Make the most of your green space and enjoy it
ith the clocks changing shortly, now’s the
to start thinking about your garden or outside space or even your window sill.
Yes, it’s been a long winter with a lot of bad weather and rain – more than double the usual amount in February but the sun will soon come out and 2024 is predicted to be one of the warmest on record so it’s a great time to start planning what you might want to do with any green space you have. It's worth taking some time to think about how you want to use your space in the first instance - will you be sitting out in it and want an oasis of cool and calm? Do you want it to service you as a vegetable patch? Are the kids going to want a space to play out there?
While time is still on your side there are lots of things you can do whether you have a garden, a patio, a balcony or a window box to get your green fingers going and encourage nature into your space so you can enjoy it.
Firstly, have a think about planting. It can be flowers, plants or a vegetable patch and if it’s the latter, you don’t necessarily have to buy seeds. Anything you eat with seeds like butternut squash or courgettes you can remove the seeds, dry them out and then plant them yourself. When your potatoes chit – when they start to grow little white ‘roots’ or eyes – you can chop them and put each bit with an eye into the ground to grow your own spuds. Yes potatoes aren't one of the more expensive items to buy on your weekly shop but there's nothing nicer than pulling your own potatoes out the ground, giving them a scrub or a wash and peeling them and cooking them. Plus they're fairly hardy so won't mind a little bit of neglect if you're busy.
We’ve been having weather extremes in the UK a lot due to climate change so think about drought resistant species whetherthat’splantsorvegetables,fruits or salads.
A water butt can be a great idea too, we often have hosepipe bans in the UK in the summer months and when the only option is a watering can, having a water butt is a great way of using rain water for free. You can search social media marketplaces and see if anyone locally is getting rid of one.
If you have children, getting them involved in making a bug hotel can really encourage wildlife into your garden and getting them to help pull out weeds or adding mulch could sew a life long interest and care in the environment.
When it comes to mulch you want an organic and peat free mulch and the same goes for compost.
We’re all looking forward to warmer and brighter evenings when the clocks change, so make the most of your green space now so you can start to enjoy it when the sun shines.