With summer just around the corner a lot of homeowners are starting to think about sprucing up the garden. As the first few rays of sunshine begin to cut through the winter clouds, people up and down the country will be jet washing the patio, planting new shrubs and scrubbing the BBQ ready for entertaining friends and family. After two years of lock-down we have all been forced to spend more time in our gardens whether we liked it or not. For some this have been a time to reflect on the more important things in life, to discover the tranquillity and zen that only a fabulous garden can bring. Garden Décor has been one of the ultimate success stories of the pandemic with many savvy homeowners adding true value to their properties by investing in great landscape design.
With this in mind, what better reason to introduce concrete into the garden? Below we’ll discuss the many ways in which we can use concrete to add a zest of wow into your outdoor living space.
Outdoor concrete worktops
A lot of clients ask “is it okay to use concrete outdoors?” Well, it is the most widely used construction material in the world, from huge skyscrapers to giant bridges. Concrete, in all its forms has been used for thousands of years for this very reason. Keep the elements at bay whilst providing a long-lasting structure. Concrete worktops for outdoor kitchens and BBQs will give many years of use with very little maintenance. You don’t need to worry about anything rotting, rusting or the need for re-painting.
Concrete Planters
Concrete is a very popular choice for large planters, it is extensively used in urban regeneration projects in up-and-coming parts of the city. Designers and landscapers fuse the raw earthy tones of concrete with lush green growth of nature. Like the baron deserts that bloom, this metamorphic combination transforms the what-was-once rather drab areas where people used to just commute through like traffic, into vibrant trendy places where they want to hangout and chill.
Concrete Fire Pits
There is nothing more primal than sitting around a campfire watching the dancing flames and listening to the comforting crackle and pops. Since Man has learnt to summon fire, we have been in awe of its beauty. Good times and golden memories are made around a warm toasty fire. They can be used all year round from warm summer evenings whilst sipping a glass of your favourite vino to frosty cold nights toasting marsh mellows and enjoying a hot chocolate under the stars.
Using a concrete fire pit to house the fire adds a certain air of the Malibu hills to the garden. In the US concrete fire pits are a big thing! With some pits measuring 8ft with dedicated seating.
Special care is needed when designing a concrete fire pit as regular concrete will crack under extreme temperatures, so a mixture of construction materials and methods will need to be used.
Outdoor concrete bartops
Who wouldn’t love their own outdoor garden bar? Entertaining in the garden has become so much more popular these days. We all enjoy dining al-fresco in our favourite beer gardens. Cooking up some fresh tapas on the barbeque and serving it with an icey beer from the fridge in the comfort of your own home is certainly something to be desired.
Concrete is a great material to use as Bartop as you can mould it into any shape and incorporate colour to match the theme used in the garden. You could board-form the concrete for a rustic timber look whilst giving a little design nod to the elements of nature. Or you could have a highly polished finish for something more sleek. You can also add some visual texture to the Bartop by mixing crushed shell or recycled glass for a terrazzo type finish. From a design point of view concrete will work very well in all styles of garden, from Japanese to Spanish and old English to Steam Punk – anything is possible with a bit of imagination and some hard work.
Outdoor Concrete Tables
When it comes to outdoor tables concrete is at the top of its game. You see the thing with concrete is that it’s both heavy and hard wearing. Most other commercially available tables
are made from flimsy materials than either rot, rust or discolour with age. Some tables don’t make it to their 1st birthday without being blown over and smashed in the first strong wind they encounter. Thankfully concrete can be made to withstand hurricane weather so you won’t need to worry about moving it when a storm is due. There is also a huge amount of design options available and colours at your disposal.
If you choose to have a custom concrete table made for your garden, please get creative and remember you have the opportunity to create something very special and unique
Concrete Basins
Outdoor concrete sinks and basins are a very practical choice for gardens. They can be used to quickly wash plates and glasses straight from the table and can also come in handy when gardening to clean plant pots, rinse some herbs or scrub up some freshly picked veggies.
They are more hardwearing than their porcelain counterparts and will not break as easily if hit with stray gardening equipment. When properly sealed they will whether naturally over time and need very little maintenance. As with all custom-made concrete, you can specify the exact dimensions to snugly fit into awkward spaces. Once you have a concrete sink you’ll wonder how you ever lived without one!
Please get in touch if you have any outdoor concrete ideas you would like bringing to life…