How to maintain a garden

Gardening is a great hobby that keeps you active, is great for your creativity and is also great for your mental health. It’s not just about planting flowers though, there are other things that you need to do. We’ve pulled together all the tips you need to know, so you can successfully learn how to maintain a garden.

From watering to mowing, at the end of this article you’ll know everything there is to know about looking after your garden. We’ll be covering tips for beginners, soil advice and how to keep your garden plants healthy. Below are some of the essential ways of keeping your garden looking picturesque:

• Watering plants
• Mowing your lawn
• Pruning plants
• Weeding
• Feeding plants

Maintaining a garden for beginners

As a beginner to gardening, you may make a few mistakes at first, but you’ll soon learn what works and what doesn’t. Don’t be afraid to experiment, as this will help you build your knowledge of gardening over time.

Some of our top tips for maintaining a garden for beginners include:

• Keeping your plants watered: This is especially important during the warmer months as without sufficient moisture, your plants will dry out and die.
• Pruning and deadheading your plants: It’s important to remove any dead flower heads and prune your plants to prevent them from growing out of control. This will help new flowers or fruit to grow and keep your plants looking healthy.
• Mowing: It’s very important to keep your lawn trimmed regularly during the warmer months of the year. However, if the weather is particularly hot, you’ll need to keep your grass a little longer to prevent it from drying out.
• Weeding: Weeds can attack your plants and take over your garden if left to their own devices. Don’t forget to regularly weed your garden by digging them out, being careful not to damage your plants.
• Aerating: Using a garden fork to create holes in your lawn each autumn and spring can help with drainage.

How to take care of garden soil

Soil is vital for keeping your plants alive, allowing them to grow and flourish. So, it makes sense that learning how to take care of garden soil is a great way to make your garden reach its full potential. For the best results, you should ensure your soil has the right combination of moisture, nutrients, and drainage.

Below are a few tips for how to achieve this:

• Digging: Use a spade to dig through the soil you intend to use, ensuring you break apart any clumps.
• Compost: Adding compost is a great way of improving the quality of your soil and adding essential nutrients for plants.
• Raking: Using a rake to remove any weeds and stones before planting is a good way to give your plants the best start.

How to take care of outdoor plants in the summer

During the summer, plants are at risk of drying out and dying when your soil runs out of moisture. But with the following tips, you should see excellent results:

• Watering and misting: This is essential during the summer as the sun can quickly decimate soil moisture levels on a hot day. Make sure to keep your plants watered and if necessary, misting can also help.
• Composting: Compost can also be used during the summer to introduce key nutrients and moisture to your plants.
• Shade: Adding a shade cloth or another type of cover to your plants can help them to stay healthy during the summer. This protects them from drying out in the sun.

Low maintenance garden design ideas

If maintaining your garden is something you simply don’t have the time or energy to do, introducing some of our low maintenance garden design ideas is a great solution. With a range of different tips, such as planting easy to maintain shrubs and choosing artificial grass, you can achieve stunning results with very little need for maintenance.

Professional garden maintenance

If you want to build a functional, stunning garden, we’d recommend hiring a gardener. This is the best way to achieve stunning results and you can have a gardener maintain your garden on a regular basis.

Just type your postcode into our online search to find a range of professionals recommended by your neighbours.

How much does professional garden maintenance cost?

If you’re considering hiring a professional to maintain your garden, you’ll probably be wondering how much this will cost. Depending on what maintenance you need and the size of your garden, garden maintenance costs an average of £30 per hour. Generally, pruning is one of the more expensive jobs with an average cost of £70 per hour.

Hiring a gardener is a great choice not only for maintenance but to enhance and beautify your outside space. With average charges of £175 a day you’ll be amazed at the difference a professional can make. For further information and tips, check out our garden maintenance cost guide and our gardener prices guide.

FAQs

How do you take care of a garden?

The five key ways to take care of your garden are watering, pruning, using compost, tackling plant-eating bugs, and weeding.

How do I keep my garden plants healthy?

In order to keep your plants healthy and looking beautiful, it’s important to ensure they have enough water and nutrients, plus you’ll need to remove any weeds and deadhead when necessary.

How can I make my garden successful?

In order to make your garden successful, you’ll need to carefully plan the layout and position of your plants. Ensure you meet the needs of each plant in terms of shade, moisture, and nutrients before choosing where to position each plant.

You also need to plan for using your garden. For example, if you love to entertain, outside seating is a must. You could consider adding a barbeque, hot tub, dining area, and fire pit to ensure you get the most out of your garden.

Another way to create a successful garden is to plant a vegetable garden. You may even feel a great sense of pride when it comes to picking and eating different vegetables and fruits from your garden. Once you’ve planned every part of your garden, use our maintenance tips from earlier in this article to keep it looking fantastic year-round.