Summer hot days are getting close, and that means that your garden is in danger of not being prepared for those days. There are plenty of different things that can go wrong with your green and lavish backyard garden on hot and dry summer days, but there are also a lot of things you can do to prevent it! As you already know, maintaining your garden is a serious and time-consuming process, and if you want your garden to look amazing at all times, you must look after it well! Also, let’s not just talk about the bad stuff, since the summer is coming, the fun is coming as well, and you should prepare your garden for that as well! Sipping lemonade or reading books in a shade surrounded by beautiful plants, you will love your summer garden!
Here is how to prepare your garden for summer 2022:
Keep Your Grass Safe
People begin to trim their lawns for the first time when the weather becomes dryer. Maintain a high blade height on your lawnmower to promote deep root systems and healthier grass. During the summer, you won’t need to use your sprinklers or hosepipe to keep your grass in good shape. If it starts to turn brown, don’t worry; as soon as the rain returns, it will become green again in no time. If you must water your lawn, try using a watering bucket or installing a water-efficient nozzle on the end of your hosepipe to save water.
Set Up A Water Faucet
Install a water butt to catch rainwater in preparation for warmer seasons. During dry seasons, this water source may be utilized to irrigate your plants as well as clean your car and patio! This water is not only free, but it is also the greatest kind of water for your plants. Simply attach it to your downpipe to get it started. If you don’t have enough space in your yard for a normal water butt, there are several smaller alternatives that may be more suited. Reusing domestic water is another option to prevent using more water in the garden. Recycle bathing and dishwashing water for use on your plants.
Mulch Your Lawn
Mulch is a substance that is put into the soil as a layer. Straw, grass clippings, bark, chopped leaves, hay, and other materials are commonly used. It may help you keep your garden looking nice while also saving water by preventing the growth of weeds and allowing the soil to retain moisture. When you mulch your flower garden, you’ll lose less water to evaporation during hot spells, which means that you probably won’t need to water your plants as frequently.
Plantings That Are Drought-Resistant
It’s a frequent assumption that a beautiful garden needs a large amount of water, but this isn’t the case. There are a variety of low-water plants that would make excellent additions to your landscape. You might grow the following flowers and herbs:
Vervain has brilliant purple blooms with a lot of nectar and may grow up to 60cm tall. Lavender is a versatile herb that may help you construct a beautiful landscape. Blue Spire is a tiny shrub that may grow to 1.5m tall and provide a touch of blue to your yard. Salvia, often known as ‘hot lips,’ produces red and white blossoms with a lovely flowery scent.
Draw In Wildlife
Wildlife can transform your yard, and there are a variety of ways to attract birds, butterflies, hedgehogs, and other animals. To begin, you must make your garden accessible. Wildlife will be allowed to come and go as it pleases if you put a hole or two at the bottom of your fence – check with your neighbors first! You may also leave food out for animals and insects, as well as construct shelters for them. The Wildlife Trusts’ website provides a number of activities that might assist you in creating a wildlife-friendly garden.
Clean Your Tools
When was the last time you were even thinking about sanitizing your gardening equipment? If it’s been a while, you may need to scrub them well. If you leave them covered in soil, rust will form, making them more prone to break and transmitting illness to your plants. Wash your instruments on a regular basis to keep them in good shape and to keep your plants healthy. We advocate utilizing rainwater or leftover household water to save water. Sharpening and oiling your instruments on a regular basis might also help them work better.
Begin composting now
Good compost will assist in enhancing your soil’s structure and retention of water and nutrients, as well as protect it from drought and disease. You can manufacture your own compost at home, and it’s a lot easier than you would think! Purchase a compost container or construct one from wood boards. Discard organic waste such as prunings, coffee grinds, vegetable and fruit peelings, grass clippings, and eggshells in your composting bin. Once it starts to decompose, you’ll have compost, which will help to keep your soil and plants healthy.
Pruning And Weeding
To allow your flowers to thrive over the summer, you may need to perform some basic upkeep across your garden. Weeds are every gardener’s biggest nightmare because they seem to grow everywhere. Removing them will assist in guaranteeing that your other plants are not being robbed of nutrients. Leaves and branches tend to perish in the fall. Pruning and removing old branches and leaves to provide a way for new buds to grow is worthwhile.
Clean Up The Edges
Now that the weather is getting warmer, you’ll be inviting friends and family around for more braais. As a result of that, now is the perfect time to prepare your garden for social occasions. Mowing the grass is a good start, but there’s a lot more you can do to make your yard appear nice. Creating crisp lines between your grass and flower beds is one of the simplest methods to instantly brighten up your yard. Using bricks or wooden poles to create a low-maintenance border around each bed is an easy and practical method to achieve this. Trim back any encroaching grass on your paths to make them seem neater.
Fill The Flower Beds With Vibrant Blooms
Bright, sunny days necessitate a kaleidoscope of color in your flower gardens. The beginning of the summer season is the ideal time to consider a garden makeover. Dahlias, Marigolds, and Impatiens are just a few of the beautiful plants available. Make an effect by planting large blocks of one color per flower bed, or go for a wild garden appearance and let loose with a spectrum of colors everywhere. Whichever option you pick, your garden will undoubtedly become the talk of the neighborhood.
Give Your Outdoor Furniture A Makeover
We’re all gearing up for long summers of parties and barbecues in each other’s yards. You’ll need to get your lawn furniture out for this. If you stored it throughout the winter, it might have accumulated dust in the garage. So, before you put your lawn furniture away for the summer, give it a quick once-over to remove any dirt that has accumulated. You could also want to treat it to keep the wood from rotting. This will help protect your furniture from spills and the elements while also extending the life of your furniture.
Keep It Cool
Not all of our summer gardening advice is for your garden’s benefit; this one’s for you. Create a few shady locations for your patio furniture to assist you in beating the heat. Planting trees in your garden is a lovely, natural method to keep it cool. Alternatively, you may shade yourself with an umbrella or an awning to protect yourself from the sun’s rays.
Deadheading
Deadheading is a technique for extending the life of your summer flowers by removing any wasted blooms. Your plants’ energy is concentrated on developing seeds for survival as their blossoms fade, but frequent deadheading redirects that energy back into producing additional blooms. It’s the most gorgeous and abundant sort of botanical deceit. Meanwhile, remove any broccoli that has begun to blossom (this is known as bolting) and replace it with summer crops like tomatoes, lettuce, and basil in your homemade vegetable garden.
Artificial Grass Saves Time, Money, And Water
A lush, colorful lawn is essential for a hot summer garden. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time, work, money, nerves, and water to maintain your grass green and healthy. Artificial grass requires very little upkeep, so instead of weeding, mowing, fertilizing, and watering your lawn, you can spend your summer days at the beach, on a road trip, or simply resting in your garden with a nice book or a barbie. At first, glance, installing artificial grass appears to be more expensive than maintaining your lawn on a monthly basis, but when you add up all of the expenditures associated with keeping natural turf in top form (not to mention the pain! ), the prices soon pile up. Enjoy your summer carefree, at least when it comes to your grass!