garden

An early summer garden update + jobs for June

It’s a while since I wrote a gardening-related post on here, however, a number of you told me recently this was a particular subject of interest at this time of year, so I thought I’d give you a look at my garden in June. I wrote a May gardening post last year, so hop over to that if you want to see how the garden looked a year ago…

We moved to our current home around 2 1/2 years ago, so this is the third spring/summer season for us in the garden and pretty much being complete novices, it really has taken this long for us to better understand the general workings of the garden, the names and habits of the various plants and the jobs needing done at various points during the gardening year.

So, I’d like to spread a little knowledge and share what I’ve learnt in the process of taking on and maintaining a mature garden – I hope you enjoy!

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A Spring Garden Tour + Jobs for May

I have been asked a few times to feature my garden on here and share some of what I have learnt as a (very much) novice gardener since we moved into our home last Spring. Now that a full year has turned around in the garden, I feel that I’m gradually getting to know the place and the plants that reside here, plus I’ve gained more confidence in dealing with the various trees, shrubs and flowers that I’ve come to recognise. A year ago if you’d asked me what a herbaceous perennial was, I’d have thought you’d taken up a new foreign language. It really was Double Dutch to me.

So, as it’s the height of the growing season now and there’s more green lushness and splashes of colour about, I thought it the ideal time to show you around. I suppose it’s a decent enough size for a suburban garden, which is perfect for us, as it’s challenging enough without being overwhelming and there’s plenty of room for the kids to play outdoors, too.

Final point: as a complete novice, I have always found gardening to-do lists and jobs for the month incredibly useful for clarifying and prioritising what I should be investing my time on outside, so I’ve written up a little list of jobs for May at the end of the post, if you’re interested. So, all that remains is for you to pull on your wellies and come for a look around!

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How to Create a Cool + Cosy Outdoor Space

Well folks, May Day weekend is almost upon us and despite the recent cooler climes we’ve all been exposed to over the last little while, I’m told that warmer weather is on its way, so I thought it was the perfect time for a brief garden-related post. Specifically, I want to share some ideas with you on how you can spend some time over the long weekend getting your outdoor patio area or yard summer-ready. As long as it’s been given a quick clean up and the boring jobs such as power washing slabs and giving the lawn its first cut are out of the way, these are the fun touches you can accomplish in time for your first al fresco soiree with friends or simply a glass of vino and a book on a clear evening. Aah, how I love summer!

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Potting Shed Makeover

I have to say, I’m absolutely loving this recent Spring weather we’ve been having here. I just want it to last for weeks and weeks, but alas, here in Northern Ireland, that is rarely the case! On the positive side, however, I suppose it makes me appreciate the settled weather when it’s here and its often short-lived nature motivates me to get outside into the garden and do stuff before those pesky April showers make another appearance…

It was during one such spell of recent dry weather that my husband and I decided to repaint our lovely, but very much flaky and deprived potting shed in the corner of the garden. When I first viewed our house, it was one of the features I instantly fell for, as I could see bags of potential in it and it just oozed such yesteryear charm. At the moment, we use it as a store house for gardening tools and logs, however recently the children and I planted out some seeds in preparation for our veg patch come Summer (more on that soon), as it really does heat up quite nicely on a sunny day. I can also imagine it as a sort of summerhouse – it will eventually require a little work on tidying up the paintwork on the inside, however plonk a chair in there on a sunny day with a coffee and a book and I’ll be in garden heaven.

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Backyard Summer Styling Inspiration

Summer is literally right around the corner (although here in Ireland you’d hardly know it), but nevertheless I thought a post about how to sort out your outdoor space would come in handy for all that summer entertaining we all plan to do when the weather heats up a little.

For those of us who live in towns and cities, outdoor space comes at a premium and often we can struggle trying to make the most of what space we have. However, whether it’s a square of decking, a few slabs of patio or a patch of grass that you have, these styling ideas will be sure to inspire you to make that space a wonderfully inviting and functional area….