Decluttering and renovating your garden is a daunting task but the rewards are massive. A gorgeous garden adds value to your home, can make you feel happier, and provides a sanctuary for rest and relaxation. If you don’t know where to start, our guide will help take your garden from disarray to delightful in manageable steps.
Think upcycle
All too often, summer is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affair, so you don’t want to waste time traipsing around garden centers to buy new things. If your garden is full of faded furniture, think revamp before you think rubbish. With a lick of paint, most old tables and chairs can be turned good as new again. Want to go a step further? Check out eight creative ideas for upcycling your garden we came up earlier.
Recycle and compost
You’ve mowed the lawn, trimmed your shrubs, pruned your foliage, and cut back your trees: Now, what do you do with all those twigs, leaves, branches, and grass cuttings? Make a compost bin, the environmentally friendly way to get rid of the clutter, that’s what. You can even clear rubbish from your home by adding vegetable and fruit waste and used tea bags to it. When ready, the finished compost will provide the added bonus of nutrient-rich soil to help your plants grow quicker and stronger.
Set your shed free
It’s very common for the shed to become a dumping ground for unused and unwanted household and garden items. To set your shed free, first, empty all its content. This makes it much easier to assess what you want to keep and what you want to throw away. If you have a shed full of old paint points, fridges or mattresses, you may need a special license or permission to get rid of these kinds of items. Using a waste management company is a convenient way to get rid of potentially hazardous items quickly, safely, and professionally.
Turn the ugly into something beautiful
Instead of shelling out on expensive landscaping, work with existing features to turn the ugliest part of your garden into its star feature. For example, you can make the most of a sloping garden by using strategic flower beds, fencing, and terracing to divide it into different levels. If you’ve become bored of all your small island-style flowerbeds, join them together to form one big bed, mulched area or sandpit play area for the kids. Or if you have unsightly walls, attach trellis and cover them up with attractive vines or climbing plants such as hydrangea or honeysuckle.
Take extra care with the lawn
A lawn left to grow wild is the quickest way to make a garden look unloved. When getting the mower out for the first time in a while, raise the height of your blades more than usual, mow once, then lower them and mow again. This ensures you’re cutting the grass properly, rather than chewing it up and clogging up your mower. If this sounds like too much hassle, artificial lawns are getting cheaper, more natural looking, and will provide you with a perfectly level lawn all year round.
Organise a plant swap with your neighbours
Sick of your current crop of plants? Haven’t got the money to buy new ones? Organise a plant swap and invite people in your local area to come together and trade seedlings, cuttings, and entire plants. Possible venues include your local park, community center or even your home. With a suitable venue hand-picked, all you need to do is pick a time, date and get the word out. Promotion-wise, add your plant swap to local Facebook groups, hang posters in local shops, text and email friends, and then let the swapping begin.
Making sure your garden is attractive and inviting is one of the easiest ways to add value to your home and make it a more restful place for you and your family. Follow the tips above, get out there, and you will have your garden decluttered and renovated in next to no time.
