With summer just around the corner, we’re quickly moving into the ultimate season for entertaining. If you’re lucky enough to have a gorgeous backyard or outdoor space, chances are family, friends and relatives are lining up at the door ready to kick back and enjoy lazy afternoons at your place.
While planning ahead and keeping your garden maintained throughout the colder months is the best way to ensure there’s no last-minute rush before the first backyard event, it’s likely many of us deprioritised this task over the colder months. As such, we’ve broken down garden maintenance into three simple steps. Roll up your sleeves and get everything done in one weekend, or do one job each weekend for the next three weeks. Either way, the garden will be ready in time for Christmas.
1. Tidy & Trim
Throughout the winter months, our gardens are exposed to all the elements. As a result they often become a graveyard for the collateral damage left behind by strong winds and wild storms. So, when it comes to preparing your garden for summer, a great place to start is to clear your garden beds and lawns of broken branches, leaves, and other debris that has built up over the colder months.
Next up – weeds. Removing weeds is undoubtedly a little bit of a tedious job. However, weeds rob your soil of water and essential nutrients so it is imperative to remove them in order to give your garden a chance to thrive over summer. Hot tip – make sure when you remove them, you remove the entire root system to ensure they don’t grow back.
Once the garden is tidy and the weeds are gone, trim broken or dead branches from your trees, hedges or shrubs. Trimming will encourage new growth in the warmer months.
2. Mulch & Mow
Once your garden is tidy and the weeds have been removed – it’s time to mulch. Apply mulch to the surface of the soil to promote moisture, maintain temperature and improve fertility. Mulch will also help hinder new weed growth. Just remember to water your garden thoroughly before mulching
Once the mulching is done – it’s time to tend to the lawns.. Mowing the grass is a simple way to transform your garden and make it feel brand new. Plus, an evenly cut lawn gives your grass the best shot at staying healthy and lush over summer as each part of your lawn will receive even amounts of sunlight, water and nutrients.
3. Plant & Pot
Once the garden is tidy and the soil is on it’s way to being revitalised, it’s time to breathe new life into your garden by adding new plants and pots to your space. Before a trip to the nursery, do some research to ensure you find the right plants for your garden – whether that be plants that enjoy shady areas or those that prefer to be drenched in sun all day long.
Once you’ve sourced new greenery, you can really get creative when it comes to styling your outdoor space. Choose colourful pots, different size pots or create a feature wall using a vertical garden. If you have the space, choose some hot weather favourites such as tomatoes and herbs and create your very own vegetable patch.
