The 5 Step Garden Makeover

How To Give Your Garden a Makeover

The weather is just starting to get out nice enough for us to enjoy a bit of time in the great outdoors. If your garden has suffered a little over the winter and needs a bit (or a lot) or TLC, don’t worry! We are here with some easy steps to help you get your outdoor space in order.

Step 1: Tackle The Borders and Flowerbeds

Chances are you have a couple of unwelcome weeds that have crept in. If you haven’t already attacked them, start now, ensuring you get the roots by loosening the weed with a trowel or fork.

Once they are abolished, go round the edges of your lawn and tidy them up, removing any grass along the way.

When you’ve tidied up, consider using a soil improver in your borders and beds to make your soil more fertile. Some experts recommend analysing your soil and working back from that.

For clay-type soil, manure may help to open up the soil and improve drainage. It will also add nutrients to the soil, making it a double win. Having trouble getting things to grow?

Add some leaf mould in to inject some nourishment into the equation. Your soil type will determine the soil improver(s) you select. 

Next, add some life. Whatever strikes you, get planting and fill them with your favourites. 

Mulching can be an excellent way of deterring weeds, and organic mulches have the added benefit of breaking down, improving the soil along the way. When using organic mulch, there are two big rules,

• The soil MUST have been weeded first.
• The mulch must be laid in a thick layer to discourage any new weed growth.

If you follow those rules religiously, your mulch should do its job well. Wood chips or bark mulch are very popular, looks nice and tidy, and retains moisture well, while keeping soil warm. It can be used with a liner, but this prevents the bark from being of greatest use to the soil.

Step 2: Grow Your Own Produce

If you are a keen gardener and enjoy spending time outside, growing your own fruit and vegetables could be the perfect way to spend more time in the open air. Creating a vegetable patch in your garden is easy and the whole family can join in.

You might even find this little addition becomes a talking point among your friends, and you will also feel the benefits in your diet.

Raised bed gardens are one of the best ways to start, especially if your soil isn’t the best. By building the garden above the ground, you are totally in control of the soil, its ingredients and its texture.

They are usually built from wood or stone. Full instructions on how to construct a raised bed garden can be found easily online.

First time fruit and vegetable growers might find it useful to get plant packs. These are packs of baby plants that are already somewhat established so you can plant them straight into the ground rather than rearing them from a seed.

Once you have grasped the basics, you might choose to plant different varieties of your fruits and vegetables the following year. Brightly coloured fruits and vegetables are among the healthiest, but they also add some colour to your garden.

Step 3: Love Your Lawn

Maintaining your lawn properly is key to making a garden pleasant. The edges should be tidy, the grass should be kept cut, but most importantly, any worn or dead areas should be re-turfed or re-seeded.

Worn, dead grass looks awful and can bring any lawn down, which can then let down the rest of the garden. Re-turfing is the best option, as grass seeds can blow away or be eaten, and it gives that instant revitalised effect. 

Water your grass regularly during hot summer months to ensure it stays lush and green all season.

Step 4: Create an Outdoor Living Space

Whether you have a large garden or a smaller one, there is always a little room for living space. Outdoor sofas are really fashionable at the minute and can create a holiday atmosphere in the comfort of your own territory.

A patio or decked area can provide the perfect location. Use this area to have seating, a table (either a coffee-style table or a dining table, depending on your seating), a barbeque, and even some small potted plants or an archway leading to the rest of the garden with climbing plants growing up and over it.

Space a little restricted? Grab a bar-height table and some stools to make the most of what you have.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

So that you can enjoy your outdoor haven even on those warm autumnal evenings or cool summer nights, consider some outdoor lighting and heating. Bright patio lights can ruin the atmosphere, so opt for smaller, more discreet or romantic lighting solutions. These can include flower bed lights, a fire-pit or small wall-mounted lights.

For warmth, patio heaters or a log burner is a great way to shed some heat when the sun goes down.

Now, sit back, relax, and soak up the sun in your made-over garden!