The GardenAdvice team winter fruit tree pruning service which is available from November untilthe end of February. The service includes pruning your fruit trees and bushes, removing the prunings, tar washing the fruit plants, applying grease bands and feeding the fruit trees or bushes. The cost is £40 for the first fruit tree, £35 for next fruit trees and £30 for every fruit tree in the same garden after the first two. For futher information email us at admin@gardenadvice.co.uk  More

Mistletoe has always been a bit of an enigma, and although it’s a parasite on some of our native deciduousplants it holds such a serene beauty that it’s captured the imagination of European cultures throughout the ages. Thankfully, as a native to the UK, it’s relative easy to grow mistletoe from seed, but along with the decline of our fruit industry – the apple tree is one of its predominant host plants - the mistletoe is no longer as common as it had once been. But with a little effort, and a touch of patience, your garden may well provide the next host for this beautiful and enigmatic species.

To save leaving mistletoe seed germination to chance, you can improve your germination rates by following these six tips for successfully growing mistletoe from seed.

1. The best time to propagate mistletoe is from March to April when the seed is fully ripe. Try to obtain seed from a host plantsimilar to the one you want to sow onto as this gives the best chance of germination. If you are obtaining your seed from shop bought mistletoe the chances are that they have been imported in from French apple groves located in Normandy and Brittany. If theberries have been stored then re-hydrate them for a few hours in a little water. Whether they are fresh or stored, the seed will need to be squeezed out of the berry, along with a quantity of its sticky , viscous flesh, known as viscin.

2. Harvest intact berries only, because if the berry skin ruptures the contents inside will harden hindering germination. Unfortunately germination rates for mistletoe seed can be quite low as only about 10% of their seeds survive to becoming a mature plant. With this in mind it’s advisable to propagate at least twenty seeds, as when mature, mistletoe will require both male and female plants to produce berries.

3. When choosing your host tree bare in mind the mistletoe’s preferences – apples are first, then poplars, limes, false acacia, and then hawthorn. Occasionally they have been known to grow on oak.

4. Select a branch 10cm (4in) or more in girth, preferably on a tree at least 15 years old. If possible sow seeds in the crooks of the higher branches so that sufficient light can reach the seedlings as they grows Mark each berry with some coloured string to identify where they have been positioned. Alternatively make shallow cuts into the bark, remove the seed coats from the seeds, and insert them under the bark flaps. Cover the flaps with hessian and secure the bark back in place with twine protecting the seed from birds.

5. Germination is fairly rapid and a short green hypocotyl (a growing tip which bears the embryonic leaves) should appear and bend to make contact with the host bark. At this stage these tiny plants are particularly susceptible to grazing invertebrates and birds. They are also prone to dehydration until their roots have connected with the hosts vascular system. If all goes well the hypocotyl will remain unchanged until the following February. Only then will a small newplant appear.

6. As the mistletoe develops the host branch will begin to swell in girth. Growth of this juvenile plant will remain slow taking five years to reach berrying-size. If either all male, or all female plantsdevelop you can attach more seeds the mistletoe parent plant. Strangely mistletoe will readily act as a host to its own parasitic seed.

For more on growing Mistletoe visit

http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-grow-mistletoe-from-seed.html

http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/gardenplants/mistletoe/index.html

New GardenAdvice services list 

View all the current GardenAdvice services created by our team to help you enjoy and get the most out of your gardening. View the details below or click here to download our services pdf file.

Free Online gardening Advice

Our free online gardening advice service is designed to answer your garden questions by providing you with emailed answers often with links to free how to video clips and is available with or without membership to GardenAdvice.co.uk. However, we recommend that you take out the free membership option as members receive priority  http://gardenadvice.co.uk/advisor/freeadvice/index.html

Free Garden Design Course

Our GardenAdvice advisors have designed this course to enable you to team up with one of our design experts to help you design your own garden at home with a lot of help from us. The course has been designed to aid novice and experienced gardeners alike. To complete the course you do not need any plant knowledge, landscape knowledge or drawing skills. http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/project/design/index.html

Free Garden Border Design Service

http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/advisor/designadvice/border.html
Send us the shape and size of your border and we will design it or you. The border design service is part of our garden design section. Your border will be designed by our fully qualified and time served garden designers. This is a free service for garden borders up to 20 square metres.

Membership packages

Standard Membership – Free
http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/club/join/index.html

Standard Membership is free and gives you the quickest growing range of benefits for your garden:

• Free Priority Advice By E-mail and Telephone
• Free weekly Video Gardening Calendar by email
• 10 free SMS and/or text plant and pest alerts for your garden
• Free “World Of Gardening” DVD and Free Magazine In PDF format 4 times a year.

MyGardenTeam Membership-£39 per anum after a free 14 day no obligation trial
http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/my-garden-team

• Your own personal online garden expert to help you with your gardening projects and plans
• Online garden log to keep all your notes and a record of the progress of your garden.
• Online calendars created by your garden expert including pruning dates, vegetable sowing times, pest alerts etc also includes unlimted email and/or sms/text alerts
• Estimating service included up to 5 hours every 6 months

MyGardenTeam-Plus upgrade

- £40 upgrade per anum to the MyGardenTeam service includes a Garden advisor visit and 50 percent off up to 5 of our one day gardening one day gardening courses.

MyGardenTeam plus Membership-£79 per anum after a free 14 day no obligation trial ( not including the Garden Visit element )
http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/my-garden-team

• Your own personal online garden expert to help you with your gardening projects and plans
• Online garden log to keep all your notes and a record of the progress of your garden.
• Online calendars created by your garden expert including pruning dates, vegetable sowing times, pest alerts etc also includes unlimted email and/or sms/text alerts
• Estimating service included up to 5 hours every 6 months
• Garden advisor visit and 50 percent off up to 5 of our one day gardening one day gardening courses.

Other GardenAdvice Products

Mini MyGardenTeam project – £25 for 12 weeks

Mini project is designed to provide you ongoing planning and advice on a garden project it proves you with our MyGardenTeam services for 30 days and is aimed as such projects as lawn drainage, decking projects, garden walls.

Estimating service £30 per hour – Our estimating service has been created to work out the materials you need for a project and to obtain you the best quotes from a number of suppliers for the materials required. Example = An estimate for the material for a large patio would normally take 1 hour and save our client or viewer on average £55 ( base on standard builders merchant costs, as against our overall volume discount )

One day gardening courses - £99 for a one day course including lunch

http://http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/gardening-courses/index.html

If you are new to gardening it can all seem a little bit complicated at first with all the Latin names and the gardening terminology.

GardenAdvice.co.uk have developed a especially designed short one day course to be able to teach you all the basic skills of gardening to get you started.

The courses are being held locally thought the U.K and cover such basic skills as pruning, growing organic vegetables, correct digging methods, growing your own shrubs and creating the perfect lawn.

Garden advisor visiting service - £50 to £65

http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/advisor/freeadvice/visiting.html

At GardenAdvice we offer a great range of products to help you achieve your gardening ambitions one of which is the advisor visiting service.

One of our horticultural advisors will visit you at home, at a time to suit you, and provide you with some of the best advice around on your garden for £50 to £65 depending on were you live..

Corporate Membership

The same as Standard Membership Plus as a corporate member your business or organizations employees or members as well as the standard membership will be provided with the following benefits

• up to 4 free lunch time or evening workshops at your business premises talks on a gardening subject for your employees every year. ( Currently only available in the UK, Northern Europe,Canada and the US )
• Garden Advisor visits and the MyGardenTeam
• One Day Gardening Courses
• Discounts and exclusive offers from a whole range of Gardenadvice partners ranging from discounts and exclusive offers on new cars to free vegetable seeds.
• Co branded newsletters and weekly gardening calendars
• Free 15 hours consultancy with our Environmental team advisors per year for you business

GardenAdvice.co.uk Corporate Membership is £100 per anum after a 30 day free trial and is available to businesses and organizations with more the 12 employees ( GardenAdvice Corporate Membership is available worldwide )

Create your own simple Christmas Wreath – The GardenAdvice team show you how using some willow withes and some of the foliage from your garden plants.  Its easy to create a simple and effective Christmas wreath for you front door without spending a fortune More

The GardenAdvice team show you how to create some simple Christmas decorations from the plants in your garden

At this time year your garden has all the elements and can provide all the inspriation to create some great home-made Christmas decorations.

Using your existing garden plants a few simple shop purchased decorations, you can create your very own Christmas decorations to suit your own home style.
Some suitable plants are Conifers, Euonymus, sedum. ivy, holly cotonester, pyrcantha, fir cones and rose hips.  One of the easiest ways to create your own decorations with these plants is to create fireplace garland, or Christmas wreath.
The Fireplace garland is one of the simplest Christmas decorations to create, simply by using a shelf above a fireplace to create a natural looking seasonal decoration.  The key is to use 3 or 4 items, such as candles and baubles to give the decoration a structure.
Click here to download the ‘how to pdf on how to create a fireplace garland’.

Read More 

Tropical Explosion -  Barbados is the most eastern Caribbean island in the caribbean chain. The island is said to be formed by a collision of Atlantic crystal accompanied by volcanic eruption. A tourist destination known for its exotic beaches, sugar cane,rich heritage and exciting  Natural and Wildlife attractions.

Bask in the Garden and Beyond - Enjoy the sunshine and indulge in your passion for gardening with our One Week Gardening Courses with plenty of time to relax and take in local attractions. For More Information visit: http://gardenadvice.co.uk/barbados/about.html

Barbados is the home of a thriving population of Hawksbill an Leatherback turtles. These species were once endangered by overfishing but now these great creatures are now protected and monitored throughout the island.

In Barbados, local fishermen play a vital role in ensuring that the turtles are well fed and taken care of. These friendly creatures, can be seen playing and fishing along the shoreline. You can also have an occasional swim with them as they are accustomed to humans. For More information visit:
http://www.barbados.org/species/turtles-romance.htm

Having plants in your home is nothing less than spectacular. They beautify your home as well as provide a sense of tranquility . There are many varieties that  one can consider for that special place in your home, whether it be a patio or a bathroom. Garden Advice provides an array of information as well as tips and valuable advice, for persons who have or want to put plants in their home. For More visit: http://gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/houseplant/index.html

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to own an entire Fruit Garden? Wonder no more!  At GardenAdvice our team here  can help you to get started immediately.

With the use of straightforward techniques and tips as well as  assistance from our time served, qualified staff you can be well on your way to fulfilling your dream of owning  a Fruit Garden. For more information and to Get Started visit: http://gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/fruit/index.html

With the daily use of chemicals in every sphere of our lives, we are significantly contributing to the severe damage of our environment.  Now by using some form of organic pest control in our gardens and in our agricultural practices rather than relying on harmful pesticides,will be the first step in the right direction.

In effort to contributing to a healthier environment,  gardeners should consider natural methods of pest control . Whereas, whether your garden be big or small there are a number of effective methods of keeping your garden pest free organically. For more information and tips visit: http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/pests/biological-pest-control/index.html