Gifts for Gardeners

gardeners gift set

We are constantly receiving emails of gift ideas for gardening lovers. Its not as easy as you think to find the ideal present for someone that loves their garden more than anything in the world. What I would suggest to people is to think outside of the box but not too far. Many garden centres and online stores sell wonderful gift packages for gardeners. Take here for example where you have pre-packaged gifts for gardeners that any gardener would love, cherish or use. I suppose they are the three main things you should always bear in mind. Will this person love cherish or use their gift. Does it relate to gardening and am I paying a reasonable price for it. Gnerally youy will find most gardening products are cheaper online anyway, even with delivery costs and most reputable garden centres will deliver your spade or garden gnome within 2 working days. I always think the trwel, flask and bag sets are a great gift. What gardener would not love something like that? 

A lot of garden Centres now place a lot of emphasis on their gift range and can offer you everything from hat boxes to crystals, figurines and glasswear. You are spoilt for choice really.

Artificial grass lawns are the new cheap craze

artificial grass

There has never been a more important time in the history of the world for environmental concern. The scale of damage to our environment from human-generated activities is at an all time high – so high in fact that it could be too late to rectify some issues. Now more than ever before people are aware of the damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions and pollution; they see the effects of climate change in their everyday lives from unusually high summer temperatures and hosepipe bans to horrendous floods caused by rising sea levels, strong storms and regular, unusually strong winds. All these have hit the UK in particular in recent years and the reality of the challenges we face has been brought home to us all. We have a serious responsibility to seek, find and implement courses of action in an attempt to halt the downward spiral of environmental damage and climate change.

So what can we do to help our environment? Well, the best place to start is at home – look at your garden and think about what you are perhaps already doing to damage the environment.

Ask yourself these 5 questions:

Do you have a lawn?
Do you use fertilizers and pesticides, weed killer etc?
How much watering does it take each year?
How often do you have to cut the grass?
Do you use a petrol-driven lawnmower?

If any one or more of these 5 points applies to you then you are in some way creating a negative effective upon the environment.
This is where using artificial grass can help.
Admittedly, artificial turf is produced in a factory that produces carbon emissions but our company is the only company that purchases carbon credits to offset the damage and, what’s more, the damage caused in producing products for natural grass is much greater.

There are key issues where artificial grass can benefit the environment. The arguments put forward are, at the very least, stimulating, possibly even concerning. Either way we hope to have made out a good case for how artificial grass can be an ally to both our generation and the next’s in the fight against global pollution.

Artificial grass gardens not only look amazing but they are now cost effective and simple to keep. Never again do you need to cut your lawn. Your garden now looks like a country house all year round and imagine never having to break a sweat cutting it or watering it ever again.

For cheap cost effective but stunning artificial grass you need look no further than the Internet at sites such as this which is renowned for it’s award winning grass. For more information and free delivery from a reputable UK site check here.

I chose this site for artificial grasss as they also offer all the simple installation tools and you will have award winning artificial turf in no time.

Grow Your Own

Grow your own

PlantforLife and the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) have teamed up with celebrity plantsman, Chris Collins to champion the next phase of ‘grow your own’ gardening by educating people with simple tips on how easy it is to plant and grow fruit trees and berries in containers or a small space in the garden.

Your local Garden Centre should now be featuring heavily on grow your own tools, skills and passing on offers that will entice you into Growing your own vegetables. Grow your own is not a new craze, it is simply that growing your own has become far cheaper in recent years and is now cheaper than buying in any high street supermarket.
Make sure that you have the best tools to grow your own and make gardening easier by talking to your local garden centre and asking for their advice. Poplar Tree Garden Centre offer advice via email, telephone or in person in their store and you can buy many Grow your own items online which will give you everything you need to get gowing and thrive.

Spring is here.Time to start gardening

Spring is probably the busiest season in the garden. Plants are waking up, mulch needs to be removed, winter clean-up has to be done, and all before you can start planting this year’s garden.

If you have large clumps of herbaceous perennials it’s a good time to divide and replant them, as this will increase their vigour and provide spare plants for your garden. Use two forks back to back to split the clumps and water generously after replanting.

Start the growing season off right by filling your gardens with cool season flowers and vegetables. Some of these plants are hardier than we are and can be planted outdoors even before the threat of frost is past. Others may need a bit of coddling to begin with, but cool spring weather is when they shine, so don’t miss out by waiting too long to plant them

You can get a great range if seeds or plants online at places such as here:
garden centre online

Happy spring gardening

March Gardening

march gardening

Have a good tidy up and finish those odd construction jobs because you are going to be busier still later in the year.
If you have any horticultural fleece, you can peg that onto the ground a week or so before you plant. The small rise in temperature of the soil can make a big difference
Sowing, Planting and Cultivating

If the weather permits you can plant your onion and shallot sets. March is usually the right time to establish an asparagus bed if you are starting from crowns. Mid March should let you start planting those early potatoes you’ve had chitting and talking of root crops, you can plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers now.

What Are Seeds?

Just like people, seeds and bulbs have needs that must be met in order for them to thrive and grow. Show kids a variety of seeds and bulbs, explaining that this is where most plants come from. To help kids understand more about planting seeds and bulbs, allow them to grow some of their own in paper cups filled with soil. Be sure to poke holes in the bottoms of the cups for drainage. Give kids the responsibility for watering and observing the growth of their plants. You could even have them draw pictures of the plants as they grow.

There’s nothing better than watching a child’s curiosity grow right alongside their favorite plants.

What is a seed?
Most plants come from seeds. Seeds come in all shapes, sizes, and types. They can be small, like radishes, medium, like marigolds, or large, like sunflowers. Seeds from flowering plants have seed coats to protect them. Seeds remain dormant (asleep) until they are given soil, water, and light. Although warmth is usually required for a seed to germinate and grow, this varies depending on the type of seed. Not all seeds are dependent on sunlight for germination. However, the amount of light does greatly affect it. Explain how different plants require different light and why.

They begin to awaken as water is absorbed. As this water is taken in, the seed’s protective coat expands, eventually splitting open to allow oxygen inside. The plant’s root is the first to emerge from the seed and anchors the plant within the soil. The root also enables it to absorb much needed water and nutrients. Next, the young shoot begins to grow, and soon afterward, it will develop its first real leaves. Once the seedling has sprouted its new leaves, the plant is able to begin making its own food. This is done through a process called photosynthesis.

Pruning

Don’t prune roses until next month, as it will encourage growth and frost can burn new cuts. However, now is an ideal time for planting. If you are planting roses where they have been growing before and want to avoid replant disease, the addition of mycorrhizal fungi is said to avoid the problem by increasing the uptake of nutrients – see www.rootgrow.co.uk, who stock the product. The granules contain fungi that coat the roots, helping them absorb minerals and water.

DEADHEAD AND PRUNE If you haven’t pruned the grapevines, do so immediately, as they will bleed if left too late. Once you have a framework of primary limbs, prune laterals back to one or two buds. The same principle applies to wisteria, which should be pruned this month. Buddleia and summer-flowering clematis should also be pruned, reducing last summer’s growth to within a couple of buds of the old wood. Prune hard to about knee height and retrain clematis on to their support, as the buds will be away as soon as weather warms. Hydrangea paniculata and H “Annabelle” can be pruned in the same manner as buddleia, but the mop-headed hydrangeas flower on the previous year’s wood and should be thinned by a third to encourage new wood. Hydrangeas can also be deadheaded now by taking the flowering heads back to a strong pair of shoots.

Gardening in February

unheated propogator

It may be getting cold in the air, but the soil is still retaining some warmth. So it’s a good time to plant that hedge you have always wanted or shrubs and trees. Get rid of your old roses and replace with new. The warmth in the soil means good strong root growth , so get them in now before heavy snow comes along and the soil freezes.
You can plant out now, camellias, azaleas, conifers, shrubs, roses, rhododendrons, trees, plants and trees on display outside at garden centres are usually ones you can plant now, but its always best to check a member of staff.

By now you should also be dying to get sowing seeds, and getting stuck into the greenhouse and the garden. Well, patience is a virtue! It won’t be long before you are starting off your sweet peas, and broad beans, but for now, preparation, rather than seed planting in February is the key!!! Get your seed trays ready in the greenhouse, get your seed bags ordered and get ready for planting those seeds later this month. If you have compost from last year, use it for potting on, or mulching. For seed sowing, get fresh compost. Whether you like to use special seed compost, or good old multi-purpose, get it fresh. Old compost will have had time to harbour all sorts of bugs and fungus! One thing very handy is to have an old plastic swing top kitchen bin in a corner of the greenhouse for compost. Not out in the rain and cold, and as it is dry, easier to sieve out lumps for seed sowing. Great for propogating and growing seeds are the electric propogators. They are quite expensive though and a cheap, but effective alternative is this, an unheated propogator which will take much of the risk element out of your seed growing. In my opinion it is worth every penny in February.

January Gardening

garden centre

In the gardening world, “spring fever” is that time of the year when gardeners flock to nurseries to buy flowers, shrubs, trees and more by the truckload, and launch into a planting frenzy.

In our area, spring fever generally shows up in late March, accelerates through April and finally begins to diminish as the heat of summer moves in around mid- to late May.

The question is, do you have to follow the masses and wait until March to purchase and plant your trees, shrubs and flowers? And the answer is: No.

A great deal of planting can be done in January and February. Hardy trees, shrubs and flowers are not bothered by winter cold, and, in fact, there are good reasons not to wait. If you are thinking about planting a shade tree or small flowering tree (notice the spring-flowering trees beginning to brighten our landscapes now), there is absolutely no reason to wait until April. You can even select spring-flowering trees in bloom at the nursery and plant them. If you shop now, the staff at your local nursery will have time to answer questions about trees you are considering. At the minimum, never plant a tree without knowing how tall and wide it will be when mature.

One of the frustrations of the spring fever season comes when gardeners see incredibly beautiful beds of pansies, petunias, snapdragons, dianthus, alyssum and other cool-season bedding plants blooming lavishly. Wanting to duplicate the riot of color in their own gardens, many head out to the nurseries and purchase large numbers of these plants.

If you intend to have blooming delphiniums, hollyhocks or foxgloves in your spring garden, it is especially critical to plant them plant soon. Young, blooming plants planted in April or May are pathetic compared to those planted in late winter and especially January and February..

So, head out over the next few weeks to the nurseries in your area and purchase and plant hardy trees, shrubs, ground covers and cool-season bedding plants. When spring fever hits and the nurseries are swamped with customers, you can sit back, sip a glass of iced tea and admire all the planting you already have accomplished.

Autumn Raspberries

autumn raspberries

Raspberries are best grown from bare-root plants in the autumn. I have found that seed varieties are also extremely delicious. There are lots of different varieties available, which bear fruit at different times. The majority of raspberries are harvested between early and late summer, while others are grown for their autumn berries.

There are alternatives to autumn raspberries:
If growing summer varieties, drill holes into the posts and stretch three rows of galvanised wires (12 gauge) between them – these should be 76cm (36in), 106cm (42in) and 167cm (66in) above the ground and held in place by straining bolts, which can be tightened with a spanner. If you have an autumn variety, there’s no need to add the top wire.

Prune canes that held fruit in summer during the autumn, cutting them right back to the ground. Tie in about eight of the strongest new canes from each plant to fruit next year, and remove the rest. Prune autumn fruiting varieties in mid-winter, cutting the old canes back to ground level. Tie in new stems to the supporting wires as they grow, using garden twine

I will let you know how this years crop of autumn raspberries taste later in the year if anyone is interested.