You’ve enjoyed your time in the garden maintaining it over the winter, you’ve topped up the mulch, kept your hedging up to date, on top of the weeding etc etc. and your entry has been placed in the Spring Garden Competition. Judging will be happening next week, so what should you be doing now?
In this last week focus should be put towards fine tuning in preparation for judging.
Your hedges will need just a little ‘tickle’ to get rid of any scraggy bits – not a savage trim that some enthusiastic electric hedge-clipping wielding helper let loose can do, just a very light going over.
- 3-4 days before judging mow the lawn and sharpen up your (lawn) edges.
- Tidy up your yard of any messy material that may have fallen like broken limbs and palm leaves etc.
- Give your outdoor furniture a little birthday to remove dirt and dust.
- Scrub out your birdbaths so they are looking fresh and keep the water topped up.
- Clean down any static garden art pieces.
- If you planted annuals for that pop of colour, routinely deadhead spent flowers.
- If Aunt Agatha’s Arum lily (aka as Zantedeschia) in a beautiful pot is looking a bit dodgy, early this week give her leaves a spray with foliar fertilizer, if she is still not looking too crash hot on judging day move her to a spot less noticeable.
- If something has failed you may be able to disguise this by placing an interesting plant in a pot there (providing of course it can tolerate that position), or some garden art.
- Give your paths and outdoor areas a ‘gurney’ so there is no moss or mould apparent.
- If the paintwork on furniture is untidy perhaps a little brush up might be in order.
- If your bins are going to be situ, make sure they are clean or alternatively on judging day pop them into the garage.
- Your utility area, potting bench etc should be tidy – judges know it is a place of work but it should nonetheless be clean and organised.
- Encourage your kids to move their jalopy to their friend’s place so the driveway is clear, this is so the judge can assess your house and garden from the street.
- Avoid doing the washing on judging day – you can have the day off!
- On judging day make sure the hoses are put away along with any garden implements – the judge should be able to move freely around your garden front, back and sides.
