Quick fixes for a more beautiful garden
WHETHER YOU HAVE ONE HOUR, ONE DAY OR ONE WEEKEND TO SPARE, THERE ARE OUTDOOR TASKS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES THAT WILL FIT IN WITH YOUR FREE TIME AND GET YOUR GARDEN GOING AND GLOWING FOR SUMMER
FACING the garden in the spring after a cold, wet and blustery winter can seem like an enormous task. It can be difficult to know where to start.
But rest assured — it is amazing how much of a tidy-up can be achieved in one afternoon. Once you have surveyed the damage done by the elements, you can busy the troops gathering bits of broken branches and buckets of leaves for the compost heap.
What at first seems daunting is often a delightful task too, for, as you work, you observe plants beginning to reawaken, bulbs pushing up and new shoots emerging.
The new season and new growth should help embolden you to the tasks ahead. As you work, consider what you’d like to achieve in the garden during 2018. Start with planning some pro- jects. Make these achievable tasks which can be completed in either an hour, a day or over a weekend. Here’s my suggestion for some quick garden fixes that make a difference, to fit into whatever time you have available to give to your garden.
WEEKEND JOBS Take care of appearances
First impressions of your home have an impact on you and visitors. If your plot is surrounded by a hedge, make sure it’s nicely trimmed and clipped. Set the impression that you love your house and garden. Create nice green glossy leaves for a privet or laurel by feeding a fertiliser that’s high in nitrogen.
If your home is surrounded by a plain brick or concrete wall, powerwash the wall to make it spick and span. If it has cracks or crevices, introduce some planting. A nice, dry, sunny position like this will welcome aubretia, campanula, saxifrage or other alpines, which will be a delight come midsummer.
Make time for structured thinking
For a fun creative weekend
challenge, consider creating a garden retreat. You may need the help of someone handy for this project. Every garden deserves a pavilion, a destination and a covered space that you can see peeping out from behind that big lilac shrub or beyond the old apple tree.
Consider making a simple and quirky structure by using bits of old wood or scaffolding boards. Ensure they are weathered and sand them down for a smooth, splinter-free finish.
To really complete the scene, have a curtain made of all-weather canvas; set it on a pole in the inside of the opening so that as the night draws in, your outdoor dining room becomes more intimate. Even better, frame the view by planting wisteria around the door. An extra outdoor room will give your house added value and desirability.
ONE-DAY JOBS Upcycle your bricks and mortar
In an intimate space, maybe just outside a house bordering on the patio, why not introduce some quirky elements of decoration? Maybe something like the marine floats which served all sorts of purposes for fishermen and are now destined for the scrapheap?
Reduce, reuse, recycle and delight by collecting a load on your next trip to the coast. Then drape them on ropes, through a net or along a wall. It may be a temporary measure as you wait for a clematis or honeysuckle to ramble up the rope but while young plants are growing, there’s no reason why you can’t have fun with exterior decoration.
Take some artistic licence
Make a subtle yet humorous touch to the outside of a house with a mural, such as a cat which I spied pouncing one time outside a home. On the next window ledge, there was a bird house (a real one this time). On the other side of the window was a flurry of feathered action — a mural of the birds flying away. More traditional tromp
l’oeil effects can create an illusion of depth, seeming to extend the garden scene or to make courtyards seem bigger than they are.
ONE-HOUR JOBS Bring colour to your container planting
Vibrant oil drums can be bought for ¤20–¤40. Clean them out and make sure they have drainage holes, then fill with good soil or compost. You can use them for groups of plants or even small trees (see tips on planting in small spaces, page 22). Potted bamboos can also look dramatic. Make sure to top-dress every year and don’t let them dry out.
With smaller areas, use a collection of old pickle cans, which should be available from your local chipper. I saw them on a table outside a shop in the south of Spain, colour-coordinated to go with the wares on sale. Consider geraniums, fuchsias or even mounds of basil, thyme or oregano bursting from these colourful tins.
Enjoy a clash of cultures
The newest trend in gardening is growing pots of cacti and succulents. These can look luxurious if you present them in some unexpected ways. Try planting the succulents and cacti together in a long trough made from rough wood for a rustic yet edgy feel.
Plants you may not ordinarily give a second glance can appeal as an exotic mishmash if you present them as arrangements — all it takes is a little bit of thought. Whatever you use, pots and containers stuffed with clashing colour will brighten up the dullest areas and create a welcoming and attractive environment.