Using nature’s own to water your garden and why it’s not just about having big butts.
What has been a distinctly average summer so far, watering the garden has at least been a fairly easy job. A dry week will soon change that though, and trudging around the garden with watering cans and hoses gives us all time to think.
One of the many joys of having a well-planned garden is that you can have ready access to freshly-cut flowers to add colour and scent to your home all year round. Your home-grown flowers will be less expensive than the florist/shop bought variety and also there’s the extra satisfaction and enjoyment from growing your own cut flowers in a sustainable manner that then decorate your home both inside and out.
Insects Are The Gardener’s Friend
Many people may not automatically think of some insects as the gardener’s friend but actually, ladybirds, lacewings, beetles and hoverflies feed on aphids and other smaller insect pests that otherwise can cause havoc in our gardens. Similarly, bumblebees and solitary wasps also devour unwanted garden visitors and many of these insects are great pollinators, helping our gardens to grow and reproduce naturally.
Case Study – The perfect garden to enjoy in retirement.
New open spaces to relax in, some densely planted beds, easy and safe access to a terrace, and a beautiful lawn and vegetable garden all helped to create the perfect garden for our clients to enjoy in their retirement.
Trisha and Kirstine had lived in their Victorian terraced cottage for over twenty years and had established a garden full of treasured plants and special memories. They were looking forward to their retirement and to spending more time enjoying the fruits of their labours and growing their own fruit and vegetables.
However, it was clear that the steep sloping lawn and narrow steps leading to the top of the garden would be difficult to negotiate in their later years…
Hints And Tips For June 2016
June is the peak of the gardening year in most gardens so your jobs this month should include:
1) Regular weeding. Nobody’s favourite job so make it less onerous by catching the weeds early and staying on top of them.
2) Mow your lawn at least once a week but never mow it too short. The middle setting on your mower is short enough to create a thick healthy sward. Feeding your lawn during June is also a good idea.
Ten Flowers & Shrubs That Will Thrive In Our Soil
GreenArt’s base in South Oxfordshire is an interesting and quite varied place to create and establish Gardens.
The starting point for all gardens is the soil. Along the Thames, the soils are silty, deep and fertile. On the slopes of the Chilterns and the downs, the soils are thinner with clay, flint and chalk and, as a result, are often high in pH. Contrary to popular belief that many garden plants demand lime-free soil, more species actually thrive on alkaline conditions rather than dislike them.
Hedgehogs are the gardener’s friend as they particularly enjoy eating beetles, earthworms and slugs and therefore should be a regular guest in most UK gardens. Whilst they do roam far and wide in search of food, they will naturally return to an area that provides richer pickings.
2016 sees the celebration of 300 years since the birth of possibly the greatest British landscape designer; Capability Brown. It also sees domestic garden design at a fascinating point.
Brown’s style came from two practical principals; comfort and elegance. Today, these principals still feature on many a garden wish list, often translated into “a nice place to sit with colour and interest”. However, these days low maintenance is increasingly cited, alongside supporting wildlife and the environment.
May is definitely the most dynamic month of the year as your garden springs into life; your job is to make the most of it!
Clean And Clear
Make sure all dead material from the winter, such as leaves, dead stems etc. are removed to prevent pests and diseases affecting the plant and to allow space and air for emerging growth. If you haven’t done so yet, thoroughly clean pond pumps and filters to ensure a good flow of water helps to aerate your water feature, encourage plant growth and minimise algae build-up as the sun starts to warm the water. Be careful not to disturb any fledglings in hedges and frog spawn in ponds.
Six great reasons for creating a wildflower meadow in your garden.
A Splash Of Colour!
Planned and planted correctly, a wildlife meadow will give you an ever-changing view from Spring to Summer of some of Britain’s most amazing species of native wildflowers.
