Now that Christmas is over and done with, we can begin looking forward to the warmer months in which we spend as much time as possible in our gardens - or at least outdoors! It’s likely that over the winter months your garden may have become a little neglected, and if you’re like many people around the world, you’re partial to having friends and family over to enjoy your garden with you during the summer months. It’s understandable that you want to create a garden to be proud of to show off to your family and friends, so check out these tips on how to get your garden summer ready!

Become self-sufficient!

A great way of impressing your family and friends is by being completely self-sufficient (or at least as much as possible anyway!), and it’s now easier than ever to turn your garden into a self-help haven. Here are some ideas on what you could include in your garden:

Water butts to collect rainwater and water your garden with. Not only will this save you from having to connect a hosepipe everytime you want to water, but it will save you a considerable amount of money too! Perhaps you could dot a few water butts around your garden to collect as much rainwater as possible!
Creating a vegetable patch will allow you to grow your own produce and use it for your enjoyment. So why not pick out your favourite vegetables and try your hand at cultivating them yourself?
If a vegetable patch isn’t really your thing, or you don’t have space for one, perhaps installing a greenhouse might be the answer you’re looking for? It will allow you to grow produce in a more confined space. Plus, crops usually thrive in a greenhouse!
Building a compost heap will help you produce your own soil to grow your vegetables in and plant any flowers or shrubbery too. Just save natural food waste and over time you will have nutrient-enriched soil to use!

Create storage

It’s likely that over time you will have collected an array of tools to help you around the garden and indeed your home. Or, perhaps you’ve got some garden furniture that you need to store when the weather turns sour? Either way, having a shed in your garden can really make a difference to how neat and tidy it looks. Building a shed isn’t as difficult as you may think, and you’ll have the added bonus of being able to create one that’s the perfect size for your needs and also your garden! Many people choose to decorate their sheds with trinkets for their gardens such as thermometers and clocks, but how you display it is completely up to you!

Set up your barbeque station!

One thing that many people have in common is the pure joy of cooking outside on a barbeque in the summertime! Rather than relying on the disposable trays you can buy this year, why not switch to something more permanent and set up your barbeque station? You can buy pellet grills that will last you for years on end and totally impress your guests too! Check out these pellet grill recipes for inspiration on what you can cook this summer!

Pull weeds

One thing’s for sure, over the winter you’ll have noticed that some weeds have grown in your garden. There’s an old saying that if you mow over weeds they will eventually turn into grass. Whether this is true or not isn’t specified, so rather than risking having a garden full of weeds this summer, spend some time now pulling weeds and treating the affected areas to prevent them from coming back. You can buy weed killer from many homeware and garden stores for a very reasonable price.

Have a clear out

As we’ve mentioned, your garden will probably have been a little neglected over the winter, which means that over time, there may be a collection of waste such as dead leaves, broken branches, and even rotting furniture that will be left in your garden. Have a clear out now so that you can concentrate on building the garden of your dreams closer to the summer!

Photo by Saketh Garuda on Unsplash

Invest in new furniture

Speaking of garden furniture, if yours is looking a little old and worn, perhaps it’s time to invest in some new furniture for your garden. There’s plenty of sustainable furniture that you could buy for your garden. If you choose to go for wooden furniture, it might be a good idea to treat it with a wood protection paint so that it lasts as long as possible for you.

Plant evergreens

While you might want plants in the summertime, it’s simply not warm enough for most plants to survive at the moment. However, there’s nothing stopping you planting evergreen plants and shrubs in your garden to improve the way it looks now, saving you time when the weather gets warmer. Evergreens will last throughout all seasons, which means come next winter, your garden will look better than ever!

Think about lighting

In the summer it’s not unusual to want to sit in your garden even after the sun goes down. The heat from the previous day is still with you, and if you’ve got company it’s likely that you’re all enjoying sitting out in your garden. Think about how you can light your garden up and create the perfect summers evening ambience. Or, maybe you might go down the route of purchasing a fire basket so you can all sit around the fire and roast some smores!

Make your life easier in the long run

Lastly, but certainly not the least, we know how hard it can be to keep up a garden and everything it demands. So why not make life easier by eliminating some of the tasks permanently? Replacing grassy areas with patios or decking will prevent you from having to mow your lawn once a week, and using fences or brick rather than hedges will save you having to trim them regularly. Not only will you be making your life easier, but you’ll have a permanently tidy garden!