Ready, Set, Grow: How to Prepare Your Garden for a Beautiful Summer

There is no better time of year to be gardening. The cold winter nights are now behind us, and the warm spring breeze is in the air. Wildlife is bustling all around and the signs of plant growth are bursting through into the spring sunshine.

But where do you start when preparing your garden? With all the complicated gardening guides and advice out there we at B&M have created this compact guide to solve all your gardening worries.

Ranging from lawn preparation, picking the perfect compost, getting the best tools and making weeding easy this article will make gardening fun and stress free.

Read more below to see how you can achieve a thriving garden this summer.

The Best Way to Achieve a Luscious Lawn

Having a luscious lawn which you and the family can lounge on during the summer is one of the great pleasures of a garden. However, it can be tricky to keep your lawn healthy during the summer.

Firstly, ensure the height of your lawn mower is not too low. If cut too low the grass will not receive enough sunlight to stimulate photosynthesis and can damage turf. Make sure the cutting height is at least three inches to prevent these issues and watch your lawn flourish.

After making sure your grass is long enough the next step is promoting lawn growth. Any high-quality lawn feed will do the trick. The lawn feed will help add the essential nutrients your lawn needs to stimulate growth. In addition, seed your garden to repair and holes or patches in the grass.

The Westland Lawn Thickener Feed & Seed is a great option for both invigorating your grass and adding new life to your lawn. With a combination of both lawn feed and grass seed you’ll see the benefits within seven days.

B&M Top Tip: An excellent lawn mower can make life so much easier. The Flymo Speedi-Mo 360C is complete with five different cutting heights to ensure lawn health and is easy to use and store. See more lawn mowers at the B&M website.

How to Choose the Correct Compost

Compost is an essential item in ensuring the prosperity of your garden. Nowadays we all buy bagged formulated compost to save time and guarantee a positive result. However, modern compost is suited to different needs and getting the correct bag for your garden will bring the best results.

1. Multi-purpose

Multi-purpose is a great choice that can fulfil almost any need. Any general-purpose mix delivers a balance between drainage and moisture retention to prevent hydration issues. Most bags provide enough fertiliser for a month of growth ensuring initial growth of young plants and vegetables.

The Westland Peat Free Multi-Purpose Compost is a great choice as it provides all the benefits of a general multi-purpose compost, but includes added John Innes formula which enhances nutrient retention and promotes additional growth.

2. Ericaceous

Ericaceous compost is ideal for lime hating plants such as Rhododendrons, Camellias, Azaleas, Pieris and Heathers. If the incorrect compost is used it can cause the yellowing of leaves and poor growth. 

Gro-Sure Ericaceous Compost provides a great medium of lime content and contains 4 months of growth for lush flowers all season long.

3. Seed Sowing

Seed Sowing compost consists of a fine blend of soil that is perfect for promoting growth in newly planted seeds. The soil enables close contact between each seed causing faster germination. Additionally, seed sowing compost is low in nutrients which allows the seedlings time to establish themselves preventing premature growth.

The Westland John Innes Seed & Sowing Compost is specifically designed for seed germination and water retention, which guarantees maximum growth for your newly planted seeds.

B&M Top Tip: Be sure to check the ideal soil acid and alkaline levels of your plants before planting. Check out the Gardeners World website to check what soil pH your plant needs.

What to Do When Combatting Stubborn Weeds

The fight against weeding seems never ending. Make your life easier with our tips and tricks to combat weed infestations.

Firstly, most annual weeds can be taken out by hand. If the weeds have not yet set seed and have been exposed to sunlight their leaves will appear brown and wilted. This makes them far easier to remove on your own. If they appear stuck or too difficult to pull out, then use a hand fork or hoe to loosen the soil and pull them out at the root.

However, as we all know weeding is not that simple. At this stage a chemical solution can be applied to destroy their ability to grow. The Westland Resolve Pro Weed Killer 1L is a ready to use systemic weed killer that is suited to controlling the most stubborn of weeds. Simply apply regularly and you’ll see results in 24 hours. The solution also degrades in the soil so you can rest assured that the chemicals will not linger in your garden.

B&M Top Tip: A little known fact is some weeds are beneficial to your garden. Try and keep some weeds around the edges of your garden as this will increase biodiversity. As long as you keep them away from your plants/vegetables and ensure they do not become overgrown, this can help breed helpful wildlife naturally.

Which Garden Tools Do You Need?

Having the right tools to tend to your garden is an easy way to make gardening easier. With so many gardening tools to choose from, we at B&M are here to help you get started.

A scarifying rake removes moss and thatch from soil which allows water and nutrients to reach the roots of your lawn. Therefore, providing you with greener grass all summer long. A great example is the Rolson Garden Rake which features a carbon steel head for added durability and a rust resistant finish.

An edging iron is useful for older gardeners as it prevents the need to bend down frequently. Simply push the tread plate down with your foot and create neat edges around your garden borders. Check out the Rolson Ash Wood Edging Iron to get yours now.

No gardener’s tool set is complete without a high-quality spade. Great for all types of gardening jobs and activities a digging spade is essential in making sure you can get the job done. The Rolson Ash Wood Digging Spade makes light work of gardening jobs with its premium ash wood composition which allows for a clean and easy slice into soil.