Blue skies, late sunsets and bank holiday weekends are well and truly upon us, making it the perfect time of year to plan garden renovations for a Yorkshire Summer to remember.
In a county with much of the most scenic and spectacular geography in England, from the mountains to the coast, there are many different options when it comes to garden renovations – here are just some ideas.
Make the most of the coast
The Yorkshire coastline takes in resorts from Bridlington and Scarborough to Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay, and a great coastal garden makes the most of the sun and the sea air, while resisting the salt spray and rougher weather when it comes.
Hire a skip to hold any excess soil you excavate, and dig some sunken beds to give your planting some extra protection; for beds above ground, opt for rugged structures like railway sleepers, which will cope better with exposure to salty spray and coastal winds.
A time to shine
With any luck, a Yorkshire Summer should bring with it plenty of sunshine, so don’t leave yourself with a garden entirely in the shade of a big tree.
You don’t have to cut the tree down in order to create some space for sunbathing; just remove some of the foliage and any old branches that are past their prime, and you can potentially allow some direct sunlight to find its way through.
Of course you can fell the tree completely if you want, if it’s not protected by a preservation order or equivalent, and again a good-sized skip will give you a place to put the branches either way.
Go hard or go home
If a garden of natural grass and shrubberies or bedding plants isn’t for you – and with the natural abundance of Yorkshire’s scenic surroundings, you might not feel the need to create a garden like that – hard landscaping is an alternative.
Lift up and skip any old paving slabs, break up old concrete and throw out old gravel, and replace it with a beautiful new patio or deck, and you’ll have a space for sunbathing on loungers, or entertaining guests at a Summertime barbecue.
Sustainable living
The raised beds suggested above using railway sleepers naturally lend themselves to growing your own fruit and vegetables in rows, which can give your household’s sustainability a boost.
Just remember if you have poor soil for growing in, it might be worth skipping some of it and replacing it with better quality topsoil, to give your edible plants the best start in life.
Set it in steps
Yorkshire is one of the hilliest counties in the country, particularly in the Pennines, and while a sloping garden is the more natural option, it’s also the least practical.
Like the coastal gardens mentioned above, you can excavate out; only this time, it’s not to protect your bedding plants, but to create a terraced garden with steps connecting the lower and upper levels.
Again, rather than try and level out your ground using exactly the soil you start off with, it’s often easier to dig out flat terraces and just hire a skip to remove the excess.
