Category: Gardens

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Gardens

Why Your Tree May Need Air Decompaction Services

Most people do not know that soil compaction can impact a tree’s health. That is why arborists and tree surgeons decompact the soil around a failing tree. Normally, they use a tool that employs a jet stream of air to loosen compacted soil, thereby keeping the tree roots safe and free of damage. By using the tool, a tree care professional can lift and remove soil and add organic materials.

Why You Cannot Leave Soil Compacted

If you don’t decompact the soil around a tree, the following can happen:

  • The tree will eventually suffocate and die.
  • A dying tree invites even more problems, such as infestation.
  • Tree felling in Guildford may be the only solution if the tree dies.
  • The roots of a tree cannot elongate, thereby stifling further nutrition and growth.
  • Compaction reduces the space for the tree roots.
  • Compaction can stunt tree growth.
  • The incidence of root rot increases as the soil is not receiving oxygen.

Inspecting the Soil

To prolong a tree’s life, it is important that the soil not be too hard or soft. That is why a tree surgeon must not only inspect the tree itself but the soil in which it resides. If the soil is too soft, the tree may present a danger and need to be cut down. Soft soil causes instability, which is especially dangerous in areas populated by pedestrians and buildings.

If the soil is compacted or too hard, it impacts root growth and the uptake of nutrients. Therefore, if you feel that your tree needs revitalisation or lacks stability, call and don’t wait to have it inspected.

 

 

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Top Summer Gardening Tips

Summer Gardening

We all look forward to summer time; those long hot days and relaxing evenings, and for those who are keen on spending time in the garden it can be the best time of year to enjoy some of the fruits of your labour earlier in the year. It’s also the time of summer vacations, so here are some tips for dealing with your garden before taking off for the summer holidays.

Hit those hedges

To make hedges grow strongly and densely they need to be cut throughout the year. Make sure to stay on top of this task in late July in order to keep your hedge in tip-top shape.

Boxwood trees and bushes

If your garden features shaped boxwood bushes or tress, summer time is a perfect opportunity to cut them back, and if desired reshape them – you can easily make a unique template from a large piece of cardboard to use as a guide for cutting.

Lavender pruning

Once your lavender has finished flowering; cut back the shoots by around a third of their length so that less plant energy will be used for new seed production. This will lead to fuller and stronger blooms next year.

Deadheading flowers

Now is an ideal time to take care of deadheading any flowers to keep them in shape. This should be done not only for aesthetic reasons but because doing so will ensure better growth of flowering shoots next year. This comes about because the plant can channel all its energy into creating these new shoots rather than diverting valuable energy to already wilting blooms. What’s more, wilting and dead flower heads can become hosts to fungi and pests – so best to remove them opportunely.

Sunflower first aid

If you’re a fan of sunflowers, but they’ve withered a bit following the latest summer storm, you can still save any damaged stems by simply splinting them with pieces of bamboo and tape – which will ensure that moisture is retained within the stem and help the repair process.

Fresh seeding

Even in August, before the end of the gardening year, it’s not too late to sow vegetables. Spinach, winter onions, lettuce and radishes can all be sown quite late without experiencing any problems.

Shrub division

Signs that it’s time to divide your shrubs include weaker blooms and balding inside the blooms. In order to rejuvenate them, simply divide them. Flowering shrubs should ideally be divided around August, by digging up each shrub and then carefully dividing it into smaller plants; about fist-sized is a good general guide. Get rid of any sick or weak looking roots while doing this, and then re-plant the shrubs in the desired locations – and just wait for them to bloom next season.

In the summer, there’s nothing better than relaxing in your garden in the evening and enjoying a cool drink and playing bingo games with family and friends as the sun goes down.

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Gardens

Formal Gardens – Not As Snooty As You Think

Formal Gardens

A formal garden…..oh, how great they looked in the books and gardening magazines. Yup, we’ll do that one day. So….we did! But we got way more than we bargained for and I mean that in all good ways!

The land was barren; it was a former sod farm. There was nothing good about the scape nor the dirt. But we did have our backdrop of the mountains – well, foothills I guess to y’all in real mountainous places on this globe.

We had moved from a place where we kept a large vegetable garden and somehow, my brain went completely haywire as I drooled over the formal garden pictures.I wanted flowers and boxwoods.I pictured myself in a lovely hat with an English trog and my snips out there just cutting gorgeous blooms; coming in and arranging perfect creations for the new digs.

My husband is an Engineer by training amongst other things. He also knows me to a “T”. Okeedokee, a formal garden you shall have m’dear. But he knew – he can see into my future way better than me J

I sketched out a layout of geometrical patterns. After studying them for a bit, off he went to the yard with a piece of twine and a stake and a can of paint and there was my circle. Next, he scraped the “builder’s grass” off the clay with his Deere and put down a bed of gravel. We spent the next several weekends leveling – uggghhhh. Once it was done it was off to the lumber yard. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why he bought pressure treated lumber as we’d never used this in our vegetable gardens unless it was old. Remember, I said he sees my future J

Every weekend we would sit with the mitre saw out on the gravel and cut and bind with wood clamps. Then, screw all the corners together – yes, he insisted on wood screws so if something came loose, he could unscrew rather than yank out nails – the Engineer in him. As each piece came together, we would then dig with shovels down about 4 feet. Then we backfilled with good dirt, compost, coffee grounds – you name it – from wherever we could scrounge it free. I went to every Starbucks within 20 miles every Saturday morning – they gave me their garbage bags which had to be sifted, but still, it was good. People gave me very weird looks, but I didn’t care – formal gardens were coming!

We had started in September and it was now November; still some decent weekends to work. Early one Saturday morning, the man was out on the Deere with this crazy attachment. It was a 3 foot cast iron bar with a point on the end and he was digging a huge horseshoe shape around the circle – what was up with that? Well, he dug and then scooped with the bucket til he had a 6 foot wide horseshoe trench around the circle. That meant only one thing – go with our shovels and get free mulch at the dump…..Yes, it got filled with mulch and dirt and mostly composted horse manure – more on that sometime later. I wasn’t quite sure why the huge, wide border was happening but the man was working hard – no questions!

Finally we were semi done! The winter was spent tending seedlings of perennial flowers and ordering bare root roses and dreaming of a beautiful cutting garden. Then came spring….the rains came, it was mud and cold and the seedlings were puny and the roses were sticks and my hands looked like I’d been through a war and there was no pretty hat and no trug and no magazine stuff and….**SIGH** Oh, but the man knew J

He said just wait….next year you will have your “look”. After spending nearly nothing for the supplies so far, he presented me with a beautiful load of sod one sunny Saturday – and he handed me a knife – let’s get busy. Now sod isn’t hard to lay, but cutting it around corners when you’re working with an Engineer….? It’s hard.

Fast forward another season.We threw in some $12 trees and a lot of bulbs.We planted our Conifer bones which wouldn’t grow up for awhile, but bones we needed!The garden was everything I ever dreamed of.

In June that year, my husbands parents were celebrating their 60th Anniversary – ya gotta celebrate that of course. We invited them for lunch. As we walked under the arbor, my Mother in law said, oh my…..I always wanted a garden wedding but we got married so quick before he shipped out – WWII – stuff happens ya know. So we said let’s take a pic of how it might have been J

But of course, my husband knew the future – he knew that I would eventually see the perennial horseshoe bed as my cutting garden. He knew that I would only have to spend 2 seasons without our own fresh vegetables…but he had planned “around” me. I now have wonderful raised beds to grow our vegetables in and the wood has leached all it’s treated stuff out so we are safe J

We still have our “formal” garden, but it’s become the real garden I dreamed about. Yes, my hands still look like they’ve been through a war, but I really don’t care!

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Gardens

Designing Your Own Garden Step by Step Guide

Designing Garden

Do you love nature? If so, you can surround your home with a beautiful garden. Drawing up an accurate plan is a crucial step when designing your own garden. By drawing a design of your garden on paper, you can determine whether your garden design is viable within the space you have available. It also provides you with a clear visual image of the garden you want to create. A detailed design plan will also prevent many costly mistakes that often happen in the process of buying materials and plants. This guide will make designing your own garden an easy task.

Step 1 – Tools needed when designing your own garden

With a few basic tools, you can draw up a garden plan. Not only do you have simple tools such as paper and pencil to get you started, there is also a variety of free software tools available on the internet. Both types of tools are excellent at helping you bring everything together into something beautiful, useful, and productive.

Step 2 – Make use of what you have

When it comes to designing your own garden, most people know what they want. However, what they have available to them and what they want to create does not often match. For example, you may want a huge vegetable patch, but only have a small garden. It is important to make use of the space you have and be realistic about what you can achieve. If you already have a nice garden feature such as a pond, you may want to keep this in your new garden design.

Step 3 – Plot your garden boundaries

Measure the outskirts of your garden, then plot this area on paper or computer. This is done with a drawing that can be as rough or precise as you wish, although the more precise you are the better the results.

The outskirts of your garden design could also mean a small portion of your yard you want to redesign. Either way, you are creating what could be seen as a canvas of your garden design. These measurements should be scaled to the paper or computer program so that you have a sense of where things will go.

Step 4 – Choose your garden theme

It is important to consider the style and theme when designing your own garden. There are many themes you can choose from, here are some examples below:

Modern garden design: This theme could have stainless steel features and expensive paving such as slate or natural sandstone. Overall this look would look minimalistic and clean cut.

Traditional garden design: This type of theme would probably have no specific features that stand out. Would look like the average garden with plant borders and a couple of trees.

Creative garden design: This type of design may make use of existing structural features within the garden. For example, an old shed could be turned into a bar or kids play house. Or there could be an old pond, which could be transformed into a beautiful sitting area.

Step 5 – Draw out your garden features

Once you have decided on your garden theme, you can now think about what features you want. Draw out the shape of your lawn, paving, decking, plant beds, etc. It’s always interesting to recreate what is already there into something beautiful, useful and exciting. For example, you might want to introduce a small plot of colourful flowers in with some original flower beds you have, in order to brighten up the mood of your garden.

Step 6 – Sun light

All your garden features must make full use of your environment. Here are some tips below:

  • Ensure flowers are placed in correct soil types.
  • Ensure flowers are placed in the correct amount of shade/light. Your garden will have areas where it is most dry or wet. Read labels on each new plant before grounding them.
  • If you want a sitting area in your garden make sure it is placed in the appropriate amount of light.

Step 7 – Drainage

  • Is there enough drainage in your garden? A sloppy garden can be unusable. Good drainage around your home can help preserve your house foundations, and reduce damp build up.
  • Water logged lawns can be solved by installed soakaways, perforated pipes or planting trees to soak up the water.

Step 8 – Maintenance

Think about how your garden design will be maintained. Most people want a low maintenance garden due to heavy work schedules. Gardens which have less trees and plants require less maintenance. Design your garden so weeds are suppressed with membrane sheets. Weeds can easily get out of control if your garden is not carefully designed.

Step 9 – Putting it all together

Using all the tips above, designing your own garden should be an easier task. Have a go at drawing some design plans. Walk around your garden trying to imagine how your design would look like. Consider all of the following points when designing your own garden:

  • How easy is it to maintain my garden?
  • Does the garden theme flow throughout?
  • Is drainage be an issue?
  • Is sunlight an issue?
  • Can I afford my garden design?
  • Is the garden practical for parties?
  • Is storage a problem?
  • Is garden seating area good?
  • Is there room for a BBQ?
  • Does my garden require lighting?
  • Do I have the correct type of plants and trees?
  • Will tree roots cause a problem?

Step 10 – Making a Shopping List

A comprehensive garden plan also serves as an excellent shopping list for your garden. With your plan in hand you can determine exactly what you will need. Without a plan to make something concrete out of your thoughts and ideas, you will probably end up drifting and be dissatisfied with your results.

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Gardens

If you’re lucky enough to have your own rooftop in London

you’re lucky, and not just because of the views. Rooftops in London are the perfect place for a small urban garden, but there are a few important things to take note of before you do anything. Here’s what’s important to know before setting up your rooftop garden.

  • Weight – Sure, you’re unlikely to have a rooftop garden so heavy it’s going to cause the ceiling below to collapse, but it is important to take note of weight. A heavy load on one section of the roof could lead to cracks below if you’re not careful. You should get a local architect or a good building contractor to check the stability of your roof before starting anything.
  • It’s very important that you check out the guidelines of your local council. Just as you wouldn’t build a new room in your flat or house without notifying the council (you really shouldn’t), you mustn’t do the same with any garden of notable size. If you’re planning a relatively ambitious gardening project up there, check first to ensure you’re not falling foul of any local property laws.
  • Naturally, a rooftop garden is going to face much more wind than something indoors or even lower down. You’ll have to plan for this as it’s unavoidable. Thankfully, you can make use of trellises and windbreaks to withstand the elements, but they are of course another investment and something that must be taken into consideration before you start.
  • Watering – Now, living in the UK you may think this isn’t going to be much of an issue, but be realistic. It doesn’t rain here everyday of the year, even when it feels like it. You will have to water plants regularly in the summer months. Consider whether or not you have easy access to a decent water supply and how willing you are to carry heavy loads of water around. If you have access to a roof on the sixth floor but you live on the first floor, you might want to see if a neighbour is willing to let you use their water supply before you start bedding in plants.
  • Light – If you’re on a roof, it’s likely you’re going to be getting all the light needed for your plants to thrive. However, make sure of this before you start preparing the garden. Some rooftops are shaded by taller buildings and the sunlight needed by plants can be rare or infrequently attained. Ensure that your rooftop has the requisite exposure to the sun.

Ultimately, if your rooftop can thrive with the above considerations taken into account, you’re good to go. Don’t let the above put you off, these are just steps that should be taken before you start building your garden and bedding your plants. Yes, it’s a lot to think about, but if your garden passes the above tests, your garden should thrive and your plants flower perfectly.

Our friends over at Garden Club London, are the ideal company to help you with this sort of project

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Gardens

The Benefits Of Landscaping And Natural Landscaping

Should you haven’t learned about natural landscape designs, then it’s a relatively brand new term that’s also known as native horticulture. natural landscape designs implies by itself using plants, such as groundcover, lawn, trees as well as shrubs that are endemic towards the geographical area where the garden is situated. It is a chance to reestablish varied native vegetation, thereby welcoming the parrots and butterflies home. natural landscaping will work for your health which is an visually exciting, ever-changing tapestry associated with hardy, primarily indigenous plantings nicely adapted towards the local environment and dirt.

Landscaping is among the most economical tools with regard to improving as well as sustaining the caliber of life, whether within the city, the actual suburbs, or the nation, however it is almost always a pretty big job, consuming much time and effort. By by itself it suggests the bodily change associated with outdoors in order to serve the requirements of individuals by growing, altering the actual contours from the ground, and creating structures as well as amenities for example pedestrian methods, paths as well as picnic places. This activity is among the few enhancements that provides more worth to property than this costs to set up. People frequently associate landscape designs with backyard apartments which boast miles of property and moving hills embellished with towering trees and shrubs, bountiful blossom gardens as well as lush courtyards.

Philosophers within the 17th hundred years debated regardless of whether visual elegance was an essential goal associated with landscaping. A great landscaper understands the sun and rain of character and building, and mixes them appropriately. Landscaping describes any exercise that changes the visible options that come with an section of land, including although not limited in order to: living components, such because flora or even fauna or what’s commonly known as gardening — the artwork and build of developing plants having a goal of making a stunning environment inside the landscape.

– Reduce injury to the atmosphere

– Conserve time as well as money along with lower upkeep

– Possess healthier places to operate and perform

Landscaping is actually both technology and artwork, and demands good declaration and style skills. In do-it-yourself landscape designs are numerous variables like the climate of the region, your individual design preferences, what for you to do with your own yard, spending budget, skills. Do-it-yourself style can be achieved the correct way the very first time with correct guidance as well as prioritization.

Landscaping is among the most cost-effective methods to customize a house to be practical and preferences. If carried out well, one gets the advantages of elegance and increased property values. It’s true this activity can boost the value of your house while producing your surroundings more appealing and pleasant.

While landscape designs can decrease direct sunlight from impressive and warming up building surfaces it’s a natural as well as beautiful method to keep your house cool within summer and lower your energy expenses. The toughest part about this is picking out unique landscape designs ideas as well as landscaping styles, but taking a look at the designs from the other houses inside your neighborhood makes it easier for you personally.

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Uses of Natural Stone Landscaping

Stone Landscaping

natural stones are generally used because materials in order to pave paths and patios. natural rock landscaping is becoming popular due to the versatility of those materials as well as their wide selection of colours, shapes as well as textures. natural rock landscaping could be incorporated in various styles associated with landscape style from traditional to traditional or official.

natural stones can be found at any kind of masonry back yards or creating supply shops. Some types of natural gemstones include cobblestones as well as pavers with regard to walkways as well as driveways, smashed rock, reduce stones, natural flagstone and Belgian obstructs. The cost of natural gemstones varies based on your area and also the area in which the stone came from. For instance, a lot of 1-inch heavy Arizona natural flagstone costs $200 while a lot of 1-inch believe Lompoc natural flagstone can cost just a little over $300.

natural rock landscaping is fantastic for covering reasons and producing surfaces really pleasing towards the eye. Additional common utilizes of natural rock include driveways, outdoor patio decks, actions, benches yet others.

In natural rock landscaping, the option of stone depends upon the meant use. For example, entryways, reception as well as entertainment places should make use of stones along with smooth surfaces to match a myriad of foot put on, especially high heel shoes. However, select gemstones for steps which are not slippery and gives some traction once the surface gets wet.

Similarly, smooth stones will also be ideal with regard to patios or even any area employed for sitting as well as dining that needs a degree ground area. Additionally, in consuming areas make certain the stone isn’t porous or won’t absorb natural oils and unsightly stains.

Color is actually another essential requirement in natural rock landscaping since it affects the entire feel and look of the area. To brighten up heavily tinted areas, you should use light-colored stones for example Idaho quartzite. However, you may use dark grey or dark chocolate colored gemstones to sculpt down the actual brightness within sunny places.

natural rock landscaping is advantageous not and then enhance paths and comparable areas but additionally to decorate other features within the landscape for example ponds, waterfalls, retaining walls and many more. natural stones may also be used to avoid soil erosion so that as safety obstructs in driveways.

The developing popularity associated with natural rock landscaping is because of the fact that gemstones fit the appearance of the majority of homes. It is effective on each formal as well as informal landscaping design. The crucial is to select from the wide selection of natural gemstones available those will suit the particular style of your house and scenery.