How You Should Be Spending Your Easter Weekend

Save time and get your garden ready for when you really want to use it. If there’s one thing you should do over the long weekend–and you will thank yourself for it later–it’s got to be getting your garden furniture ready for the summer season.

A Fresh Start

Your garden furniture collects a multitude of dirt and debris even from winter storage. It may be full of last year’s memories of summer nights chatting, eating and drinking, but it’s now time to start afresh. Make new memories with clean furniture that you’re proud to display on your patio. We all have those ‘emergency chairs,’ don’t let them end up being a permanent feature.

Avoid having to apologise about the state of your chairs to every guest by washing down plastic and metal furniture so they’re gleaming. Remove all mould and dirt on wooden furniture with fine sandpaper and give it a top coat of water-based stain, repair any damaged slats or fixings. It’s not as arduous as it sounds, with regular upkeep, this should be a simple and quick annual routine.

If cleaning just isn’t enough and your furniture is looking too tired, why not treat yourself to a shiny new set? Remember, regular upkeep will pay off in the long run.

If you didn’t prune back your perennials last winter, they’re probably looking very untidy by now. Trim off all dead matter and put them on a heap for composting. There may be new growth beginning to form at the base. Be careful not to cut these as you will inhibit the plants’ display for the season.

Take Action

Early spring is the time to take action against weeds with some pro-active weeding. Get in there while they are young! Damp soil makes it much easier to pull young weed seedlings, but don’t be tempted to garden when the soil is wet, walking over the soil will cause compaction and lead to problems further down the line.

Composting weeds in a garden composter is a big no, no. The seeds will be released, and they’ll come back to haunt you.

Daffodils will now have mostly faded and the promise of next year’s display is now in your hands, which means that you need to deadhead. Simply snip off the dead flower heads and let the leaves yellow naturally. This can look unsightly, but in doing this, you’re helping all the energy being fed back into the bulb for a bright display next year.

Family Time

Most importantly, spend time with your families this Easter. If you do have tasks to do outside, get the children involved too, you will know that they love to get messy. Spending time with the family outdoors is a great way to teach kids about nature, even if a little bribe of chocolate eggs is involved.

Need to revamp your tired garden? Call our design team on 0116 210 0760 today.