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Have you returned from a fabulous vacation and want to transform your garden into a reflection of that terrace you sipped cocktails on, or the tropical island you visited? There are a few inexpensive ways to make your garden exotic and to enjoy that holiday feel for longer than just 2 weeks in the sun. The first stage is to choose your location.

Decide whether all or just a part of your garden will be getting the make-over, and if just a part, then which bit exactly. Do some rough measurements and clear the space of any clutter such as children's toys or other debris. Next, choose the location you want to base your garden on. If you have recently visited somewhere exotic, get out your holiday snaps and make a story board showing all your favourite views and vistas. If you just long for a paradise in your back yard, get some travel brochures and begin your story board by cutting out pictures from them instead.

Once you have your collection of favoured images, take a good look at the elements in each. What are the recurring themes, such as sand, balconies, water, lighting? What kind of plants appear - palms, cacti, vines, bright flowers? Make a list of the most frequent elements in your collection of pictures; these are the things you will be using to recreate your little corner of paradise.

Many buildings in exotic destinations have white painted walls. This is a simple way to increase the appearance of light in your garden and white is a great canvas to show off brightly coloured flowers. If you can bear to remove all or part of your lawn, consider replacing it with gravel and adding some larger pebbles and rocks for interest. Sand is not recommended for large areas of a yard as it attracts cats that use it as a latrine, but in small areas to give the illusion of a beach it can be well managed. Adding a small amount of decking, perhaps as a walkway or as a patio area just big enough for a table and chairs will create a focal point and give you somewhere to immerse yourself in your daydreams.

Plants need to be chosen to reflect the feel of the location you are trying to recreate, even if they are not specifically grown in that location. Few people can fit banana trees in their yard for example, but there are other species of giant fern that develop stems similar to a banana tree. Choosing one or two large plants to give immediate impact and then using smaller and younger plants in the rest of your scheme will keep the costs down. Plants with

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