Is your garden fit for a Queen?
Written By: Boyd Douglas-Davies
With the Jubilee weekend just around the corner, now is the perfect time to ensure your garden is fit for a queen! What better way to celebrate the Jubilee weekend than a garden party? But are you ready? Here are some top tips…
Fill your garden with colour
Get your garden full of lovely colour with various vibrant plants. The obvious colour combination this year must be red, white and blue.
Lobelia is still #1 when it comes to blue bedding plants but if you’re looking for something bigger to put in a border or in pots on either side of the front door, then a blue hydrangea may be just what you’re looking for. Lupins and cornflowers can also provide a summer of bright blue. For red and white there’s an endless choice from geraniums to roses; for a more exotic look plant white zantedeschia in the middle of a pot partnered with red and blue.
It is widely reported that the Queen’s favourite colour is blue so if you want to work with one colour then this has to be the one to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. Shades of blue could look fantastic. Petunias, surfinia, verbena can work well in a hanging basket. Maybe add a central white geranium or white bacopa to mix with the blue shades. Blue doesn’t have to come from flowers as Festuca Intense Blue is genuinely bluegrass that looks superb in pots or borders. Looking to plant a tree as part of the Jubilee Canopy? Eucalyptus will continue the blue theme or a fruit tree will bring pleasure to many for years to come. Short of space? Many of the trees we sell are perfect in small gardens with some being suitable for planting in large pots and oak barrels.
Looking beyond bedding plants there’s plenty of choice for summer colour. Cottage garden plants are available in abundance at the moment. Summer flowering clematis planted amongst climbing roses will provide lots of flowers and, if you choose the roses well, a garden full of scent.
If you want to bring your garden to the party plate then there’s a number of edible flowers that can be grown. Nasturtium, pansy and violas are the most popular but you can also use chive blossoms, lavender, borage or dianthus to add colour and flavour to cakes and salads. Experiment to discover your favourite. Have you ever added Rose petals to ice cubes, cakes or ice cream? We find the darker the petal the more intense a flavour you get.
How to keep your party flowering all summer long
Whatever the weather you need to feed plants regularly and remove flowers as they go over. We recommend alternating plant feeding between Big Tom tomato food (which encourages lots of flowers) and Miracle-Gro (a good all-round food) as these two work really well together.
Don’t forget to keep your plants hydrated to keep them growing nice and strong. Get yourself the right equipment to water effectively, whether that’s a hose pipe or a watering can. Why not have a water butt to recycle the rain water?
Get your lawn royal ready
With getting the garden looking its best, it’s important to focus on the lawn. Keep the grass mowed little and often. You can apply a slow-release lawn fertiliser to help with getting that lush green colour. We recommend Evergreen Complete 4 in 1 as it creates a thicker, greener and healthier lawn and kills weeds and moss. Where you have any bare patches, overseed them with a good quality lawn seed such as Johnsons General Purpose Lawn seed. Finally, keep the edges neatly trimmed to frame the lawn and help set off the rest of the garden.
Light up your garden so you can party all through the night
Solar lights are the perfect garden accessory to keep your garden a paradise all through the night.
From stake lights that go into the ground to fairy lights that can be wrapped in trees, there is something for every garden. With the lights being solar powered it makes installing super easy and there’s no cost to have them running.
Have a big garden tidy
Get your garden to look its best by keeping on top of all the maintenance. Keep your hedges trimmed and in shape with either handheld shears or electric trimmers for bigger jobs.
Remove weeds that keep popping up in the garden. There is lots of products to help get your weeds under control such as Resolva Ready To Use Weedkiller. Clean your patios so they are looking sparkling clean. There is nothing more satisfying than using a pressure washer!
Why not give your fence a lick of paint to refresh and revive.
Make your guests feel comfortable
Have you got something for you and your guests to sit back and relax on?
Find your perfect set of furniture for your needs. Whether that’s a great big dining set for entertaining or a couple of sun-loungers to soak up the sun. Don’t forget a parasol or gazebo for those sunny days ahead.
Want to enjoy the garden right into the evening? For the colder evenings ensure you have a patio heater or firepit to keep you toasty. A firepit can also be used to toast marshmallows- Yum.
See our great range of garden furniture.
Find a BBQ to serve up a tasty feast
Mmmm…. Nothing beats the smell of BBQ food. There is no better way of spending a sunny weekend than tucking into a feast of BBQ food. Is it gas or is it charcoal? You choose!
Make sure your BBQ is all clean and ready to use all summer long. Or why not treat yourself to a new one. Lots of BBQs can also cook pizzas now, even better!
See our great range of BBQs
The garden show of the year, RHS Chelsea, will soon be with us. If you’re watching or visiting do look out for the Greenfingers Charity stand We’re delighted to be supporting their exhibit this year. Greenfingers have created 60 gardens at Children’s Hospices across the UK over the last 22 years and they continue to build new and revisit old gardens.
