How to decorate a garden wall

You don't need to completely transform your garden for a change of scene. One great way to breathe fresh life into an outdoor space is by simply decorating a garden wall. Follow our tips and tricks and your old wall will become a decorative piece in its own right!

A lick of paint is often the first port of call when we set about decorating a garden wall. Fortunately, there's an endless variety of exterior paint colours to choose from.

Prefer a tone-down look? Go for solid colours.

Neutral tones are easy to work with: they go with everything and age fairly well. But there's nothing stopping you from having a bit of fun and picking something a bit out of the ordinary instead. For example, you can choose to use a bold paint colour like red or dark blue to define a specific area. This effect can be used to make your furniture or garden decoration really pop. Or why not go for dark green to showcase your plants and create the illusion of dense foliage? If you have very tall walls, painting the bottom half of the wall can help to break up the height a little.

Want a more decorative garden wall? Go bold with patterns!

If you are the creative sort, go all out with a mural. You don't need to be the next Rembrandt or Picasso... Just a few oversized geometric shapes in contrasting exterior paint will be enough to create a fun and unique design for your garden.

Metal cladding on a garden wall? Why not, we say! Decorative metal panels, such as the type usually used as privacy screens, can be repurposed here. A good option is to use a number of panels and space them out about 20cm from each other to create a unique design. This is a quick way to clad a particularly tall garden wall, especially if it is also long.

Not a fan of metal? Go for wood cladding instead. A less expensive solution, wood offers a natural look and has the bonus of providing a good surface for hanging shelves or wall lights. Once again, you can repurpose privacy screens or windscreens. Another option is to use unfinished wooden planks sourced from old pallets. It's easy to treat this type of wood using natural products without altering their look too much. Alternatively, you can paint them to make them more weatherproof.

Climbing plants are having something of a moment in garden design. And it's easy to see why — green walls offer a number of great advantages. They are known to dampen noise which can be really handy if you live close to a busy street. They can also help to insulate your home by limiting heat loss. So if you want to reduce your bills and cut down on noise at the same time, a green wall will welcome you with open arms!

Picking out the right plants for your wall

Ivy is a traditional option that doesn't require a lot of maintenance and will keep its leaves all year round. It also grows about 35 to 45cm a year which is great news for the less patient among you. Virginia creeper is a variety that loses its leaves in winter, but it causes less damage to surfaces and can therefore be trained up an exterior wall without consequence. If you're dreaming of a green wall but don't necessarily have the greenest of fingers, we don't blame you — we've all drowned a cactus or forgotten to water a geranium in our time! In this case, why not go for an artificial hedge? With just a couple of screws, you can bring an instant touch of greenery into your space!

Creating a vertical garden

If you're hoping to create your very own vertical garden, you have several options. For example, you can:

• Team up a set of plant pot hangers.

• Use shelves to hold a selection of your potted outdoor plants — or even indoor ones if it's warm enough!

• Invest in grow bags to fasten to the wall.

If you are planning to add a vertical garden to a tall wall, we do recommend considering a watering system. Alternatively, you can go for a hydroponic drip system (and really impress your neighbours).

Garden walls are often sheltered from the elements. They are often protected by eaves or the house itself. This provides a great opportunity to play around with garden ornaments that can be mounted on the wall or placed on shelves.

Stay on-trend with garden mirrors

Garden mirrors can be a brilliant option. What makes these mirrors different? They are usually designed to be weather-resistant! Both decorative and practical, a garden mirror can be used to create the illusion of a bigger space. Position a mirror just right and you can even brighten up the darkest of corners. If you have a north-facing garden or one surrounded on all sides, this is a really handy and easy way to bring more light into your space. You can also create a little collection of mirrors with all sorts of styles and sizes.

Dot around personal items

What about adding a few holiday snaps or even paintings to the most sheltered parts of your garden? While unconventional, this could be a great way to create a little outdoor gallery wall. You just need to frame your prints with care and make sure you take them back inside at the end of summer. Or why not showcase some of your favourite car boot sale finds or hand-me-down ornaments on shelves? If you've got any ornaments you're sick of seeing around the house, give them a new lease of life outdoors!

A huge variety of design tips and tricks can be used to transform an exterior wall into a real piece of decoration in its own right. Now you have all the design inspiration you need, it's time to get cracking!