Like many garden experts, Selina Lake, who had been due to help style a show garden for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, has turned her attention to stay-at-home projects.

Ramping up floral themes to display seasonal flowers, perking up alfresco dining and complementing wild flower gardens with matching accessories is a good way to get the show garden look, says the creator of selinalake.co.uk.

“For me, making a garden beautiful and flower show ready is not only about the plants, hard landscaping and great design layouts. It’s the styling details that add the final touch of magic. Even the dullest of gardens can be jazzed up super quickly with some easy styling ideas.”

Here she suggests seven ways to make your outside space a showstopper...

Choose a style theme

“Botanicals play a big role in my work, and my style at home and in the garden. Most spaces benefit from a soft, natural, colourful touch, which fresh cut flowers, lush house plants, or even a simple branch in a vase, can achieve effortlessly.

“Some of the key, classic trends and style themes that are good bases are: vintage, rustic, industrial, bohemian and recycled, as these styles can be intermixed and all work nicely with botanicals.

“Create a botanical bar on a flat surface such as a tabletop, bench or shelf and gather some fragrant herbs such as rosemary, lemon balm, mint and thyme, along with your favourite tipple. It can look stylish.”

Source props

“When it comes to sourcing decorative pieces, work with what you already have. Repurpose bed sheets as tablecloths, old jugs as vases, or recycle glass bottles to use as bud vases.”

Colour up with flowers

“Anything botanical is my go-to styling prop. Pick flowers growing aplenty in your garden, forage for a few wildflowers and foliage to add in. Display them in glass or ceramic vases and use them to add colour and scent to the interior of your garden buildings and tabletops. For a full-on floral fix, fill a galvanised bucket with your blooms and place it on a garden chair to create a flowery focal point.”

Style your display

“Outside I utilise decorative planters, jars, galvanised buckets and vintage wooden boxes. In the same way you decorate your home with homeware accessories, your garden will benefit from thoughtfully chosen accessories.

“Think about the little details that will add to the overall appeal. I’m talking about small vignettes such as hanging lanterns from tree branches, grouping small plant pots together, and tidying away anything out of place.”

Pimp your shed

“I always have some sort of botanical theme in my shed, but recently I have added a few extra touches such as a botanical wall chart poster, vintage Chinese paper lanterns and glass bud vases filled with flowers picked from my garden.”

Make your outdoor dining area sizzle

“Make [your dining area] a floral zone, position it somewhere in the garden where you will have a backdrop of flowers, next to a blooming border, flowering shrub or a mini meadow patch.”

Find space to relax

“Position your comfiest garden chair somewhere you can easily take in the garden views, add a collection of cushions to create a scene of style, and surround with a mass of plants or flowers. It will be a sweet spot to rest before the next task.”