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Creative garden path ideas: seven tips to make a garden look bigger and better

Creative garden path ideas: seven tips to make a garden look bigger and better

Stepping stone garden path

When it comes to beautiful garden design most people fail to consider the importance of the garden path. A path can just be a simple route from A to B, but it can also be the backbone of your garden design. A path can transform the appearance of your garden and how it’s used. Either way, a creative garden path could hugely improve your garden.

The practical benefits of a garden path

Beautiful garden path to a shed

Take the same route from your backdoor to your garden office, compost bin, shed or garage a couple of times daily, and in a rainy year, your lawn could look like a mud bath. In a bad November you may need wellies just to reach the garage.

The best way to rescue your lawn is to build a path. Not only will you avoid the trench effect, but you could make your garden look longer, wider and more interesting.

Unusual garden path ideas: create an optical illusion

Paved diagonal garden path

There are lots of clever tricks of the trade when designing a creative garden path. For example:

  • a path starting at 45 degrees from the house, and curving sinuously can make a garden look bigger and wider
  • a tapering path that narrows at the end of the garden can make the whole garden look longer
  • a path can steer the eye towards the garden’s best features, from an attractive garden building to a beautiful shrub. It can also create greater cohesion between your home and different garden buildings, or act as a divide, creating a route through different planting zones
  • solar powered lights can highlight a path at night, or even change its colour

The best material for a garden path?

Creative pebble and flagstone path idea

The crunch of a gravel path is always satisfying; other benefits of gravel include:

  • it drains really well
  • it’s good value for money
  • it’s easy to lay
  • it has a low environmental impact
  • it can improve security (it’s very difficult to walk on a gravel path around a house without making noise)

And though gravel paths are not the most exciting option around, visual interest can be increased by breaking up the gravel with groupings of natural stone or granite slabs. Or you could try planting ground cover perennials, such as alchemillla (ladies’ mantle) in the gravel.

If you’re looking for other garden path ideas there are lots to choose from. Cheap materials for pathways include wood bark, pebbles, wood chips or stone chips, the last of these available in a wide range of colours.

If using coloured stone chips, remember that the colour will intensify when they are wet, so choose your shade with that in mind. You should also consider the impact of the stone colour on neighbouring plants too. Neutral colours can help blend a path into its surroundings, whereas a contrasting colour such as white granite or grey/blue slate will make the path stand out. Whatever you decide, if you use gravel, bark, wood or stone chips it’s best to put a layer of weed proof membrane underneath to minimise future maintenance.

There are a vast range of other possible materials for an interesting garden path; from traditional York stone (either new or salvaged), to recycled bricks, modern concrete, wooden sleepers or even raised decking.  Decking can also add height to your walkway, which adds extra interest.

Each material has its pros and cons, in terms of price, durability, drainage, ease of use, and general appearance. You can get a good idea of what’s available in your budget range on the Jewson website.

Garden path edging ideas

Lovely cobble and gravel path

Edging a path will prevent gravel or chips from migrating into the surrounding grass, and also make it look smarter. Possible edging materials include timber (which should be treated pleasure-treated with preservative), terracotta or slate tiles, or modern steel edging.

Again the choice will come down to price and taste. If you’re not sure, then visit as many gardens as possible to see what other people have used. Alternatively, look at websites such as Pinterest – there are some great examples of some really creative garden path ideas.

The best width for a garden path?

Original creative garden path idea

The best width for your path will partly depend on the size of your garden. Also entering your decision-making should be:

  • narrower paths tend to encourage people to walk faster; broader paths offer more of an invitation to stroll
  • generally, garden designers recommend a path is wide enough for two people to walk side by side, but a practical A-to-B path to a bin or shed can be narrower
  • think about practicalities – whether you need enough width for a wheelchair or lawnmower, and if you should leave a gap in the edging to allow easy access for a wheelie bin or wheelbarrow

A straight garden path v. a curving garden path

Brick edging on a curved garden path

The shape of the path depends on your taste and the space available. A meandering or curved garden path will generally make your garden look more interesting or bigger, but may not be practical if your family are likely to head for the bike shed or workshop by the shortest possible route.

Curved paths are also relatively easy to make yourself if you intend to use materials such as gravel or woodchip. However, you may need a professional garden landscaper to lay a curved garden path made of paving slabs or timber decking.

Straight paths are more likely to be used in larger, formal gardens, and may do little to enhance the design of a smaller garden. But if you want to add visual interest to an existing straight path, the options include:

  • a pergola or arches to walk under
  • a fountain, water feature or pond with a bridge to walk over
  • interrupting the straight line by adding a paved area or bench part way along the path
  • alternating between two different materials, such as mix of slabs and woodchip, or “stepping stones” slabs surrounded by gravel of a contrasting colour

The House and Home website has some inspirational and highly creative garden path ideas.

How to lay a garden path

There’s not the space here for a full tutorial on building a garden path, but there is plenty of good advice online. This video by Monty Don on the Gardeners World website covers all the basics.

There’s excellent guidance on building gravel, concrete or block paving paths on the Wickes website, and this also tells you all the materials you’ll need. From a spirit level to check that the base is level, to weed-resistant landscaping material for the base, to the right type of mortar.

If you follow these seven creative garden path ideas you could end up improving the look of your garden as well as making it feel bigger. You’ll also be rid of the quagmire that comes with winter weather too.

Make a garden pond; the finishing touch for a summer house

Make a garden pond; the finishing touch for a summer house

Make a garden pond for the summer house

With many of our customers, we find that buying a summer house or garden room is part of a wider garden design overhaul. And the ideal complement for a new garden building is often a pond – perhaps in another part of the garden, or possibly built into a decking area or on a patio by the summer house.

After all, if you’re planning to spend more time in your garden, a pond can make your garden view more interesting and varied. And it can attract a huge variety of wildlife – from hedgehogs to dragonflies to frogs and newts, which as well as giving you something to look at, can also help to control slugs and snails.

A fountain or waterfall, either connected to the mains or a solar panel, can also add another dimension to your pond. Sitting on the decking outside your summer house can be very relaxing; add the calming sound of running water to the mix and you’ll be in heaven.

Making a garden pond is no longer the DIY project from hell

Summer house decking over a pond

Go back a few years (or decades) and building a garden pond could be the DIY project from hell. I’m sure some of you have a few childhood memories of the bad old days of trying to build concrete or clay-lined ponds in the back garden.

Fast forward to today, and these projects are far easier, with a huge choice of liners, both molded and flexible. Possible materials include fibre glass, PVC, butyl and EPDM; they all ensure that making a garden pond is a lot easier than it used to be.

The affordability and range of mini-diggers also allows for a large pond to be dug in even an average sized back garden (or one with ground too difficult to excavate by hand). A summer house with decking overhanging a large landscaped pond is no longer the complex and expensive task it once was.

Choosing the best garden pond liner

Preformed pond liner

The advantage of molded or preformed pond liners is that they don’t puncture or tear, but they don’t allow you much flexibility in the design (typically rounded triangles, rectangles or squares with two different depths). In contrast, PVC, butyl and EPDM liners are cheaper, and used much more frequently, but are more susceptible to leaks (a good layer of sand, or even carpet underlay, is recommended under such pond linings).

There’s also a material called Bentomat, which is ‘self-mending’ and made from natural materials. It’s easy to install and is often used for large-scale constructions such as canals or fisheries, but can also be used at home to make a small garden pond.

If you’re not sure which pond liner to go for there’s a good summary on the Telegraph Lifestyle site, and a very interesting blog post on LochNessWaterGardens.com about ponds and water gardens, covering subjects from liners to koi to pond predators.

The best location to make a garden pond?

As well as researching pond liners, you’ll need to think about where you position your pond. You’ll probably want to have it somewhere you can see it – either from your house, or from your new summer house. Partial shade is recommended, since too much sunlight can encourage algae growth. But water plants will also need sun for part of the day, so avoid all-day shade.

Having trees overhanging the pond is not ideal, as you’ll have to spend time removing dead from the leaves. Tree roots could also end up puncturing your lining.

It’s a good idea to avoid building the pond in a spot that is boggy or marshy. You wouldn’t think this would matter, but having a high water table underneath the pond can cause damage to the liner when the water level rises.

There are good tips to get you started on a simple rectangular liner pond with a decking surround on the Gardeners World website. If you want more nuanced ideas on shape, position and designing a pond, take a look at World of Water.

On a much simpler scale, the Royal Horticultural Society website has some good ideas for container water gardens, using old baths or wooden barrels.

Sunken ponds versus raised ponds

Raised garden pond

One solution for areas where digging isn’t possible, or the water table too is high, is to have a raised (or partially raised) pond. You won’t get rising water (or roots) damaging your liner, and raised ponds can often be safer for children and animals than sunken ponds.

A further benefit of raised ponds is that, with less digging and excavations to do, they can be easier to build (for instance, making a garden pond out of timber is a lot less backbreaking than excavating heavy clay soil). They can stand on pretty much any sturdy surface, as long as it is stable and can bear the weight of the water, such as concrete, paving, earth or decking.

There are various options for constructing a raised pond, including stone or concrete sides (such as you would see in a formal garden) or a timber frame.

Attracting wildlife to your garden pond

Make a garden pond for wildlife

Finally, if you plan to watch your own garden wildlife show from your new summer house, you’ll need a wildlife-friendly pond. For example, it’s vital to think about how small animals or amphibians will get in and out of it. Clearly, raised ponds are less mammal-friendly; and so are ponds with steep sides, where animals will struggle to get out.

Instead, you’ll need gently sloping sides, and perhaps a beach or ramp made out of stones or pebbles. You’ll also need a range of plants that are wildlife-attracting and can help oxygenate the water (particularly if you want to keep fish, and like clear rather than murky water). If you get the right mix of plants you can attract frogs, toads, newts and dragonflies, and other creatures such as birds and hedgehogs may well use the pond to drink.

Make a garden pond with lighting

Once constructed and planted, your garden pond will soon improve the look of your garden. It will give nature a helping hand, offer a beautiful view from overlooking windows or the summer house, and when combined with a fountain or some subtle underwater lighting, a relaxing addition to the patio, border or decking.

She cave; every woman needs her own

She cave; every woman needs her own

Lovat she cave from GardenLife

There’s a lot of talk about man caves recently, but here’s something less familiar, the “she cave” or “she shed”. All over the country, old sheds are being renovated, or new ones installed, as women take over gardens and backyards. No longer are garden sheds and workrooms the preserve of men only.

You’ll find plenty of inspirational ideas for garden she caves online – yoga havens, hobby rooms, temples to pink, 50s diners recreated in someone’s backyard, beach huts transported to a suburban garden, or an oasis away from TVs, PlayStations or children asking for food.

And if you go beyond the stereotyping, there are plenty of other uses for a well-built timber she shed. Somewhere to write, paint, or store your collection of power tools. Somewhere to start a business, so you can work at home and avoid the tedium of commuting.

And most important of all – somewhere that belongs to you, where you don’t have to compromise on taste in design, or trip over someone else’s belongings.

This applies equally to she sheds and man caves. If you want a living space entirely themed to Star Trek or Downton Abbey, then having your own garden room is probably the best way to do it. And if those aren’t your thing, but you still want a timber she cave, then here are a few of our top selling garden rooms.

Best garden she shed for a tight budget or a tight space

The perfect garden she cave?

Our GL27 garden building is a low-cost summer house that won’t eat too far into your wallet or your garden. The corner design lets light flood in through the double doors and full-height windows, and it’s spacious and airy. It’s an ideal space for a glass of prosecco and some good chat. The perfect, low-cost, timber she cave. If you like the corner design but would like something bigger, you could try the Nene summer house (shown in the feature photo at the top of the post).

Best timber she cave for a workroom or hobby room

Large timber she cave

There’s some serious storage space in the GL87 timber cabin, so this would be an ideal she shed if you want to store materials or tools – from canvases to sewing materials to fitness equipment. And imagine the joy of not having to share your storage cupboards or drawers with other people’s stuff!

The cabin has 34mm timber walls, meaning it is insulated enough to use in the cooler months – a true year-round garden she cave.

Best garden she cave for a yoga room

cp4

The hexagonal Hareford pavilion measures over 3m in diameter so there’s plenty of room to stretch out your yoga mat. And you can enjoy 180-degree views of the garden while you do your Downward Dog.

With 34mm timber walls and a 19mm real wood floor, it would be snug and warm on a rainy day. It’s available on 8-10 day express delivery, so you wouldn’t have to wait long to treat yourself for that she cave you’ve been longing for.

Best she shed for a day bed

Stunning garden she shed

Yoga, workrooms, gym equipment … this is all becoming a bit energetic. So, here’s a perfect backdrop for a day bed – the Wye summerhouse with a traditional clockhouse design. There’s also room for some comfortable chairs, or a writing table or art area in case you ever want to pretend you’re busy.

Best garden she cave for a change of lifestyle

Garden she cave, office and gym!

Our Finn garden room would both make an ideal home office. With 44mm timber walls and double-glazing, it’s intended for all-year round use, and the stripped-back design looks professional and modern.

You could use it as your own home office, with room for storage space, IT equipment and work materials. Or, with its 5.3m by 3.8 dimensions, it’s also big enough for customers to visit or for a desk for a colleague.

Just imagine – no more commuting for hours to the office; just a quick walk across the garden to your beautiful she cave/office, and the excitement of running your own business and taking control of your life.

And just to make the process even easier, Finn measures less than 2.5m high, so most people won’t need planning permission to install it in their garden (though you should check this, because regulations in some areas are different).

We could show you many other ideas too – best she sheds for impressing your friends; best she caves for entertaining; best she sheds for a home gym, but it’s probably best if you browse around our site yourself, and give free rein to your own day dreams for a space of your own…

Learn to grow your own fruit: 8 tips

Learn to grow your own fruit: 8 tips

If you want to learn to grow your own fruit you will be rewarded with an improved diet and a more beautiful garden, not to mention the fact that you’ll helping out pollinators such as bees and butterflies (and reducing your carbon footprint). But there are so many fruits you can grow in a British garden; where do you begin, how much space do you need, and how easy are different fruits to grow?

Grow your own fruit: strawberries

1. Strawberries: A quick (and delicious) fruit fix

If you’re looking for quick results and ease of growing, you may well start with strawberries. They can be grown in garden beds, containers, pots, grow-bags and even hanging baskets. They can thrive anywhere as long as they get enough sun (a pot of strawberries growing on a kitchen windowsill looks great), and there are plenty of tips on growing strawberries to be found on the RHS website.

Rhubarb for easy gardening

2. Rhubarb: great for reluctant gardeners

When it comes to growing your own fruit, even easier than strawberries is rhubarb, which grows well in sun or partial sun, and even in poor soil. The results won’t be instant – you should wait until a plant’s second year before harvesting – but the plants need minimal maintenance. And since rhubarb is usually ready to eat from April, it won’t add to your late-summer/autumn glut if you are already growing soft fruit or fruit such as apples, pears and plums.

There’s a useful guide to growing (and cooking with) rhubarb on Jamie Oliver’s website, but remember, rhubarb leaves are highly toxic, so don’t cook them or let children eat them.

Quince tart

3. Looking for a more unusual fruit to grow? Try quince

One good option is to grow fruit that isn’t readily available in supermarkets and other shops. The quince is a great example, tasting similar to a cross between apple and pear.

Quince trees don’t stand up well to late frost, so may not be suitable for northern gardens. But, other than that, they should do very well in most British gardens – including urban or coastal gardens – as long as they get sun and some shelter. They can also be grown in containers (which is handy if you want to move the plant to a more sheltered spot during the winter).

Once you have grown your quinces, what can you do with them? Well don’t start by eating them straight from the tree – they really need to be cooked before they are consumed. They’re brilliant turned into jams, jellies (as an accompaniment to meat, especially game) or for baking tarts and crumbles.

Apple and pear trees

4. Up the stairs, apples and pears

Admittedly, quince may be a bit esoteric, so let’s go back to the mainstream. Apples from your own tree taste so much better than shop-bought versions; growing your own also gives you access to varieties beyond the usual supermarket Granny Smiths and Gala…

First points to decide are whether you want to grow apples in a container or in the garden, and whether you want dwarf or full-size trees. As you would expect, the Royal Horticultural Society website has lots of advice on choosing and tending apple trees. Thompson & Morgan has a good selection of easy to grow apple and pear trees, and the excellent information about each variety will help you choose the best one for you and your garden.

A good garden centre will also be able to help you choose the best variety for you and your garden. If you’re short of space apple and pear trees can be trained to grow along a wall (ideally south facing), or if you want to do something unusual, you can make an architectural feature out of the trees by training them to grow into an arch or tunnel (so you can walk through and under the branches).

Maintenance of apple trees is straightforward – they may need watering in dry periods, especially if they are newly planted or in a container, and will need pruning once a year.

Easy to grow current bushes

5. Berries and currants

The old-fashioned British garden wasn’t complete without a selection of berries and currants growing – from raspberries to gooseberries to blackcurrants. Most of these will thrive in British weather, and don’t require much in the way of maintenance (apart from the occasional prune, and possible netting in late summer if the birds in your garden start getting a bit peckish), so they are ideal if you want to learn how to grow your own fruit.

There’s excellent, straightforward advice on planting fruit bushes on the Homebase website – which type you choose to plant may depend on which you like eating most!

Learn to grow your own fruit

6. Look to the continent

If you want to learn to grow your own fruit but think apples and strawberries are just too traditional, you could try olives, figs, citrus, apricots or peaches. If you’re the owner of an exposed garden in the north, this may be challenging – outdoors, at least – but gardeners in southern England should have more luck.

According to one gardening expert, climate change is opening up new possibilities for growing fruits such as apricots and figs. It’s also making it easier to cultivate a more interesting choice of plums – for example, French-style varieties such as mirabelles.

Olives should do well in an unheated greenhouse or conservatory, and should grow outside if you have a sunny, sheltered garden. They generally take 3-5 years to produce fruit, so patience will be required. If you want to try this at home, there’s easy-to-follow advice on the Eden Project website.

If you’d like to grow fruit typically found on the continent but don’t have a conservatory, check out our guide to alternative garden buildings that are much cheaper.

7. One tree with 40 different fruits?

A tree with 40 different types of fruit? It sounds like a hoax, but what started out as a rather eccentric idea has turned into a wonderful reality. By way of grafting branches of different fruit trees onto one plant, Sam Van Aken has created a real tree that blossoms and later bears 40 different varieties of fruit (just watch the video above). Whilst this epic undertaking is probably beyond the gardening talents of most people, it may be worth considering as a point of inspiration: if you are short of space and don’t have room for any more trees, how about asking a neighbour for a clipping from a different fruit tree and grafting it onto one of your own trees? You may end up with one fruit tree with a few different varieties of fruit!

8. Learn to grow your own fruit: further inspiration

Generally, you’ll find a wealth of online advice and information about growing fruit at home – possibly too much information. Useful for beginners is the Morgan & Thompson list of top ten easy fruit to grow.

And if you want to information on a fuller range of choices – from medlars to cranberries – you can’t beat the RHS website.

We looking forward to hearing about some fabulous fruit salads in a few months or years’ time!

Our best posh garden sheds – big budget not required

Our best posh garden sheds – big budget not required

Truro, a spacious posh shed

A shed is “a slight structure built for shelter or storage or for use as a workshop”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, but that old-fashioned definition of the shed seriously underplays the possibilities of the modern shed (especially our best posh garden sheds).

To be sure, 21st-century sheds can provide shelter, storage and workshop space. But they’re certainly not all slight. And they’re also being used as offices, entertainment spaces, extra rooms, dens, summer rooms, workshops and much more besides.

Given the way that sheds have metamorphosed in the past few years, it’s not surprising that many people are now talking about ‘posh sheds’. It’s a great way to distinguish them from the old-style lean-tos where people kept their gardening tools.

At the same time, don’t let the term ‘posh shed’ cast a false impression. It doesn’t have to be the type of grand or eccentric design you’d see on TV programmes such as Shed of the Year. Nor does it have to cost a five-figure sum, contain an Aga, or house your very own garden pub – despite some of the articles you might see in newspapers or magazines.

What we really mean by a ‘posh shed’ comes down to three basic elements:

  • High quality construction
  • Range of use
  • Beautiful design

1. The construction of a posh garden shed

At GardenLife, our first criterion for a garden building to count as ‘posh’ is that the construction and materials are first-rate. Importantly, the timber used is dense and robust, and solid enough that you can spend time in the shed on cooler days (without having to pile on multiple coats, scarves and gloves).

For instance, our Roe beachhouse design (below) and Truro log cabin style designs (feature image above) are suitable for gardens with limited space – i.e. you don’t need a country estate to install them. But, they’re made from 28mm solid timber with superb insulation qualities.

Roe, one of our best posh garden sheds

They’ve also got real glass windows, and solid timber roof and floor; there’s not a trace of OSB board or plywood to be found. Owing to their high-quality materials, they’re insulated enough to use through spring and autumn, and has excellent longevity and durability.

The quality is also apparent in small design details such as the quality of the fittings and the front overhang that gives protection from sun or showers. So, these sheds are posh, whilst still being affordable.

There’s a similar story with another of our best posh garden sheds, the Ure garden room. The design isn’t flamboyant and won’t alienate the neighbours, but look carefully and it’s far from being your run-of-the-mill garden shed. With 44mm timber walls, it offers exceptional insulation – meaning you can have your New Year’s Day lunch in there, as well as drinks on a summer evening.

2. The uses for a posh garden shed

There are basically no limits to the uses for a posh garden shed (at least within the limits of the law). Our customers use them as places to entertain, chill out, run a business, do yoga, play the drums, star gaze and any number of other things.

Brook, a lovely posh garden shed

Take the versatile Brook, a shed that’s of such quality and style that we call it a log cabin. Some of our customers go the traditional route of using it to store garden equipment or mend their bikes. But others use it as a writing room, man cave or kids’ playden.

In effect, then, a posh garden shed is a way to get more living space, without the hassle and expense of building an extension. Or to improve your lifestyle, through entertaining in greater style, starting a hobby, working from home, or having your own space. What else is it about our best posh garden sheds?

3. The design of our best posh garden sheds

One other way for a shed to be ‘posh’ is in the design and styling, and the only limits here are your own style preferences (and perhaps the planning permission rules where you live).

Our Dutch-look posh shed

There is now a vast choice of timber building styles available to buy – not just traditional shapes such as summer house or beach hut styles. For example, our Dutch barn shed is definitely a step up from your standard toolshed, and it’s available in different sizes.

Those who prefer more contemporary styling also have the options of sophisticated modular designs, such as our modern Fiona garden room. It’s popular with customers as a garden office, and its double-glazed windows and insulation options make it ideal for year-round usage.

Fiona, the ultimate quick-build posh shed

Modern styles like Fiona (above) are also quick and easy to assemble yourself – fortunately, not all ‘posh’ sheds require weeks to make, advanced DIY skills, or the services of an artisan shed-builder.

Adding your own design details can also make your shed ‘posh’ – from exterior paintwork to the furnishings inside. Sites such as Pinterest can provide excellent interior design ideas, and you can even check out our customers decorating pics. Or, if your posh shed already has first-rate timber, construction and fittings, you may prefer to keep it simple and let the quality of the materials speak for itself.

Either way, you can sit back and bask in some serious shed envy from the neighbours if you decide to enjoy one of our best posh garden sheds.

Spring gardening jobs – our top ten list

Spring gardening jobs – our top ten list

Gardens can look desolate in March, despite the valiant efforts of spring sunshine and blooming snowdrops, daffodils and crocuses. Lawns can look ragged, pale and full of moss, flower and vegetable beds bare, and the ravages of winter storms are on full display. Even so, March is also an exciting time for anyone with a garden. The days are longer, there’s some warmth in the sun, and it’s time to get started on creating a beautiful (but practical) living and entertaining space for the summer. Here are some top tips for spring gardening jobs.

1. Hold back on the seeds

With shops full of seeds, the temptation is to get planting immediately. But don’t start sowing too early in March. We’re still likely to have some frosts, especially in Scotland and northern England, and you should wait for the ground to warm up. But there are plenty of projects to start instead, and you can also start planting some veg in the greenhouse or indoors.

Take control of garden pests before they breed

2. Go on pest patrol

Take action against slugs, which could ravage new spring shoots, especially hostas. Whatever your preferred methods – physical, organic or chemical – for protecting your garden against slugs, it’s time to deploy them. Onto more spring gardening jobs.

3. Your lawn needs you

Early spring is the time to get the lawnmower out of storage. If you have a few rain-free days, and the grass is dry, do a gentle mowing session, with the lawnmower on its highest setting. If the lawn is particularly long you might want to consider cutting it one day on a high setting, then the next day going over it again on a slightly lower setting (trying to cut a long damp lawn on a low setting could stress the lawn mower and wear you out too). The RHS website has lots of advice on cutting lawns in early spring.

4. Be nourishing

Top dress containers with new compost, ready for the growing season, and consider adding some plant food or bonemeal to help and sustain healthy growth. You can also tidy borders, and mulch them with compost or manure. If you have a wood burning stove you can add your wood ash to beds and the carbon will help invigorate the earth. The soil has a hard summer ahead, and needs all the nutrients it can get.

Spring gardening jobs include weeding, feeding and planning

5. Deal with weeds

It’s useful to tackle weeds early in the year before they get out of hand. It’s also easier to spot them if beds and borders are relatively empty, and remember to check cracks in patios and paths for weeds too.

6. Get busy in the greenhouse

Before your greenhouse gets too cluttered with seedlings, or festooned with summer tomatoes, take a good hard look around you, and notice the dust, cobwebs and dirt. It’s a dirty job, but one of these essential spring gardening jobs.

Cleaning and disinfecting benches, floor, windows and even pots and seed trays will help get rid of any diseases or bugs that have wintered in your greenhouse. Jeyes Fluid is widely recommended, or garden centres may recommend other products. Make sure everything dries and ventilates thoroughly before you start planting seedlings and cuttings.

7. Get the really boring jobs over for the year

Repair post-winter fences and trellises; clean and sharpen gardening tools; and tidy the garden shed so that you can reach the lawnmower without falling over two spades and a sunshade. Maybe make a shopping list of all those things that you regularly need throughout the year, such as buying some extra compost (if you don’t make you’re own), plant food, new tree stakes and ties, and pest control pellets. Much better to do these jobs now and have supplies read when you need them.

Plan for the summer in spring

8. Make plans for your garden

Although the site of snowdrops and late frosts make it too early for some planting, it’s not too early to plan. Get looking at catalogues, websites and the like, and try something new. Check out our garden design ideas and inspirational photos on Pinterest. If you leave this until June or July, you’ll just be kicking yourself that all your amazing new discoveries needed to be planted out in April.

9. Think big

The emptiness of a March garden makes this the best time to dream up a project. Look around you with a fresh but harsh eye. Do you really like those shrubs in the corner? Has that beloved forsythia actually grown far too tall? Has the buddleia taken over a favourite corner? Would the end of your garden become much usable if you installed a summerhouse? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to work in a garden office this summer?

10. More advice on spring gardening jobs

Without further delay, get browsing, whether it’s a seed catalogue; a social media site with ideas for patios; or a collection of garden buildings or summer houses. Your plans may turn the Easter break into a gruelling 72-hour DIY or gardening marathon, but they will set you up for a wonderful garden summer.

For other good ideas on spring gardening jobs, there’s some great advice at:

The weekend newspapers (or their archives) are also a good source of seasonal gardening advice and spring gardening jobs. A word of caution though – national newspapers may well be geared towards readers in southern England. If you live in a colder, northern area, you may want to delay their advice by a fortnight or so.

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