Seven easy ways to makeover your garden this spring & summer

Giving the garden a glow up for 2025…

Each year, the average Brit spends around £680 on getting their garden looking good, and now, with lighter evenings and warmer days fast approaching, Brits flock to their gardens, many finding them weathered and in need of a makeover.

With this in mind, the pergola and awnings specialists at Hillarys have provided their expert tips on how to makeover your garden this spring and summer:

1. Start with a clean slate

The first step for any garden makeover is a bit of housekeeping. Start by clearing weeds, dead plants, leaves, and clutter from the garden. Then you can mow any grass, edge your lawn, refresh mulch, and a fan-favourite for garden transformations is pressure washing patios, fences, and furniture, making them look brand new.

2. Brighten up your garden with outdoor lighting

Whether you’re aiming for a modern, sleek garden or a romantic cottage-core countryside escape, outdoor lighting can help make the evenings or dark days a little lighter. Fairy lights, candles, built in awning or ground lights all offer great lighting and enhance the atmosphere—look for solar-powered lighting options to keep your bills down but your mood up.

3. Paint or stain tired wooden fences, sheds, and planters

Woodwork can lose its colour quickly after being exposed to the UK weather, so if you want to give your fences, sheds, or planters more life, try staining or painting them. Popular colours that can instantly upgrade your garden include white, beige, sage green, or something more daring like black or pastel pink.

Image: Hillarys

4. Embellish pergolas with climbing plants

Pergolas are a great way to ensure you have a consistent shade within your garden, providing a functional but comforting space within your sometimes sporadically sunny garden – a perfect place to read or work from home. Once installed, you can easily dress up pergolas and add height by playing with climbing plants such as roses or star-jasmine, which not only brighten your garden but smell amazing when in full bloom.

5. Define your garden with pathways and borders

Create structure and flow in your garden by adding gravel, stepping stones, or wood chip pathways within your space. Either embedded within the lawn to prevent foot traffic damage, or running alongside. Frame your grass with borders or hedges, raised planters, or flowering plants in garden beds to transform your backyard oasis.

6. Revamp seating areas

Seating areas are often the most important part of your garden where you gather with friends and family, eat alfresco, or even work in the sun. You can upgrade even the simplest bistro set by painting it, adding umbrellas or pergolas, and accessorising with outdoor cushions, rugs, blankets or side tables.

7. Plant perennials for Lasting Colour

For a low-maintenance touch of colour within your garden, choose perennials throughout your garden for long-lasting colour that returns year after year, without the need to replant them, unlike annuals. Try geraniums, lupins, or delphiniums to add extra vibrancy to your garden.

Image: Hillarys

Victoria Robinson, product manager at Hillarys, highlights how to enjoy your garden come rain or shine this summer: “British gardens often get neglected for most months of the year, so when the sun finally comes out of hiding, there is an annual scramble to refresh gardens and get them looking refreshed in time for summer.

“As well as the more simple changes you can make by adding pops of colour with beautiful florals, tidying up borders, and trimming back trees and bushes, investing in features such as pergolas can be a great way to elevate your patio area. With additions such as lighting and heating, as well as rain protection, you can enjoy your garden no matter the weather or month – perfect for the unpredictable British weather!”