Keeping on top of your garden maintenance can be hard work at times, but when you can simultaneously enjoy the sunshine and nature at the same time, it won’t feel like too much of a chore. Not only are you staying active and getting your vitamin D from the sun, but you’re also ensuring that your plants and shrubs stay healthy to help promote an environmentally friendly setting. And let’s not forget that your garden will look great too!
Spending time cleaning and maintaining your outdoor space can be incredibly rewarding for your health and well-being as well as your garden, especially when you get to experience the results.
Table of contents
- When should I do garden maintenance?
- How can I make my garden look tidier and good all year round?
- How to tackle weeds
- Deadheading, pruning and trimming
- Controlling pests
- Garden cleaning
- Watering your garden
- Lawn maintenance
- Final thoughts
When should I do garden maintenance?
The more effort you put into your garden, the more you’ll get out of it, and the easier it will be to maintain. You will need to work on your garden throughout the entire year. However, it will require less time in the winter months and more time in the summer. By frequently focusing on small tasks every week, you will be able to manage your garden without it getting out of control. This is so that it can look its best, no matter the season.
How can I make my garden look tidier and good all year round?
If you’re unsure where to start or how to clean and tidy your garden, we’ve compiled a few handy garden care tips to help make the process as straightforward as possible. If your garden has completely overgrown, it can often be overwhelming knowing what to do. But if you take each task as it comes, you can break your project down into manageable chunks.
How to tackle weeds
Weeds can be an invasive and annoying part of your garden and take a substantial amount of time. They can also sometimes be sharp with thorns, like brambles, or sting, like nettles. So, it’s important to protect yourself with gardening gloves as you never know what you might accidentally grab hold of. If you’re kneeling for long periods, you might also want to invest in a kneeler pad to protect your knees from strain.
Manual weed removal
You can use your hands to remove those pesky weeds or a small tool, such as a hand fork or trowel, if they’re proving to be stubborn, digging down and levering the roots out. If your weeds are even more significant and you’re struggling to pull them out, you might even need shears or loppers to cut them down first, depending on the thickness of their stem. Additionally, a cultivator or hoe will break up the surface of your soil to cut down low-growing weeds. But make sure to remember to dig into the soil and pull out all the roots because if there’s anything left, the weeds will regrow back in no time, and your hard work will have to start again.
If you can, try to avoid using weedkillers as the chemicals can sometimes be harmful to your garden’s ecosystem as well as expensive. Many weedkillers can be unsafe for animals, so make sure to check the labels, especially if you have pets.
Using weed killer
However, if your weeds are the bane of your existence, you might find weedkiller is the only effective method for your garden. They also make your life easier as you won’t need to use as much energy pulling out persistent weeds. You should directly spray your weeds and avoid your plants, otherwise, they will also be killed. Alternatively, you can use natural or homemade remedies, such as boiling water for isolated patches, lemon juice for pathways or driveways and salted water for patios.
Weed prevention with mulch
A great method for preventing weeds is to use mulch, such as bark, on your soil as it smothers and stops the weed seeds from sprouting. Even if the seedlings start to grow, they can simply be hoed off. You’ll be pleased to hear that your garden probably won’t need weeding or topping up with mulch for multiple seasons. Densely populating your plant beds is another way to help avoid weed growth, so you can benefit from an abundance of plant life with minimal weeds. A weed control fabric also offers an effective method to keep your weeds in check while letting nutrients, air and water penetrate the soil to nourish your plants.
Deadheading, pruning and trimming
Deadheading is an essential part of gardener maintenance as it keeps your annual and perennial flowers healthy and flourishing. By removing the dying or dead flowers, your plant can focus on developing more seeds and producing more flowers so that they continuously bloom for longer. This ensures your flowers can stay happy while you enjoy a splash of colour in your garden. Once your plants have finished flowering for the year, deadheading encourages them to use their energy on growing stronger roots and leaves instead of producing seeds.
How to deadhead your flowers
To deadhead your flowers, you can either use clippers and cut the stem, just below the diminishing flower, or you can do it by hand by pinching below the flower head and pulling it off.
Pruning trees, bushes and shrubs
Pruning your trees, bushes and shrubs by removing dried or damaged branches can help prevent the spread of disease into other parts of the plants as well as encourage healthy growth of their roots and leaves. This will not only benefit your plants but also enhance the appearance of your garden without any unsightly dead branches. The optimal time to prune is in the autumn to give your plants the best chance to last throughout the harsh winter months.
Hedge trimming
Trimming your hedges will likely need to be done twice a month to stop them from becoming unwieldy. You can gently shape them from the sides using a decent pair of garden scissors. However, if your hedge is a bit more challenging than a pair of scissors can handle or you need to reduce its height, you might need a hedge trimmer for those larger areas and a telescopic extension for difficult-to-reach parts.
Controlling pests
Pests in your garden can cause all kinds of havoc for your plants. They can be avoided by disposing of any rubbish into a closed bin and removing piles of grass cuttings, food sources and stagnant water. However, pests, such as slugs, snails, aphids and vine weevils, will sometimes still find a way to live in your garden. If you’re not sure what to do, you can tackle them with the following simple methods.
Deterring slugs and snails
A handy trick to deter snails and slugs is to create a barrier around your plants. Try to avoid using slug pellets, as they can be harmful to other animals. Instead, you can use coffee grounds or eggshells, positioning them on the soil to prevent the slimy molluscs from attacking your precious plants. Hedgehogs and birds are also natural predators of pesky slugs and snails. So, you can encourage them into your garden with bird or hedgehog houses.
Dealing with vine weevils
Vine weevils will eat their way through your leaves as well as lay larvae in the soil, which then devour the roots. Using nematodes, which are microscopic worms, will provide the ideal solution to add to your soil and kill off the larvae. This will protect your plant’s roots and inhibit any more the black beetles from growing into adulthood and breeding further.
Tackling aphids
Aphids are nasty green flies that will invade your garden. You can get rid of them using insecticidal soap or a solid water flow from your hose. Alternatively, you can plant a variety of nectar-rich flowers. This will naturally persuade ladybirds to visit your garden and consume the aphids, allowing your garden to flourish.
Garden cleaning
You might think that cleaning is limited to inside your home, but there are various tasks that you can follow to keep your garden looking neat and tidy. During the autumn, trees tend to lose their leaves and will cover your garden. It won’t take the leaves long to decay which will cause a slipping hazard on your patio or decking. Additionally, if left on your lawn, the leaves might kill off your grass, causing unappealing muddy patches. So, it’s important to remove them quickly.
Collecting and disposing of leaves
You can collect and tidy the leaves on your lawn by sweeping them with a garden rake or broom for your patio. If you want to get the job done even faster, you can use a leaf blower to direct the leaves into a pile. You can then keep the leaves to be used as compost or dispose of them in your garden bin.
Keeping garden furniture clean
Your garden furniture, decking and patio will be permanently damaged if they aren’t taken care of properly. Over time, the surfaces will build up mould, algae, dust and mud. However, they can be effectively cleaned with a pressure washer. Check out the following articles if you want to know more about garden furniture repair, how to look after your garden furniture or how to clean decking.
Cleaning garden ornaments
If you want to complete the finishing touches for your garden, your outdoor décor, ornaments and statues might need the occasional scrubbing. This is due to the accumulation of mould, dust and algae. You can restore them to look as good as new with standard household cleaning solutions.
Watering your garden
You might feel like watering your garden is an obvious tip for your garden maintenance needs, but it is often forgotten about. You will typically need to water your flower beds once or twice a week. However, during dry and hot summers, it’s crucial to water them regularly, once or twice a day.
What is the best time to water my garden?
Preferably in the early to mid-morning, when the sun isn’t at its highest is the optimum time. This is so the water doesn’t evaporate before reaching your plants’ roots. Evenings are also a suitable time for watering. But if the moisture remains for a long time, you might attract slugs and snails. The watering frequency will vary depending on your soil texture. Sandy soils require watering every four days and clay soils once a week.
How to water your flowers
When watering your plants, aim for the roots instead of the leaves and flowers. This helps to avoid mould and fungus growth which can lead to disease and attracts pests. You can water your plants through various methods, including watering cans, mobile sprinklers, hoses with a nozzle and irrigation systems with sensors and timers.
A hose reel ensures you can neatly store your hose pipe. It also makes watering your plants accessible and easy, straight from the tap.
Saving you time and effort, irrigation systems will conserve your water usage if you want to precisely target individual areas and are ideal if you’re away from home frequently. On the other hand, sprinklers are suited to larger areas.
Add a water butt to your garden
For a simple and cost-effective watering process, you can collect your rainwater via a water butt connected to your guttering and effortlessly water your plants with a watering can.
Harvesting rainwater is environmentally friendly and will not incur any water costs. What’s more, it is naturally pure, free from impurities and germs and has a neutral pH value, making it perfect for your plants. Plus, if there’s a hose pipe ban, you don’t have to worry about receiving a fine when watering your garden. It can be effectively dispensed using a barrel pump or booster garden pump as well as sprinkler systems and hoses.
Lawn maintenance
Taking care of your lawn is a vital part of maintaining your garden, so it looks lush and tidy. The frequency of cutting and watering your lawn may vary from month to month. For the main part of your lawn, you can use a lawn mower to trim your grass. For the finer details and tough-to-reach edges, you may want to use a trimmer. You might even want to do ‘No Mow May’, which allows your grass to grow naturally and encourages insects and wildlife to blossom. Furthermore, it’ll save you from the effort of having to mow your lawn for a month.
If you want to know more about lawn maintenance, check out our help and advice article about Lawn care tips for your garden.
Final thoughts
Maintaining a beautiful garden requires consistent effort and attention. By following these top garden maintenance tips, such as regular weeding, deadheading, pruning and controlling pests, you can keep your outdoor space healthy and vibrant. Proper garden cleaning, watering and lawn maintenance are also essential. The rewards of a well-maintained garden are worth the time and dedication so you can enjoy the benefits of an environmentally friendly and visually appealing space.