It’s that time of year again, time to start working in the garden and make certain it looks amazing. If you plan to spend some time outdoors this year, you should work on making the space more presentable and even upgrading it a little. It doesn’t need to take that much time or money to create a garden you’ll love to spend the summer in.

Here are some great way of sprucing up your garden.

Clear the Garden Shed

As the weather gets warmer, it’s a great time to get rid of any unnecessary items in your garden shed. Pull everything out and use your power washer to clean out the interior and rid it of any mould or fungus that may have set in over the winter. Then you can remove anything you no longer need and put it out with the rubbish.  

The remaining items should be organised and replaced in the shed so it’s easy to find tools when you need them. If your shed is looking a little worn down and weathered, this is a great time to paint it and make it look new again. Just a coat of paint will change the whole look.

Prepare Your Tools

Any bladed tools should be sharpened and oiled before they’re stored in the garden shed. If you have a chainsaw, be sure to take it in for a proper sharpening, as well. You want your tools to be in good condition so you are able to use them at any point and not have to worry about sharpening them.  

If you take good care of your garden tools, they will last for quite some time. Take the time to care for them.

Prepare Your Lawn for Summer

Letting your grass grow can really ruin the aesthetic of your home and the neighbourhood, so it’s a good idea to cut your grass from time to time and keep it looking neat and tidy.  

To really ensure it looks great, use a weed trimmer to cut the edges of the grass near paths or plant beds where the mower can’t quite reach. It’s a little extra work but looks very nice when complete.

Trim Your Hedges

Hedges are a wonderful way to divide your property from the neighbour’s, but if you don’t stay on top of the hedges, they’ll rapidly grow up and become spindly and ugly. You will need to trim them at least twice a year to keep the hedge under control.

Use hedge trimmers to make the job easier. You will need a level or string so you can ensure you’re getting the lines just right and then get to work. Trimming the hedge will ensure you have a good looking garden while keeping the neighbours at bay.

Add a Pond

This may not be the simplest project, but it is certainly worth the effort put into it and overall, it’s not a terribly complicated option. Start by digging a hole in your garden, preferably in a sunny location. A very small pond may be dug by hand, but you will want to bring in a small excavator if you’re going to dig a medium to a large pond. Your pond should have some shallow areas, but at least one deep place.

Pick out any sharp stones and then lay five or so centimetres of sand at the bottom of the hole. You may use any soft material, including paper or insulation. This is just to prevent the pool liner from being destroyed. At this point, you can lay the liner in the hole.

Create a narrow trench around the edge of the pond to press the liner into and then top this with large stones to hold it in place. Cut away any liner that still sticks out from under the rocks. This is a good time to add some sand to the bottom of your pond until it is a few centimetres thick. You can now fill the pond with water. Allow the pond water to sit for two weeks before you add in some plants. Choose from local water plants and anchor them in your pond. You should also decorate the outer edges of the pond with stones and soil, as well as some non-water plants.

Once the plants are established, you can add in some goldfish or simply let nature take its course and see how many frogs you end up with.

Replace Your Plants

Over the winter, it’s likely you’ve lost a few plants. Now that the weather is better, you can replace those and add in new plants until you have the ideal look for your garden. The right plants, particularly blooming ones, can really add a lot to a space.

You should plan your garden out first, marking everything on paper and including the plants you already have. Then mark where you’ll plant all the new plants to ensure everything is carefully planted right where it needs to be. With regular watering, the garden will be in bloom all summer long.

Clean Up Your Paths

The paths in your garden lead to the treasure you’ve placed around the pond, a gazebo, or even more. You’ll want to make sure your paths are in great condition before much time passes, so take out the power washer and wash down any brick, stone or concrete paths.  

If you have gravel paths, rake the gravel up from the surrounding grass and top off the paths, ensuring the edging is still in place. A neatly raked path is more inviting than anything else. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a day outdoors, too, since the work is fairly simple.

Pull Weeds

No one likes to deal with weeds, but they’re bound to pop up in your flower beds and between the rocks in your paths. Spend some time each day pulling weeds from a specific area and work your way across the garden. These weeds can easily go into the compost and you can turn them into some lovely soil for your existing plants that you want to stick around.  

Watch for weeds in unusual places, such as growing through the mulch in your flower bed, up through the cracks in your driveway, or through the deck. It’s best if you get them out by the root, so having proper gardening tools will help you with this.

Remove Algae from Your Patio

Over the wetter months, it’s likely that your patio or deck has grown some film or algae. Using a power washer, you can quickly eliminate any of the ugly growth and get it back to new. This goes for any concrete areas, as well, since they can turn black with the algae that grow in the rain.

You may be surprised at how quickly you can eliminate the grunge and make a deck look new again.

Garden Machinery: How to Use It

Tools are simple enough to use, but when it comes to garden machinery or construction machinery, not everyone is comfortable using them. You can always hire someone to manage, but it’s a good idea to learn how to use these types of machines yourself, too.  

Start out by hiring the machines you need and ask someone with experience to help you out. Once you are more familiar with them, you can go ahead and buy the items you feel are most important. Everything from cement mixers to hedge trimmers and other types of equipment can be used to enhance your garden and make it the retreat you deserve.

Regular Garden Maintenance Goes a Long Way

Now that your garden looks amazing, you need to keep it that way. The trick is to take a little time each week for maintenance. Pull a few weeds, rake the paths, top off the mulch, etc. There’s always something to do and you need to make sure you have the ideal space to enjoy your summer.  

Make time for maintenance and make good use of your garden power tools to keep everything looking perfect. This prevents you from having to spend a lot of time working in the garden and you’re more at ease to enjoy some free time.  

Are you looking for more garden tools? Downpatrick Farm offers everything from leaf blowers to chainsaws, so you just need to contact us for more information, or take a look at the online catalogue.