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Category Archives: environment

Fungi to Find in Autumn

by Neve Phillips / on 29th November 2024 / in Blog, environment, Wildlife

Guest Blog by Neve Phillips, Consultant Ecologist

Nature’s hidden gems

Did you know that the UK has an incredible 15,000 species of fungi!

Autumn is a brilliant time to spot some of these, with a wide variety of shapes, textures and colours to look out for.

Fungi are nature’s hidden gems; quietly recycling nutrients and sustaining ecosystems with their remarkable adaptability.  Their diverse forms and vibrant colours remind us of the intricate connections that thrive beneath our feet.  

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Summer Inspiration for a Garden Re-design

Embracing Summer’s Beauty to Help Create a Garden of your Dreams

by George Smith / on 27th July 2023 / in Blog, environment, garden design, Gardens

A balmy Summers evening, with its hazy undertones and perhaps nostalgic childhood memories maybe the perfect time to find inspiration for your garden’s re-design.

As the sun bathes our outdoor spaces, we are invited to step outside, indulge in the sensory delights and uncover what truly brings us joy in our gardens.

Our gardens should be just as integral to our home as much as our indoor space is. The link between indoors and outdoors should feel effortless. As much a place to rest, relax and socialise as our bed, sofa or dining table is!

A garden can awaken our senses with sights, sounds, smells, and textures. When contemplating a garden re-design, let the splendour of Summer guide your plans and decisions.

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re-wilding your garden

Re-wilding your garden – what difference can you make?

by George Smith / on 27th July 2023 / in Blog, environment, Gardens, planting, plants, Ponds, Tips, trees, Wildlife

How to continue your re-wilding journey

Many of us have now set aside or made changes to some parts of our gardens to make them friendlier to wildlife.

Leaving a corner to go wild with brambles or nettles, ‘No-mow May’ or leaving leaf litter and plant debris under hedges or in beds are all ways to attract insects, small mammals and birds to our gardens. For many of us, this is just the first step on a re-wilding journey.

The true principles of re-wilding go well beyond transforming all or most of our garden into a haven for nature, however. Re-wilding means extending beyond and across boundaries to neighbouring gardens and green spaces.

To make re-wilding a reality and also a success, what’s needed is scale and size; conjoined areas of land to create a habitat for a pool of biodiversity. This is the challenge for home-owners and Garden Designers alike.

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lawn care

For the Love of Lawns

by George Smith / on 2nd May 2023 / in Blog, climate, environment, estates, garden design, Gardens, lawncare, Wildlife

We Brits love our lawns.

In the early 17th Century only the well-healed Landowners could afford human labour to scythe and hand-weed large areas of grass. Since then, a perfectly manicured lawn has been associated with wealth and success. The aspiration of every home-owner – or is it?

Over the years we’ve become conditioned to a traditional grass lawn being a central feature of our gardens. Lawncare has become a very British obsession.

Looking to the future and the increasing desire and need to lead a greener and more sustainable lifestyle, maybe it’s time to change? Perhaps it’s time to rethink what we want to achieve in our gardens and the role the lawns have to play in our enjoyment of these valuable outside spaces.

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A Wild Garden

5 More Steps to Going Wild in your Garden

by George Smith / on 28th April 2023 / in Blog, environment, Gardens, meadows

A sequel to 5 Steps to Going Wild in your Garden, because there is always more we can do.

With biodiversity declining at an alarming rate it can feel like the problem is too big for us to solve alone. But just imagine if we all did a little bit more … just like a waterfall is made up of many droplets of water. Big change can happen when we all come together.

And a wild garden is one of the easiest ways we can make a difference to the biodiversity in our communities.

Read on to learn more and decide which steps will work for you and your garden.

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5 Steps to Going Wild in your Garden

by George Smith / on 3rd March 2023 / in Blog, climate, environment, garden design, Gardens, meadows, planting, Ponds, trees, Watering, Wildlife

FACT: Gardens cover an area more than twice the size of all our national nature reserves.

FACT: One in seven of our wildlife species are heading for extinction and half are in decline.

FACT: 46% of Europe has tree cover compared with only 13% in the UK

While decisions are being made across Britain by members of the Rewilding Network about rewilding their land, as gardeners, home-owners, garden designers and landscapers, the decisions we make now can make a massive difference.

If every garden in Britain was made just a little bit wilder, more carbon could be absorbed, biodiversity increased and the impacts of climate change, like flooding, reduced.

That’s got to be a good reason to go a bit wild, so what can you do?

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RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 27-29 January 2023

by George Smith / on 25th January 2023 / in Blog, environment, Gardens, Wildlife, winter

Why you need to take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch

Birds in the sky and on the land around us are one of the most important indicators of the health of our surroundings. They live on the plants, insects and animals that grow on our wild and cultivated land. Birds are in trouble and we must help.

In the last 50 years the UK has lost nearly 40 million birds across many different species. Birds that live in upland areas, woodland birds, wetland birds, those that live on farmland and garden birds – all are declining. So how can we keep track of what’s happening and what can we all do to stop the decline?

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How can a new garden help the environment?

by Jo Smith / on 15th December 2022 / in Blog, climate, environment, garden design, Gardens, planting, Ponds, Wildlife

Photo Credit: GreenArt

You can be forgiven for thinking that digging up an established or even brand new garden to plant new plants in another layout is an indulgence.  However, when a garden is not designed with the environment in mind, a change is what is needed to allow your garden to make a positive impact on the world around it.

One of our core values at GreenArt is all about taking care of our environment.  It is easy to see a shiny new garden in our images, but a great deal goes into our designs to ensure they do their bit for the environment.

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watering the garden

Garden Care During A Dry Spell

by Jo Smith / on 27th May 2022 / in Blog, borders, climate, environment, Gardens, lawncare, plants, pots, Tips, trees, Watering

With Summer on the horizon and temperatures on the rise, now is the time to get organised to ensure your garden is getting enough water to keep it looking at its best.

Watering your trees, shrubs and plants can feel like a thankless task. And don’t forget your lawn, particularly if newly laid, which needs regular watering to keep it green and healthy. Watering doesn’t have to be a chore, however, as there are many watering and irrigation systems out there to make our lives a lot easier.

Knowing when to water and what to prioritise will not only save you time, but also help conserve our precious water reserves.

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GreenArt landscaped garden with trees

2022 – Our Pledge to Plant More Trees

by George Smith / on 26th January 2022 / in Blog, environment, planting, tree, trees

Following in the footsteps of Her Majesty the Queen’s initiative to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’, GreenArt is also making 2022 The Year of the Tree. With the help of our customers and their gardens we have made a pledge to plant 2,022 trees over the next 12 months.

We all know just how important trees are for the planet as well as for our own well-being so GreenArt has made a commitment to make a positive impact by encouraging our clients to include native species of trees wherever possible in their garden design.

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