Have you got your garden ready for summer yet? Most people have got the bulk of the work out of the way, and now that we’re into May, it’s just the finishing touches that need to be done. Things like cutting back any early blooms, to ensure the plants grow as strong as possible over the warmer season, as well as tasks like putting an awning up or making sure the BBQ is ready to go.
However, when you’re applying these finishing touches around your own backdoor space, make sure you don’t forget about the jobs below. These are little things you always remember just after you’ve sat back with a cool lemonade, and you just can’t be bothered to get up and complete them. And we don’t blame you – you should be enjoying the blazing sunshine instead!
But thankfully, these tasks can be done last minute to ensure you get the full benefit of a proper summer garden this year. As you’ve still got a couple of weeks on your hands, let’s go through them now.
Collect as Much Natural Water as Possible
You’ve still got time for this! Plenty of showers will still be forecasted right up until we’re at the midpoint of June, and you may even see a few past that point as well.
As such, make sure you’ve got a rainwater collection system set up to grab as much of the downpour as possible. That’ll make keeping the garden hydrated over the dry season a lot easier, and you won’t have to spend a single cent on using your own water supply.
You can then use this water to fill up a birdbath, which ensures any flying animal or insect can stop off in your garden for a drink. And trust us when we say that the birds and the bees (and the squirrels!) will need plenty of sips over the course of the summer.
Pop Up Bird Feeders and Wildlife Homes
Speaking of bringing the wildlife in, make sure you’ve got some bird feeders and wildlife homes popped around as well. The former should be strung up high enough where ground mammals can’t reach them, and the latter should be kept in shaded, covered places where the sun won’t bake them.
If you pop a few of these items around, your garden will be both a relaxing paradise for you, and a thriving metropolis of wildlife for the environment around you. More habitat spaces means more critters, which then means more birds, and more wildlife overall makes it more likely for seeds to spread.
You may see a few more weeds pop up, but they’re easier to deal with than you’ve been led to believe! And remember, when you remove weed plants, be sure to rip up all of the roots to prevent any sneaky shoots being left behind.
Make Sure Your Fence Has a Proper Coat
Have you noticed that as the years have gone by, the fence around the perimeter of your garden has faded? It’s a pretty normal thing, what with all the exposure to the elements, and most people wouldn’t think twice about a fence that looks a little paler than it did the year before.
However, if your property gets a lot of sunshine, or the fence has ended up looking patchy thanks to a lot of coverage in one area and none in another, you could do with recoating the fence with a new stain. Not only does this protect the wood for another year, which prevents you from having to replace the entire thing too early, but it adds a lot more cohesion to your outdoor space as well.
You can even call out a professional fence staining service to get the job done for you! If you’ve got a pretty large garden and a lot of fencing panels to get through, having someone else take care of the problem will save you a lot of time and energy here.
But if you’ve only got one or two panels that could do with a new stain, you can buy yourself a tin and get the job done in a couple of hours.
Spread a Hydrating Mulch Layer
If you live in a particularly drought prone area of the world, it’s a good idea to get a hydrating mulch layer down around about now. If you’re concerned about the ground becoming too dry over the summer, this is a good way to prepare it to last longer before the autumn finally comes in and brings the rain with it again.
Indeed, this is where you can use up a bit of your compost and some of that water we mentioned earlier; mix it up, make sure it’s thick enough, and then spread the mulch over the soil in any area you want to keep moist.
A good mulching can do wonders for soil that’s prone to dryness, but you may also want to use more plant feed on any planted zones that have a lot of life to support as well. That’ll make it easier on the soil and give your flowers much more of an initial boost before the summer heat comes down hard on the ground around them.
Feed the Lawn
The late spring isn’t just a time to be mowing back the lawn and keeping it neatly trimmed round the edges. It’s also the time to be feeding it with some proper fertilizer so it stays a vibrant, deep green for the months ahead.
So just like with your planted zones like your boxes and bags, be sure to feed the lawn and give it a boost right now when it really needs one. This will make that lawn bloom last a lot longer, even if you have to mow it a few more times when the sun’s out.
That’s a perfectly OK payoff for such a lush bit of grass to enjoy, especially if you’ve heard a lot of other gardeners complain about their lawn turning dull, pale, and brown.
Make Sure the Space is Tidy
Finally, make sure you get round to putting all your tools away in the shed and locking it up for the summer ahead. You’ll also want to either dispose of or put away any pots you’re not using, and definitely ensure any trash has been picked up and taken away. That’s not a good look to be taking into the summer with you!
Give yourself a good few hours to go over every inch of the garden and make sure the space is properly tidy. Even if you won’t really be using that side or section of the garden, don’t leave it in a mess and just try to cover it up!
Get Your Garden Ready to Go For Summer
If you manage to get the last minute jobs above out of the way, your garden will look its best this summer.
Tidy up, feed the lawn, stain the fence, get the mulch down on the soil, give the wildlife somewhere to shelter from the heat, and make sure you’ve got plenty of rain water stored for if a drought hits.
You can never be sure if that’ll be a problem these days, but you can be sure hosepipe bans will hit left, right, and center!
And with these jobs all complete, you can rest assured that your garden is truly ready for the summer weather and everything you may experience because of it.
