Posted on

Planning ahead for spring

Planning ahead for spring with Ed’s

Planning ahead for spring is on your to do list?

It’s easy to feel like you have lots of time with the mainly wintery weather we are currently having. Some days it can feel like spring must be a very long way off indeed! It is hard to imagine your garden as a sunny place where you want to be out spending as much time as possible.

However, it is official. Spring really is just around the corner.

All the signs are there. The snowdrops are already out and the daffodils and tulips will be hot on their heels. It’s time to think ahead, folks! Planning ahead for spring really is a good idea.

Indeed, Our Ed’s gardeners enjoy working with you over the year to help you plan ahead to achieve what you want from your garden. We are always happy to advise on the best time to undertake a whole range of gardening jobs.

Before we know where we are, mowing will be in full swing so it is always a good idea to think of the other jobs you might want doing around now. Our gardeners are likely to have a bit more free time earlier in the season before they get into the extremely busy period when lawns are growing like crazy. In addition to mowing, our Ed’s gardeners deliver core services of hedge cutting, garden tidy ups, garden clearances and jet washing patios and drives.

In summary, our Ed’s gardeners’ aim is to help you to keep your gardens looking fabulous. Some jobs are big and some are small – we are happy to discuss all of them with you.

If you think our gardeners can help you with any of your garden’s needs for the season ahead, please do get in touch.

Posted on

Festive Greetings

Festive Greetings from the Ed’s Team.

Ed’s gardeners would like to thank all our loyal customers in all our locations for your support throughout 2024. Our relationships with our customers are at at the very heart of what we do and we love making your gardens look glorious. Thank you for your support and for your wonderful reviews throughout the year. We really do appreciate them. We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to continuing to meet all your gardens’ needs in 2025.

Posted on

Hedges Galore at Ed’s – It must be September!

Ed's little garden helper

Hedges Galore at Ed’s – Can we help?

The word on the street in Ed’s is that there are lots (and lots) of hedge cutting jobs being booked in for the coming weeks. The time of year determines when you can cut hedges as you should only cut them outside of bird-nesting months. Nesting months are typically between March and August every year. And so we are just getting into prime hedge cutting time in September. Hence the Ed’s gardeners’ diaries have hedges galore booked in for the coming weeks.

Ed's little garden helper distance


The Ed’s gardening team have lots of experience in this area. and work across many locations. We can do everything from light trims to taking hedges down quite significantly and can work with a wide range of hedge types.

If you would like some help with your hedges, please do get in touch.

Posted on

Bank Holiday Fever

Bank holiday fit for a king

Well, the coronation bank holiday weekend has just officially started. Our Ed’s gardeners have been extremely busy helping our lovely customers get their gardens ready for the special bank holiday weekend.

Lots and lots of lawn mowing. Bunting, Pimms, cucumber sandwiches and cream teas galore are of course, de rigeur for any self-respecting garden party. However, lawn stripes are also an excellent backdrop. Here’s a great example of some recent handiwork. All credit to Chris King, our aptly named gardener in Norwich South.

It is such a lovely time of year to be out in the garden, weather permitting of course.

So, without further ado, we wish all of you a great weekend. May your celebrations be full of fun, your coronation picnics be sunny and your gardens be fit for a king!

With very best wishes from the Ed’s team. ??????

Posted on

Gardener Festive Cheer – Hoe Hoe Hoe

‘Tis the season to be a jolly gardener…

Gardener joy is running very high at this time of year. One of the most exciting times of the year for us! An Ed’s gardener loves nothing more than the traditions of the festive season. When else are verdant branches such a key part of life! Greenery indoors, a brilliant idea! You can see us out and about, decked in our seasonal uniforms and even singing Jingle Bells as we work. If you don’t believe us, the proof is in the photo above!

…and to be thankful for our loyal customers

As always, it has been a pleasure to have serviced all our lovely customers over the past year and to help you keep your gardens looking their very best, whatever the season.

We are looking forward to working with you again in the year ahead.

Naturally, the needs of gardens evolve so please remember that no job is too big or too small. We are happy to mow lawns, turf lawns, cut hedges, tidy up gardens, jet wash patios and also clear leaves when the season requires it. We even help with fence repairs from storm, or other, damage and we sometimes build new fences from scratch. So please let us know, whatever service you require. We are more than happy to discuss.

We would like to wish all our customers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

May your days be merry and green.

Very Best Wishes from everyone in the Ed’s team

Posted on

Lawn mowing at its best

Beautiful large lawn in rural Norfolk

Lawn mowing in beautiful Norfolk

Gardening is what I enjoy, whatever the setting. However, this garden is something very special…

Lawn mowing is something that Stuart Thackeray is very good at. He runs his Ed’s business in rural Norfolk (North and West). Stuart recently shared with us a photo of one of his beautiful gardens. Stuart says ” This is a new garden that I’ve just added to my customer portolio. We’ve just mowed this very large lawn for the first time. The garden is a large woodland one in the most amazing of settings. The garden is truly stunning and a was a pleasure to be in.”

“Mowing this garden properly takes quite some time – two of us take more than two hours to get this result. However, who would complain about working hard in this beautiful environment! And just look at those stripes!”

“It is always so rewarding to see the results of your hard work and I must say I was very pleased to review the finished result here. It was a beautiful day as well and the birds were singing. I honestly don’t think you could dream up a more idyllic landscape.”

“We feel very privileged to be able to tend such wonderful gardens. However, no job is too big or small. Also, whilst we love mowing, we are always happy to help with a whole range of garden maintenance services. From mowing to hedges to jet-washing patios, turfing or fencing…Variety is the spice of life, as they say.”

Stuart joined Ed’s Garden Services in 2014 and started his business in New Malden in Surrey, having worked in London for many years. He loved running his garden maintenance business and enjoys providing excellent customer service but wanted to do it in a place he loved. Stuart had grown up in rural Norfolk and wanted to relocate back there to run his gardening business. He subsequently moved to Whissonsett, near Fakenham, to run his gardening business…. mission accomplished!

If you think Stuart and his team can help you with your garden’s needs, please do get in touch.

Posted on

The Grass is Always Greener with Marcus

More about Marcus…

Marcus Phillips joined Ed’s Garden Services in March 2018 and covers the Dulwich, Streatham and Crystal Palace areas.

Not one to let the grass grow under his feet, he has been keeping himself busy ever since joining Ed’s. His most recent job has been turfing a garden in Balham.

Marcus explains further…

‘I was approached by a family who inherited their mum’s old house. Most of the garden had been turned into raised beds to be used as a herb and vegetable garden.’

 

‘My brief was to clear and lower the heights of beds and to re-use the old sleepers elsewhere. I then needed to create a temporary lawn that would be ready in time for her son’s birthday party in July’.

 

‘Come October, I will be entirely remodeling the garden again on a bigger scale and in the meantime I will be maintaining the garden’.

Could Marcus help with your gardening needs?

Posted on

Anita’s getting ready for spring

Garden Tidy-ups

Here at Ed’s Garden Services, we are getting all geared up for spring. The winter weather certainly takes its toll on gardens. This winter has been throwing all it can at us – wind, rain, sleet and snow! We’ve already started to help our customers get their gardens ship shape for the year ahead.

Anita, our Ed’s Operator in Wimbledon, has been busy making big differences in gardens. This one is a cute cottage garden which the owners needed to spruce up for presenting the property to market.   Anita has been asked to get it looking good and keep it looking just as good while it is on the market.

Here’s  before Anita and her team worked their magic…

And the finished article…

Anita says “It’s amazing how much of a difference you can make in a relatively short time at this time of year. Even the most beautiful gardens can look quite neglected after the toll of winter. We can make a real difference and make sure your garden is in pole position to look its best for the year ahead.”

Keeping Ivy in check

Although we appreciate our evergreens, ivy can get very unruly without a bit of TLC. Left unchecked, it can do substantial damage to the structures it grows on. Here’s where Anita has been  tasked with reducing  wall height to eliminate ivy damage.

Anita says “It’s so much easier to get to grips with ivy ahead of the growing season. It’s very pretty but can be detrimental to structures and other plants if it is not knocked into shape and kept that way!  I love helping my customers sort things like this out before they become real problems for them.”

Anita and her team would be delighted to help you meet the needs of your garden. Please just get in touch.

Posted on

The Apprentice Ed’s Garden Operator Style

Ed’s Garden Operators’ Canine Helpers

This is a really busy time of year for an Ed’s Garden Operator. With the milder weather we’ve been having, the grass is still growing.  This means that  there is still mowing to be done. However, the challenges of Autumn (lots of clearing leaves!) and getting all our lovely customers’ gardens in shape for the winter ahead are there too.

We’re not complaining though.  We love it.  Especially when the weather is kind, with bright, crisp Autumn days.

With limited daylight hours, our Garden Operators can do with a bit of help to get on top of their workloads. Indeed, some of their own canine apprentices have been providing an extra set of paws to get the job done.

As everyone knows, we love reviewing performance at Ed’s so we just had to ask our guys how the new recruits are measuring up…

Baloo’s Review!

This is Baloo, a lovely and loyal German Shepherd. She has recently started helping Bob, our Garden Operator in Horsham, to deliver his gardening services.

Bob says, “Well, I’m probably a little bit biased as I’m very fond of Baloo. However,  she is really getting to grips with the challenges of being a sidekick . Nothing is too much trouble for her and she is very versatile in helping out with whatever I need.  She is just great at multi-tasking.”

“Whether it be guarding the van or helping me uproot a somewhat stubborn tree, she is on it. Her focus is amazing and even a rogue squirrel in a garden won’t distract her from the task in hand.  However,   I can see it takes every ounce of her willpower to ignore them!  What can I say apart from I’m really lucky to have her on board.  If she can keep her current level of motivation, she will go very far indeed!”

Monty’s moment of truth!

Another recent recruit is a rather dashing Hungarian Vizsla called Monty. He  lives with Stuart, our Ed’s Garden Operator in rural Norfolk.  Clearly a handsome and delightful chap but we asked Stuart if he could sum up how Monty is cutting the mustard.

Looking thoughtful, Stuart says “ Well, it all started off brilliantly in the summer when Monty was very keen to spring out of bed and get to work. Sadly, since the cooler days have kicked in, it has all changed. Monty does a quick weather check before he decides whether he is going to grace us with his company or just stay at home snuggling beside the Aga. It really isn’t good enough.”

“Monty is still a very young fellow but I feel that his current commitment level could be better. I am out in all weathers but Monty…well, he just doesn’t seem to be made of the same stuff.  In all honesty,  he seems to be a bit of a fair weather gardener.”

“If only he could get his work ethic right, he would go far in this business.  His  interpersonal skills are second to none and everyone who meets him tends to think he is wonderful. It’s not fair really. I toil away, day in, day out, without as much as a grumble and yet Monty is always the one who wins the popularity vote hands down with my customers!”

 

Posted on

Ed’s preparations for the season ahead

The RHS Wisley location

Ed’s Garden Services Operators were out in force last week for another great training session at RHS Wisley. The Ed’s team visits RHS Wisley in all seasons. It looks absolutely stunning at any time of the year. This was our view from the office …

The training we get there is truly excellent – we have access to the best horticultural expertise there is.

We always plan our Ed’s training sessions to coincide with the changing seasons and go for an early start to avoid disruption to our Garden Operators’ busy work schedules. Our Wisley training sessions really help Ed’s Garden Operators to prepare for the season ahead and to apply their learning in their customers’ gardens.

What we cover

Last week, we covered a whole range of horticultural topics. We learned about recent developments in new technologies for re-turfing lawns, advanced methods of dealing with problem areas with existing lawns and also got some great tips relating to hedges. Planting was also covered, which is always great to unleash our Garden Operators’ creativity. We finished off with a session on important new developments. This included health and safety regulations to make sure our Garden Operators’ are kept fully up to date in this important area.

No visit to Wisley would be complete without a stroll round the beautiful gardens. It is quite magical to be there before the gates are open to visitors for the day.  Autumn was certainly showing itself in all its glory. What a great start to a gardening day!