When we say ‘Queen Anne’s Lace’, we think of tall, white, umbelliferous wildflower species that proliferate and take over the English countryside in Summer, and to say ‘there’s lots’ is an understatement! You can find them pretty much everywhere in the UK, from sprucing up our roadsides to dappling the forest floors. So, when it comes to planting in your meadows, it’s nice to know which is actually which.
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As temperatures begin to rise, and life begins to return to the garden, our thoughts turn to what we need to do this Spring to get the best results for the rest of the year.
Our Care & Development team share some top tips of the season to help you prioritise the jobs in your garden.
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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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Lots of people are intimidated when it comes to buying and caring for Roses. In this blog I will try to put you all at ease with a few tips about what to look for when buying and caring for one of Britain’s best-loved shrubs.
There are lots of different types of Roses offering a variety of effects and benefits in your garden, from all-summer flowering and scented blooms to formal and informal displays and even security.
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This year, we’ve already seen some of the hardest frosts for a long time – don’t be deceived by a few snowdrops, it’s not Spring yet.
Even though some new life is emerging, a Frosty February could easily put pay to that. Here’s my tips for the month:
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It may not come as much surprise to hear that we are often asked for a ‘low maintenance’ garden when it comes to designing green spaces.
This may be due to many reasons; being new to gardening, having a young family, older age, restricted mobility or simply not having enough time.
For a keen gardener, tending to borders and lawns is a much-enjoyed pastime, but for a lot of people managing a garden can often feel overwhelming and all too often a chore, rather than a pleasure.
Here we discuss some low-maintenance garden design considerations without having to turn your garden into a concrete jungle!
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Vibrant colour in the garden is often, and most easily provided by bulbs. Hyacinths at Christmas, Crocus in the New Year, Daffodils in Spring and Tulips in early Summer.
Many of these bulbs are planted in Autumn and are dormant through winter. These bulbs need cold temperatures in order to produce a flower bud for spring which is part of the reason they are planted at this time of the year.
So now’s the time to start planning your bulb planting scheme ready for next year.
Hedges are a great habitat for wildlife, provide privacy and security as well as protection from wind for tender or less hardy plants. They can also be a central feature of a garden design and an opportunity to be creative with shape, form and structure that will last for years to come. Whatever purpose your hedge will serve, there is a large choice of hedging plants for your garden, so choose wisely.
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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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As a Trainee Designer at GreenArt, part of my job is to work with our Garden Design team to create planting schemes for our clients. These can be schemes to refresh an existing area of a garden or as part of a completely new Garden Design.
I recently visited our local wholesale nursery Babylon Nursery to source herbs for a customer’s vegetable garden. Whilst there I took the opportunity to have a look around and see if anything in bloom caught my eye. Here’s what I found that sparked some fresh ideas for planting schemes.
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