Now that it is summer time we are all spending more time enjoying our yards and gardens. However, if you haven’t had a chance to update and achieve your goal summer-ready backyard and garden since last year, it’s likely that several things need to be done to get it ready for you and your family to enjoy. Don’t worry though, it’s never too late to get it sorted. While you can muscle through the tasks, you can also tackle your list bit by bit. If you do a few tasks each weekend or evening after work your garden will be ready for you to relax and enjoy the long summer days very soon.
So, what are the typical tasks that get a summer-ready backyard and garden? Let’s have a look below.
Do a Walk-Through
One of the best things you can do is to do a walk-through of your entire yard and garden. This means that you should get out your notes app in your phone or a notepad and pen. Then walk around your yard to make a note of anything that needs to be done. Jot down everything big and small including things like removing the weeds, painting the fences, or getting in touch with some roofing contractors to fix your roof or painting contractors to paint your house.
No matter the size of the job, you are more likely to get it done once it is on a list. Once you have your list you could start getting to work. But we find that it’s best to go one step further and organize them into weekly goals and estimated project times. For example, removing the weeds might take you a few hours. Painting your fence might be something that you do throughout a whole day or two. Once you have an estimated time for each task, you will soon see that there are easier jobs that you can accomplish during the evenings after work, too.
Think About Your Budget
Not everyone remembers to set a budget. However, just like your home, your yard and garden is an investment. Yes, you could potentially just use your yard as-is and not spend any money, but at times you may need to replace or paint items like outdoor furniture or repair something like a fence gate. Investing in your garden can help to add value to your home and make it feel like a second living space. Create a reasonable annual budget for the outdoor spaces, and use this to do what you need to do to maintain and update the outdoor spaces to meet your needs and goals.
Start To Organize
Winter can be a tough time for your yard and garden. If you haven’t had a chance to deal with it until now, you’re going to have a little bit of work to get it completed. There may be things like broken branches, dead leaves, or rusting furniture. If you start to make plans to clear these eyesores or fix them, you will be off to a good start with preparing for other tasks that you need to do. By organizing what’s already in the yard, you are getting closer to a summer-ready backyard and garden.
Get The Base Sorted
It’s quite simple when you start with the basics. Cut the lawn, power wash the patio, and clean and seal the wood deck or fence. Tackle the maintenance tasks first before you look at the finer details of enhancing and updating the spaces in your yard. While all of them might not be the most enjoyable tasks, the maintenance jobs are often the ones that make the most immediate impact. And by maintaining what you have, you avoid having to replace those items and can spend your outdoor budget on something else you desire.
Have A Look At The Smaller Tasks
Now you should look at areas like getting rid of the weeds, removing any dead plants or flowers, and preparing any ground ready to plant new. It’s late to plant seeds, but garden centers have a variety of blooms ready to go into the ground. This immediate transformation of your garden can be quite satisfying and enjoyable, too. You could also include organizing old garden tools, soft furnishing, and outdoor children’s toys. Get rid of any that are no longer of any use or broken beyond fixable.
The Finer Details
The last thing is considering the finishing touches. So think about cushions and pillows for the garden furniture, putting down an outdoor rug, potting some flowers, installing or replacing batteries in lights, etc. If you don’t have lighting, consider picking up a collection of solar-powered lighting for your garden to enhance the space in the evenings. It can be quite exciting to get this part done as you can then sit back and relax and just maintain your backyard and garden.
This should help you to get your garden ready in no time. Do you have any other tips that will help? Please share them below.
