Easy Garden Upgrades for a Bright and Colorful Summer
by Evelyn Long
Your garden is a special place on your property. It’s where you put your creative energy and tend to your favorite plants, but it might need a makeover after surviving the winter. These easy garden upgrades will inspire you to transform it over the coming weeks into a beautiful and colorful retreat. You’ll enjoy a vibrant summer without ever leaving your backyard.
1. Extend Your Existing Garden Bed
Many people improve their gardens by making them bigger. It’s the perfect solution if you want to care for more plants and make your yard extra colorful. Start by outlining the future shape of your extended garden in property markers, a hose or bright string. Use a lawn edger to cut through the grass in that exact shape. You should be able to lift the newly formed sod pieces away with a flat shovel when you finish.
You’ll have exposed dirt ready for new plants after removing the grass. Line your garden with the same materials lining your current plants, such as bricks or plastic edging. Given how the gardening market reached $18.5 billion in 2022, you’ll find supplies at most home improvement stores or local gardening centers.
If you enjoy this project, you can use the same process to extend other parts of your landscaping. Create a wider space for the plants lining your driveway or front porch with these steps. You’ll gain additional room for flowers or bushes in places you couldn’t have put them before.
2. Plant New Flowers
Adding new flowers to your garden is one of the easiest garden upgrades. First, consider what you already grow on your property. Do all of your existing plants share similar colors? Is there a flower aesthetic you’d like to explore?
Some floral species have leafier petals, more vibrant colors and vine-like growing methods. Choosing one that doesn’t resemble anything you have at home will make your garden visually pop this year.
You should also think of your preferred landscaping aesthetic. Someone who prefers drought-tolerant plants due to the hardscaping around their yard might create odd-looking landscaping by planting roses between cacti. Consider which plants and aesthetics match what you love most about your yard to find the best new flowers for your garden.
3. Install a Small Pond
Water features add depth and texture to any yard. Consider upgrading your garden this summer by installing a small pond on your property. Choose a place where you’ll enjoy looking at it year-round, like just beyond your back porch or in the middle of your flowering bushes.
There’s no need to give up on your dreams of creating a pond if your yard isn’t entirely flat. Dig into the higher part of your future pond to make a flatter surface and check it with a level. Once you’ve dug far enough on the higher side, you’ll create a flat area to dig your pond basin. Ensure the area surrounding your pond has at least 3% of a slope so there’s proper water drainage away from your home. A clinometer will reveal the slope between any two points.
Install a preformed, plastic pond liner in your hole and fill gaps around it with the soil you dug to create its basin. Cover the area with whatever hardscaping materials match your property’s aesthetic, like stones, bricks or mulch. Fill it with water from your garden hose, and you’ll have a small pond ready for future additions, such as a waterfall or fish.
4. Build a Birdhouse
Birdhouses are always great additions to summer gardens. They attract birds that fill your property with nature’s music and double as a showcase of your design talents. Find a wooden design you love and print the templates for each side. You should have enough to outline four sides, the bottom and two pieces for the roof.
There are a few ways to make your birdhouse project. Use a saw to cut the pieces at home from wooden boards matching the width required by your design’s instructions. You can also purchase a wooden board at a home improvement store and ask them to cut it according to your template outlines on the spot.
Attach the pieces according to your instructions, which often just require wood glue. After the glue dries, you can nail it to a tree or hang it on a post.
Before installing your birdhouse on a permanent fixture, remember to have fun decorating it. Weather-resistant paint or glued accents like beads will make your birdhouse the most gorgeous home for birds on your street. Pull color inspiration from nearby plants, your home’s exterior design or your garden’s hardscaping to make it match its surroundings.
5. Seed Your Yard
There’s nothing quite like the beauty of a lush yard full of vibrant green grass. Your lawn may have brown spots or dirt patches after a rough winter, so consider seeding it this summer. It’s a relatively quick project that gives any property a landscaping makeover.
Buy a bag of grass seed that matches your existing type. If you’re unsure what your grass is or want to replace it, find a variety that will thrive in your geographic area. Options like zoysia and bahia thrive in dry, hot weather because they’re more drought-tolerant than Kentucky bluegrass. However, Bermuda grass seed is more widely available if you want something more economical.
Use a tiller to punch holes in your soil and help your existing grass breathe. Sprinkle your new seed over the freshly made holes and water them according to your package’s instructions. In no time, tiny green blades will make your lawn thick and healthy.
6. Create Wooden Seating
Backyards turn into gorgeous getaways when there’s space to relax in your garden. Consider building simple wooden chairs out of 2x4 wooden boards if you have enough room for seating. There are numerous tutorials free to anyone curious about honing their woodworking skills with a saw, an electric drill, and 2-inch screws or wood glue.
Basic guides will walk you through the process of cutting your two-by-fours to the correct lengths for the chair’s legs and supporting structure. Fill in the seat and back with more two-by-fours to complete your wooden chairs. You can make them match your backyard’s aesthetic with stains or paint made to withstand weather conditions.
Add cushions whenever you want to relax and you’ll get to enjoy the summer sunshine anytime you go outside. Removable cushions also make cleaning much easier. When pollen, bugs or loose leaves cover your chairs, spray them clean with your garden hose. The sealant or paint covering the wood will protect it from potential water damage.
7. Add Backyard Lighting
Lights are an excellent way to improve any space’s design. There are numerous ways to soften your backyard with mood lighting. Transform your garden into a getaway under the stars with outdoor options that go beyond traditional floodlights.
Hang Edison bulbs or other string lights around your garden by installing posts in your backyard. You could dig 2 feet into the soil, place your posts in the holes and fill them with quick-dry concrete or do the same process with large planter pots instead.
When the concrete dries, you can hang string lights, lanterns or any other mood lighting from the posts. Add color with weather-proof stains or paint. Every time you recline under the soft glow of your outdoor lighting, you’ll feel welcomed and safe on your property.
Research shows that adding lights at night reduces crime rates, so you’ll protect your property and give it a makeover with this easy garden upgrade.
8. Design Garden Plant Labels
Most gardeners have experienced the frustration of forgetting which plant is which. Knowing each species informs how and when you water and care for them. You also won’t have to guess when their potential harvest season will arrive. Plant labels are an excellent garden upgrade because they double as outdoor decor.
Consider your garden’s existing aesthetic. Do you want your labels to match how it looks or give it a new vibe? You could paint wooden boards with each plant’s name in a swirling font or paint large rocks to turn them into mini signs. Cut each plant’s species from craft paper in various prints and glue each letter to your pots.
This is a great activity for kids. They can easily participate in your label creation process with their own paintbrushes or craft supplies. Ask how they’d like to decorate your garden if they help tend to your plants. You’ll create a new memory together and give them a sense of ownership over the garden they helped bring to life.
Start Easy Garden Upgrades This Summer
Your garden is a form of personal creative expression. It should match the outdoor aesthetic you enjoy and make your backyard a beautiful place to relax with your loved ones. Use these easy upgrades to make it feel brand new this summer. No matter which project you start, you’ll elevate your yard’s design in a way that lasts for many years to come.
Evelyn Long is the Editor-in-Chief of Renovated Magazine, where she writes on interior design and home organization content. She is passionate about making home styling easier for all homeowners and renters by writing about home interior trends. Subscribe to renovated.com/subscribe for more posts by Evelyn!
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