It’s the peak of summertime, and it seems that pretty much wherever you are in the world right now that you’ll be experiencing some sort of tropical heatwave – whether that’s climate change or the Summer Gods looking down on us, we don’t know! Some places have even reached the hottest July day on record this week, including the UK. Chances are if you’re experiencing this heat, you’ll have been spending some much needed time relaxing in your garden, but have you sat back and thought at any point, “wow, it could do with some work”? If you have, but you don’t want to spend an extortionate amount of money on hiring a gardener, here are some top tips on how to give your garden the makeover it deserves, without having to break the bank.
Fences and Walls Matter Too
Whether your fence needs a lick of paint or you need some help from a RepointingSpecialist.co.uk, don’t shy away from improving these elements of your back garden! If you’re going to make your garden look as beautiful as you possibly can, then it seems silly to leave your fence and its chipped paintwork, or your wall that desperately needs repointing as they are. Remember that sometimes these smaller details can be the difference between your garden looking cared for, and it not. The same applies to your garden shed – it’s amazing the difference a little paintwork can make.
Tame the Lawn
Has it been a little while since you got the lawnmower and trimmer out and gave your lawn the haircut it so desperately needs? If this is the case, then don’t neglect it any longer – give it some TLC! A lot of the time, people underestimate how much better your garden looks if your lawn is intact. In fact, once you have improved it, you may even realize that you don’t need to do as much work on everything else as you currently think you do! Likewise, if the heatwave and severe lack of water have dried your lawn out entirely, why not give it a treatment, and continue to water it religiously, day in, day out? A green, well-kept lawn is an absolute must for having your garden looking well, so bear this in mind the next time you skip out on mowing the grass!
Pay Attention to Your Flowerbeds
If you do take care of your flowers and water them regularly, congratulations. However, if you just water them and leave them to soak up the sun, chances are they may have grown a little out of control and need cutting back ever so slightly. It may not even just be flowers you have in your flower beds anymore. There could very well be an abundance of weeds infesting your flower beds and detracting from their beauty, so these little blighters have to be the first thing to go! Once you’ve gotten rid of them, you can focus on the flowers.
If the flowers have started to grow and blossom over the top of their assigned beds, don’t be afraid to cut them back a little. The wildflower look can be beautiful, but only if it’s done intentionally in a controlled way. If your flowers have gone the other way, however, and once you’ve done the wedding you realize that they’re looking a little sparse, try replanting some of them or adding some new additions to the bed. In the Summer, the brighter, the better, so don’t be afraid to get a little bit exotic with your color choices!
If you want to finish off your flower beds and give them that extra touch of class, the last thing you could do would be to add a layer of mulch to the surface of the soil, such as bark or wood chips. Not only does it look great, but it also helps the soil to retain its moisture in these scalding conditions. Talk about multi-purpose!
Add Some Arty Decorations
Finally, why not change things up by doing something totally unique and adding some arty decorations to space? Not only can you buy them for an affordable price from high street stores, but if you have any old furniture or decorations in the house made out of sturdy materials such as mosaic, mirroring and metals – why not add them to your garden? So long as they can withstand the elements, there’s no reason why you can’t up-cycle your old indoor décor into sophisticated outdoor fashion.
