Garden Maintenance Guide for Summer 2021

02.07.2021

Garden Maintenance Guide for Summer 2021

Having a beautiful outdoor area is key to enjoying time spent at home. The goal here is to ensure that your garden is a healthy and nice-looking environment perfect for entertaining your friends and family. If you own a garden office pod, having a neat garden is even more important because you will spend a lot of time there and your surroundings can boost your creativity. On the other hand, if your garden is a mess, it can have a negative impact on your general well-being and prevent you from being productive.

So, without further ado, if you want to make the most of your garden this summer, there are a few things that you need to pay attention to.

1. Mow your garden regularly

Increasing the frequency of garden mowing can be an effective way to keep weeds at bay and to have a neat garden. During the summer, grass and weeds tend to grow much faster and waiting for them to grow substantially and then cutting them might not be the best solution. If you let them grow, weeds have plenty of time to produce seeds and to spread to every corner of your garden. So, it is better to mow your garden often, even if it takes a bit more time.

An important thing to remember about mowing is that you should only do it if the soil is dry. If you combine mowing and wet soil, you might end up dealing with many annoying issues such as mushroom proliferation, unhealthy grass, more weeds, etc.

2. Water your garden

During the warm summer months, your lawn and garden plants will need more water. If you like your garden office to be surrounded by beautiful flowers, flowering shrubs, and a healthy lawn, don’t forget to water them. The best watering technique for most plants is the ‘soak and dry’ method which consists of allowing the topsoil to dry in-between watering sessions. So, water your garden thoroughly and wait for the soil to feel dry. This applies to potted plants as well.

If you like to fill your outdoor space with potted plants and flower beds, it’s best to opt for manual watering. This will allow you to adjust the amount of water each plant receives. Automatic irrigation systems are good alternatives if you are too busy or if you are on holiday, but keep in mind that this watering system is best for lawns and gardens that don’t have a lot of diversity.

Wondering what the best time of the day to water your garden is? You are not the only one. This is a controversial question in the gardening world and it’s the first thing people ask when it comes to outdoor gardening. As a general rule, it’s best to water plants at dawn and sunset. This is when the air and soil temperature is low and the evaporation happens less. If you water your garden at noon, for instance, a huge percentage of the water will end up evaporating and won’t reach your plant’s roots. This is a waste in terms of time and resources. So, try to water your plants early in the morning or in the evening and do it as slowly and as evenly as you can. Spilling too much water in a certain place or using too much pressure can remove the surface soil and damage your plants.

3. Inspect your garden pod and fix potential problems

During the warm summer months, take some time to check your garden pod and see if there are any potential issues. This is the perfect season to make repairs and improvements and to ensure that your garden house is ready for autumn, and can withstand rain, snow, and freezing temperatures.

If you have a wooden shed that you use for storage, or any other type of garden shed, start by inspecting, cleaning, and decluttering it. It is highly recommended to do so only if the weather has been nice over the past few days and it doesn’t look like it will rain in the future either. This will allow you to leave things on the lawn without worrying that they might get soaked and to make certain repairs while the timber is dry.

If you notice any discolouration or spots in the wood, you might be dealing with water infiltration. If you notice signs of moisture, adapt your inspection strategy and look more carefully for blue stains that might be caused by fungi, insects, woodworms, lichens, or moss. Timber that was wet for a long time is a perfect environment for these pests and, to prevent further damage, you’ll need to take care of these issues as soon as possible. Another type of damage that you should look for is splits, cracks, or breaks in the wood. If the damage is near the roof or if it seems severe, it’s best to hire an expert to help you out.

4. Prepare your garden pod for winter

If you purchased one of our container houses or garden pods recently and you plan on using it as a garden office, don’t forget to prepare it for winter. As you probably already know, garden pods can be used year-round, provided they are insulated and equipped with a heating system. If you want your garden pod to be cosy, you can install a wood-burning stove. But before you choose one, make sure you ask an expert whether this heating solution is a safe choice.

Other popular heating systems for garden pods include electric radiators, electric convection heaters, underfloor heating, solar heating, air conditioning, infrared systems, etc. Some of these garden pod heating solutions are more cost-effective than others, so it’s best to ask an expert and to choose wisely.

Want to make your garden pod even cosier? Here are some design tricks to stay warm in your garden pod:

  • Make the garden pod ‘feel’ warmer by choosing thick rugs. Floor coverings that have high wool content will keep your feet warm.
  • Plan for the future. We know it’s difficult to make plans for winter in the middle of the summer, but time flies and there are just a few months left until you’ll start looking for your fluffy socks. Think of what future you will need and how future you will feel in your garden office pod.
  • Eliminate draughts. Try to determine if your garden pod is draughty and where the draughts are coming from. A thermal leak detector might come in handy as it will help you find even the smallest gaps.

If you found this article useful, you’ll also like this article about maintenance of the garden storage shed and this article about maintenance of garden log cabins.

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