Getting your garden summer ready

Love the lawn

There’s nothing like that smell of freshly cut grass, it smells like summer. A neatly mown lawn is a joy to behold in a garden space, so make sure yours is in tip-top condition. 

Here’s some things to stay on top of that lawn, make sure to re-sow the poor patches in your lawn, aerate it to encourage growth and go over the lawn with a wire rake to allow light and water to reach the soil. 

It’s also a good idea to remove any weeds from the lawn, try and get to the root of the weed so it has far less chance of growing back. Remember to not mow less than 1 cm height off your grass – cutting it too short will give you a far less healthy-looking lawn.

Banishing weeds

Keeping weeds at bay can seem like the never-ending task. If you are given or buy any plants, always check them over before you introduce them to your garden, especially woody plants that ground elder, bindweed or couch grass are attracted to. In the lead up to summer, you want your garden looking it’s the best right from the pathways and walkways to the lawn and borders. If you do find you’re losing the battle and have missed the moment to tackle weeds as you find them, you may wish to call in the cavalry with a specifically designed weed control product.

Clearing out the shed

Over a long winter, you tend to stockpile a lot of odd bits which usually results in a chaotic mess that is in desperate need of order. If you love your garden shed then this should be a priority. I usually find the best method of doing this is to follow these simple steps:

• Remove everything from your shed.
• Sort all items into groups of ‘keep’ and ‘don’t keep’.
• Throw or give away everything in the ‘don’t keep’ group.
• Think about what you have left in comparison to the size you shed, and be ruthless about what to keep if you still have too much.
• Clean the inside of the empty shed.
• Place the remaining items back in the shed in a sensible organised order.

Cleaning the summer essentials

Barbecue

Depending on the type of barbecue you have in your garden, it can vary in difficulty to clean and will certainly vary in how much it is affected by harsh winter conditions. If you have a masonry barbecue you will have very little to do, however, you may have to remove any rust that has built up in wet conditions. If you have stored your barbecue away for the winter it might just be a case of a little spring clean and dusting down before inviting the family and friends over for a feast.

Garden furniture

If you have outdoor sofas and other items then you will have to make sure they are pristine for all of your summertime fun. It is recommended to take your cushions off any outdoor seating during winter, but if you forgot this year there are great ways to clean them with little hassle.

Paint and treat the fence

During the winter months, there is likely to be detrimental conditions for your garden fence. Before summer comes it is a great idea to give your fence a revitalised look of colour and health. Use a treatment such as Creosote to give it the extra protection it needs from those hot sunny days.

This all said, summer is definitely the time of year to really kick back and indulge in what you really love doing in the garden whether that be cooking, playing, drawing, sunbathing… all of which is enhanced by the work you do to make it a special place to spend time. The long days of light offer us the chance to really pick our own preferred hour to garden, whether that be 7 am in the morning or 9 pm at night. Do it at a time when it permits you to prioritise what you enjoy the most.

Next year, think about maybe not going away during the summer months because for sure you’ll be missing the best your garden has to give.