Breathe New Life Into Your Garden This Summer With These Five Steps
Summer has arrived, and there’s no shortage of tasks you’re eager to tackle at home. The process of spring cleaning often extends further than anticipated, and that’s even before you dive into the real home renovation ventures. The dismal condition of the real estate market has left numerous individuals pondering ways to rejuvenate their homes instead of relocating to a different residence. A great point of initiation is the garden.
Yes, spring is when gardens really come to life. If you’ve never been someone who has thought of themselves as a garden person, your green space might look a bit intimidating. It’s easy to feel like you’re going to get something wrong if you start messing with it. Plants can seem so fragile, and if you have limited space, you may be wary of making any large-scale decisions. But there are so many wonderful possibilities here, and you might be surprised by how flexible your space is.
Decide What You Want From Your Garden
Let’s start with a simple question that will determine your next steps: what do you want your garden to be? Do you love the peace and tranquillity a green space can provide? Do you want to be able to grow your own fruits and vegetables for the dinner table? Have you dreamt of cultivating a flower bed worth of the Chelsea Flower Show? Or do you want a social space for your favourite people to enjoy a meal and a few drinks in the summer evenings? Once you know what you want, you can really get cracking.
Set A Budget
Here’s a quick but crucial step for anyone who is thinking about making some major changes to their property: make sure that you know how much you can spend. Once you start that ball rolling, it’s so easy to say to yourself that it’s fine because you’re already spending a lot of money anyway. But given how much prices have been going up over the last several months, you can’t afford to spend more than, well, you can afford. Sit down with your partner and set yourself a budget ceiling!
Find The Right Contractor For The Job
Finding a fantastic contractor can be one of the hardest parts of any home improvement or renovation project. It seems like everyone you ask either has a horror story or a recommendation for someone who sadly is no longer working in the business. And it can be even tougher when you head online. All you want is to be able to find local landscape gardeners near you. Oh, and to know what they charge and whether they’ve got good reviews. At MyBuilder, you can post your job and tradespeople will respond with their bids. You’ll be able to see how other clients have reviewed their work before you make your choice.
Invite Local Wildlife In
One of the best parts of having a garden is being able to watch as the visiting animals pop in throughout the year. It can be such a wonderful experience to observe the cycle over the seasons, as birds might arrive as they migrate, and hedgehogs become more adventurous as the weather changes. And with climate change making life much harder for a lot of these creatures, it’s a great way to do your bit for the local wildlife. Bird baths and bird feeders are the classic options, but why not look at putting in a hedge that provides berries and a cover to attract insects and smaller birds? A hedgehog hutch at the bottom of the garden will help keep them cool and warm during the temperature extremes. Find out what kind of wildlife you can expect to see in your garden and then think about how you can help!
Don’t Be Afraid To Go Big
When it comes down to it, one of the reasons why we love our gardens (and why we’re so jealous when we don’t have them) is that they can be whatever we want them to be. That means that if you have big ideas, but you’ve got a little voice in the back of your head telling you that it’s a bit much, you can tell that voice to be quiet. If you want your garden to be an oasis of calm (and many people find that gardening helps with their mental health), then make it the oasis you’ve always dreamed of. The changing climate has meant that some radically different plants can be grown in UK gardens than previous generations had. You could also think about putting in a fire pit for summer evening parties or converting the whole thing into a Japanese-style peace garden. Just remember that this is your space!
