June 11th, 2018 by Chris Chapman

Part 1 of Our Guide to Keeping Your Garden Clean and Tidy, Looking at Spring and Summer

Gardening is one of the best and healthiest ways that you can relieve stress. However, at times, it can be tricky to keep your garden looking the way you want it to. Each season brings with it unique challenges and ways to mess up your garden, and if you’re new to gardening, it can seem quite stressful. Luckily, there are some easy ways you can keep on top of your garden and make it a place you can be proud of. Spring and summer are when your garden will look its best, so make the most of it by reading the tips below!

Spring

Cute critters come out from hibernation in spring, but this can be bad news for your tidy garden! Spring is the time when nature starts to wake up after the long winter months. This means that both pests and helpful creatures will start to emerge! Your plants will also need a bit of TLC to help them recover from the cold winter, so a lot of tidying is actually necessary to keep your plants healthy.

What to Look Out for in Spring

Mud

Mammals like hedgehogs will wake up from hibernation in spring and will go rummaging through your garden for the biggest breakfast ever! These animals tend not to wipe their feet, so you could end up with a muddy path or driveway overnight. Keep your patio and drive clean with some Patio and Driveway Cleaner, which does exactly what it says on the tin – it keeps your paths, patios, and drive clean and clear of mud and grime.

Feed Your Grass

A healthy lawn is less likely to have weeds grow on it Spring is the best time of year to feed everything, especially your lawn. Winter is tough on lawns, so you might need to give your grass a little boost to help it look lush and green again. You should use some iron sulphate just before it rains. Before you do that though, rake or scarify your lawn to get rid of any thatch. This’ll help the iron sulphate water down into your soil a little easier. Iron sulphate will make your grass greener, softer, and more resistant to pests. If winter has been especially hard on your lawn and you’ve been left with bare patches of mud in the middle of your grass, now is the time to sow some new seeds. The spring rainfall will help your new grass grow just in time for summer, giving you an even coverage of green grass!

Cut and Compost Dead Stems – But Be Careful

You’ll have a lot of dead stems in your garden after winter, and it’s a good idea to snip them back to make your garden look tidy and, if it’s a perennial plant, encourage further growth.  It might be tempting to do this as soon as spring starts but you should actually leave it a little while until the weather starts to warm up a bit. This is because all those dead stems are likely home to dozens of sleeping insects who may be sheltering inside, so give them a chance to wake up first before you prune. Not all insects are pests, and you don’t want to disrupt them if you can help it. Be on the lookout for butterfly cocoons and try not to disturb them! You want butterflies around to help you pollinate your flowers later in the year. When you do trim your dead stems, place them on the compost heap carefully so any insects that might be inside can still emerge when the time is right.

Clear the Blossoms

Blossoms are beautiful to look at but once they fall you should clear them up quickly One of the most beautiful parts of spring is the blossom on the trees. However, blossom can also be the bane of your life as a gardener! It looks pretty when it starts to emerge, but once it begins to fall off the trees in late spring blossom becomes a headache as it starts composting on your garden and paths. This attracts pests and weeds, so it’s important to stay on top of blossom and clear it away as quickly as you can. If your garden is under a lot of trees, it may be wise to invest in a leaf blower if you don’t have one. This will help you clear a lot of the blossoms onto your flowerbeds, where they can compost into your soil. Even if you have a good leaf blower on the job, you won’t be able to clear all the blossoms from your garden path or patio. Some blossoms will just stick to your hard surfaces regardless, where they will start to compost and encourage weed and algae to grow. It’s a good idea to pick up a bottle of Simply Spray and Walk Away to help you clean your patio, path, or any hard surface. This hard surface cleaner will clear any unwanted growths and grime from your path while also forming a protective barrier around wherever it’s applied. This means, even if you can’t get every blossom cleared from your path – which is nearly impossible if you live near a lot of trees – you won’t have to worry about slippery green mould or algae forming for up to 6 months.

Summer

Summer is the time when your garden gets used the most. The warm weather brings with it garden parties and gatherings and ends with a harvest of fruit and veg! It also brings with it unique problems, as summer is when pests and weeds are at their most active.

What to Look Out for in Summer

Water, Heat, and Light

Rosemary grows well in bright sunlight Plants can be awkward. They need a lot of sunlight, but not too much or they’ll overheat and dry out. They need a lot of water to prevent this, but not too much, or they won’t be able to absorb it all and their roots will rot. A lot of these problems can be avoided with a bit of planning. If your flowerbed is facing south, it’ll naturally get a lot more sun throughout the day. This means you want to choose plants that like a lot of sun, such as rosemary and thyme. If you want to plant something facing north, your plants will usually need to cope with a bit more shade. Investigate plants like chocolate vines or ivy that can survive in shadier areas. Plan what you plant in your garden this way and keep an eye on the weather to plan out a watering schedule. If you do this, all your plants will thrive and your garden will look much tidier and more vibrant!

Prune and Control Your Plants and Tidy Your Borders

Pruning your plants into shape is vital in summer Controlling where your plants grow is key to making your garden look tidy, especially if space is at a premium in your yard. Make use of trellises and growing cages where you can to encourage your plants to grow where you want them to. Prune any out of control growth and use them for composting or even, in some cases, growing new plants. A couple of hours with the pruning shears can make all the difference to an overgrown garden! In addition, you should make sure all your borders are neat and tidy. This means the edges of your lawn, flowerbeds, and hedges should be trimmed back as neatly as possible. Having clean dividing lines between these different areas of your garden will go a long way in making your garden look much tidier and more orderly.

Weeds

Summer is when the weeds come out to play! Unwanted seeds can blow into your garden all year round, where they’ll wait until the warmth of the sun wakes them up. Even if you’ve got artificial grass or an entirely paved back yard, you’ll eventually have to deal with weeds. Pulling up weeds isn’t always the best solution, especially if you’ve got artificial grass, as it can lead to holes appearing, so it’s best to treat the area with some water-based weedkiller such as Roundup.

People

Garden parties are a great way to relax in the garden, but it's important to clean up afterwards Perhaps the biggest threats to your garden in summertime are the people who’ll use it! BBQs, parties, or children playing can all cause a mess in the garden. Plants get trampled, wine gets spilt, and litter gets dropped. It goes without saying that you should look to clean all this up as soon as you spot it, and make sure there are bins available for people to use whenever they’re in your garden. If you have artificial grass, make sure you don’t have BBQs anywhere near it, and try not to let people on it with food and drinks. If you drop hot food or coals onto artificial grass, it’ll melt, and unlike real grass will never grow back! You can avoid this with careful planning. It’s wise to have a paved area a long way away from your artificial lawn that you can use for cooking and eating. Put some chairs in this area to encourage people to use it – a bit of common sense goes a long way! If you don’t have room for a paved area or a patio though, you don’t have to give up your social life! Invest in some Artificial Grass Cleaner to ensure you can clean up any spills without having to worry about wine or food stains, and party on! Make sure to check out part 2 of this guide to learn how you can keep your garden tidy in autumn and winter!