pring has sprung and summer’s just around the corner, so let’s all celebrate the better weather and enjoy it to the full.
If you’ve spent months dreaming of getting back outdoors, be it basking in the sun, entertaining guests with alfresco BBQs or simply playing outside with the kids, now is the perfect time to get garden-ready. So, dust off the bistro set, unfold those sun loungers and get yourself down to your local Dobbies Garden Centre for everything your garden needs.
It’s widely recognised that tending to plants can benefit our physical and mental health – whatever size of garden or outdoor space you have. And a recent survey by the Royal Horticultural Society found that people who do so every day score higher for wellbeing and lower for stress than non-gardeners.
With 71 stores nationwide, plus in-store experts happy to share their knowhow, Dobbies Garden Centres can help you enjoy every moment in your garden.
Whether you’re looking for stylish outdoor furniture, a broad choice of plants and pots, or a pizza oven for entertaining, Dobbies can assist you in creating a welcoming garden, whatever your budget.
From outdoor lighting and stunning plants to great-value own-brand tools – plus everything you need to complete fun projects such as creating hanging baskets with the kids – your local store has it all. You can even make a day of it by heading to the restaurant for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea.
However you use your garden, personalise it to your tastes and take inspiration from Dobbies’ on-trend selection. Its plant buyer, Nigel Lawton, shares some tips and planting ideas to help you get one of this summer’s hottest looks.
Shimmering silver grasses, pastel blue Hydrangeas, chic stone planters and bright bistro sets. Take your pick of 2024’s hottest trends
Great outdoors
Sprucing up your garden is a fun
way to celebrate the warmer months
Spring forward
To get the perfect look for your garden or outside space,
visit your local Dobbies Garden Centre – because
spring’s their thing
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how to get your garden summer-ready
Think of a natural colour palette inspired by coastal shores. This look takes its inspiration from hazy holidays, rugged grassy sand dunes and inky green tones from the sea.
Imagine enjoying a glass of Pimm’s or pink lemonade while perched on a chic grey rattan sofa. Concrete and stone planters, storm lanterns and low lighting work well too. It’s all about taking the inside out, in total comfort.
This theme celebrates natural colours and materials, with small touches of black to add refinement and a matt finish to give it a modern edge.
“On-trend grasses like Festuca fit in with this style – in borders, raised beds and pots,” says Lawton. “Other hardy plants include Armeria, Achillea millefolium (yarrow) and Miscanthus (silvergrass), all of which feature foliage in tones of blue and green for a clean, modern statement that creates a calming effect.
“You can combine low growing plants in pots with taller grasses or containers on raised stands. You want to achieve a sweep of foliage.”
Get summer-ready now
If you love colour, this theme is for you. It nods to the 2024 Pantone Colour of the Year, “Peach Fuzz”, celebrates all things bold and beautiful, and is guaranteed to lift your spirits.
For easy wins that let you relish the zesty hues of summer, try investing in a bright bistro set, planting a flowerbed bursting with colour or opting for cheerful lime green planters.
“For those looking to take their small space gardening to the next level, have fun with grow-your-own varieties that can be placed outside in summer, such as citrus plants,” says Lawton.
There are lots of practical measures you can take to prepare your perfect spring and summer garden, from caring for your lawn to planting for seasonal colour.
Whether you’re thinking of a full garden makeover or just looking for new plant ideas, visit your local Dobbies for a chat with one of its plant or gardening experts.
Or come along to one of Dobbies’ in-store Grow How events on the first Sunday of each month. For young gardeners, Dobbies’ Little Seedlings club is a great way to get children involved.
Sign up to Dobbies Club Plus to get exclusive savings and special offers, points that can be turned into vouchers, free drinks and more. There’s even a birthday treat.
Shoreline simplicity
Colour your space
Combine low growing plants with taller grasses or raised containers
“This theme is ideal for all garden sizes and embraces vibrant container plants to bring balconies, courtyards and patios to life with seasonal colours.
“Use Mediterranean plants like jasmine to achieve the sun-soaked look. These plants will produce a beautiful aroma and help give your space a touch of the tropics, transforming it during the warmer months.”
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“You don’t need much colour to get a tranquil garden, as a neutral palette lends itself to a more cohesive look.”
Remember, less is more: don’t mix too many vibrant shades.
“Recreate your own oasis with pampas, Miscanthus and other grasses, as well as fragrant plants like lavender to calm the senses.
“Taller plants such as the Strelitzia can add instant impact to patios and balconies, and inject a wave of green for a soothing look and feel.”
Place wellness at the core of your garden to embody the restorative side of nature, and be inspired by calm waters, tones of light and serene shades of blue.
It’s easy to achieve a relaxing feel by using stripped back natural wood for a cool Scandi vibe. Think curling up in a hanging chair, surrounded by textured pampas swaying in the breeze.
“Embracing nature’s green is a wonderful way to welcome mindfulness into your garden and create a new dimension,” says Lawton.
“I suggest using darker green plants at the back of borders to create a cocoon effect, and then layering lighter tones towards the front of your display.
Relax and unwind
“Roses and Hydrangea in pots and borders will help you achieve this look, and climbing plants are a great way to get that country garden feel in small spaces.”
Remember the three Fs: florals, foliage and fragrance. “Plants that fit in well with this look include the Acer palmatum (Japanese maple), variegated Abelia, Echinacea and Hebe shrubs, as well as other evergreen shrubs and extended flowering plants that will allow you to enjoy colour for longer.”
Create a real feast for the senses, a retreat inspired by wild meadows filled with pastel pinks, greens and yellows, and evoking the scents of florals, tomato plants and freshly cut grass.
Use modern detailing and furniture to bring the idyllic country garden look up to date.
Lights strung above natural wood and rattan furniture, and tables topped with rustic jugs and cosied around a fire pit can create a sophisticated, peaceful tableau.
“With colourful flowering plants back on trend for spring and summer 2024, you can embrace the vibrancy of nature to create your own traditional garden retreat,” says Lawton.
Garden retreat
Sea change
Create an outdoor space inspired by coastal views
Use Mediterranean plants like jasmine for a sun-soaked look
Taller plants can add instant impact to patios and balconies
Feeling peachy
Bright and fruity shades are the
key to this trend
Scan-do attitude
Natural wood and thoughtful design create a calming environment
Climbers are a great way to get that country garden feel in small spaces
Grow wild
Create a garden bursting with life and you won’t want to go inside
It’s widely recognised that tending to plants can benefit our physical and mental health
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How to plant a hanging basket
Up, up and away
