Gardens should be beautiful, calming and relaxed spaces that have everything you need to suit your personal preferences. Whilst every garden has a different aim, all of them should have a couple of things in common; they need to be productive and practical places. When it comes to making the most out of your garden it is possible to achieve on a fairly short timeline. Whether you’re creating a dedicated workspace outside, or you’re growing your own vegetables, here are a handful of ideas to turn your garden into a perfectly productive space.

Create a Productive Workspace

Having a dedicated workspace somewhere in your garden is one of the most practical elements you can create. With an undercover spot you can carry out light work, arrange flowers, store your tools and carry out general hobbies too. You may want to look into bespoke garden workshops for this exact purpose, as it will create additional space for you to be productive at any time throughout the day. It can also be the perfect opportunity to enjoy some quiet time if your household is generally busy!

Grow Your Own Herbs

You can do a lot even in just a small garden space, especially when it comes to growing herbs and vegetables. Even if you only have room for a couple of small pots, this will help your garden to feel like a highly productive place. Green beans, radishes, mint and rosemary are all low maintenance vegetables that you can grow in a small space, so why not give it a try for yourself?

Choose The Right Types of Plants

When you’re creating your garden, you need to consider what type of plants you need in order to cultivate a practical and productive garden. Try to choose plants that naturally thrive in your climates and be aware of where the sun exposure tends to hit. When you take some time to do a little research you’ll end up with healthier plants that last much longer.

Use Your Garden Waste Wisely

In terms of creating a productive garden, you need to think about what you already have and how you can put it to good use. There are so many great ways to make use of your garden waste so that nothing ends up in the bin unnecessarily. All you need to know is that anything you rake, sweep or clip from your garden can be put to good use if you give it a chance to break down and turn into compost.

Creating a purpose for your garden is clearly very important, as it will indicate what you want to do with it for the long haul. Whether you’ve always dreamt of being self-sufficient, or you’re looking for a covered workspace to carry out your hobby, there is so much you can do to create a thriving environment for you and everybody else in your household. So, enjoy the process of creating your practical and productive garden this summer season.

Have you ever stepped into your garden, only to feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of junk lying around, or how disorganized it feels? Maybe you want to maintain a beautiful garden, but it’s contrasting with all the random items strewn about. Or perhaps you’ve been meaning to get some work done on your fences or furniture, but the only thing you see is the remnants of a long-abandoned DIY project! 

Nobody wants to escape to their garden, only to find more mess and clutter waiting for them. Let’s talk about some ideas on how to tidy up your outdoor space and transform it into something more desirable through a little organization and garden design planning.

Start by decluttering your garden and designating some storage spaces

While it might seem depressing to see lots of seemingly random items placed around your garden, it’s not exactly a bad idea to use it for storage at times. After all, your garden is a large open space that has plenty of room, so storing a few boxes and large items won’t really detract from the overall experience and design. However, it is important not to place things around in random locations, as it can feel like a complete mess.

The solution is simple: start decluttering your garden and designate storage spaces. For instance, you can keep your hedge trimmer and other power tools in a shed or even your garage instead of leaving them outside leaning against your fence or walls. If there are gardening tools and items lying around, consider installing shelves, hooks, or pegboards to add extra storage to the exterior walls around your house. This not only looks neater but makes those tools more easily accessible for when you need them in a pinch.

Decluttering may also involve throwing away items that you don’t need anymore. For example, some people might have old children’s toys and bikes that they’ve grown out of. You might even have things like an old basketball hoop that nobody uses anymore, or soccer goalposts that haven’t seen use for years. These kinds of items are distracting and could detract from the overall feel of your garden. If they’re not being used anyway, there’s nothing wrong with removing them. If you have space, you can always keep them in your garage or garden shed. Alternatively, you could even consider selling them or donating them to someone else.

Arranging your furniture strategically

Outdoor furniture can be a wonderful addition to any garden space, but it’s important to consider how you’re arranging things like tables, chairs, and benches. If you place them randomly on your patio or on your lawn, then it can look rather chaotic and won’t create the cozy relaxed vibes that you’re looking for.

The goal here is to create areas with a purpose. For instance, if you’ve got garden furniture on your patio, then it’s probably for the sake of creating an outdoor social area where you can relax, socialize, and maybe even enjoy some snacks. As such, your garden furniture chairs should be pointing at each other to create a more social atmosphere, and there should be a coffee table where you can place items like food and books.

You also have to consider the weather when it comes to designing an outdoor space. Don’t overlook the importance of things like shade to keep the social area cool, and don’t forget that uncovered areas will be exposed to rain and debris. This will require your garden furniture to be cleaned and maintained more often, hence why many people prefer to place garden furniture in covered areas.

Source: Unsplash (CC0)

Too many plants are a bad thing

Another step to helping you regain control over your garden is to declutter the plants themselves. If you haven’t been maintaining your garden carefully then it’s not unlikely that you have plants growing in areas where you don’t want them to, and you might have too many different colored flowers which creates a confusing mess of tones and themes. This can lead to chaotic scenes which will turn you away from spending more time in the garden.

If this is the case for you, then it’s time to take action. If plants are no longer thriving or serving their purpose in your garden, it’s time to clean them up and let them go. Not only will this lower the amount of maintenance required to keep your garden looking great, but it’ll also provide more space for healthier plants to grow.

If you don’t want to get rid of certain plants, then it’s always an option to pot them and grow them indoors as decorative elements, or separate them by forming more flower beds. Alternatively, you can also introduce large planters that are great for creating more visual interest and even forming borders around your lawn.

Removing excess plants and maintaining a consistent color theme around your garden will greatly enhance the visual appeal and also be easier to maintain. While it sounds like a lot of work, it’s a crucial step in helping you regain control over your garden space.

Clean up garden debris and use it as natural mulch

Your garden debris might make your outdoor space look messy, but it’s actually a great opportunity to create natural mulch. Before you gather up everything and throw it in a compost bin, you could consider repurposing it as natural mulch. Whether it’s fallen leaves or grass clippings, everything can be used to enrich your garden soil and suppress weeds.

After mowing your lawn, gather up all of the grass clippings and recycle them as mulch. Bag them up together with your fallen leaves, and shred anything large such as twigs and branches. Layer it around your plants, but be careful not to pile it up against stems and trunks. This will help suppress weeds, retain moisture, and even regulate soil temperature.

The combination of small wood pieces, grass clippings, and leaves will promote healthy plant growth, and it’s a sustainable way to reuse a lot of the debris around your garden.

With these tips, you can tidy up your garden for spring and help promote a healthy and sustainable, chemical free garden!