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Whether you’ve just moved into a new property or you’re looking to renovate a garden that’s long lain dormant, working on a garden is no easy prospect. There’s plenty to do, and you’ll need a good amount of elbow grease, dedication, and commitment in order to make sure it’s all done. With that in mind, you’ll need a good guide on how to create a beautiful, long-lasting garden at which your guests will marvel. Gardens will increase the resale value of your home, give you something nice to look at, and give you a good place to sit and relax through summer and beyond.
Before you go fantasising about putting a three-quarter lean-to greenhouse in your garden, your project should be tackled in a methodical and logical way to suit your space. Here’s my ten-step guide to making a new garden bloom, which should help with your new DIY project.
1. Sort your budget
Nothing scuppers potential DIY projects more than a lack of funding. When you’re building new features, landscaping your garden, and generally improving it, you’ll need some money. That’s where a good and reliable loan comes in. Many loans are tailor-made for DIY, so this is definitely where you should start for your garden funding. ou could also look at used garden goods and seek help from friends and family to save money in some areas.
2. Start clearing the garden out
Before you start work on your garden, it makes sense to get rid of everything that’s currently cluttering it up. Removing debris, old furniture, and anything else that finds its way into many back gardens is not only necessary for you to begin work, it’s also very cathartic and could net you some extra cash into the bargain. You may even find that you have more space than you thought or unearth some features you hadn't noticed before.
3. Mark out your boundaries
You don’t need to have a clear idea of exactly where you’ll be planting everything in your garden yet, but it is a good idea to give shape to the plot. Use a garden hose or something else similarly flexible such as rope to denote exactly where you want the garden to begin and end.
4. Get rid of grass where you don’t want it
While grass can be a nice feature in a garden - it’s a nice shade of green, after all, and it can be lovely underfoot in summer - you won’t want it everywhere. You can use a spade, a sod cutter, or a mower to clear areas in which you want to plant. There are lots of ways to get rid of unwanted grass in your garden.
5. Dig your garden up
Trust us when we say that you’ll definitely want to do this. There’s nothing worse than being confounded by a rock or piece of debris that you didn’t envision being in your garden. Digging it up means you’ll know exactly where is good for planting and where you should be avoiding.
6. Plan out a site for your plants
Now comes the fun part. It’s a good idea to delineate clearly where you want all of your plants to go. You can create fun themes around central ideas or just scatter plants wildly (make sure they won’t be hogging sunlight!). When you’re planning, the gardening world is your oyster.
7. Start planting!
If you’re a budding gardener (no pun intended), this can often be the most enjoyable part. Start putting your seeds down once your plot is dug and your lawn is where you want it to be. Again, pay close attention to good plant positioning. You don’t want to go to all this effort only to end up with a garden that just doesn’t work.
8. Mulch your bed and water your plants
If your garden has weeds or similar, then mulch is a great idea. You don’t need too much - a couple of inches will suffice for most regular gardens - but mulching stops weeds re-growing and allows you to create the aesthetic paradise you’ve always envisioned your garden to be.
Once you’ve mulched, it’s time to water the plots. In autumn and winter, you won’t need to do this more than once a day, but in summer, many plants will require twice-daily watering to stop them from drying up, especially in arid climates or places that don’t see a lot of rain.
9. Watch your garden grow
Obviously, you don’t want to sit and literally watch your garden grow, because this will take weeks. That said, it pays to keep checking in on your garden, take photos and compare them. This will give you a way to see what progress you’re making on a day-to-day basis.
10. Reap your harvest
If you’re growing vegetables or fruits, make sure you regularly reap them. Food isn’t any good to anyone if you let it get too ripe, so take advantage of your homegrown vegetable or fruit garden to serve up tantalising pies and other delicious recipes. Make sure you’re using your garden to its fullest potential!
