We are looking forward to installing our first wildflower lawn, and though we had planned to have one installed in our upcoming Glasgow west end design our clients have opted to do this themselves as part of their ongoing gardening activity!  Fair enough!

Our fellow Landscape Juice Network members, Shadows Garden Design have provided this excellent guide to installing your own wildflower meadow, check it out:

Bringing your garden out of the Shadows: How To: Make a wildflower meadow.

Originally posted 2009-10-27 11:42:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

This guest blog has been written by Michelle Strassburg, co-founder of UK based Wood and Beyond sellers of hardwood decking:During this time of year we often get calls and emails from people asking ‘how should I clean my garden decking?‘ It seems that the first few days of summer always bring people out in numbers to the garden and the condition of their decking after the winter months is less than satisfactory. There is also an important safety aspect for keeping the garden decking clean as it will prevent the surface from becoming a slippery one. Cleaning hardwood decking isn’t hard and will ensure the structure will remain in great condition despite the harsh winter elements. Here are couple of tips which we recommend you take.

How To Clean Hardwood Decking?

Pre-Step: First you’ll need to prepare a few essential tools and materials such as a stiff household broom, pressure washer (optional), warm water, soda crystals and chemical agents (optional). We don’t often recommend using chemical agents unless we sold the wood so we know how it will react. If you do decide to work with chemical agents pay attention to health and safety regulations, keep away from children and use protective clothing.

Step One: Make sure the decking surface is free of any obstacles so you can concentrate on cleaning rather than moving toys, chairs and tables around. Do not drag any piece of furniture around. Therefore you should consider getting a helping hand for this step.

Step Two: Using a stiff broom, give the deck a thorough brush followed by jet-wash using a pressure washer if you have one to get rid of dirt and debris. Do not use an industrial grade pressure washer (above 1500psi) as it might damage the wood, those used as multi-purpose home jet cleaners will work just fine. If you don’t have one, use normal pressure water from your garden hose.

Step Three: Unless you know precisely how your wood will react to a cleaning chemical, we recommend using good-all soda crystals. Spray warm water over the decked surface and sprinkle soda crystals. Leave the decking for a few hours and once dry brush using a stiff broom. This stage is the reason why the cleaning should be done in the summer when the decking is dry.

Step Four: After you have completed the cleaning process, rinse the deck area completely to remove any trace of the cleaning solutions and chemical agents. Allow the deck to dry completely before placing the furniture and other items back  on the deck surface.

Enjoy the summer and your garden decking.

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Article by Michelle Strassburg, the co-founder of UK based Wood and Beyond sellers of hardwood decking.

Originally posted 2010-04-27 15:38:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Why not give yourself a head-start this Easter weekend and get the juniors involved in preparing the garden ready for the summer ahead?

If you have a project in mind where you’d like to have an area dedicated to children’s play or if you’d like to build a garden which will act as an activity and education resource for your children, as well as providing suitable grown up pursuits (such as relaxing and entertaining!) then please drop us a line at GardenImprovements.com and enquire about our Garden Design Services.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2010-04-03 00:26:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Six Steps to Installing Child Safe Decking

Michael at Richard Burbidge has kindly offered some advice on planning decks and terraces with safety and children in mind:

In recent years decking has become one of the most popular additions that UK gardeners have sought to install.

The provision of a nice area to relax, have a drink or do some barbequing is attractive and current figures suggest that one in five of us have at some point undertaken a decking installation project.

However, if you fail to plan your project effectively it is likely that you could end up with decking that is not child safe.  Here we offer useful tips on how to avoid such an outcome.

1. Getting the spindles right

One of the most common causes of injury involving children and decking is due to the fact that spindles have been placed too far apart.  This can result in the child either falling through the rails, or becoming trapped between them.

Where the decking is raised there is the chance of the child falling a long way and children stuck between the spindles run the risk of suffocation.  You can avoid the risk of either of these occurrences happening by ensuring that spindles are spaced no more than 99mm apart.

Also, be sure to avoid spindles that run horizontally (ie ranch style); as they could provide a ladder for children to climb up and over the decking rail.

2. Adding gates

If you have raised-decking then, it is likely you’ll have some stairs leading from it down to the rest of your garden area.  At some point your child will reach an age where you trust them enough to be able to negotiate the stairs on their own.  However, until they reach that point the unprotected stairs offer the opportunity of injury sustained through falling.

The safest option is to either make or purchase the required number of gates that can be attached to the decking balustrade.  Be sure to fit childproof latches to gates to keep your child safely in the decking area.

3. Safeguarding the base

In many instances, decking is built on uneven garden surfaces, or has to be placed on stilts so that the decking is level with French doors.  The base area underneath the decking floor presents a space that your child is sure to want to explore if it is left unprotected.

Your first option here is to add decking boards or other suitable wooden sheets and stain it to match the decking.  This has the additional advantage of preventing pests, making a nest under your decking.

The second option is to fit some trellis to fill in the gaps underneath the decking.  If you are concerned pests may try to make a home under the structure then you may want to consider attaching some chicken wire to the trellis to prevent access.  Going down the trellis route leaves you with the option of training climbing plants and creepers to it to add to the aesthetic appeal.

4. Smoothing things over

Usually the finish of decking products will be pretty smooth.  However, there is always the chance of splinters when working with timber and especially so when you are cutting pieces to fit.  Therefore, once you have finished installing your decking it is advisable to spend a little time smoothing off any rough edges or surfaces with some sandpaper.

5. Handrail Height

Ensure the handrail is at a minimum of 900mm from the deck level for ground level decking.  If your decking is above 600mm off the ground then the handrail should be set at 1100mm to reduce the risk of falling over the top.

6. Furniture placement

Whilst our last tip doesn’t specifically relate to the installation of decking; it is one that we can’t leave out.  It is imperative that you always place any patio furniture as far away from the edges of your decking as is possible.  Children love to climb and if your furniture is close to the edge there is always the risk that they will attempt to use it to get over the decking rail.

Originally posted 2011-06-20 11:59:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Here’s some handy hints on getting started with composting delivered by Margaret Hoyenga over @ Nest In Style.  Good luck and let us know how you get on!!

Nicky Patterson, Designer @ Gardenimprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-06-23 17:00:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

These leaves (or blades I'm calling them) are RAZOR-sharp!

We set out this morning (our first day out this week!) to build a small kitchen garden for a regular client in Newton Mearns.  On arrival we discovered the site to still be completely covered in snow and the area where the garden was to be built was unworkable.

The client pointed out a number of trees for us to trans-plant while we there anyway and so we got to task.  Moving the apple tree was no problem nor was the new 10ft Ilex too difficult to plant in; but the young Monkey-Puzzle posed a problem.

Beautiful but dangerous!

The leaves of this tree are thick, tough and scale-like, triangular, 3–4 cm long, 1–3 cm broad at the base, but have razor-sharp edges and tips.  I mean razor sharp!  The tree itself was only 5 foot tall but had been planted in a raised bed far too close to house.  If you have seen these trees around your own neighbourhood then you will know how big they can grow and this really isn’t great for small front garden areas, nor for the house because the tree will block light into it’s windows.

We really cannot get close enough to the tree to dig it out without causing injury to ourselves – genuinely! Next time you see one go up and feel it’s leaves and you will see what I mean!

The solution that we came up with was to tie up the branches of the tree upward into trusses with string, so as to hold all of the branches in a conical shape hugging the trunk – much like how Christmas trees are packaged by netting for ease of transport.  The branches are flexible enough to allow this to work without causing  any harm to the tree itself.  This took a great deal of care not to cut our hands but allowed us to get close enough in to get our spades into the ground near the root-ball.

And it’s that simple!  Not so simple that I’m not calling it a Top-Top though!

We transported it by wheelbarrow and planted it into a space in the perimeter planting that needed to be filled.  The location suited the style of trees nearby, mostly other conifers and pines – but also added some security; there’s no way a burglar could drop over the fence and into this tree without letting go an alarming yelp!

So if you ever come face to face with a young Money-Puzzle tree that you want shifted you’ll know exactly what to do!

A job well done!

Cheers

Nicky Patterson

GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-02-06 21:06:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Now I’m going to make this a quick one because I have just signed off in the office doing a garden design for a client in Barrhead and it’s nearly 1am already!

So here is how the fencing appeared before (or actually just a wee bit after – camera needed charged!) we started.

The original fence: not bad but not great

Original Fence: spoils the setting of the garden

So as you can see the fence didn’t present the best backdrop for the planting scheme, the water feature or indeed the garden as a whole; it sucked all the life from along a strong perimeter of what is a very narrow or shallow garden.

My idea was to update the fence while integrating it with the space – creating a feature but also a background foil.  The garden is an informal French style space and so to marry in with the existing trellis work and the paving I wanted to add some brightness to the space.  The climber’s (Wisteria x 2, Berberis x 3, Pyracantha x1) along the fence also required something to navigate along and up.

I opted for horizontal straps placed at a ratio of 3:2 where 3 is the strap width and 2 is the gap.  This is a more modern take on the horizontal ranch style of fencing common in the 70′s and 80′s but the smaller gaps reduce the security risk while also providing a stronger linear message along the perimeter.  This method also created a ‘hedge-in-the-sky’ effect for the conifer hedging along the back of the fence in the neighbour’s garden – thus making full use of the garden’s surroundings.

This was a very simple project which only required a bit of forward thinking and about £250 for the materials which for 17m length isn’t bad at all!  A whole new fence (almost) for £250?!  Yes!

So here are the results.  I took these this morning so excuse the snow!  I think you’ll agree though that a little work can do alot for your garden if used intuitively.

The new improved fence brightens the whole garden

The new fence provides a perfect foil for the planting

We painted the fence cream to match the paving and existing trellis.  We also deliberately painted the wood while wet so as to take on an instant weathered look to tie in the established garden and the theme of the space.

Anyway good luck with your fencing project if you decide to give your perimeter’s a makeover!

Cheers
Nicky Patterson

GardenImprovements.com

Originally posted 2009-02-04 01:03:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter