Outdoor Garden Lighting
Lighting really brings a garden to life but you do not have to wait till after dark to enjoy it. The best time to appreciate the twinkle of lights among plants is towards dusk and there is nothing like candles for putting you in the mood when you are eating outdoors or just relaxing over a glass of wine after work.
There is more to garden lighting than just sitting out late on balmy summer nights though that sounds pretty good to me. If you have a beautiful water feature, underwater lighting makes it mega glamorous. You could light up your gardens best features or have a working antique gas mantle to welcome you home. For apres-barbecue ambience, low lights outline the whole garden with a romantic glow, leading visitors safely round rambling paths and illuminating steps or drawing you to the gazebo down the garden, its not only moths that are attracted to light.
But it is not just guests who benefit, the right lighting makes every evening outdoors into a special occasion. Try rearranging the lights slightly from season to season or from party to party. After dark the effect is as good as a garden make over but without the bother.
Garden lighting can be purchased from many large DIY stores such as Homebase Garden Furniture and B&Q DIY Online. These companies will stock most types of garden lighting including globe lights, shaded lights, pathway markers, feature lights, floodlights and outdoor fairy lights.
Planting A Tree
Autumn is the very best time to plant a tree. The soil is still warm but the weather is rainy, so the roots can really get stuck in. If you do not mind keeping it watered in dry weather you can plant ant time you like, even in summer.
1) When you are planting a tree in the lawn, remove the turf from a circle about 4 feet across. Skim it off with a spade to a depth of about 1.5 inches, that way you get rid of the roots too so you wont have a weed problem later.
2) Fork the ground over to loosen it up. If you find any big stones or roots, now is the time to take them out.
3) Dig the planting hole. Before putting the tree in, hammer a shortstake in at an angle of about 45 degrees. The reason for doing this first is that you dont want to drive the stake through the trees roots.
4) Tip plenty of tree planting compost down the hole and mix it into the soil with a fork.
5) Stand the tree in the hole and check that the top of the rootball is level with the surrounding soil. Mix some more tree planting compost with the soil you took out of the hole, shovel it back round the roots and firm gently. Then use a proper tree tie to secure the tree to the stake - not the stake to the tree!!! Years ago they used long stakes for trees and they just fell over as soon as the stake rotted but now the idea is to tie trees low down leaving the top free to bend in the wind so the tree learns to grow a decent root system.
6) The weeping purple osier (salix purpurea “Pendula”) is a lovely tree to plant near water but unlike the usual weeping willow it wont grow too big or be a nuisance in a smaller garden. it will be a couple of years before you can sit under this one.
Plants To Give A Patio A Tropical Touch
Tender exotic flowers - The patio is the place for a few really bright, colourful tropical look perennials that need bringing in for the winter. Cannas are really tropical looking with great big red or orange flowers and huge leaves. In winter they die down to tubers that you need to keep almost dry. Salvia grahamii is a bushy slightly tender plant with lots of smallish bright red flowers and leaves that smell like blackcurrant if they get bruised. Keep cuttings on the windowsill indoors in winter if you do not have room for a big plant. Lobelia cardinalis (Queen Victoria) is a bog plant with purple red leaves and bright red flowers, good in pots but needs to be kept very wet. Hardy in mild areas.
Palms - If you live in a mild area there are several almost hardy plams you can use, like Chamaerops humilis and Trachycarpus fortunei (thats the one you see growing outside in Cornwall). Their big leafy look is straight out of the jungle.
Climbers - Anything with big leaves like Vitis coignetiae is good and you will want a few nice wafts of scent from trachelospermum or jasmine. I would also add the evergreen Clematis armandii which has stunning leaves and scented flowers in spring, so you get to keep your tropical touch all year round.
Tropical looking perennials - Go for alstroemeria. The new patio kinds are short, ideal for pots and have masses of lily like flowers in lots of colours. They keep flowering right through summer if you keep tugging the dead flower stems out. In winter though they are hardy but you should sink their pots to the rim in a bed of soil for insulation as they do not like to be too wet either.
Lawn Care Calendar
January and February - Sweep off fallen leaves. Keep off the grass when it is frosty. Send the mower for servicing.
March - The lawn starts to grow in most years. Give it a light trim with the mower set high. Water on a moss killer if moss is a problem but remember that moss will return if the lawn is badly drained, shaded or poorly fed.
April - Mow more frequently. Rake out dead moss killed earlier. Trim lawn edges and re-cut those that are broken.
May - Apply a combined weedkiller and fertiliser dressing with a wheeled distributor to make sure the application is even. Sow new lawns from seed.
June, July and August - Have the sprinkler handy in dry spells and leave it running for at least an hour in any one spot. (you will need a sprinkler licence from your local water company). Mow the lawn twice a week. Spot weedkiller can be used on stubborn weeds.
September - Start raising the cut of the mower. Apply an autumn lawn dressing. Later in the month, rake the grass with a wire tooth springbok rake. Spike the lawn with a fork and brush sharp sand into the holes. Sow lawns from seed or lay turf.
October, November and December - Mowing frequency can be reduced and the height of cut raised. Lay turf in mild weather. Sweep off leaves and keep off the grass when it is frosted.
