Time. I don’t know about you but as a mum time is the one thing that’s permanently in short supply. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Since baby number three arrived in February there’s even less of it, which unsurprisingly means our allotment has had to take a back seat.

5 easy ways to get your garden ready for summer

My lovingly decorated she-shed has been untouched for weeks, dandelions are taking over the raised beds and if it wasn’t for being innocent #sowandgrowUK ambassadors we wouldn’t have planted any vegetables yet.

But all is not lost! By taking a few simple steps all you really need is a few hours to get your garden summer ready.

5 easy ways to get your garden ready for summer

1. Cut the grass! It might sound obvious but it’s amazing what a quick trim will do, transforming your outside space from an overgrown meadow you’ve been avoiding to somewhere that makes you want to kick off your shoes and lie on the grass. There’s nothing quite like the smell of freshly cut grass either.

5 easy ways to get your garden ready for summer

2. Add a pop of colour. I have two bright turquoise plastic tubs which I keep on either side of our garden bench and plant up with seasonal bedding plants. No matter what the rest of the garden looks like the sitting area always looks bright and pretty. At the moment we’ve got violas, which replaced primroses I planted earlier in the year.

5 easy ways to get your garden ready for summer

3. Plant strawberries. They’re cheap, need virtually no maintenance and will give you lots of juicy red berries the kids will love. You don’t even need to plant them in the ground – they’ll do equally well in hanging baskets, window boxes and pots.

5 easy ways to get your garden ready for summer

4. Invest in some new outdoor furniture. Whether it’s a metal bistro set, a hammock, a wooden bench or a rocking chair some new outdoor furniture will encourage you outside and help make your garden look loved – even if it’s not! Cox and Cox has a wide range of furniture to suit all budgets, including an indoor outdoor hanging chair which I love! If a hammock is more your thing, the hammock store has a wide range of hammocks to suit all tastes and budgets.

5 easy ways to get your garden ready for summer

5. Lights. There’s nothing like a set of fairy lights to add a spot of enchantment to a garden on a summer night, but if that’s not your thing think festoon lights, jar lanterns or hurricane lamps with candles in.

5 easy ways to get your garden ready for summer

Do you have a garden and have you been getting it summer ready? What are your top tips?

This post was written in collaboration with Cox and Cox. As always all opinions are my own and I would never recommend a product or service I don’t truly believe in.

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