Get your garden ready for summer

Many view outdoor work as just more chores to tick off the list, but for others it’s therapeutic time out of the house. Whatever your view, now is the perfect opportunity to get outside and prepare your garden for the summer season.

Here’s what to do.

Weeding, weeding and more weeding

No, it’s not fun – but it’s a necessary part of garden maintenance. Weeding is important for more than just aesthetic reasons, it helps to protect the plants you actually want in your garden.

Weeds have vigorous root systems (a survival trait) and that means they’ll eventually strangle the flowers, herbs and other plants you’ve carefully planted, taking their nutrients and water.

Make sure you’ve got a place to entertain

With the weeding done, it’s time to move onto the fun stuff. Got a place to play host in your backyard? Instead of an outdoor table and chairs set from your nearest hardware store, consider some more creative – and affordable – options.

With concrete blocks, timber and a few cushions, you can create a unique outdoor seat up against the wall of your house. Or, you could use the same materials to put together a seat around a fire pit.

Plant climbers

Got an ugly wall or fence? Climbers are the perfect solution. These fast-growing plants give you a green wall that will look great alongside any home. Plant them now, and you should start to see the fruits of your labour in no time at all.

Paint your fence

If you’re not a fan of covering your fence with a creeping vine, give it a fresh coat of paint. As well as bringing up the look of the entire backyard area, this will also protect the fence from the harsh summer sun.

Clean and refinish your deck

It’s time to bust out the water blaster and get to work. Before summer rolls around, clean your deck and then refinish it. By giving your deck a touch up, it’ll likely last longer.

Don’t commit to any projects you aren’t likely to finish

There’s nothing quite so bad as an unfinished garden project. We’ve all seen them – outdoor pizza ovens in a half-finished state, flower beds not quite filled out and planters requiring plants. Our advice here? Sit down and sketch out a rough plan for your budget and your garden.

It’s really no different than planning for a kitchen or bathroom project.

Ready to move inside?

If you’re planning a home project, see what’s new in Trends Home, Kitchen and Bathroom. We’ve put together handy advice articles, projects with inspiring photos and much more. You can access these areas using the navigation bar at the top of the page.

We’ve also put together this list of affordable DIY outdoor projects to try at home.

Story by: David Renwick