While summer is the season for enjoying your garden with lazy days in the sun and family BBQ's, Spring is the time to start refreshing your outdoor space and laying down the groundwork that will keep your garden visitor ready all year long.

From renewing your flower beds to keeping your trees and hedges in check, keep reading for our garden maintenance guide;

Start with a blank canvas

Over the winter months, it's easy for your garden to become a waste ground for weeds, rotting leaves and other debris. Clearing your flowerbeds back to bare soil will give you a good starting point for any planting while any biodegradable items will make a welcome addition to your compost heap.

Ensure any weeds that you're removing are dead before you add them to your compost heap otherwise they can germinate and cause you more issues in the future.

Preparing your soil

Once you have stripped away any debris, it's time to get your soil ready. Once winter has passed, you can ease compacted soil by digging the top layer or using a tiller to turn it. Once your soil is easier to work with, add your compost and any other products you're using and then rake and water the area.

Planning your planting

When you're planning the design and aesthetic that you'd like for your garden, it's important to take into account their germination and flowering time frames. You don't want to end up with a garden full of flowers in May and then nothing for the rest of the year.

Try to create a mix of flowering seasons in your beds so you have something to enjoy no matter what the time of year. Ensuring that you're leaving enough room between your plants is also essential so thatlarger plants don't smother your smaller flowers or bushes.

Watch out for any visitors

When you're preparing your garden, keep in mind that you might have some visitors earlier than expected. Nesting birds can hide deep in bushes and hedges so make sure you check before cutting any back as well as keeping an eye out for hibernating hedgehogs nearer to the ground.

More and more homes are following the trend of creating some wildlife areas in their garden with the introduction of items such a bird boxes and bug hotels. You can also encourage flying visits from pollinating insects to keep everything growing healthily by picking the right sort of plants and flowers.

Don't forget your furniture

With so much focus on prepping your flowerbeds and other natural areas, it's easy to forget about your garden furniture and the effect that adverse winter weather might have had on it.

As well as giving it a clean and removing any moss or lichen that's made an appearance, make sure none of the wood has rotted or been damaged and make any repairs that are needed.

By following these easy hints and tips, your garden will be somewhere you can enjoy for the entire year.