A great British Summer will soon be upon us, whether that means rainy days, sunny days or any other weather the UK throws at us. These tips will help you prepare your garden for any weather.

Let’s face it, a great British Summer doesn’t always involve much sun at all, which is why preparing our garden for the Summer months doesn’t just involve a mow of the lawn and dusting down of the trusty sun lounger. So rain, shine or gale force winds, this list of tips will help you get your garden ready for a great British Summer:

Pressure wash the patio

This is one of those jobs your either love or hate – it’s mucky and noisy but put the effort in now and when summer is truly upon us you can sit back and relax on your nice clean patio. Whether you have basic concrete slabs, wonderful reclaimed yorkstone paving or gorgeous contemporary porcelain tiles, after a British winter they will have moss and algae and assorted other green or black stuff on them that you need to clean off to restore the beauty of your outdoor space. This is especially a problem for hard landscaped areas in shady parts of the garden. If the moss and algae return quickly then try some chemical solutions prior to pressure washing again.

Prepare The Fences

If you have fences in your garden, it is important you prepare them for summer before the heat (or rain) truly sets in. This involves fixing any holes or damage done during the winter months, and applying any varnishes or treatments. If you need to replace a fence completely remember to recycle the wood you remove, or even break it down and save it for wood for the fire pit if it’s not painted with toxic varnish or paint. Now could also be a good time to freshen up the look of your garden by adding a lick of paint to the fence. Bright and beautiful is now in when it comes to garden design, so steer away from those natural fence coatings and be brave – opt for a duck egg blue or candyfloss pink and embrace a retro 50’s style garden.

Get Your Vegetable Garden Prepped

Growing your own is no longer a novelty, and plenty of us are really into growing our own stock of delicious organic produce. Plant a simple mini herb garden to provide you with fresh snippings to flavour your food, or why not get those ornamental pots out of storage and fill them with tomato plants? Just remember the more you prepare to grow your own food, the more successful you will be. So add compost to the greenhouse soil, dig out any big stones and go buy your seeds in plenty of time, there’s nothing quite like harvesting your own produce for lunch!

Clear Out Your Shed And Garage

Your shed and garage will more than likely be full of toys, gardening equipment and miscellaneous items stuffed here and there when winter set in and the garden was abandoned in favour of cosy nights inside. Clear out the shed and garage and sort your items into three piles – chuck, recycle or sell, and keep. The items you keep should be cleaned and stored ready for use. The items you throw away should be done so responsibly and the items you are recycling or selling should be sorted ready to give to charity or take to a car boot. Doing this sort out early will leave you lots of room to use the space you’ve created.

Create Areas Of Shade

If we do happen to get some sunshine this summer, you’re going to want an area of shade somewhere in your garden. You don’t want to go the same colour of those tomatoes you’ve planted! So create a simple shaded area by investing in a gazebo, or even a simple sun umbrella over your seating or one of those on-trend sail shades.

Be Safe!

Remember to do a safety check of your garden and garden equipment before the summer comes. After items have been stored in the garage or your self-storage unit they can become dusty or seize up. This is why it is so important to check them over before you use them – as well as safety, you don’t want to whip the BBQ out for the first time only to find out it’s out of gas! As well as equipment, check over the entire garden for large fence splinters or cracks in the patio or path that could be a real tripping hazard.