It is something that many people dream about – having a garden that is perfect for relaxing in at the end of a busy day. The reality is very different for many people. Some of us have very limited outdoor space at our homes, while others simply do not have time to spend on the garden in the first place. In addition, getting the space suitable for use can be quite expensive, is hard work and can be quite difficult.
Getting hold of suitable chairs for the garden or patio is easy. They come in all shapes and sizes as well as all price ranges, but choosing the right ones is not so easy. Standard picnic and patio chairs are ideal for a couple of hours outdoors while having a barbecue but are not necessarily the best option for those who want to relax in the sun all day. Why not opt for a garden sofa? This is a touch of luxury that can turn the garden into an outdoor room, ideal for those lazy days when the sun is shining and we can forget about work and other worries. These are similar to the recliner sofas that are available for indoors, allowing the user to relax in the sun and to put their feet up.
There are plenty of options for other garden furniture such as tables and loungers. Opting for a style made from wood will give a nice natural look to the garden. Benches can be placed under an archway with plants trailing around it to create a quiet corner; climbing roses are ideal for this.
However, something so luxurious needs to be in surroundings that are befitting. Creating a lovely cottage style garden is one of many options. This type of traditional garden tended to be filled with plants that had a real use, either medicinal or for food. But the gardeners of old loved flowers and the front gardens of country cottages were traditionally filled with flowering plants. Now, the cottage garden style can be used to create a rural idyll, even in the centre of town, as more and more people want a more natural look for their outdoor space.
The type of plants used can include fruit bushes and trees, vegetables and aromatic herbs, and flowers such as roses and sweet peas. Borders do not have to be neat and tidy and are best left to develop naturally, the strongest plants being cut back when they threaten to take over the garden. The cottage garden look can create a cosy haven, with the plants being used to shield different areas of the garden to increase privacy; ideal for those who want to feel as though they are getting away from it all.
When selecting the plants, opt for aromatic types that will make being in the garden even more pleasant. Lavender is a perfect choice for any garden. It has a good scent and will grow easily in most areas provided it is not too shaded. It can be used to create pretty colourful hedges and there are plenty of different varieties to choose from.
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’.
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