Making the most of our Indian Summer

Our Ed’s Operators are really enjoying the lovely Indian summer weather we are having at the moment. After the summer drought – and the toll it took on our gardens – it’s great to see green grass that is actually growing again.

We are so delighted to have our stripes back! Dave (our Ed’s Operator in Andover) is the proud provider of these ones…

It’s not all about the lawns though. Everything is growing like crazy now that we have had some rain and the sun is still shining.

Here’s a great example of some hedges Dave has been busy with too. They are rather lovely, even if we do say so ourselves

…And this one is so impressive that it has someone living in it!

In the words of one of our Operators, Now is a really rewarding time of year for a gardener. The weather is lovely but not too hot and the late summer growth spurt gives us a lot of opportunity to make gardens look great again. The transformations are amazing. The work is varied and there’s always lots to get on with.”

And who better to help you than Ed’s. Please get in touch to discuss any of your gardening needs.

Dave’s fingers really are green!

Dave, who runs his Ed’s business in Andover, has taken his  ‘green fingers’ one step further recently.

Dave has been working his magic on this customer’s fence.  See for yourself how good it looks close up …

 

 

Dave says “Work-wise it’s been quite an unusual summer this year.  We are finding that the extremely hot weather has been taking its toll on lawns.  Not  much can grow in such temperatures.  As a result, we have been mowing less than usual. However, this has given us the opportunity to get on with other garden jobs. That’s a bonus for us, as in high summer it is often difficult to find the time for other work.”

“I really do enjoy all aspects of gardening work.  I was only too happy to oblige when this customer asked about having their fence painted.  And choosing the colour was easy,  GREEN of course!  I really enjoyed the job and the customer was delighted with the end result.”

“So the moral of the story is,  if you haven’t been seeing enough green in your garden lately, we can just paint it for you! Joking aside though, we are only too happy to deliver whatever services our customers require to make their gardens look as good as they possibly can.”

If you have any gardening needs, please do get in touch with Dave. He would be delighted to work with you…

 

 

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?

Matthew’s Winter Makeover

A bit about Matthew…

Matthew May joined Ed’s Garden Services in March 2012 to be an Ed’s Operator in the Folkestone and Canterbury areas.

Garden work is never truly done and Matthew always keeps himself busy in the Winter months. The following garden makeover is an example of ways he keeps active all year round as he completed this job before Spring had sprung earlier this year.

Matthew tells us more about the work involved with this garden makeover…

“As you can see from the pictures shown below, the house was very new and only had a small patio. My customer asked for a larger patio area to enjoy in the Summer for BBQ’s and entertaining friends.”

“Firstly, we lifted the existing patio and path and used these slabs to create a new shed base.”

“We then fixed the issue of water running in the direction of the house due to the garden sloping. To do this, we dug out the new patio area so it tilted away from the house and used this soil to flatten the upper level of the garden.”

“We top soiled and turfed the top level of the garden. Then we laid down grey Indian Sandstone for the new patio and path. Lastly, we built a wall with sleepers and installed drains to tackle the problem of surface water.”

“I am very happy with the outcome of this garden makeover and so is my customer.”

Why not get in touch with Matthew who would love to help with your gardening needs?

 

 

 

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.

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.

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!”

 

Dave’s Stars and Stripes

Dave Laing Lawn Mowing Expert Andover

Dave Laing joined Ed’s Garden Services earlier this year  as our  Garden Operator in Andover.

Before joining Ed’s, Dave had wanted to run a Garden Operator business for quite some time. He loves being physically active and enjoys both gardening and meeting people. A perfect fit for him!

Dave’s friendly approach, hard work and high standards are paying off and he already has a number of regular customers who are very appreciative of his work.

Dave has been getting a number excellent five star customer reviews. Here’s what Dave has to say about that:-

“ I genuinely love getting great reviews. I know that I try hard to please my customers and pride myself in doing the best job that I possibly can. Whether it’s lawns, hedges, big garden clearances or autumn leaf clearing, I try to make my gardens look their best. When I’ve finished a garden visit, I always hope my customer is as satisfied with it as I am. Over the summer and autumn, I’ve particularly enjoyed perfecting my lawn stripes.”

This is one of Dave’s gardens…

“When I get appreciative reviews, I feel like it’s a real validation of what I strive to achieve. That’s satisfied customers. I’ve got some great customers and making them happy is without a doubt the best part of my job.”

If you think Dave can help you with your garden requirements, please do get in touch.

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!

 

 

Gardening in Sutton Coldfield

My name is Pete Henchey and I established my Ed’s Garden Services business in Sutton Coldfield earlier this year.

I knew I would really enjoy being a gardener but, to be honest, I didn’t realise just how much. It’s been a very busy first summer for me but I have found the work to be really rewarding and I particularly enjoy meeting new customers and understanding their gardening requirements.

My work is very varied, ranging from re-turfing and mowing lawns to hedges and jet washing patios and I enjoy the variety of it all. However,  I particularly love transforming my customers’ gardens. I find it so rewarding to stand back and look at the finished article and I can’t resist taking a few photos here and there!

There’s something very satisfying about seeing the final product when you’ve turned an area in need of a bit of work into a great new piece of lawn. The first photo below shows the new piece of lawn in a recent re-turfing job. I was delighted with the end result.
Newly Re-Turfed Lawn by Ed's Garden Maintenance

The second photo shows the lawn after its first cut. Still looking good! My customer and I have now moved on to set up a routine maintenance schedule to keep those stripes looking as fresh and sharp as the first mow.

Newly Re-Turfed Lawn with its first fresh cut by Ed's Garden Maintenance

Finally, here are a few impressive hedges I have been working on lately. This job required a lot of attention to detail but I thoroughly enjoyed it and was delighted with how they looked when I’d finished the job.

Hedge trimming Services in Sutton ColdfieldHedge Trimming Services by Ed's Garden Maintenance