Spending time in the garden during the summer is one of the best activities you can do. Provided you get a prolonged period of sun, you can invite your friends and family around, have a barbeque, have drinks, and decide when the party ends. However, the last thing you want to do is invite everyone round to yours when your garden is in a poor state of repair. The hassle is that tackling the garden is a difficult and awful task. Especially if you don’t know where to start or what to do. Here is a little advice on what you can do to get your garden summer ready.
When to start?
Forward planning is always a winner when it comes to getting your garden ready. You should start thinking about all of the things you need to get done for the summer no later than springtime. This will give you time to replace those patio furniture cushions so they match the rest of the décor or fix that leak that comes from the hose. It also gives you the chance to plant the flowers that you want to be blooming and give you the opportunity to curate your garden a little bit more.
You could of course just get everything done in one day before all of your guests arrive, but this does leave you open to a horrible day full of stress and panic when you cannot find everything you need or when you discover more things are broken than you thought. You also need to factor in that the weather may not be on your side. If a lovely heatwave comes a little early, then you may be caught out having an awful garden.
Tidy up the borders
One of the first things you should tackle is the weeds in your borders and your flower beds. When they have embedded into your garden, they are tough to get rid of and so you may need to set aside a little bit of time to do this. When you are weeding, you should take the opportunity to remove any of your plant’s old blooms and prune the shrubs that need tidying up. This will give you a better idea of where the gaps in your garden are and what you can plant to fill those gaps. You could also use this time to enrich your soil with compost or fertilizer before the growing season fully kicks in.
Check your equipment
Most gardening is done in the summer. This means that all of your equipment has likely been stuck in a dark damp shed for the winter months. As soon as you go to use some of it, it may just snap in your hands. Before you start doing any serious gardening, you should make sure your tools are up to the task. You can give your garden tools a good clean with a stiff brush and sharpen anything with blades. When you are checking your lawnmower, you should make sure to check for old grass that has been left there and any damage to the cables.
Clean your patio
It can surprise you how much dirt accumulates on a patio or deck over the winter. But when you are not using it and caring for it, your deck takes the brunt of all of the terrible rain and snow in the colder darker months. You can brighten up you’re decking or patio area with a good hard sweep and then wash it down with hot soapy water. However, if you have a pressure washer then this will help you deal with this area in no time. Always remember to rinse your patio or deck with clean water after you have finished avoiding slippery surfaces.
Clean the barbecue
One of the best things in your garden but also the most work. Your barbecue will need a good and thorough clean before you can start having everybody around for a good time. In order to minimize the time you spend cleaning, you should use a wire brush to clean off any burnt food from the metal racks and then wash the whole barbeque with hot water filled with soap.
Sprucing up your garden
There are lots of things you can do to spruce up your garden. Remember though, it is hard work. There are no easy fixes and so you should start thinking about it as soon as the winter is over. It will all be worth it in the summer when your friends regale you with compliments about your garden.
