As we’re approaching April, no doubt the warmer temperatures will soon follow, and home entertaining will be on the minds for many across the UK. With that in mind, it might be a good time to start thinking about your garden and how you want it to look in the summer. Let’s face it, we’re not all gardening experts and so we tend to neglect our garden through the winter season. It’s an actual fact that the British public wastes up to £672 million on our garden because we don’t know how to take care of it.
So, we’ve put together this guide working with Flogas, specialists in gas for BBQs, that should help you best prepare you garden space.
Clear up your garden
Best place to start with your garden, would be to clear it up and remove any weeds, which would make drastic improvements to your garden before you do anything else. Set aside those expensive plans to enhance your yard with water features or a cabbage patch for now, as it will still look messy if you don’t take care of the essentials first. Weeding may seem like an endless task but removing them will make your garden automatically look a whole lot cleaner and presentable.
It would be to good time spruce up your timber decking if you have it, by clearing off any leaves or debris. Then, use a high-pressure cleaner to wash away any remaining dirt. Once you’ve done that, you can scrub the deck where required to bring it back to life in time for the sunshine. The same applies for any concrete or tiled areas. Make sure you replace any broken or chipped tiles and give it a thorough clean. As this area is usually the most walked-on area, it’s important to keep on top of maintenance here.
If your own a shed or have fencing, then why not give them a fresh coat of varnish or paint? The change in weather throughout the year may see them looking a tad tired and in need of brightening up.
With sheds in mind, it’s a good time of the year to clear yours. Sort out any items inside into ‘keep’ and ‘don’t keep’ piles and get rid of anything you don’t need. While people may not often see inside your shed, the build-up can get messy very quickly if you don’t keep on top of it.
Grow flowers and plants
Unless you’re an expert gardener, then the chances of your plants and flowers surviving the winter period are slim. It’s important to plan ahead when it comes to perfecting your bloom. It’s never too early to start getting your garden into shape. For example, hanging baskets can bring some colour to your garden all year round. To perfect your hanging basket displays in time for the summer months, you should ideally be planting them in April. However, be prepared to protect them from any potential frost well into May. Calibrachoa is a good choice to add to your basket, alongside blue petunias – a flower which is known for being weather resistant.
This applies to flowers as well. Be sure to check the optimum time of planting any seeds to make sure your display is up and running and ready for the wow-factor this summer.
Add furniture
To make the most out of your space, why not add furniture? It doesn’t matter what size garden you have, somewhere to relax is essential. For those with limited space, add a hammock, while for those with more ground to play with, a table and chair set can be used to help you create the perfect living area. You have to think about where you’d want to spend those sunny days relaxing, or indeed how you’d want to entertain any guests. Aim to position this furniture towards the bottom of your garden to give it the illusion that it’s bigger than it actually is.
Stick a mirror in your garden to give the space a larger appearance. If you do choose this, though, make sure you position a mirror, so it has something that it can reflect, such as a nice floral display.
As we said above, when the warmer temperatures approach, home entertaining will be in our minds you could consider adding a BBQ to your garden. While the UK may have unpredictable weather forecasts at times, as soon as the sun shines, the public clamour for a good BBQ. Make your spot the place to go and show off your garden space.
So, if you check off all the above, then your garden should be looking great for the warm months, which you’ll have the time then to unwind and not think about any jobs the garden needs doing. Happy Gardening!
Sources
https://www.lovethegarden.com/community/ideas-inspiration/getting-your-garden-ready-summer