The garden is usually the last part of a home anyone thinks about when planning a move, and often the first thing they miss afterwards. Favourite shrubs, a greenhouse full of seedlings, a shed packed with tools and a patio set that has seen years of summer evenings all need a plan of their own. Treated as an afterthought, they end up loaded last, squeezed into gaps and damaged on the way.
Check What You Are Allowed to Take
If you are selling, look at the fittings and contents form you completed for your buyer before you dig anything up. Plants in the ground, sheds, greenhouses and even ornaments can be listed as staying with the property, and removing them without agreement can cause a dispute late in the sale. If a particular rose or fruit tree matters to you, agree it in writing early, or take cuttings instead.
Preparing Plants for the Journey
Timing helps. Plants cope far better with being moved when they are dormant, so a move in late autumn or winter is kinder than one in the height of summer. Whatever the season, a few steps make a difference:
- Lift anything you are taking from the ground a few days ahead and pot it up in compost so it can settle before travelling.
- Water pots a day or two before, not on the morning itself, so they are moist but not heavy and dripping.
- Wrap large pots in old sheets or hessian and stand smaller ones in sturdy crates so they cannot tip over.
- Tie in long stems and climbers loosely so they are not snapped against the side of the vehicle.
Houseplants and delicate seedlings often travel best in your own car, where you can keep an eye on them and avoid the extremes of temperature in the back of a van.
Sheds, Greenhouses and Garden Furniture
Most timber sheds can be taken apart panel by panel, but number each piece and keep the screws in labelled bags taped to the matching panel. Empty the shed fully before dismantling it. Glass greenhouses are a specialist job in themselves, and many people decide to leave them behind or sell them on rather than risk broken panes.
Garden furniture should be cleaned and dried before it is loaded, so soil and damp do not end up rubbing against sofas and mattresses. Fold what folds, remove cushions and bag them separately, and take apart tables where the legs unscrew. A crew used to handling awkward and heavy pieces will also bring the blankets and straps needed to stop a cast-iron bench or stone planter from shifting in transit.
Tools, Mowers and Chemicals
Garden tools are easy to bundle together with tape around the handles and a sheet of cardboard over any blades. Petrol mowers, strimmers and hedge trimmers need emptying of fuel before the move, and it is worth asking your remover what they will and will not carry, because fuel cans, gas bottles, weedkillers and fertilisers are commonly excluded. Use up what you can in the weeks before, and take the rest to your local household waste site rather than pouring anything away.
Fitting the Garden into Moving Day
Raise the garden at the quoting stage so it is included in the plan, not discovered on the day. Local family firms that come up under house removal Bloxwich searches, such as Hidden Gem Removals, can assess outdoor items alongside the house contents, so heavy planters, dismantled furniture and boxes of tools are accounted for in the quote and in the loading order. If the new garden is not ready, perhaps because a fence needs replacing or a patio is being laid, outdoor furniture and equipment can go into short-term storage and be delivered once the space is ready.
Settling In at the Other End
Unload plants first and stand them somewhere sheltered, out of strong sun and wind, until you have decided where they belong. Give them a good soak and resist planting everything straight away; a few weeks of watching how light falls across the new garden pays off.
A garden takes years to build, but with a little planning its best parts can travel with you. Decide early what is coming, prepare it properly and make sure your remover knows about it, and the outside of your new home can start to feel familiar almost as quickly as the inside.