Potential of your Property
A well thought garden can really influence Buyer if you wish to market the house. It is a worthwhile investment for you to use as the Outdoor Lifestyle you created and crafted to be enjoyed by guests/family/friends. And well chosen plants means it get better year by year unlike indoor design and expenditure! If a panel fence is needed for privacy, how about erecting freestanding trellis panels to obscure the wood. This can then be planted with Euonymous/Pyracanthus for an all year round espalier display. Autumn cut back is all you need. For those of you who really groan at the thought of lawncare/cutting, have a think about the latest ‘evolution ‘ of indistinguishable from grass, artificial turf, no mud, no cutting, no moss, no weeds, no wear and tear …and lasts for many years. We can advise install. Building ~ The Visionary Service. All too often we think about moving when we haven’t really truly investigated just what we have right under our nose. I can show you the potential of your property if you seek Space/Light/Storage/Extensions/Conversions. I can explain Building Regs/Planning Permission and possible costings. Before calling the Estate Agent …contact The Other Room …and lets discuss how best to reconfigure and extend and add value to what you already...
Read MoreMore Gardening Tips for May
Now is the time to take down the Garden Bird Feeders and give them a good scrub. Young hatchlings have a plentiful food supply now from parents and fatballs and dried seed can choke them. A Garden really makes a home ~ but even more so if you embrace nature as well. If you can nominate a spot for Wildlife the plant a variegated leaf Buddleja or if not a combination of ‘Indigo’ and ‘Magenta’ for a stunning display that will really lure butterflies/honey bees en mass. Underneath a good scattering of wildflower seed mix, kept damp …will be a huge wildlife...
Read MoreMore Gardening Tips for April
More Gardening Tips for April Invest in irrigation Set on a timer basis, watering at night when less water will be lost by evapotranspiration too, is evnironmentlly friendly. We can install and set u the whole system for stress free watering and a lush garden, even for you Hanging Baskets. Raspberries Plant a Summer fruiting and Autumn fruiting variety. Keep plants as individual Stools that can prosper into about 5 or 6 Spawns (young growth shoots) per Spool. Check nets are entact to keep birds from feasting on them, and even butterflies from laying eggs. Daffodils Deadhead Daffodils, give a ground feed, and don’t cut back until leaves go yellow or they won’t flower next year Winter Shrubs. Daphnes, Viburnums and other winter shrubs can be pruned now so that through the summer they put on healthy new growth to flower well in Winter. Grass Really give lawns a deep scarify now ( we totally blitz clients lawns for the best summer performance). Ripping out all the thatch, moss, weeds and couch grass… It will look awful initially, but with tlc, a good raking a top quality loam and overseed ..and regular watering …it will totally make the difference. Some fork aerating will help too with compacted sites For help on the above items, please give us a call or send us a...
Read MoreSoil heating up slightly and Bulbs emerging…
With the soil heating up slightly and Bulbs emerging, now it a good time to tidy any herbaceous borders that were not cleared in the Autumn. Dead leaf litter with harbour mould spores and even pathogens …plus worse still the snug stopover for Slug/Snails. Turn over the soil on bare patches and even consider planting them to help cut back on weeding. I try my best to persuade clients that inbetween plant growth patches, a good idea is to lay and peg down weed membrane. Then any mulch ~either slate or Cotswold stone chippings on top. This really helps reduce weeding. Now is good to also plant any Fruit Canes (Raspberry/Redcurrant etc) but ideally where you can put some net protecting over them to keep off butterflies/birds. There are some easy to install solutions on the internet. Double check your roses have been pruned too and that there is a free flow of air through the centre of them to help prevent mildew .Any signs of blackspot, as soon as leaves emerge… treat by spraying straight away. Keep on top of it …and it wont spread. Any leaves that show signs should be burnt or binned …not composted. How about Grow Your Own …when it comes to vegetables…? Nothing tastes like fresh Organic Homegrown A small area of the garden , sleepers nailed together ~two high~ in a square. Line the sleepers inside with thick plastic or Damp Proof Membrane. Fill inside with soils and well truly ritted manure …and your half way there. We can install this for you if you wish, along with Irrigation on a Timer. Contact us for more...
Read MoreGarden Landscaping
Your garden should be seen as an extension of your home ~ it is another element of where you live. If you Design your garden effectively it can be an outdoor space to be enjoyed in all but the harshest of weather. We have Clients who have large stylish, curved Lead canopies over their patios to keep the worst of the sun at bay in the midsummer sun, but in the cooler Spring/Autumn outdoor Patio heaters keep the feeling of an outdoor room. With low voltage LED lighting ,tastefully set around the garden you can entertain in a really stylish and calming surrounding. Using the well thought out automated self watering systems means one less thing to worry about. Careful use of weed membrane and mulch stone… well that eliminates the weeding… make your Garden… perform to make that place of...
Read MoreBulbs – Autumn/Winter 2014
Be sure to plan ahead and buy from a good supplier .It really makes all the difference. It is important to look at heights too. The best time to plant is when you are removing Summer Bedding as you may find young corms from previous bulbs. At the same time as planting add a good compost mixed with a little silver sand to stop rot. Think of colour combinations such as plain orange pansies and Black Parrot tulips with purple or white Hyacinths. Plus violet Pansies and maroon violas with large double pink Angelique Tulips …and for contrast some dwarf conifers inbetween .Some primulas dotted around too for emerging nectar feeding insects. If planting in containers go for Frost Proof not Frost resistant. It just is so worth spending that bit extra for say Fibracotta (Terracotta mixed with Fibre glass ) to really know your pots will survive some of our bitter cold winters. Planting/Transplanting Take photos of your exiting garden in season. When it all dies back you then know where some flourished and where others didn’t. Location can be key in a successful garden, but also a good well drained well composted base too. New shrubs. Think carefully of the height and spread of the plant else it will smother its neighbours or regularly have to be chopped back ~ not good. Before planting soak root ball for 15min before digging in .be sure you have fully agitated the planting hole else water will sit in it and rot the roots. Blood Fish and Bone Compound added to the planting hole is always best. Keep dead heading your summer plants and they will perform well up to the first frosts .A few minutes well spent. Snails will be laying eggs to over winter. If you put damp slates or bricks or even planks in your flower beds they will lay them on there. Then simply transfer and scrape off to under a wild hedgerow. Great for hedgehogs and birds. Fruit Harvest. Pick fruit carefully to avoid bruising. For Plums /Damsons. If there are too many and Jam seems too time consuming this is what I do. Parboil cleaned stoned fruit in a very tiny amount of water (just cover bottom of pan). Allow to cool. then package up in portions in Freezer Bags. Then all through winter you have them to hand for Crumbles/Pies/Compotes ~ really is worthwhile. At the end of the season be sure to prune fruit trees and add Coddling Moth bands .Pruning is vital to ensure disease resistance and done correctly enhances crop yield immensely. Raspberries. Summer raspberries ~ remove only the shoots that fruited the previous year, along with suckers . Autumn Raspberries ~ cut back all shoots to just above ground...
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