Painted garden backdrops provide cost-effective update, expert advises

Alison Patel writes: Gardeners looking for a cost-effective way to update their backyard may want to consider getting the paintbrush out.

That is according to gardening expert Joe Swift, who said that when used in the right way, paint can create a "different mood and feel in your garden".

Writing in the Times, he advised that BY painting areas such as walls, the hues of plants can be greatly intensified.

Painting can, he said, "set off flower colours too, opening up a wider range of combinations, whether subtle or madly zingy".

Mr Swift advised gardeners that they need to be careful to choose the correct colours and said "no more than two" should be used. Once chosen, they should be applied "boldly".

He said that it is important for British gardeners to remember that the country's light is not strong enough to handle primary colours whose use could result in a garden that looks "like a school playground".

The Royal Horticultural Society has suggested that August is an ideal time to paint fences, sheds and wooden garden features with a preservative.

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