How to Prepare the Garden for Spring

A Guide to Spring Gardening Projects from the Garden Tool Hire Specialists.

As a leading garden tool hire company – whether you want to give your garden a quick blitz with some essential maintenance, or you’re planning a larger landscaping project – we’ve got everything you need to transform your space.

We offer a comprehensive range of gardening tools to help you prepare for springtime and alfresco entertainment – here’s our four-part guide: How to prepare the garden for spring

Part 1: Trim hedges and trees

Although it’s a good idea to prune deciduous shrubs ahead of spring, you can trim out evergreen trees and hedges at any time of year, whenever they need tidying up. Most evergreen shrubs will benefit from pruning out the older stems in order to encourage healthy new growth.

We have an extensive range of electric and petrol Hedge Trimmers available for hire, enabling you to quickly and easily trim conifers and evergreen hedges.

After the high winds we experienced recently, you might also benefit from our Chainsaw range to remove a fallen tree or trim broken branches, followed by Tree Stump Grinders, Green Waste Shredders , and heavy duty Wood Chippers to dispose of the unwanted timber.

Part 2: Lawn care

If you want a lawn worthy of summer entertaining then now is the time to start your preparations. We offer a comprehensive range of lawn care equipment and garden tool hire for all projects:

• Our lightweight Brushcutters/Strimmers will help you to tackle overgrown grass and undergrowth while our Lawn Scarifiers remove dead grass, larger weeds and moss. After that, you’ll simply need to remove and treat roots to prevent future weed regrowth.
• For established lawns, our compact self-propelled Aerators are easy and safe to use and will promote healthy grass growth by increasing the oxygen supply to the root zone. In addition, aerating your lawn will also improve drainage. We recommend using an aerator during spring (or in autumn) but not in the summer months.
• If you’re planning on reseeding your lawn or laying new turf then you’ll benefit from our Water Filled Garden Roller. The robust roller can be used to compact your topsoil and push down the freshly planted grass seeds. Then, once your lawn is more established, the garden roller can be used to eliminate molehills and frost heaving and even create sought-after lawn stripes.

Part 3: Clear the decks

Over winter, your decking or patio will have been exposed to the elements and is likely to need a bit of TLC.

• Our Heavy-Duty Electric Power Washer is the perfect tool to clean grimy patios and slippery timber decking, and remove unwanted moss from paths and driveways. If your garden furniture has been outside over winter then It will also benefit from sprucing up with a quick spray down – make sure to leave wooden furniture to dry thoroughly before treating with wax or sealant.
• Conveniently compact, our Powered Weed Brush makes easy work of removing stubborn weeds, moss and other debris from the joints in patios, kerb/edging stones, tarmac areas and block paving. The added benefit is that you needn’t use harsh chemicals so this is perfectly safe around pets and wildlife.
• Our Astro Turf Power Brush is specifically designed to clean synthetic lawn surfaces and – by standing the fibres up – your lawn will regain that freshly laid look.

Part 4: Nourish the soil

Before you start to think about sowing seeds and transferring pots it’s important to consider planting. Soil tends to become compacted over winter so, with warmer weather and planting season on the horizon, it makes sense to start preparing the ground and flower beds now, once the frost has lifted and the soil is more workable.

• Use one of our handheld Garden Blowers to clear away fallen leaves and debris, quickly and easily. Leaves can be added to compost and, once fully decomposed, can be mixed in to enrich the soil.
• Our range of Tillers/Rotavators will make easy work of improving your soil  – even if your garden is based on hard clay. The ergonomically designed tillers are ideal for tackling hard and compacted soil in your garden, making it just the right texture for mixing in some compost or mulch to boost nutrient content before planting out seeds, shrubs or vegetables.

Need more advice on Gardening Equipment for spring?

Smiths Hire has been trading for nearly 50 years and in this time we’ve established ourselves as a leading tool hire company, including garden tools Our range of manual and powered equipment will help you with general maintenance or projects – any time of the year – to get your garden looking smart in no time. 

Need more information? Whatever your query, our friendly team will be happy to offer their advice and provide expert guidance on which tools would be best for preparing your garden – please feel free to call us today on 0333 323 2100 to discuss your project and receive a free quotation.

Alternatively, if you’d rather buy your gardening tools instead of hiring, we now offer a fantastic range of STIHL equipment for purchase. On our STIHL buy site you can find Lawnmowers, Hedge Trimmers, Chainsaws and more! Take a look here.