With summer just around the corner and the abundance of sunshine, it’s time to turn your attention to your garden. Whether it’s just a quick spruce-up or an entire overhaul, we’ve got a list of the best things you can do to get your garden perfect in time for the warmer weather.

Reinvigorate your outdoor surfaces

Starting off with an easy tip, there’s no better way to see quick results than to give your outdoor surfaces a good bit of TLC. Of course, how you do this depends on the type of surface you have.

• Block paving should be pressure washed, left to dry and then re-sanded. Often a bag of kiln-dried sand from a builder’s merchant is all you’ll need. Take a brush and spread it evenly around. Voila – fresh looking floors.
• Decking is a bit trickier but the results are even better. Because wood loses colour and tone through the seasons, refreshing your decking is a must before a big season of garden parties. You should purchase a special decking wash, which can be brushed in. You can then treat it with specialist decking stains, like Ronseal, which help prevent future wear.
• Grass can be easy or nightmarish depending on how much work you’ve put into it in the past. Keeping on top of the grass with regular cutting is important. In the summer, should you be lucky enough to avoid rain for an extended period of time, you can use Flexogen garden hoses to manually water your grass lest it dries out and withers.”
• Furniture and details can be brought back to life with a good lick of paint. A professional brand like Crown Trade will be more vibrant and longer lasting than a pot picked up cheaply.  Try to decide on a palette and match your entire garden with it.

Get your flowers/plants in order

Winter isn’t kind to most people, but even less so to plants. Flowers you might love haven’t shown their face outdoors for months, but with spring and summer it’s worth a trip to your local garden centre to pick out some potted plants that’ll bring life to your garden. If you’re short on room for planting, you can always just house potted plants in buckets or pots for a bit of chic fashion.

Get a shed – you’ll need one

Anyone who invests much time in a garden realises that storage is an issue. If you buy summer decorations and furniture, you’ll want to store those when winter strikes and vice versa. As well as that, a shed lets you tuck away garden tools and free up space elsewhere.

There are plenty of designs available to suit all styles of garden and you can grab smaller sheds for less than £200 from stores like Kent Blaxill. Don’t forget, the paint mentioned earlier can be used to match the shed to the rest of the garden furniture and detailing.

Glam up your garden with furniture

If you’ve got guests coming over or you’re planning on some intense sunbathing, it pays to get some nice garden furniture sorted. For bathing, good fold-out loungers can be had from all the major DIY shops and can be stored away in that shed you just bought.

For parties and general garden relaxation, you’ll need a good table and chairs set. You can either buy a plastic set which can handle all weather, or let loose your inner designer and buy specialist wooden or metallic furniture. Another alternative – DIY your own furniture. A log as a bench, a bucket as a plant pot or pallets as tables – the possibilities are endless.

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