How to revamp your patio after winter?

Clean terrace soil

Clean, sweep… patio always looking smart!
First job of spring — much like at home, we get busy cleaning to make things clearer: the patio sees little use in winter, but as soon as the sun returns we have an irresistible urge to clean everything.

• To start with the soil: sweep leaves from climbers or shrubs edging the patio that have built up and stuck to the soil — easy with a good stiff-fibre broom.
• Also scrub, using a pressure washer on paved, stone or wooden surfaces to remove all ingrained dirt. On a north-facing patio, winter often brings unsightly green moss, which should be cleaned off each year to freshen the area and, above all, to prevent it becoming more established year after year.
  Once this is done, check that any wooden boards or paving slabs are not loosened or damaged, and that paving-type coverings have not cracked, because winter can also have damaged some hard materials.

• Paved patios demand even more vigilance: do not let weeds take hold in poorly maintained joints, where vegetation quickly takes over. Stéphanie explains how to go about it in How to clean joints in patio or pathway paving? And I share my tips in Weeding a patio, courtyard or pathway: our tips.

Common mistake

Using a pressure washer that is too powerful on a wooden patio is a mistake not to repeat. Opt for moderate pressure to avoid damaging wood fibres.

Inspect and clean pots

Once the terrace floor is clean again, let’s take care of its inhabitants — the pots!

Inspect old pots

After winter, some pots may have suffered. Old terracotta pots can become cracked, others knocked over and broken by storms. In short, take stock of the overall condition of all containers on the terrace, and replace those that have come to the end of their life.

Those placed on an east- or north-facing terrace blacken more quickly, develop an unpleasant greenish film or become speckled with mould. Now is the time to put on gloves and clean them. Ingrid has looked into this in: Caring for your flower pots: why and how to properly clean your containers?

Moss and frost-damaged pots after winter

Repotting and top-dressing

Also get on with a few seasonal top-dressings: potting compost has become depleted and compacted in many pots, and very large containers are often difficult to repot. Early March is the right time to intervene. Simply add a little fresh, quality potting compost to the surface of the pot.

Other terrace plants will need repotting. A more time-consuming operation since you must completely unpot the shrub or plant and give it a new, larger container. This little spring task should be planned before cleaning the terrace, or done using a large protective tarpaulin if you have just scrubbed everything!

→ Read also: What should I do with the soil and potting compost from old flower pots?

Remove mulch and supports

In most regions you can now remove the supports that were used as protection during winter and store them in the garden shed or garage.

Mulch carefully applied around potted plants ahead of winter is now being gradually removed. This allows the substrate to warm up more quickly on sunny days and helps plants break their winter dormancy.

Transplanting, pruning and planting

Reintroduce overwintered plants

Some frost-tender plants and citrus trees in pots were kept in a winter garden or in a cold conservatory during the coldest months. You can return them to the terrace as soon as temperatures allow in your area. However, be careful not to do it too early; check night-time temperatures, which can still harm many of them.

Prune some plants on the terrace

A house terrace sometimes has a beautiful climber running along the wall: a rosebush or a climbing hydrangea, a wisteria or a star jasmine. Now is the time to prune all these to finish off the seasonal tidy-up.

Plant new specimens

Some plants may not have survived the winter. Frost-blackened, they have been killed by frost and need replacing. It’s the law of gardens, especially on terraces where potted plants suffer much more during winter. From March, it’s thankfully time to get busy on the terrace and plant some frost-hardy summer bulbs in any available pots so you’ll see colour from June.

You can also take the opportunity to replace plants you’ve grown tired of or, if you’ve decided this year to change your outdoor style and ambience radically, do so now! Plants alone set the tone and transform a terrace. Find our ideas in the dedicated articles: What to plant on a south-facing terrace? ; What to plant on a north-facing terrace? ; What to plant on a west-facing terrace? ; What to plant on an east-facing terrace?

In a holiday home, a somewhat specific case where plants need more autonomy, I explain which plants to choose: Second home: what to plant in pots, tubs and planters?

And if, like me, your terrace shaded in winter becomes a full-sun terrace in summer, discover the plants that tolerate both shade and full sun so you no longer have to move your large pots every six months…

And don’t forget that, whatever style you adopt, an accumulation of plants prevents a hard-surfaced terrace from overheating in summer!

Lift out dead plants to replace them, prune, think about new plant ideas for the terrace: a whole programme that starts at the end of winter

Revamp the terrace

Seasonal change and the arrival of spring are often the perfect time to rethink a terrace or large balcony. Birds chirping, foliage emerging, sudden desire for something new — and why not rearrange all or part of your terrace!

It all depends on available space, but even in a small area it can easily be transformed with a few simple tips :

• Change existing layout : what’s fun about a terrace is that from one year to the next you can arrange it differently, simply by moving the pots around! You can group them by colour, by plant type, creating a different cocoon year after year by varying the arrangement: Ingrid tells you more in How to arrange pots on a terrace? And I explain everything about container gardening.
• Why not choose a theme for this year? Planting herbs together will give a Mediterranean feel, succulents will provide a good dose of escapism, myriad foliage pots create a jungle-style terrace, cannas and sunny colours in abundance add an exotic touch, etc.

Potted herb garden for Mediterranean ambience, large cycas in a substantial pot for exotic touch… plants provide the setting on their own

• Add a small reading corner to one side, with a hanging chair that takes up little space
• Plant a handsome climber or create a living wall to act as a screen on an urban terrace
• Replace a faded or holey privacy screen (heather screening or reed matting) on a city terrace: small outlay for a big refreshing effect!

Caring for furniture and décor

Once everything is in place on the terrace, it’s time to bring out garden furniture to enjoy as soon as the sun warms up. While a quick wipe with a sponge is enough for chairs and tables in resin and synthetic or plastic materials, wooden furniture needs more care. It will last a long time with proper maintenance, by storing it away in autumn and also in spring. Light sanding, wood stain or a simple application of linseed oil will restore its sheen for the season.

Sanding and varnishing

It’s the perfect time to choose a new garden seating set or table! Garden centres, specialist retailers and online garden décor sites offer a wide range in natural or designer materials to suit every landscaping style. So don’t miss new collections if you’ve decided to replace seats, cushions, tables, benches or pots — take advantage of the plentiful selection and new arrivals, and avoid the spring rush in shops.

You can also simply refresh a terrace by repainting a few wooden chairs that have faded after (unfortunately) being left outside over winter, or that have worn out. Pastel or bright colours, match paint to the desired style: romantic (sage green or dusty pink), exotic (red or orange), zen or contemporary (anthracite, black or white), bohemian (zesty), etc.

To give a real facelift to a small urban terrace, also consider changing the surface covering: a good synthetic lawn (yes, there are attractive ones suitable for this use) or easy-to-install wooden decking tiles make an impact at little cost.

It will be time in the coming weeks to think about lighting, but you can include these in your spring purchases: solar string lights, LEDs, lanterns, or even a brazier if you can already use the terrace in the evening.

→ Read also our decorating ideas in our section Terrace and balcony landscaping and our articles Willow in the garden, Wrought iron in the garden, A zen balcony.