Bring Your Holidays Home: How to Create Your Very Own Italian-style Garden

At its heart, Italian garden design combines the majestic structural aesthetics of a classical French garden, with the natural, sun-soaked essence of Morocco and Spain.

Luckily, for fans of this kind of outdoor setting, there are some perfectly viable ways in which to recreate a traditional Italian design in your own garden.

While the more room you have the better, even with limited space, there are plenty of features and ideas you can implement to achieve the look you’re going for.

Italian garden design

Symmetry is a key feature of Italian garden design. With that in mind, pathways, planting beds and shrubs need to be positioned in clear geometric shapes; looking to create sharp right angles and rectangles as opposed to sweeping curves and circles.

Historically, Italian gardens will feature a promenade or a raised walkway. Their purpose is so that the garden can be viewed in its entirety for an elevated position. If room allows, include a central path in your outdoor space—either made from gravel or stone. Try adding an archway, clipped hedges or a line of traditional Italian-made urns or oil jars for that authentic look.

Furniture

Build a patio in the heart of your garden, to truly enjoy the ambience of our outdoor space, rather than one that joins onto your back door. Weathered, mossy flagstones are a nice original touch, but it can take time to achieve the aesthetic you’re looking for. Alternatively, you can purchase pre-weathered stones if you can’t wait for nature to take its toll. 

Because of the agreeable Mediterranean climate, furniture in Italian gardens will generally be left outside throughout the seasons. As a result, chairs and tables will be made from robust, weather-proof materials suitable for all-year-round use. A wrought-iron patio set is a safe bet; combining elegant design and the hard-wearing physical properties needed for outdoor dining.

Colours

To recreate the light quality in your garden of Tuscany or Florence, you’re going to need to get a bit creative with your colour choices. As a starting point, ensure your base colours lean towards warmer shades, while the cold grey notes of concrete should be ditched in favour of the tanned rose of sandstone and terracotta. 

Pastel colours like baby pink might look pleasant, but they are not always the ideal fit for a Tuscan-style garden as they can look washed out when the sun starts beating down during the summer months. For an authentic Tuscan aesthetic, opt for vibrant colours like yellow, orange and red to create contrast with your green foliage and shrubs. 

Terracotta pots and planters

To really achieve that authentic Italian-farmhouse aesthetic in your garden, the introduction of traditional handmade terracotta pots and planters are an absolute must. Not only will it offer the desired look, it's a super way of displaying your plant life and fruit trees.

Position pots and planters of varying sizes in clusters to create a feature, or flank entrances with large terracotta pots to add emphasis and a sense of theatre! As mentioned, placing a line of pots along a pathway is also a sure-fire method of establishing a beautiful Italian-style ambience in your garden.

Feel free to arrange and rearrange your planters as much as you wish until you find the desired look. Experiment with different positions, pot sizes and layouts and decide what works best for your own personal tastes.

Summer citrus fruits

Despite being accustomed to the warmer climates of the Mediterranean, it’s perfectly possible to grow citrus fruit trees in the UK—as long as you remember to bring them inside once the cold weather sets in! 

A handmade terracotta pot is a perfect vessel in which to grow your lemon, lime or orange trees, and it’s the ideal finishing touch for your Italian-style garden. Not only will you achieve the look, your outdoor space will be awash with the zesty aroma of fresh citrus. Pure bliss!

How can we help?

We have a wide range of handmade terracotta pots, oil jars, urns and goblets that will work wonderfully for your Italian-style garden plan. If you’d like advice on any of our product range, or any tips on the perfect pot for your needs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.