Thank goodness some rain has arrived – much needed for all those plants I have planted recently!
How To Prepare Your Garden Decking For Winter
Garden decking can be seen in large and small gardens across the UK. If well maintained, this structure can last for many years. In this short guide we will explain how to prepare your decking for the winter months. Before explaining how to maintain the decked area, let’s examine the two popular types of decking …
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Room for the life
I am still seeing casualties from the hard winter we had this year – numerous Phormiums, palms, bays, callistemon, fatsias…all those shrubs that say in the books they are tender; up to now we have got away with it, and grown them in this country quite happily, but the prolonged spell of cold was too …
Pot Pads
I love this product I have found http://containergardening.about.com/od/reviews/gr/PotPads.htm It’s rubber feet for pots and containers. I was recently overhauling some troughs planted on a deck 3 years ago – underneath some of the troughs it was very wet and some white mould was growing there. I decided they could do with raising up a little …
Tree delivery
Yesterday we took delivery of 3 of these Standard Quercus ilex trees (Evergreen Oak), for a garden I am working in. They have a 6ft clear stem so that the foliage will start at the top of the 6ft wall, and provide screening. They have a dark green holly-like leaf, with grey undersides. We also …
Back to work
After the extended Christmas break due to the snow, I am now ready to kick into action again! People often ask me ‘What do you do in the Winter?’ Well work does slow down, but it certainly carries on. Quotations, planting plans, and on-going maintenance and tidy-ups are in store for me this week. In …
Walled patio
Above is the ‘after’ shot of patio in a garden I designed earlier this year. Note the overhangng pear tree, large bay tree, and the side of the house – all present in the ‘before’ shot, below: The old shed and greenhouse were removed, along with the old paths in the lawn. The banked lawn …
Garden Maintenance Service now available
I am really happy to say that from today, my partner Simon is joining me in my business. He will be carrying out garden maintenance – tidy-ups, grass-cutting, pruning, hedge-trimming, and still helping me out with planting and border re-vamps. He is leaving his job at a wholesale nursery, where he has worked for the …
Inviting steps
This is a garden which I designed and was built earlier this year. Previously (see below), the steps were too small and in the wrong place. They now lead invitingly from the house to the garden. The paving stones used are Stonemarket ‘vintage stone frost’ – a blue/grey limestone.
Steeply sloping garden
This is the steps and patio of a very steeply sloping back garden in Dorking that I designed recently. As there is quite a drop from the patio and path to the level below, railings have yet to be installed, and the planting is also yet to be completed. The rendered walls give a Mediterranean …