Thames Water and the hosepipe ban - what does it mean for my garden?

It was announced today that from the 5th April there will be a hosepipe ban across the Thames Water region. In short this means that using a hosepipe to water your plants, trees and lawns is strictly prohibited. 

After some digging around in Thames Water conditions of this ban I have learned that drip and micro irrigation is permitted, the exceptions are that the system must be on a timer and have apressure reducing valve installed. No sprinklers are allowed, mini or micro.

This is all standard on the garden irrigation systems we install and I urge you now to get in touch if you would like a system installed ready for the Spring. I predict that if the drought continues suppliers will more than likely run out of the hoses, kits, timers and fittings to keep up with the demand.

Call me on 07867 335745 or visit our website garden irrigation systems to arrange a site visit to discuss the different options available for your garden irrigation.

 

 

 

Bare root & root ball hedging - only 6 weeks left

Time is running out now to purchase  root ball & bare root hedging plants for your new garden hedge project. Many hedging plants are only available as root ball or bare root so to really avoid having to wait until the next dormant period (November) you should get on to this now to avoid being disappointed. 

 

We would love to hear from you if you have a particular hedging request and would like us to provide a quote for it.

Landscape Garden Design - projects coming soon

It has been a busy start to the year, much busier than in previous years for garden landscape designs. Below are some of the projects I have designed and awaiting landscaping or are in the process of being designed.

Wildlife friendly garden design in Stoneleigh, Surrey.

This is a very interesting project for me to be involoved in as the garden was not to have a lawn (clients request). It is more difficult as a garden designer to design a space as large as this without a lawn as you still have to follow the basic principles of garden design, the 50 - 50 rule. 50% hard landscaping, 50% planting and seeing  a lawn is treated as hard landscaping (ie a void space) there is a lot of space to fill with landscaping or 3 dimensional features.

Rather than fill the garden with walls, pergolas etc to create this 50 / 50 balance I have designed with plants, namely Hornbeam hedging to divide the different areas of the garden and give the 3d dimensions needed. In my opinion hedging is the perfect solution when there are  budgetery constraints (and much more intersting than a wall). 

Pictures will follow shortly on the progress of this garden design as it is being landscaped. 

 

Garden Design in Clapham

Details & pictures of this garden design to follow.

 

Garden Design in Twickenham 

Details & pictures of this garden design to follow.

Garden Design in Richmond, Surrey

Details & pictures of this garden design to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

Rusty Steel - Cor-Ten

A question that oftens comes up when I am doing a garden design brief is "what  is that  rusty metal stuff I keep seeing? " This normally comes up more often around the time of the Chelsea Flower Show. 

Wikipedias explanation which I feel best explains this is: 

Weathering steel, best-known under the trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as "Corten steel", is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years.

The Angel of the North is made from Cor-Ten and is now becomming very popular in residential garden designs, from bespoke planters to lawn edging, scuplture and water features.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have a specific Cor-Ten design requirement then please get in touch. 

 

 

 

Flowering bamboo - dead or alive?

If your bamboo has flowered and looks dead then welcome to this mystical world, the curse of the flowering bamboo. 

This mainly affects the Phyllostachys species, when one flowers, they all flower. Next door, up the road, the next town, across London. Mass hysteria normally follows as to what on earth has happened to all this bamboo, a disease, an visit from outer space, a bamboo hating gorilla team! 

And the reasons why? even when studying for one of my horticulture courses years ago our lecturer insisted, in the style of QI "nobody knows" why it happens. Well as a level headed person it can only be down to the weather that year or the previous year. There is'nt some sort of genetic code imprinted in the living tissue of a bamboo or some scent carried by the wind to tell all bamboos to die in the same season, it stands to reason it has to do with the weather pattern. 

When you look at bamboo you think tough plant, loves the sun, drought tolerant, plant it anywhere. I can't blame people for thinking that either, bamboo just has that look of being a tough plant! Quite the opposite really especially with Phyllostachys, they need the right soil, just the right amount of light each day, some sun, preferably not mid-day, and plenty of water, not a weekly soak but in the heat of summer, everyday. 

So what of my flowering bamboo, is it dead?

No, I do not beleive it is. Sometime ago I cut a  Phyllostachys nigra (black bamboo) back to the ground and never got round to digging up the root ball, a year later it had fully recovered and was sending up plenty of new canes. I have one in a pot now in my own back garden that flowered last year and with the mild spell in November it started to showsome promising interesting leaf growth, small leaves, not many but it's not dead!

My advice is if it is a small garden and the bamboo serves as a focal point plant then of course dig it up and replace it but in a larger garden give it a chance and some tlc, after all Phyllostachys nigra (black bamboo) is the most expensive of bamboos. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kebony - there's a new wood in town

Whilst at the timber merchants yesterday I was introduced to a new type timber, or rather an old type of timber but a new way of treating it, Kebony decking....

In a nutshell Kebony decking it is a softwood treated with liquid from bio-waste which makes it stronger and a very stable timber comparable to hardwood. It contains no chemicals and requires no further treatment. Usual deck maintenance is all thats required. Kebony decking starts of a golden brown colour which will grey as with hardwoods in our climate unless treated. 

The sting in the tail is Kebony is slightly more expensive than hardwood decking (already high and rising), this we hope to drop in price as it becomes more popular as we think it is very good alternative to hardwood decking and much more enviromentally friendly as it is european softwood  and not tropical hardwoods (balau, ipe, massaranduba etc) 

As well as decking Kebony is also available in slats for bespoke trellis work and cladding. 

for more information on Kebony and its products click here

nb: if your intention is to let your deck timber grey naturally then look carefully at the grain of the wood, Kebony or hardwood, as this is what will shine through. For me the more interesting the grain the more attractive the deck will look when it silvers.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incorrect hedge planting

About 2 years ago this Beech hedge was planted (not by us), at the time of planting these  bare-root hedging plants should of had approx 12" taken off the height of the plant to encourage sideways branching. As you can see 2 years later they  not met with their adjacent hedging plant and probably never will if these are not reduced in height. Most if not all hedging plants are trees in their own right and want to grow as such, it is only by our manipulation they become a hedge. 

 

Bulb planting depths and distances

It's bulb planting time again so here are few of the popular bulbs you may be planting and the suggested planting densities.

Alliums ( large bulb) (depth) 20cm (apart) 20cm

Alliums (small bulb) (d) 10cm (a) 10cm

Crocus (d) 8cm (a) 8cm

Hyancinths (d) 20cm (a)15cm

Daffodils (small flower) (d) 15cm (a) 10cm

Daffodils (large flower) (d) 20cm (a) 13cm

Tulips (short) (d) 12cm (a) 12cm

Tulips (tall) (d) 12cm (a) 13cm

It's better to put a bulb in too shallow than too deep, a bulb will pull itself down with its roots to a correct depth all on its own but a bulb that is planted too deep can not pull itself up. 

 

 

 

Think big - think Allium giganteum

If it's a statement you want to add in your garden, place a focal point or just want to add something fun the Allium giganteum  bulb is a must. This bulbs grows into a monster, up to 1.5 metre in height and a perfect purple rounded flower head. As with most Alliums the foliage starts dying just as soon as the plant is ready to flower so plant in the middle of a border to hide the foliage at the base, you might also want to plant this bulb in a  sheltered position (because of its height) and although these bulbs are expensive as far as bulbs go plant in small groups of 5 or more for maximum impact.

Allium giganteums are not fussy about soil type, chalk, clay, loam or sand but plenty of sun is a must. If you are planting in a clay soil dig in some grit, this will improve drainage and stop any winter bulb rot from excessive winter wet. These really are the giant allium bulbs, don't be confused, many suppliers are offering other allium bulbs confusing the matter by saying "giant flower". 

Sit and watch chicks hatching from your living room (or anywhere in the world)

Springwatch gained a huge audience this year with their 24/7 coverage of different breeds of  chicks hatching in different nest box boxes , it was pretty amazing to see . You can easily have this too, watch your own nest boxes whenever and wherever you want with a bird box camera, you can even watch streaming on the internet from wherever you are.  Handykam stock lots of different kits and their site is full of useful information helping you to choose the right system. 

I will be putting a system into a garden design I am building and will update with you how this goes in the Spring.