Tidy Shed

What Can You Do In The Garden Without Going Shopping

17 Apr 2020

We know it’s not always ideal to be cooped up in the house. So why not take some time to focus all your energy on the garden! You can enjoy the fresh air, while giving the space a bit of TLC!

With usually busy schedules now looking a little more relaxed, we’ve put together a few jobs that you could do, without needing to leave the comfort and safety of your own home and garden.

Border Rescue

Now is a great time to have a go through the borders and see what’s lurking. We don’t mean creepy crawlies! There may be some plants still in there that are past their best and need pulling out, or some old root balls that haven’t survived the winter. Combine this with your usual weeding and you’ll be able to turn all your soil in the process.

Ready for when you can get out and about, to bring in some spring colour! Don’t worry if it means your border looks bare for now, at least you’ll know that what’s left is healthy and ready to start again.

If you do have some plants ready to go in, you can always go ahead and get these straight in. Spread them out if you want the space to look a little fuller.

Rockery Building

Some gardens seem to have an abundance of stones and rocks amongst the soil. While some of these are great for draining the soil, too many can get in the way of root growth and fresh planting. You may already have a stack from last time you did some planting. Why not make the most of these and build yourself a little rockery. You may not be able to get out to find plants to live amongst it, but you can get the foundations of the area ready, saving you time later in the year. It will also give you a place to put any access stones you find in your border rescue.

Spring Cleaning Your Patio and furniture

We always do our spring cleaning inside the home, but what about the garden? Do you wait until summer before you set out to clean the garden furniture, and then it’s more of a rushed job so you can get out there and enjoy the sun?

Make the most of this time and give your furniture that extra love and a good scrub. Make sure you use products that aren’t too harsh on the furniture as this could do more harm than good. Such as avoiding bleach on rattan furniture, or harsh chemicals on wood.

It’s also a good time to give that patio a bit of a clean. If you have a jet wash, it makes it an easy job to get the patio looking just as fresh as when it was first laid. If you don’t have a jet wash, good old fashioned elbow grease is just as good! Pop some liquid soap and warm water into a watering can and start to pour over the patio, using a hard bristle garden brush (make sure its clean before you start) give it a good scrub. The soap in the water should loosen up much of what’s currently on the patio. Rinse with clean water and you should see your beautiful patio again!

Tidy Out Your Shed And Greenhouse

When the end of summer came around, and the heavy rain started to pour, were you amongst those of us who threw everything into the shed, or the greenhouse, to at least keep it dry over the winter? You definitely weren’t alone if you did.

Organising your shed may seem like a daunting task, whether it’s currently full of tools, garden furniture or children’s toys, a little time now, can save you more time in the future when you want to find something. It may also help if you know there’s things that need to be thrown away as you can have a good sort through.

You can use things you already have to make it a little tidier, meaning you don’t need to go out and buy anything, and you can give items a new purpose. A great example is to gather together all of your long handled garden tools, from here you have a couple of choices. Firstly, some heavy duty nails make great hooks to keep the tools raised and tidy. However, if your tools are heavy or you don’t have great nails, you can attach a couple of hooks to the walls (or bent nails) and use a bungee cord or some rope to hold tools in place.

In the greenhouse you may still have the tail ends of last year. Time to start fresh! Compost what you can, salvage all the pots ready to make use of them this year and give the space a general tidy, make sure you have everything to hand when you need it. Even if you don’t have your seeds, you can still get everything prepped and ready to go.

Don’t forget to give your greenhouse glass a good clean too. Anything growing on the glass is much easier to get off the earlier it’s caught, but everything can be removed with a bit of elbow grease. You wouldn’t let the windows on your house go green, so don’t let your greenhouse stay filthy either!

Trim Your Hedges

Many of us may have already cut back our hedges and trees ready for the new growth of spring. However, not all of us have. This trim can be used to change the shape of the garden. Whether you are looking to take the hedge back an extra foot, or you’d now like feature bush to be a little more round than square, give it a go! We don’t want you to go wild and take the hedges right back straight away, so start with a little at the time. Any places you take a little too far will eventually grow back! But remember, it may look different until it does. If you are thinking of taking a new route with the garden, before the tree/bush, starts to get into the growth of spring and summer you can dig it out. Ideally this would be done after season, but if you’re set on getting rid, better to do it before the full growth is in play.

Here at Abingdon’s we love being out and about working on our customers gardens! That’s why we’d love to hear from you to discuss what future plans you want putting in place in your garden. Get in touch to see what we can for you!

Abingdon's Complete Garden Service Ltd.,
50 Meadowside,
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
OX14 5DX
01235 533193