Tips for doing up the garden this summer

The garden is an area which is evocative of peace and tranquillity and you are lucky if you have a small space of your own in which to breathe some fresh air.  For many people, gardening is not so much a hobby as an art. Sometimes, even the most enthusiastic of gardeners lose their battle with nature and the garden becomes a wilderness.  

We tend to think that in order to have a pretty and well-maintained garden there needs to be a large investment in plants, accessories and products. However, with a few small tips, we can help you to make your garden the envy of the best professional gardener. Certainly, care and attention in the way you look after your garden is the first step to ensuring that your plants grow strong and healthy.  To do this, you need to pay close attention to their requirements so that you can deal with potential pests, weeds and moisture, and use fertilisers to provide them with nutrients.  

How to get the garden ready before the summer

Cleaning

Firstly, to get your garden ready, you need to clean the whole area, cut the lawn if there is one, remove all the weeds and get the whole area ready to begin designing your project.

Decorative elements

The elements, such as pallets, or outdoor armchairs or benches, can be distributed and combined with the decorative spaces in the garden. To achieve balance, it is important to create open spaces that make the garden seem much larger.  

Your requirements will depend on the space. If it is very flat, choose elements, such as stones or wood, to create some relief in the planted area. If you choose flower pots, you can play around with the space and create straight or stepped shapes.  

Choosing native plants

The choice of plants for your garden is very important. Knowing that they will adapt well to living outdoors, in the local climate and the type of land or container is the first step. The garden centre staff can help you to decide and guide you on the different plant varieties. For example, jasmine is one of the most popular climbing plants, it has beautiful flowers with a marvellous scent and it is very resilient. There are some 200 varieties of jasmine, and although they all require the same care, they don’t all have the same flowering times.

Zen garden

Japanese Zen gardens have become very fashionable. There is one called Karesansui, known as the «rock garden», which is easy to create. You set out a space, which is normally a square, with large rocks, although you could also use bamboo. Lay a first layer of sand or gravel, which is then raked to give it the desired shape. Zen gardens evoke meditation and reflection by balancing the effects of yin and yang.  This type of garden is easy to maintain and can also be adapted for a terrace or a patio.  

Indoor terraces

There are spaces in the home which can be planted up like gardens and which, with just a few resources, can offer a complete change and provide a space of tranquillity and wellbeing. Plants that are placed vertically, as a vertical garden, give a lot of warmth. All you need to add is a few chairs or a sawn-off tree trunk as a table and, enjoy!

Draw out the space

You don’t need to be an architect or landscaper to design your own dream garden. With a simple sketch of the space available you can come up with an idea of how to arrange the elements and meet your expectations.  

Vegetables and aromatic plants

You don’t need to own a vegetable patch to plant your own vegetables or spices at home. With a few simple fruit boxes filled with earth and fertiliser you can create a complete vegetable plot in your garden. Enjoy fresh basil, mint, limes… it is one of the pleasures that every amateur cook can try.  

Flowers indoors and outdoors

At the garden centre they can advise you about which flowering plants are most suitable for your garden. Being able to see a plant flowering is a precious moment. Something is always happening in the garden, it is never the same, not even for a single day. In addition, being able to use your own flowers for decorating inside your house brings incredible joy as well as a personal touch. You can also benefit from swapping cuttings with friends and family which will also enrich your garden.  

Watering

Always make the most of the early hours of the morning to water your plants, as this will avoid the evaporation that takes place during the hotter times of the day and will maximise their uptake of water. If you are away from home for a period of time, there is the option of having programmed watering.