January 4th, 2023 by Sarah Miles

A lovely garden is so much more than a nice area to look at and hang our washing in, it’s a space for enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, socialising with family and friends, making the most of the long evenings, and an extension to the house for relaxing, dining, exercising, or playing.

If you are uninspired when you gaze out to your garden, now is the time to start thinking about what you can do and making it work for you. Many assume that creating a dream garden requires lots of money and major work, but it doesn’t have to. More often we can create amazing spaces with the things that we already have, a few tools and products, and a little imagination!

To start planning, ask yourself these questions:

What can be tidied up?

Overgrown hedges and messy lawns covered in leaves, dirt, and debris will bring any garden down but are easy to resolve. Consider a leaf blower to make short work of clearing the lawns and a hedge trimmer to keep foliage neat and tidy. Just keeping on top of these simple jobs will allow you to see the potential of your outdoor space.

What can be cleaned up?

Paths, patios, and decking bear the brunt of weather conditions and foot traffic so can look dirty and dingy, and this will bring the look of the whole garden down. Before you think about replacing these areas, give them a clean-up instead.

Patio cleaner works wonders on mould and algae, while black spot remover will do what no other cleaning product can do and that remove black lichen. Most hard surfaces can be restored to almost new from just one treatment and that gives you an amazing starting point.

What can be spruced up?

With easy-to-use tools like a paint sprayer or heat gun, you can transform old garden furniture, fences, sheds, or garages and give them a new lease of life. You can restore them to their original style or change them completely with colour or paint effects, to give the illusion of all new furniture.

Grass can also be improved by applying iron sulphate and other lawn feeds that will it get grow stronger and look greener, while also providing protection against lawn diseases. You can apply it all year round so start now to see improved results by spring.

What can be fixed up?

Take a look around and see what needs a little TLC. Decking that may need reinforcing in sections, fence panels where nails have come loose, garden furniture that has started to wobble etc. Most of these things can be fixed very easily with just a hammer and a cordless drill without the need to completely replace them.

What else do we need?

Once you have all these areas tidied, repaired, cleaned, and upcycled you will see the space for all that it can be. You just need to add the extras that make it a joy to use. This could be an outdoor light and outdoor heater to allow the parties to last into the evening, a barbecue for feeding the masses or just the family, or a parasol to provide shade when the sun is beating down.

So if achieving the garden of your dreams is one of your resolutions for 2023, why not get started on some of these now to make sure you’re ready for Spring and Summer?