Sprucing Up A Neglected Garden [Simple Steps For A Busy Homeowner]

One Step At A Time

      When life gets busy, we don’t always have the time to nurture our gardens as we would like. The lawn gets overgrown, plants die, and weeds take on their own life. It can be a daunting task to save a garden from neglect. Yet, like most things in life, a few simple steps can get you started, create a bigger impact, and motivate you through the rest of the process.

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      Let’s explore some quick hacks to get your garden looking respectable and ready for a summer of friends and barbeques.

Rejuvenate The Lawn

       Creating a list of jobs and ticking them off gradually is a great way to motivate yourself. Divide your garden into sections and work in manageable chunks. You’ll end up completing more rather than getting overwhelmed by the overgrown foliage in your garden.

      As the lawn is the biggest space, you can make the most impact in a single job. This will be immediately effective and is why mowing the lawn first, is your best way of taming the beast. If the grass is too long, then attack it first with a trimmer. Going straight in with the mower may end up clogging it up, and it’ll leave the lawn damaged in the process. Trimming off the top layer and leaving the lawn for a few days before mowing will prevent this.

      Laying down some new seed will keep your grass lush and green. Be sure to water after laying it, the best way to prevent weeds is to keep your grass as healthy as possible. The overall impact on the general health of the grass will be significant.

Prune Thoroughly But Don’t Worry About The Trees

      Bushes and shrubs can be pruned thoroughly, even if you think they appear to have little life left in them. It’s pleasantly surprising how they will revive and grow after being cut back. An unkempt bush and shrub give your lawn a neglected air, so cutting them back will do much to restore the borders.

      While you want to prune everything in sight at ground level, you should leave the trees. Pruning back the trees is a big job and one not to be taken on in the beginning of getting your garden back in order. However, down the road you’ll want to deal with the overgrown trees to ensure light gets through to your home and your neighbours don’t feel their yards are getting taken over.

      Removing trees might also feel like an option. However, while it is tempting to make space by taking these out, a tree adds height and structure that you will miss when it is gone. It is also a great habitat for wildlife coming into your garden, which adds multiple dimensions of interest to your outside space. If you feel that a tree needs to go, contact a local expert who can help you rather than seeing this as your job for the present.

Make Neat Boundaries And Clear Lines

      When your lawn gets too long, it loses its shape, and the condition of your overall grass deteriorates. Working on the boundaries and lines in your lawn and garden will offer shape and form. It’s not necessary, at this point, to get into any significant hardscaping or landscaping, just work on making the outlines clear. Therefore, looking at your fencing panels and replacing these can have a significant effect. So, adding a fresh coat of creosote to the garden panels will be revolutionary, and you will be surprised at the striking effect of a fresh coat on the boundaries. Equally, buying border edging can make a big difference in creating a clear differentiation between lawn and border.

Work Out What To Keep And What To Remove

      Like in any type of art, white space in the garden helps the key features pop. Perhaps not, white space, but areas of space between plants. If your garden is too busy, then the whole effect is one of being overgrown. Once you’ve completed the basic maintenance in your garden and surrounding lawn, it’s time to shape the overall look of what you want.

      You’ll need to choose which plants to keep and which to remove to do this. First removing weeds is essential. Within the garden it’s rather easy to pull them by hand. Outside the garden, in your lawn, weed control will require more effort. As mentioned earlier, the healthier your lawn is, the less weeds will take up a residence. However, that’s not to say you’ll never see weeds in your lawn. It’s best you outsource the weed control and fertilizer to a company you trust.

      Transplanting plants within the garden can be made easy with this simple trick.

1. Dig a hole in your garden and place a plastic flowerpot into the hole
2. Do this in all areas you want to place flowers
3. Keep your flowers inside a flowerpot and place them within the others you’ve dug into your garden
4. When you want to move your flowers in the future it’s as easy as transplanting them from one pot to another

      Be aware that transplanting shrubs and flowers is slightly more hands on than tending to a neglected garden and is something you’ll want to take on when you’re most committed to the process.

You’ve Made Space Now To Shape A New Course

      So, this mowing, pruning, and moving of plants is to create a garden space that feels tidy. You’re creating a space to host, invite friends over and enjoy drinks. You want to pride yourself in caring for your lawn, garden, and home.

Moving forward from this basic, cut look, you can start to decide on a consistent theme to move towards. If you look at the gardens created for the Chelsea Flower Show or the Hampton Court shows for inspiration, you can begin to make additions within your own garden. While shaping this themed space, you can make certain areas pristine, in places where you will spend most of your time. Again, improving the garden in simple and small steps.

From Restoration To Maintenance

       Once you’ve done all the work, you’ll need to plan some time to maintain it. You’ll find yourself back to where you began if you leave it. At the simplest level, you’ll need to mow your lawn weekly and weed the borders. You can prune back your bushes each year and trim the edges to keep neat lines.

      Making sure your fences are well maintained, cleaning the deck and patio will make a good deal of difference. If maintenance worries you, remember keeping everything as simple as possible will reduce the amount of maintenance you will need to complete regularly.

In Summary

      Working on your neglected garden is difficult to start but rewarding once underway. Simple steps taken gradually can help you refresh your outside space and offer you that curb appeal that increases the value of your home. The place you watch your children play, socialize with friends, and share stories should be a place you enjoy spending time in. This means beginning to tame, what may be a beast, in your own lawn. Your lawn, your home, your garden should be in peak performance.