Summer officially runs from June to mid-September when your garden will usually be looking its very best. You can continue the blooms you’ve seen emerge in spring and you will have plenty of time to entertain in the garden now the warm weather is stable. To ensure you enjoy a summer garden that’s filled with colourful flower beds, preparation is key. Your window of opportunity for this starts around mid-March (depending on the weather) when the warm weather starts to become more consistent and the ground is ready for summer bulbs.
When is it too late?
There are no hard-set rules for when it’s too late. But as a rule of thumb, as close to March as you can start work, the better. This gives whatever work you do time to settle, develop and be ready for summer.
You can be doing work that will bear results in summer as late into the season as you want. But the earlier you start and the sooner you get your preparation done the better your results will be and the longer the season of colourful flowers you can enjoy.
Reasons to get outdoors now
There’s work to be done
Spring will begin to fill your garden with spots of colour that can be very inspiring. There are few ways you can ensure that trend continues into summer. Check out our March, April and May garden job posts for more details.
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- Weed control
- Ventilate your greenhouse
- Continue supporting wildlife
- Check stores of summer bulbs
Enjoy the sun as soon as it arrives
Preparing your garden now will set you up nicely for when the warm weather becomes more stable so you avoid rushing when the sun hits.
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- You can start getting social as soon as the sun hits
- You can invest in quality furniture sets and covers when you need them, instead of when it’s too late
Let your plants really blossom
Preparing your soil and garden beds with a though-out plan will make for a beautiful display come summer.
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- Plan how your flower beds will continue to bloom with colours, patterns and textures
- Check any bulbs that you’ve stored over winter
- Keep watering your spring blooms
Get the most from summer
Summer is when your garden shows off its best assets. Putting in a little effort now will only enhance the success of summer.
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- Watch out for pests by using natural techniques like companion planting
- Begin to mow your lawn often so its lush and green in preparation for the social season
What one thing should I definitely do before summer?
The return of warmer weather means the return of life to your garden when things will really start to grow again. That includes all of your beautiful flowers but it also includes weeds. You want to keep on top of weeds as soon as they emerge, otherwise, they could overwhelm and ruin a summer garden.
- Use a hand fork to get right under the roots of a weed and pull it right out of the soil
- If you break the weed and leave part of the root in the soil and can’t remove it, spray it with a dose of weed killer before covering with polythene to starve it of sunlight.
- Collect all of your weeds together and put them in a separate pile – do not put them in your compost heap as they may start growing fresh in your compost!
Scott Roberts is a copywriter currently making content for the Primrose site and blog. When at his desk he’s thinking of new ways to describe a garden bench. Away from his desk he’s either looking at photos of dogs or worrying about the environment. He does nothing else, just those two things.