53639862c634454c9196f5ece946d2ab

Get your lawn looking good this summer

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 21:01:00 GMT

Despite the snow last week, March is traditionally the time when most people start thinking about their gardens. Spring is an important time to kick start the growing season again. There are lots of things that can be done with your lawn at this time of year.

Mowing
Your grass will begin to grow faster again as the weather turns warmer and sunnier days are (hopefully) evident. Start mowing with the blades high and gradually lower them as the spring goes on but try not to cut more than one third of the grass height at any time. Keeping the cut high to start with means the grass isn’t weakened by too severe a haircut when it’s likely to be short of nutrients, sunlight and warmth.

We use professional petrol rear roller mowers which are winter serviced for a sharp blade and high performance as well as great stripes. Mowing should be done at least once a fortnight through the growing season with the cut height varied to suit growth rates.

Aeration
Spring is the time to aerate your lawn. Aeration is the procedure of getting air into the lawn soil. It is these air spaces that partially fill up and store the rain water for use by the grass. Aeration also allows air and nutrients to penetrate a hard surface, improves bacterial activity and drainage from the surface. If your lawn suffers from premature drying, poor drainage or moss invasion aeration will help.

We use a spiked roller aerator on the surface of the lawn which aerates the top 3 inches of the soil. We also use what is known as a hollow tine aerator to bring up plugs of soil and create better drainage in compacted and well used areas.

Scarification and raking
Lawn scarifiers use blades to cut out thatch (the mat of growth at the base of the grass). Lawn thatch by its very nature is removed more easily by this cutting action and the result is a firmer lawn that allows the passage of air, nutrients and water easily into it. The blades also ‘prune’ the grass plants because it cuts them downwards rather than cross cutting as in mowing. This pruning, just like pruning a bush or plant causes extra shoots to grow thus thickening the turf.

Whereas scarifiers use blades, rakes use wires just like on a fan or springbok lawn rake. Wires are best for raking because moss is not rooted and comes away quite easily. This means pulling or ripping the moss out rather than cutting it out is best. Wires are also best for giving the lawn a light raking after a drought to clear dead brown grass that has accumulated. You wouldn’t believe the amount of thatch that comes out of the average lawn.

Moss control
Did you know that the natural balance in your lawn is towards moss and away from grass? Without any intervention the problem may get worse and, in some cases so bad that you have all moss and no grass.

We provide a moss control, prevention and removal service based on your specific garden environment. We can apply a moss killer, either on its own as a standalone service or as part of a more holistic lawn care service.

However, there are plenty of other things we can do to reduce moss in your lawn. We’d start by assessing the environment and natural factors that may contribute to your lawn being thin or unhealthy and therefore creating ideal conditions for moss growth. Once we’ve done that, we can make environmental changes relevant to your lawns situation. Though this is not going to make the moss disappear it is a natural way to tip the scales in favour of the grass.

Spring lawn feed
Most lawns will thank you for giving them a helping hand in the spring after a tough winter. We tend to feed customers lawns once in the spring and then again in the autumn. We buy in bulk from a specialist lawn care provider and use a slow release spring lawn fertiliser that provides 3 months of lawn feed. A healthy lawn needs feeding. In fact, it needs feeding more than most other plants as it effectively gets pruned 20 times a year!

We use a professional shoulder bag rotary spreader which has none of the drawbacks of a wheeled version. We’d be more than happy to discuss your lawn feed requirements for either a one off or more regular service. A properly fertilised lawn will be thicker and greener. The extra density will help smother and repel weeds and moss. The grass will also have deeper roots and therefore will stay greener longer in dry weather.

Additional Tasks
We can carry out all these tasks to help keep your lawn in tip-top condition. We are also happy to recut your lawn’s edges if required as well as carrying out over-seeding, top dressing and turfing repairs. By doing these things in the spring then by the time the summer months come around your lawn should look great!

We’re always happy to talk to you about how we can help you to make your garden look great. Feel free to give us a call, or send us a quick email.

Recycling your garden waste

Wed, 31 Jan 2018 18:22:00 GMT

I get excited by the strangest things – compost is one of them. I like to make my own, and it’s so easy to do – I can’t believe I’ve only been doing this for the last three years. Part of the problem is the fact I started fifteen years ago with one of the plastic dalek-style compost bins which put me off for years before I tried again with a wooden slatted compost bin. Granted these are more expensive, but you can find offers online or make your own. The bonus is they come apart so you can empty the compost easily or move them to another part of the garden.

I dutifully sited mine in a semi-shady corner of the garden that got some warmth during the day in spring/summer. I filled it with the correct mix of materials – soil, grass clippings, plant prunings, leaves and weeds (no perennial weeds), shredded cardboard, kitchen veggie waste (no cooked food waste), teabags and eggshells. I then asked my 3 year old to hunt for lots of worms. We added these and set them to work.

I was amazed at how much you could get in such a small compost bin in just one spring and summer. Ideally you need two compost bins so you can be filling one whilst the other rots down, but we just don’t have space. I also forgot to turn it much, but with the airflow through the slats it seemed to do the trick (note how important this is – no wonder the dalek ones often fail). To my amazement after the first winter I came to open the lid (just an old pallet) and forked through what had become a reasonably good, rich crumbly compost for the garden. I was hooked!

So now I work as a gardener, I always encourage customers to find space for a compost bin in their garden if they can. We do recognise that not all our customers can do this, so we have been searching for a little while for a farmer who offers this service. Of course the local council does offer a domestic green waste service at its community recycling centres. However, as these get busier and the green bin collection service shuts down for several months each year we wanted to help customers by being able to offer this service ourselves. So today we found a business that recycles garden waste into compost for use on their Cheshire farm (see photo below) which fits in well with our environmental ethos. If you want to read more about them have a look at their website Cheshire Green Waste.

*A note of caution on the subject of green waste. If a gardener or landscaper offers to take green waste away for you, it’s important that you check that they have a Waste Carrier’s Licence issued by the Environment Agency and you check how they plan to dispose of the waste. Under the Waste Regulations 2011 if illegally disposed of waste (including green waste) is traced to your household, you may be fined up to £5,000 in a Magistrates Court.

Dreaming of tulips

Sun, 03 Jan 2016 17:46:00 GMT

Spring has to be my favourite season for bringing rich colours to the garden once again. I’m now dreaming of spring when the winter gloom is eclipsed by spring blooms, in particular the majesty of the tulip. I never cease to be amazed by how these singular bulbs transform into picture perfect flowers, and planted together bring such a stunning show of colour.

It’s still not too late to plant them. Early January is a good time to avoid the worst of the wet weather in the UK. You also save money as packs of tulips are heavily discounted. So what are you waiting for? Get planting now and you’ll be rewarded with sublime colour in April and May.