another one for great fun with the kids. When coupled with the snow sprinkled at the base, your garden will look like a true winter wonderland. An outdoor tree means you’re not limited with size and can opt for a colour scheme to compliment the foliage you have on display. I’ve found that generally rustic, earthy tones work best and white frosted pine cones with burnt orange segments or cinnamon sticks will finish off the arrangement perfectly.

 

 

Accessorise

Accessories to give your patio the festive feel include Christmas-themed outdoor cushions and table cloths. These will make a perfect parade out of your patio furniture, an inviting space for all your family and guests over the social season. A festive table centre piece can be fashioned using a clear container, like a vase or large jar, filled with pinecones, berries, Christmas baubles and battery-operated outdoor string lights to give your table the real ‘wow’ factor.

So, there you have it! Try these tips to jazz up outdoor areas and make the most of your perfect patio this Christmas.

 

Within my many videos of beautifully landscaped gardens I have failed to find a snow decked, festively decorated, example, so for this month I have selected a video filmed in warmer times. This garden matches the wood furniture with the 'wood' effect porcelain patio paving, to produce a wonderful extension of the ajoining room within the house. I also really like the contrast with the fencing and entrance gate. I do hope you enjoy watching it.

 

 

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