The lovely Cherry from dickson_vintage has shared her ideas and suggestions for getting your garden ready for spring, using her beautiful outdoor space as the perfect example and inspiration.
During this blog post I will explore spring gardening tips which will get your garden looking blooming gorgeous with a few simple steps.
REFRESH YOUR GARDEN
This is always your first step after the winter months as winter will have taken its toll on your outdoor space. If you have decking, a patio or path, always give them a good clean. This is best using a pressure washer but if your budget doesn’t stretch to this there are plenty of cleaning fluids that help to lift the winter dirt too.
– Clean your patio after winter –
TRIM, MAINTAIN AND REFLECT
This is when you look at your current garden and do what is necessary to keep them going. After the winter months, I remove any dead leaves, cut bushes back for new growth, look at what worked well and then change the garden plants after reflecting if needed. Make sure you continue to dead head flowers through spring and summer to continue their gorgeous growth.
– Make sure you dead head your flowers so they continue to bloom –
FOOD AND FEED
If you already have plants that are well established and are returning this year, it is always worth investing in the correct plant food. Particularly for hydrangeas, roses and plants such as camellias. If your garden lawn looks well worn, make sure you give it plenty of feed in spring to help it maintain its luscious looks.
ZONE
Look at your garden and reflect on how it worked last year. Try and make sure you have a balance – does it have somewhere that you can enjoy sitting outside? Have your children got a space to play? Where are you going to grow plants – pots, raised beds or borders? It doesn’t matter what size your garden is, you can still make it a space to relax and unwind.
– Make sure you make a space in your garden to relax –
PLAN AND SEED
You want to aim to have a mixture of plants growing through the seasons – whether you achieve this through changing your pots every season or putting a mixture of plants in your borders. One of my favourite plants in our garden is our hydrangeas. They give such huge flower heads which remain through summer into autumn and then once you dry them, you can enjoy them inside through the winter months too. My top garden flowers are clematis, camellia, hydrangea, peony, lupin, roses, gladioli, allium, magnolia and wisteria.
SEATING
So important, as this goes back to zoning. Putting the right seating in an area can really transform a garden space. Let me share a picture of our garden before we moved in and what it looks like now. This corner of our garden was the sunniest spot, yet it looked so unloved. By putting an arbour seat into the space we made a feature of this corner. There are so many options – from a bench, sun loungers, corner sofa, arbours and garden dining sets. Make sure it is practical in the space and fulfils your brief as best as it can.
– Our garden before we moved in –
– Creating a statement with an Arbour seat transforms a space –
COLOUR
Using colour in your garden will really help to make a statement and help to reflect your style. My home is full of pastel shades, therefore this is reflected in my outdoor furniture. I find Cuprinol and Frenchic Alfresco paint great for transforming an outdoor space.
– Our Arbour seat before it was painted –
– Use paint on wooden fence panels and furniture to reflect your taste –
VEGETABLES
I can’t stress enough the satisfaction of growing your own food. Whether you just try growing some herbs in pots for the first time or you want to try growing your own vegetable patch. There really is nothing better than eating something that you have grown from scratch. My top tip for growing fruit and vegetables for the first time would be to start with a seedling or plant as growing fruit and vegetables from seeds can be quite time consuming with low yields from failed attempts. But maybe that’s just me?
LIGHTS
Lighting is really important and these days it is very easy to achieve with the beauty of solar lights. Purchase a range of lights to create atmosphere and mood in your garden. We have a range of lights in our garden from festoon, fairy and lanterns as they all create different effects. Lights are perfect for helping to zone the different parts of your garden too.
– Add a range of lights to decorate your garden –
STYLING
This is the most important part of all. Look at your garden and think if it reflects your style. By adding a few extra touches, you can soon add in your personality. These could be cushions or outdoor rugs, ornaments, water features, mirrors or decorative stones.
– Extend your decor style to your garden –
I hope you have found these spring garden styling tips useful. Keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram over the summer months for regularly updates on my garden space!
