AD | Did you leave your garden ‘unattended’ so to speak from the end of Autumn until just recently? Well, if you did, then there are three key jobs to get things back to normal in the garden, so you can enjoy some summer barbecuing fun. As a keen gardener, I know how important it is to get set up when the weather finally stays good on us!
Sharpen the lawn mower blades.
If you didn’t give your mower any TLC before you put it away for the winter then this task is key. When you cut your grass for the first time you need the blades to be sharp so they actually cut rather than rip the grass. Replace them if necessary. And for the first cut of the year, keep the blades high so as not to shock the grass either.
I prefer to sharpen my blades with a good quality sharpening stone; rather than remove the blades. Well, I say “I”, but obviously I mean my husband, I don’t want to lose a finger (!). He finds it easier to run the stone along the edge of the blade. To be clear though, this is not a two minute job. Which is why many people advocate the removal of blades and use of a bench grinder or file. We just prefer not to remove the blades and risk reattaching them incorrectly after sharpening. The other alternative is to seek a professional’s help but where’s the fun in that? Also, just a warning: please be careful not to let the blades slip and cut yourself!
Cleaning off the barbecue
Last year, on our last barbecue, the weather turned sour (as it invariably does for us here in the UK) and we forgot to clean off the grill. Now, as you can probably imagine the best part of five months later, things are looking pretty ugly. Don’t panic, and certainly don’t get the detergent out. There are far easier ways to start cleaning up your lovely barbecue * without the use of acrid cleaning solutions.
The first thing to do is burn off most of the nasty bits by turning the power up if it’s gas, with the hood down. Or, if you really like a good smoky flavour on your food, then use charcoal instead. Just let the embers get really hot and cook the grill off until all the black turns white. At this point, grab a good wire brush and (being careful not to burn yourself), simply remove all the nasty bits from the grill. You really can’t do a better job than with fire and a wire brush. It’s quite amazing how effective this solution is.
Clean the garden table and chairs
Five months without use, one might think you would come back to a clean looking table and chairs. Well, unfortunately, that’s not so. All manner of wild animals (including our cats) have found their way on or over our table set. My top tip here is wet wipes (please try and get the flushable ones though). They do an incredible job of cleaning without damaging surfaces but take heed, we worked our way through two full boxes before things looked acceptable. Otherwise, a decent J-cloth and soapy water will eventually get the job done. Or, if you have one, a pressure hose will make short work of any mess in no time!
I hope these three simple tips help you put your garden or outside space back on track. Because it pays to get organised sooner rather than later, if you want to enjoy some summer barbecuing fun as soon as the weather improves. And now all we need to do is keep our fingers crossed for another long hot summer!
What do you do to get your garden ready for summer barbecues? What summer preparation tips can you share?
* This is a sponsored post.
Ooh, this post is making me all excited for sunny days in the garden! I have a little table and chair set and my favourite thing is to sit outside with my lunch or a cuppa tea and just enjoy the nice weather (fingers crossed!). I do need to get out there soon and give it all a clean though, it’s amazing how quickly everything can get so dirty. Thank you for the suggestion of wet wipes, I’ll give that a go! He he, I love the photo of Spooky at the dinner table, it looks like he is looking at you as if to say ‘…and where is my dinner?!’ Cats are so funny 🙂 Fab post Lisa, great tips! Hope you have a lovely weekend! <3 xxx
That’s what I had in mind when I was putting this post together too! We bought a new parasol recently and sitting outside on a sunny morning is just wonderful at the moment. Luckily our furniture responds pretty well to a power wash but the wet wipes have come in handy before now 🙂 And yes, cats never miss a trick when there’s food around do they, haha! Thank you for your lovely comment, hope you have a wonderful weekend too xxx
Just made me remember the movie song where Olaf sang about How it felt like to be in summer!
Oh really? That’s funny 🙂
I love your table set, perfect size for entertaining! Love BBQs and even though I’m a veggie there’s always plenty I like to chuck on. I use diluted zoflora spray /washing up liquid to clean my outdoor furniture.
Thank you – we haven’t had many barbecues so far this year but we’ve just got some new lounge-about-on furniture so I’m hoping that will encourage Alan, haha! And good tip about diluted washing up liquid, thank you 🙂 x
I love the summer months, any excuse to have a bbq. Getting everyone together having fun! I have actually been out in the garden yesterday and today clearing up and getting ready. It’s so therapeutic to see the before and after. It’s such a great work out too! Although now I ache! Thank you for sharing great tips! The table and chairs are the next on my list! Xxx
I know, there’s something about the smell of roasting food that just makes your mouth water! And I know what you mean about a workout, I can barely move after a weekend of garden jobs 🙂 Glad you found this post helpful, thank you for your lovely comment xxx