If you love to garden, you’re certainly not alone. In 2020, seven in ten British households had a garden according to the Office for National Statistics, and according to the Horticultural Trade Association, people spend around £9.9 billion on their gardens every single year!

Of course, to have a good garden, you need to put in the elbow grease, but if you want to boost your outdoor space the right way, what are the best ways to upgrade? To help you decide, here are some of our top picks in time for summer 2022.

Set a budget

A firm budget will help you prioritise what you really want and need in your garden. A good approach is to decide based on what you want to have done, to what quality, with which materials, how much time you’ll be spending in it, and whether you want to hire professionals. Armed with this information, you properly plan your garden upgrades and have a firm list you can get quotes with.

Improve your seating area

Having a lovely place to sit in your garden isn’t just good for comfort – it opens up a whole host of other garden activities, including barbecues, get-togethers, parties and more.

Whether it’s investing in a new, high-quality table and chairs, or cleaning your patio or decking to make it look brand new, getting a grip over your garden’s seating area is crucial if you want to spend your summer outdoors. You could even add lighting to further elevate the look and make your seating area the perfect place to enjoy the outdoors once the sun has set.

Repot your plants

It can be easy to let plants overgrow and become tangled during the winter, and even the hardiest may look a little battered from month after month of miserable weather.

To make sure yours are in tip top condition, safely pop each plant out of its pot and check whether roots have become too dense to work out which need new, larger homes. Cut back and prune any dead leaves, branches, or stems. And either spruce up old-looking pots, DIY style, or invest in new ones that go with your overall garden design.

Invest in a lick of paint

One of the quickest ways to give your garden a polished appearance is to add a fresh lick of paint to any fences, gates or raised flower beds. Doing so won’t just make them look brand new but inject an extra element of colour into your outdoor space.

Make sure to take stock of the colours that will naturally bloom in your garden over summer so you can pick a shade that will go well. House & Garden’s recent feature on spring paint colours is a great place to start searching for shades – pinks, yellows, blues, and greens are all in this year, and will give your garden a calm, sunny appearance.

What do you plan on doing to your garden to prep it for summer? Let us know in the comments section below.