One of the best ways to get your house looking gorgeous is to spruce up the garden and, as I have recently discovered, garden spruce up’s are an all year round thing. Don’t worry, it’s not as hard or as time consuming as it looks, take it from someone who has not EVER had a green thumb but now has a great looking garden

Here is a garden maintenance checklist for those of us WITHOUT a green thumb.

SPRING

Spring is what most gardeners would call the start of the year, it’s the best time for planting and watching your existing plants burst into life. Here is what you should focus on for Spring:

1. Planting time. Look for summer vegetables, herbs and summer flowing plants to give your garden a gorgeous pop of colour.

2. Feed your lawns and gardens. Pop down to your local hardware store or nursery and pick up some great fertilisers, using these on your gardens and lawn will make sure you have huge growth during Springtime and everything will look lovely and lush.

3. Make any lawn repairs. Now is the time to look at fixing any patchy sections or getting rid of weeds in your lawns. Again, any good hardware or nursery will have great products to help you achieve your goals.

4. Keep an eye on all new plants for bugs. Spring is not only a huge time for plants, but a huge time for insects too. Insects, snails and other pests are out and about in force, so keep an eye on any new plants you’ve put in, especially if they are seedlings. You can pop to your local hardware store for ideas on how to stop insects and other pests eating away your plants.

5. Pruning time. Prune any summer flowering shrubs or trees. Cut back and clean up any dead or diseased branches on trees and shrubs.

6. Mow lawns regularly – a little tip, don’t mow too far down, keep it a little longer for a lusher looking lawn. If you mow weekly, leaving it slightly longer, you will have a gorgeously green lawn!

SUMMER

Summer is a great time to really enjoy your garden, but it is also the time when you need to keep on top of watering. Here is what you can focus on in the summer months:

1. Feed your gardens and lawns regularly during summer to keep them looking gorgeously green. Liquid fertilisers are great for this time of year.

2. Trim any bushes or shrubs to keep them neat and tidy after Spring growth.

3. Keep on top of insects and pests in the garden.

4. Mow weekly as per Spring guide.

5. Regularly water your garden in the early evening to replenish the garden from the heat of the day.

AUTUMN

With cooler nights and warmer days your garden will start to slow down, and so will the maintenance. here is what to do in Autumn:

1. Autumn is the best time to plant any new bulbs – e.g. tulips, daffodils and freesia’s.

2. Continue to feed to gardens and lawns whilst the soil is still warm, though not as regularly as the warmer months, you’ll see the benefits of regular fertilisation in the months to come.

3. Early autumn is still a good time for planting any shrubs or bushes, they will establish a good root base before winter.

4. Prune any dead flowers from your garden, especially roses, as this could cause disease over the winter period.

5. Trim any evergreen shurbs and bushes.

WINTER

Whilst most of your garden goes to sleep over winter, there are still bits and pieces that you can do to prepare your garden for the coming months. Here is what to focus on during winter:

1. Make a list of any new plants you’d like to add to your garden in Spring. Think about different varieties and when they flower to make the most of your garden.

2. Give winter vegetables, bulbs and annuals an occasional application of plant food.

3. Watch out for winter grasses and other weeds creeping into your lawn, pull as many out as you can and prepare to tackle them again in Spring.

So there you have it, a nice and easy checklist of what to watch for in your garden for each season.

Have we missed anything? SHARE with us in the comments below.