RHS Wisley

Taking inspiration from nature

The Ed’s team had an early start (even by gardener standards!) last week.   We got up with the lark and  were out in force for our seasonal visit to RHS Wisley, Surrey.  Our spring training session is an important event in the Ed’s calendar.  

The Classroom 

On arrival, we kicked off the morning with an expert-led classroom session.  You can’t help being impressed by our expert’s encyclopaedic knowledge of all things garden-related. It is great to hear about all the  new products and developments in the world of gardening.  We know how important that is to provide the best possible gardening services to our lovely customers.  We continued with a  full briefing  on recent changes in gardening regulations and wound up our session with an open-floor question and answer session.  

The Gardens

We can’t visit RHS Wisley without taking a tour of the beautiful gardens. We are always bowled over by their stunning displays and spring is very special indeed. It is so inspiring to seeing gardening creativity at work in this very special place. The gardens are even more magical in the early morning light, before all the visitors arrive. 

We were lucky to be visiting while it felt like spring (before the snow hit Surrey again!)  

Back to business

Our training was all done and dusted by 9.30 am.  We had time for a quick chat after the session before we headed back home to get on with  the very important business of keeping our customers happy.

Aerating a lawn

Aerating Garden Lawns from Ed's Garden Maintenance

Ed’s Garden Maintenance Operator James who covers North London
sent in an example of aerating a lawn for a customer.  Aeration allows air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots, the roots grow longer and therefore create a more vigorous lawn.  This is particularly useful if the ground is quite compact.  Please contact Ed’s Garden Maintenance for a free estimate for your garden maintenance needs.

Good use of space

Concrete Base
Shed

Ed’s Garden Maintenance Operator Carl from Eastbourne created this great use of space for one of his customers, he laid a concrete foundation and put up a garden shed.  Please contact Ed’s Garden Maintenance for a free estimate for your gardening work.

Top Tips for Mowing Lawns

Ed’s Garden Maintenance Operators really enjoy mowing lawns.  Clive who covers the Hampton and Middlesex area sent in these photographs of lawns he cuts on a regular basis and gave these top tips on how to keep a well maintained lawn:   keep the lawn well fed to encourage the root system,  airate and scarify alternative years, mow weekly during peak growing times on a medium height blade, do not cut too short during the dry weather,  keep edges neat.  Please contact Ed’s Garden Maintenance for a free estimate to have your lawn regularly maintained.  PS you need to be able to walk in a straight line!

New Tripod Ladder

An Ed’s Garden Maintenance Operator sent in this photograph of his most recent purchase – a tripod ladder.

Please contact Ed’s if we can help with your regular garden maintenance needs or a one off tidy up.  We offer free no obligation estimates and pride ourselves on being prompt, reliable and efficient.

Scarifying Lawns

Ed’s Garden Maintenance Operator Neil Collis who covers the Sevenoaks area enjoys scarifying lawns and sent in these photographs.  Neil said “as the ground starts to dry out now is the time to start thinking about lawn preparation for the summer.”   Please contact Ed’s Garden Maintenance for your lawn maintenance needs.

Masport Shredder

Ed’s Garden Maintenance Operator James has bought a Masport Shredder and sent in these photographs as he puts it to the test on a job in Muswell Hill.  The finished photographs should be posted at the end of the week.  The shredder is an ideal way to recycle organic waste by creating a fine mulch that’s perfect for composting.

 

 

If you have any garden maintenance needs either regular maintenance or a one off garden clearance please contact us for a free estimate.

April in the garden

 

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”– Abraham Lincoln

At long last, spring has arrived! Is it just me or has this winter really dragged on? As you look out in your garden, does the nagging question of “where do I even begin” sound familiar? There is so much to do in every corner this month that it is difficult to know where to start.

In my opinion, the first and most important thing to do is to stand back for a moment, and simply enjoy the beauty that Mother Nature has given us…. Listen to the birds as they sing you a spring melody, I’m really enjoying having Mr Robin back working alongside me on a daily basis, it just makes it all a bit more enjoyable to be serenaded whilst at work.

Don’t worry too much if your garden doesn’t seem to be flourishing as you have been hoping – this is all down to the cold of the last few months and it will pick up quickly as the weather warms up.

The weather at this time of the year is everything mixed into a day. Bright sunny mornings will pass into rainy afternoons and end in sharp frosts. You will need your wits about you just to keep abreast of it. Consequently, April is not too late to prune roses sharp, especially if they are encouraged along by a week of warm weather. Sometime there will be a finger numbing frost that will cause more damage than ever.

Other Jobs to do this month:

Keep on top of the lawn

Mowing regularly will help strengthen your grass and discourage coarser grasses, apply a spring lawn fertiliser to encourage good, strong growth. If moss is a problem choose a combined fertiliser and moss killer. After a couple of weeks lightly rake the lawn with a spring-tine rake to remove dead moss and old plant debris.

Lawn in Teddington

Yes, it’s boring, but keep those weeds under control before they take off. Pull up the root wherever possible. Actually this can be quite therapeutic and the end result makes it well worthwhile.

Before your evergreen hedges like yew and holly have a chance to get growing (and assuming the frosts have passed), grab this last opportunity to prune them to the desired height.

Dead-head daffodils as soon as the flowers fade and leave foliage for a minimum of six weeks, or until it yellows. During this time the daffodils carry all the nutrients down to the bulb and they will be needed for fabulous flowers next year.

For Fun

Start a herb garden near the back door with young mint, rosemary and tarragon plants. Sow seeds of hardy herbs like parsley and chives in nearby patches. Get the kids involved in the planting and the subsequent cutting for the cooking pan or plate.

If your child(ren) prefer flowers then sow hardy annuals like pansies and nasturtiums which are very dependable and offer plentiful flowers.

March in the garden

Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer. ~Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

 

March sees spring bulbs out in force with days often being bright and sunny, if a little windy. Buds are appearing all over the garden, as are the weeds! The days get longer as the clocks go forward and life starts to slowly reawaken from the long sleep of winter.

This seems to be the time of year more than any other when I really notice how in sync we are with nature, spring feels like waking up after a long sleep and starting to feel full of energy and vitality again, so too in the garden as bulbs are forcing their way through the soil and buds are forming on the tree’s. New life is visible everywhere, people seem happier and the birds seem to sing that little bit louder.

The sun is here starting to warm the earth, it is all starting to happen under the ground, there is always something new to experience in the garden this month. With spring being probably the busiest season in the garden, there is much to do but be warned that late frosts are still likely to be careful not to put anything tender to risk.

The early spring sunshine brings to life yellow and blue planting schemes, my favourite for pots and baskets. Note as you look around for wild flowers, drifts of bluebells with pale yellow primroses, daffodils and forget-me-nots, nature never gets it wrong.

 

The Lawn

The lawn is likely to show real signs of growth this month. Start mowing with blades at their highest settings and slowly lower over the next few weeks to prevent stressing your lawn. Now is a great time to start making repairs to any worn or damaged areas of your lawn.

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)

Prune the butterfly bush Buddleia davidii hard back to a framework of older wood at 60-120cm. Shoots will already be starting to grow but don’t worry. Cut hard back to the size you require, even if it leaves the plant entirely leafless. This plant will come back time and time again and is one of the garden’s fastest and most prolific growers. Flowers will be on the ends of this year’s growth.

 

Roses

Use clean, sharp secateurs to prune bush roses (hybrid teas and floribundas) now, if you haven’t already done so. First cut off all dead, damaged or diseased stems and thin, spindly twigs. Note that hard-pruning increases strong growth, so cut back weak shoots hard (to leave only about 1in of last year’s growth) cutting above an outward-facing bud; leave about 2-3in of last year’s growth on stronger stems. Shrub roses need less radical pruning. Take out about one third of the oldest and thickest branches at their base, using a pruning saw. Tidy up the remaining stems by trimming over the top to reduce height by about 4in.

Other things to do this month

· Prune bushes and shrubs to encourage new growth

· Feed fruit trees

· Plant summer bulbs around the garden borders

· Plant a spring container

· Clear debris and old stems from beds and borders as well as weeds and follow with good mulch of compost or bark

· Divide and replant congested perennials

· Dead head any early spring flowers and bulbs as they die off

· Remove weeds and reseed lawns if needed

· Spring clean paths and driveways removing stubborn weeds

· Now is a good time to plant or move evergreens, as the weather warms up and root activity commences, but before new shoots have opened.

Spring is so very nearly upon us, so happy March Gardeners.

October in the garden

October in the garden

For the next couple of months it may seem that all you are doing is clearing up leaves, as quick as you can clear them, they have fallen again. It can feel like a never ending cycle, especially if you are lucky enough to live in a place surrounded by giant Chesnuts and Oaks but it is very important for the health of your autumn lawn. Leaving leaves where they fall will starve your lawn of light and can quickly cause the spread of fungal disease.

I always consider it to be good honest work and if you really put your back into it and whistle while you work, you can skip that session at the gym that you had planned. Here’s a little tip if you don’t have too many leaves to clear: Rake them on to the lawn and just cut the grass, let the mower do the picking up for you, a small amount of leaves can be added to your compost heap or bin in the normal way.

However, if you are gathering large quantities to save you endless trips to the tip, you could try making leafmould.

Great for top-dressing containers, rockeries and woodland plants, leafmould can even used as a top-dressing for container grown Rhododendrons and Camellias in Spring or as a mulch for perennials and it couldn’t be simpler to make.

 

Step 1

Place the damp leaves into black bin liners with a few air holes added using a garden fork.

 

 

Step 2

Tie the tops and stack the bags in a shady spot out of the way.

 

 

 

 

Step 3

Leave the bags until next autumn, by which time the leaves should have broken down to form rich, crumbly mulch. For a finer top-dressing leave longer. Take care when opening the bags and do not breath in any dust or spores from the compost.

 

 

Also this month:

 

  • Plant Tulip bulbs
  • Plant new perennials and climbers
  • Force bulbs for Christmas
  • Plant up some new autumn interest planters for the patio
  • When the first frosts have blackened the foliage of your dahlias trim them back to the base of the main stems and carefully dig up the tubers
  • Keep houseplants drier to slow down growth during the winter
  • Clear garden, burn any diseased debris and compost the rest
  • Take semi-ripe cuttings from shrubs and roses
  • Turfing
  • Cut back remaining perennials that have finished flowering