Warm summer evenings sitting in the garden sipping a glass of something cold and fizzy are not far off. But the experience is soured somewhat if, in the corner of your eye, you keep spotting an overgrown flower bed or a rotting fence.
Now’s the time to get your garden ready for the hot days ahead. With friends and family likely to meet outside, rather than inside this year, 2021 might just be the most important time to give your outside space a bit of TLC.
Cleaning
You might see a rather sorry looking patio, path or decking in your garden and think it’s time to get it replaced. But this would be expensive and you’d probably need a professional to come in and build it. You’d be amazed at how a decent pressure washer can make it look as good as new – it’ll remove all the dirt that will have built up over the winter and get it sparkling again.
You might also find your garden furniture has become an eyesore. But once you’ve washed the fabrics, and given any wooden pieces a polish, you might just impress yourself with how different they look (just remember to take before and after shots).
Then there’s the garden fence. This might simply look a bit glum or could actually be split, or starting to rot. Use waterproof glue to make it strong again, then repaint and stain the wood. For spray gun painting your fence a portable air compressor is a very useful purchase, as it can be attached to a range of air-powered tools and enable you to reach the far corners of your garden.
Maintaining
The sooner you get that lawn mown the better. The longer you leave it, the harder that first grass cut will become, and the more you’re asking of your mower. If you stay on top of this, it’ll make your garden look great, and you might want to invest in grass feeders too, if your lawn’s in need of a post-winter boost.
Pruning your trees and shrubs will also greatly improve the aesthetics of your garden. Check online as to when your particular plants will come into bloom, as you don’t want to trim back at the wrong time and cost yourself that dazzling display. If you find it blooms in spring, just wait until after this before you get clipping.
Test the PH of your soil to make sure it’s not too acidic, and add compost accordingly. Then you can create new flower beds so your garden’s in full colour during those summer evenings. Weeding should also be done in spring, before the little blighters have taken over, and you can throw dead leaves and plants into the compost.
Once you’ve done the groundwork for preparing your garden for summer, you can then get inventive and look for inspiration to get it looking wonderful over the warmer months. Whether it’s creating a free vegetable garden or adding bright cushions to outdoor furniture, there are limitless ideas to explore online.
