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Tag Archives: wildlife

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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Pond Care

Seven steps to Spring pond care

by Gavin Stanton / on 28th April 2023 / in Blog, Gardens, Ponds, spring, Wildlife

Now the weather is starting to warm up we’re seeing the first signs of life in our ponds and water features.

As water is so central to supporting wildlife in your garden, now is the time to make sure you are ready for the new life that is about to make your pond its home.

Here are our pond care tips to get you ready for action:

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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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Hedges and Garden Design

by Gavin Stanton / on 7th July 2022 / in Blog, borders, garden design, Gardens, large gardens, plants, trees, Wildlife

Whether it is formal or informal, the right type of hedging plants have the power to completely transform your garden.

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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February Gardening Tips

by Gavin Stanton / on 16th February 2022 / in Blog, Gardens, lawncare, orchards, planting, plants, pots, trees, Wildlife, winter

With the days getting noticeably longer, but the nights still chilly and often frosty, our Care & Development team talk you through their February Gardening Tips.

Tending your garden correctly throughout the year is key to enjoying it to its full potential.

We cover tree care, pruning and how to prepare your lawn for the spring, as well as general seasonal maintenance tasks which are all part of the annual garden care lifecycle. 

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Winter Gardening

by George Smith / on 26th January 2022 / in Blog, Gardens, lawncare, planting, plants, Tips, trees, Watering, Wildlife, winter

You might think that there’s nothing to do in the garden during the Winter as deciduous trees have lost their leaves, perennials have died back and many plants are looking quite sad. In fact, it’s a really important time for looking after what you have, as well as preparing your garden for the Spring and Summer.

Our Garden Care and Development teams are busy working in gardens across the county throughout this Winter and have put together some tips to help your garden get in shape – and help you stay fit in the process!

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