With no more than a few days of dry, hot weather, and your garden can begin to look tired, jaded and sun-bleached. These simple gardening tasks will help you revive your mid-summer garden the boost it needs.
We dream of long, hot summers but when one does arrive, we soon begin to lament its effect on the garden.
Wilting
flowers, sun-bleached paint and wooden benches covered in dust are all
gardening tasks dealt with by following these simple summer garden
revival tips.
gardening tasks dealt with by following these simple summer garden
revival tips.
Give your plants a helping hand
If you spent the summer busy sowing seeds and nurturing seedlings, come the summer these small plants will have burst in a bushy plant, full of colourful, sweet–scented blooms. Or maybe some have. Even though your garden is full of colour and buzzing bees, it still needs some TLC during the summer;
Hunt out weak or dead plants and lift them, placing them on the compost heap
Use a hoe to turn over the top layer of soil to stop it becoming compacted by rain and harsh sun
Prune and deadhead to give your plants chance to come back again with a new flourish of flowers rather than going to seed
If you haven’t been feeding as well as watering, take the hassle out of giving plants and shrubs a well needed nutritional boost by using well-rotted manure dug into the soil around the base of the plant. It will release its nutrients as the rains come
Give your garden furniture attention
Hopefully, when spring arrived, you spent some time cleaning your garden furniture ready for use.
But that isn’t the end of it. Just like the furniture in the home, giving it a good clean is something you should do regularly.
How you do this depends on the material;
Hardwood wooden benches – hardwoods require little in the way of treatment although, inspiring or autumn, a brush down and a coat of Danish oil to nourish the wood wouldn’t go amiss. In the height of summer, keep them free from dust and other detritus by given them a brush with a soft brush every now and then. Move them around too so they don’t fry out too much in the harsh sun.
Plastic– hard wearing it may be but leave it in the sun for a few weeks and you’ll find by the end of the summer, it is sun bleached and a bit ropey looking. Clean it with warm water and a gentle detergent to keep them dust-free.
Softwood garden furniture – softwood is very susceptible to weather damage so you’ll need to spend some time painting or varnishing these. Sunny days will dry out the wood whilst endless rain will mean they become swollen with moisture.
Metal – another long-lasting material but it can rust and again, its finish diminished by the heat of the sun. Brush off and wash down occasionally too.
Add colour with accessories If we are blessed with a fantastic summer, you want to be out in the garden enjoying as much of it as you possibly can. And you want to do this in comfort. Investing in outdoor cushions and a rug adds an extra dimension of colour, as well as making them far more comfortable to use.
De-clutter and tidy Just like in the home, you need to de-clutter and tidy up outside too!
On a dry summer day, take some time to;
Sweep pathways, patios and driveways Paint composite decking boards with specialist paint Power wash hard landscaped features, like the patio and paths – use the special attachment if you plan on cleaning the wooden decked area Tidy up plant pots but pruning back plants, deadheading bedding plants and adding summer plants for more colour Move plant pots around too, so you switch up the appeal of your garden .
And get ready for autumn… No one wants to wish the summer away but as you enter the height of summer, as well as enjoying the summer sunshine, start to make plans for the autumn garden;
Give your compost a dig over – you’ll need for mulch and top dressing before the autumn rains arrive
Wash out unused pots – as you start to empty pots of bedding plants, give them a quick rinse out before you store them over the winter
Spring bulbs in bulb fibre – in a dark corner of the potting shed, layer your spring bulbs in nutritious bulb fibre ready for a show in spring
And finally… enjoy your summer garden, enjoying the flowering landscape that you work so hard to cultivate and nurture year after year!
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