Lewis | March 30, 2015 | 0 Comments
I’m sure, like all of us here at Oakleigh Manor, you are looking forward to a well-deserved relax across the four-day Bank Holiday weekend. We’ve worked hard for our clients since 1996, and 2015 is no different! So despite having to work doubly hard this week to account for Good Friday, we feel we deserve a mini-break. I bet you feel the same, too! How you choose to spend your Bank Holiday weekend is up to you, but like many across the UK, you may feel the desire to get back into the garden. Some may be in the garden during the weekend as they finally have the free time to provide it with some care. Others will be in the garden simply for the love of gardening! I know I will be tending my own garden for a period of time, myself! So with that in mind, here’s a few quick tips that’ll get your garden ready for Summer this Easter!
1) Jet-wash patios and decking
The walkways and hang-out areas of your garden would have, most likely, gotten rather unsightly during a wet Winter. Give them a blast with a jet-washer or power washer to clean away any muddy footprints, dried-on dirt, trials left my slugs or snails and what have you.
2) Check those trusty gardening tools
In my personal experience, utensils used in the garden can often get neglected despite their usefulness, and even taken for granted. Give them a once over; I bet a few of you will find a few that are beginning to rust, or may need a spot of maintenance. Better still, why not treat yourself to a new set of tools for Summer?
3) Prune certain flowers
A particularly useful little tip is to prune to the ground varieties of flowers that really come into their own from July and beyond, such as certain species of buttercups.
4) Cut back for new growth
A rookie mistake – and one I don’t mind admitting to falling foul to when I caught the gardening bug – is not to account for the growth of plants. This can lead to over-planting, but also the failure to cut back old perennials to allow for new growth.
5) Care for hanging baskets and flowerpots
Make sure, whether they contain flowers that are aesthetically-pleasing or provide you with part of vegetable garden, to care for the baskets and pots that give your garden a new dimension. You can plant with Springtime flowers, or vegetables that was grow sufficiently during the current climate. It’s up to you, it’s your garden, after all!
6) Treat your garden to fresh compost
When you have shrubbery and different perennials proudly displayed in flower pots, ensure that you treat them to a new layer of compost, removing the old top layer. Some plant food might not go amiss, either!
7) Pot up certain tubers
Flowers such as begonias are a treat to behold in the garden during the Summer due to their vibrant colour. If you want to include them in your personal garden scheme, you can pot up some begonia tubers in compost and keep them in a light, warmish place until May. It will ensure they’re ready for the warmer months.
8) Fill in the gaps
Making sure the borders of your garden appear nice and full is very important. If you have any gaps in yours, plant some nice flowers, such as violas and primroses, to really give your garden a full, vibrant look.
9) Prepare potatoes
The preparation of potatoes goes on for a while, but is it worth it? You bet! Get potatoes to chit in egg boxes on windowsills, ready for outside planting during April. Do hurry, that’s only a few days away!
And finally…
10) Let it sow, let it sow, let it sow…
I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist a cheesy homage to the classic Christmas song! Now is a perfect time to sow annual plants indoors that are synonymous with the British Summertime. Prepare them now and you’re garden will reward you between June and August!
So there you go! You’ve got four days off work, use them wisely by adopting these tasks! Here at Oakleigh Manor, we hope you enjoyed this article as much as we did writing it! Don’t forget to find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for daily updates.
