I’m a gardening expert and here are my 5 top tips to tackle the most tedious outdoor jobs – including weeding and dealing with pests
A horticulturist has revealed five ways to tackle the most monotonous gardening tasks.
This week, thousands of people across the UK will be focusing on their outdoor spaces in preparation for the warmer days ahead.
Speaking to Femail, Simon Parry of Simon Parry Gardening & Landscaping shared his top tips to manage tedious outdoor tasks, including weeding and dealing with pests.
Simon, who is working with composite decking brand Trex, explained flowers and plants that have been abandoned or left unattended for a period of time, as often happens over winter, can quickly spread and damage a garden’s health.
Although weeding is widely considered an uncomfortable and laborious task, Simon advised gardeners to set themselves up for success by making the experience as enjoyable as possible.
The experts also recommended approaching the task armed with a strong trowel, fork or Hori Hori (Japanese gardening knife), a comfortable kneeling mat on hand, and a pair of headphones to make time go faster while weeding.
For homeowners lucky enough to have trees in and around their outdoor spaces, the warmer months provide a great opportunity to marvel at a sea of stunning green leaves.
However, come autumn, raking up the leaves that fall in a seemingly never-ending cycle becomes an arduous task.
Raking leaves can feel like a never-ending cycle – but Parry revealed why it’s one of the most important tasks to ensure a sparkling lawn (stock image)
Simon advised: ‘Leaving leaves on a lawn over winter can damage the grass, so it’s best to clear throughout the colder weather rather than leaving until spring.
The expert recommended beginning the task of raking leaves in November, ideally keeping on top of it weekly while setting some aside for compost.
‘In terms of raking leaves, we use a combination of a hand blower to blow into piles, a plastic lawn rake – Bulldog rakes are the best in my opinion – leaf grabbers, and a bulk bag.’
One pivotal method to enjoy a healthy lawn during the warmer months is to simply plan ahead, he added.
He suggested: ‘I’d recommend aerating and scarifying your lawn early in the year to improve drainage and get rid of any moss.
‘Doing the hard work now will mean you can spend more time enjoying rich, luscious grass in the spring and summer months.’
Common garden pests, such as slugs, can wreak havoc on gardens and destroy precious plants.
Slug pellets ought to be avoided as they have a negative impact on other garden wildlife, he added.
To ensure rich and bright grass in time for the summer months, Parry advised gardeners to get to work as soon as possible (stock image)
Although none have proven to 100 per cent effective, the expert recommended opting for an alternative natural method.
For instance, Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) suggest choosing plants with thick or waxy leaves that are less palatable to slugs, as well as encouraging regular visits from predators such as hedgehogs, toads, and birds.
The experts also advised gardeners to rake over their soil to expose slug’s eggs to predators.
Maintaining a timber deck is perhaps considered one of the most relentless tasks as it needs regular sanding, staining, sealing, painting, and cleaning to remain in pristine condition.
To help manage these tasks, Trex advised gardeners to invest in a high-quality composite deck because it does not need sanding or staining, just washing with soapy water when dirty.
It comes after BBC presenter and gardening guru Monty Don, warned gardeners not to cut glass too short.
He said: ‘Just give it a light trim for the rest of this month. This will encourage good root growth and as a result the grass will be a lot healthier and better able to resist summer drought.’
While some will want to cut the grass until it is as short, level and neat as possible, this is a mistake, he warned.
As thousands across the UK turn their attention to their outdoor spaces, experts have stressed the need to stay on top of essential gardening tasks for fruitful growth – no matter how dull they might be (stock image)
This is because longer grass is better for wildlife and the eco-system, and so it should not be cut to its shortest length.
In addition, according to the horticulturalist, cutting grass too short – also known as scalping – can not only stress it, but make it vulnerable to diseases and bacteria that can cause significant damage.
Monty advises gardeners to put energy into maintaining healthy grass rather than fighting problems such as moss, ants, worm-casts, dandelions, moles and more.
If the grass is healthy, the gardening expert assures that ‘everything else will look after itself’.
Discussing how to trim the lawn in April, he said gardeners should ‘restrict the mowing as much as possible’.
He continued: ‘In our garden we have reduced it right down to mown paths in the long grass. Whatever your grass-cutting inclinations, resist the temptation to scalp your grass down to its midsummer height.
‘Set the blades high and just trim the grass for the first few weeks as much to even it out as to reduce it.’
The height of the grass can be reduced over the course of a few weeks once the weather has warmed up, and it has started to strengthen.
He also gave advice on what gardeners should do if their lawn is covered in moss – which could indicate poor drainage, which caused by too much shade.
To combat the issue, Monty advises to stick a fork in the ground and ‘wiggle it about,’ repeating the process every six inches, before filling the holes with equal portions of sieved topsoil, sharp sand and sieved leaf mould or compost.
