Beat the Spring Rush 2012!

Having your garden designed this autumn, built during the winter, and planted during the spring will ensure that you have your garden ready to enjoy next summer.

We know that next year feels like a long way off and you will probably go through the winter and early spring without thinking about any grand plans for the garden. Its when the clocks change and the sun comes that our phone starts ringing like mad. Sadly though many people find that they then have to wait as we always have a queue of customers already waiting to have their garden done meaning sadly we are unable to deal with the demand. So if this is you and you are thinking about having your garden landscaped ready to enjoy next summer, call us now so that we can help ensure you have something special to enjoy by summer 2012.

The Landscaping Dept 01202 882463 or our Garden designer 01425 283117 (suel@stewarts.co.uk)

The Family Garden

Guidance for planning a family garden

Think of your garden as an extension to your home, an outside space for all to enjoy. When planning a garden to suit the family what better way to start than to sit around a table and involve everyone? Ask your children what they enjoy most about being outside and what they would like for the garden. Compile a list of the all the ideas not forgetting your own requirements. Planning is key to create a garden that not only looks good but also is incredibly practical.

Getting started
Measure the garden and draw this out on some paper and include any parts of the garden that are to remain as is, such as shrub beds, existing paths or patios etc (you may find that whilst initially you wanted them to stay, as you start to sketch your design, it is best that they go or be re sited within the garden). Photocopy this so you have extra copies to work on as you may have two or three ideas. Sketch the areas onto the plan to include the important parts of your needs, you can then tweak these as you go. To make them more interesting such as instead of an oblong lawn with shrub beds around the edge you may wish to create a curved lawn with borders that breaks up the garden into sections.
Something for Everyone
You may have to minimise the list if there are too many ideas or elements that may exceed your budget, but again involve the family in these discussions as they will all feel a part of the project. Children love play areas of which there are many different choices such as swings, tree houses and climbing frames. Look around at what’s available, choose something well built so that it will withstand the constant demands of being well used.

The top needs for a family garden are usually a patio for dining, relaxing and socialising (and it’s a dry place for children to play on during winter), an area for play, beds to grow your own vegetables, an area for a shed for storage or play and an area for hanging out the washing.

Things to think about

Children
The demands of children change, as they grow older, so it’s worth thinking of the future and allowing the garden to change with the children as they grow.

A sandpit is a great idea for young children, but if you want a permanent sand pit, build it so that it can be changed into something else like a small vegetable bed, where the children can grow their own vegetables and flowers later on. Don’t forget a lid for the sandpit or next doors cat may like to enjoy it too!

A Wendy or tree house is a lovely idea, but as the children grow they may become less interested in this so perhaps choose something that is large enough to create a den or a place where when the teenagers can hang out and have their friends round or a place they can escape to and give you some quiet time too! And in the short term part of this can be used as storage for toys and bikes.

An area for hopscotch is good fun, but make it more permanent using some attractive stepping-stones and place them in an area that you could also use as path, so again as the children get bored, they don’t become unsightly or unused.

You may wish the children’s play area, whether it consists of lawn, paths, dens etc to be closer to the house so that you can keep an eye on them and their safety whilst playing outside.

If you are introducing play equipment, make sure the area has a soft landing around it and is not situated to close to walls, fences, trees or bushes. I recently saw a garden which had introduced a sunken trampoline, which is a great idea, as the child will not have a drop if they fall, but in this case 30cm from it was a paved patio which is not a particularly soft landing.
Grass is ideal and there are many other products on the market such as shredded rubber material and play bark. If you are introducing a surface like this think about edgings around this area so that the loose material stays contained and does not end up round the garden. Put some plant membrane down first as this will help reduce any weeds coming up from underneath.

Check for hazards in the garden. Make sure your boundaries are safe and the children are safely contained within the safety of your outside space. Ponds are not recommended when you have young children, so perhaps if you have an existing one, you need to explore covers available to make it safe, perhaps convert it into a sandpit (making sure that water is able to escape) or remove it completely.

Adults

When planning where your patio should be, think about the sunniest spot in the garden, especially if you want early evening BBQ’s etc so you can enjoy most of the sun. You may wish to have it not too far from the house so you don’t have far to go if you nip indoors. If the location is best suited further away to enjoy the sunshine, then think about creating a path so that you don’t walk dirt into the house. A path could consist of paving slabs or stepping-stones to create a practical walking area. If you are laying slabs or stepping stones within a lawn area, make sure these are flush with the lawn otherwise when cutting it the mower will not run smoothly over the slabs and you will end up spending time strimming around these.

If you are laying a new lawn from turf or seeding one, choose one which is hard wearing so it is up to lots of wear and tear.

When choosing plants for your garden, choose ones that can withstand being knocked slightly by a football etc. Our Garden Centre team can advice on non-poisonous plants, tough and easy to care for plants that will create year round interest in the garden. They can suggest ideas for introducing fragrant plants, bold colourful plants and plants which are enjoyable to touch so you can help cover all the senses and create interest for all the family.

Ideas for fun

Gardens grow children, and this is even more true when a child’s first experiences with gardening are successful and fun.

Stimulate children’s interest by getting them involved in growing vegetables and then helping to make something in the kitchen. Grow pumpkins ready for Halloween.

Grow plants that mature quickly such as sunflowers as this will help keep children’s attention.

Build a hedgehog house and encourage wildlife into the garden, children love bugs! Buy a birdhouse or bird stand and get the children to decorate it with non-toxic paints for a bit of fun.

Make a scarecrow to sit in the vegetable bed.
If your garden is large enough leave an area where the children can build their own den/tent from twigs, blankets and other items.

MAHONIA

Although this shrub can be seen in many gardens, because it has all year round interest, there is a good case for adding it to yours.

The leaves are formed in large dark green glossy heads and are very similar to holly leaves. Fragrant yellow, long spikes of flowers are evident from November through to March and are then followed by a show of attractive deep purple berries. A good shrub to consider if you are in the process of newly landscaping your garden.

Mahonia likes to be in full or partial shade (even under trees) in a humous rich, well drained area. Fairly fast growing it can grow from 1 to 5 metres high and spread up to 4 metres wide depending on the variety you choose. Prune if necessary in Spring when flowering has finished, cut back to a healthy side shoot. Mulch around the base with either manure or compost to a depth of 5-7cm (2-3")

My Garden

Two years ago I bought an end of terrace house with a small garden. The garden was in a dreadful state, had not been cared for for years, was overgrown and had no structure to it. It had a large concrete base at the end with a concrete path down the middle. The whole garden either side of the path had been raised up using big concrete edgings and to my surprise the raised areas also contained a concrete base underneath.

There was nothing existing that I could of worked with so it was back to basics for me and I decided to clear the whole garden and start again. It took 2 x 8 yard skips to clear the garden, and thankfully I had a path that ran down the side of the house to remove all of the rubble – and I found plenty of it!

I wanted to get the garden back to one level. Having worked with gardens for many years now I understand how in important it is to create a strong design. If I had worked with straight paths and straight borders this would have made my garden feel a lot smaller than it feels now. To create a feel of a longer wider garden you should add curves or diagonal shapes so this is what I did.

I measured the whole garden and set to work with scraps of paper before I felt happy that my design was going to fit and work to give the best possible look it could achieve. I researched through many images on the internet and in books to give me ideas. I listed the important things I wanted from my garden:

a) An area to entertain and chill
b) An area for sunbathing!
c) An area to put my washing line in
d) An area for a small shed
e) And for me most importantly lots of areas for planting as I love my plants

With the help of family we cleared the garden during the summer of 2008. We put a rotavator through it and I added some decent soil conditioner for helping my plants have the best possible start in life. We built the patio and the paths using slabs and chippings. For the horseshoe path and for the grass area I invested in metal edging which helps to create a sharp edge, contain the chippings and stops the grass from growing into my borders. Once this was complete I then painted the walls and added some wrought iron trellis to the walls as I did not want wooden trellis. The garden was ready for planting late Autumn and this was the bit I was really looking forward to!

Most importantly I wanted structure from the planting during the winter, so I chose my plants carefully and set them out to create a strong look throughout the garden area. Evergreen shrubs and conifers with different shapes, heights and varieties of foliage. Because it is a small garden I chose plants that I knew would be happy being pruned hard, or kept a very narrow shape so that they did not take over the garden itself.

I then did the rest of the planting during the spring and the summer. This way I could chose plants from the garden centre that would help create colour and interest throughout the seasons.
My garden is now in its second year and is doing so well. I still have space to plant some extra plants as and when I see something I like. Occasionally plants don’t do what you really want them to do so I am not worried about taking the odd one out and planting it with something more suitable.

For some people they may just find this all too much. Not everyone is able to design and construct gardens but this is where our team can help with the years of knowledge and the foresight of what a garden could look like. If you wish to speak to us about helping you then call Stewarts Landscaping on 01202 882463. If you are keen to have a garden that you can enjoy for next summer then act now as we always have a queue.
Rebecca Moy - General Manager