It’s still light at 5.30pm, and we can now walk outside without having to wear literally every layer in our wardrobe. Spring is nearing! And this means - as well as getting very excited - we need to start thinking about preparing our gardens for the blue skies and sun rays. Gardening, planting, redecorating: our gardens deserve the highest degree of attention this spring, and Ferris & Co are going to help you through it!
Spring cleaning
The garden is an exciting place, and an area of the property with unlimited potential. But, before you can consider redesigns and alterations, we recommend cleaning and organising your garden! This includes the boring stuff: removing weeds, collecting dead leaves, and a general sweep or scrubbing of patio and deckings.
It may not be the most glamorous, but it is the most necessary - that new set of mahogany garden furniture isn’t going to look as dashing sat next to an old pile of glass recycling. And if the kids are still home and looking to pick up some extra pocket money, an afternoon of weed-picking might do them some good...
Buy vegetable seeds
If this isn’t a regular feature of your garden already, it’s time to start growing your own fruit and veg! It’s rewarding, sustainable, and will help give your suburban lifestyle that hint of horticulture that it always needed. Courgettes, onions, tomatoes, squash, chillis - if you have the space, the time, and the attention, there’s no limit to what you can produce by yourself.
So, for now, start researching the seeds or plants you want to buy, and - more importantly - start researching how to nurture them properly! It’ll certainly impress your friends who didn’t know you had it in you, and it’ll certainly make those weekly Waitrose shops a bit cheaper.
New plant pots and flower beds
Freshen up your garden aesthetics with some overdue replenishments! Once you’ve cleared weeds and other unpleasantries, it’s time to rejuvenate: assess how much space you’re working with, and start to prepare your flower beds. There’s no use buying a bucketload of carrot seeds if you don’t have a decent place to grow them. Try to think both aesthetically and practically: successful cultivation is the priority, but don’t miss an opportunity to make the garden pretty!
Buy some soil if you’re planning on preparing new beds, or tidy up the ones you have: clear out any debris and rake the soil to help airflow! You could even consider going the extra length this spring by investing in a greenhouse - or, failing this, just buy some colourful plant pots.
Get ready to host!
Preparing the garden isn’t all about soil and flowers! With our fingers (and our toes, and everything else) crossed, in spring and summer we’ll be able to socialise and entertain family and friends in our gardens! But seeing as that probably feels like a very alien concept to us all right now, the garden is going to need some work to prepare it for such jollities.
You can stay simple by investing in a stylish set of garden furniture, or push the boat out for spring by shopping for a fire pit - remember, those spring evenings can still get a touch cold! We also recommend a set of sturdy LED lights that are powerful, but also waterproof (don’t want to be caught out by those April showers!). Or, for a more sustainable pick, you can buy a set of solar garden lights that run off the day’s sunlight: either way, we really believe that a dazzling set of outdoor lights does your gardening a service by tying the whole garden together.
Or, you could forget about all of this and just invest in a new BBQ to helm the summer feasts. However, we do recommend a practice run before cooking for a whole party: a spanking new BBQ can’t save a cook that habitually burns the burgers...
