Now that the weather is getting warmer, more and more people are turning their attention to their gardens, clearing, tidying and trimming them ready to enjoy throughout the spring and summer seasons. The scale and difficulty of this task obviously depends on the size of the garden in question and its layout, so to save you some of the hard work, we’ve laid out the three biggest tasks you’ll need to tackle, and some outdoor essentials you can use to get the job done.

Should you prune your trees and hedges

There are various reasons why trees and hedges might need pruning. This might be because they simply look untidy, having outgrown their surroundings, or (more rarely) they may even pose something of a hazard for those using the garden in question. If a branch has become overgrown or it looks particularly dangerous, you’ll need to tackle those first. Otherwise, if the tree is deciduous - that is, if it’s one that sheds its leaves annually - it should ideally be left well enough alone, as pruning these trees unnecessarily can stunt their growth. Really it’s the smaller formal trees, such as evergreens, that require more attention. It’s a good idea to prune them just before they’re ready to produce a new flush of growth - right now in the springtime, in other words - which enables them to feed normally throughout winter. For smaller trees, or evergreen hedges, a long-handled hedge trimmer is a labour saving option, making it faster and easier for you to get the job done.

Choose the easiest way to do the weeding

It’s by no means a task that anyone looks forward to, but since you’re in the mindset for a good spring clean of your garden, that makes it a great time to do the weeds too. There are certain patches they can show up in more often than others - the bare patches of soil around the borders are one of the places that can quickly become overrun by chickweeds, and other annual and perennial weeds. You may already know that the simplest and most straightforward way is also the hardest; removing them by hand. To do this properly, you need to remove the whole plant along with the roots. While doing this by hand alone can be a particularly difficult, a garden hoe or fork can make life easier for you. Happily, here at R&J Builders Hardware we have a variety of tools and equipment to help you do just that. Our gardener's fork in particular makes the task a lot easier, with a lightweight fibreglass shaft to make heavy duty digging easier.

Clean up your patios and paths

With the most intensive tasks over, clearing the patios and paths to the garden will seem relatively tame by comparison - so whether you want to start or finish your spring clean with this particular job is all up to you! Sweeping it down is the first order of the day, to clear off any remaining dead leaves or twigs or detritus. (Something like our 24” Soft Brush Wood Handle is often useful for this first step.)

As for the rest of it like the hard-baked dust or dirt, you can use items like our patio seal, which seals and protects it from the effect of sunlight, water, oil, petrol and fungal or moss growth. Carefully applying this across the patio will help it to dry to a hardwearing, water-repellent film, which reduces dirt pickup and helps you to clean it more easily. Helpfully, it doesn’t hurt plants or animals, so you can use it reasonably freely around the garden. You do, however, have to make sure that it doesn’t enter watercourses, but this is a fairly standard precaution with most fillers and sealants, so you’ll likely already have systems in place to ensure this.

Whatever you need for the spring clean at hand, here at R&J Builders Hardware we’ve got a wide array of trade-quality outdoor and gardening equipment you can use to complete the job. Don’t forget, you can always give our friendly experts a call on 01254 52525 if you have any questions or need any advice!