Gardening Hints & Tips

Welcome to our hints and tips section a useful resource for all gardeners to utilise over the year.

Royal Horticultural Society
For all your gardening and plant advice we would recommend to our customers that they use the link below to ‘ The Royal Horticultural Society ’ website where excellent comprehensive advice is available. If you are passionate about your garden then why not become a member yourself  and enjoy all the benefits of membership and support their gardening initiatives.
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/

May

Lawns
A lawn sets the scene for the British garden, in summer it provides an area that unites the whole garden and in winter it brings much needed life to a dull garden.

Most lawns in Britain are often neglected, apart from routine mowing and some weedkiller once there are more weeds than grass. A lawn really needs a routine maintenance schedule. The lawn requires some sort of maintenance most months of the year, normally beginning in March.

March
Mow the lawn on a dry day if necessary; make sure the blades are on a high setting. Neaten the edges with a half moon edging iron.

April
Once the weather has warmed up a mosskiller, weedkiller and fertilizer can be applied, either on their own or as a combined product. Follow the instructions on the packaging; do not apply in full sun and water in if no rain falls within 2 days to avoid scorch. If applied the mosskiller will work within a few days turning the moss black. Leave this a few weeks before scarifying the lawn (raking the dead grass and moss out). Also aerate/spike the lawn and apply a top dressing (mixture of loam, peat and sand) evenly over the lawn.

May - August
Some persistant weeds may need multiple applications of weedkiller. During prolonged dry, warm periods lift the height of the cut on the mower to reduce scorching, it may also help to remove the grass box if the grass isn't too long. The lawn should now be mown weekly or more if the weather is warm and the soil moist.

August - mid September
Apply an autumn fertiliser if the soil is moist, this will help to build healthy roots so that the grass withstands the winter much better. Sow seed into any thin/bald patches 7-10 days after the fertiliser application.

October
Give the lawn its final cut of the season on a dry day with the mower blades set high.

November - February
Collect and remove any fallen leaves before they decay and weaken the grass. Avoid walking on the lawn when it is frosty as this causes damage.

April

Acid Loving Plants
Ericaceous plants are a group of plants that prefer to grow in acidic (lime free) soils. They include Heathers, Pieris, Rhododendron and Azalea, Camellia and Pernettya. Although the word ericaceous is used for acid loving plants the correct term is calcifuges.

If your soil is only slightly acidic then it is possible to grow a wide range of plants, apart from those requiring very alkeline conditions. The pH (level of acidity or alkalinity) can be easily measured using a home soil testing kit; if your soil is above pH 6.5 then it is unsuitable for acid loving plants. If your soil is on the alkaline side it is still possible to grow acid loving plants using raised beds filled with special ericaceous compost or growing the plants in containers. It is advantageous to top dress annually with more ericaceous compost and re-test the pH of your soil.

Lowering the acidity of a lime rich soil is difficult but chemicals such as chelated iron can be added to plants showing signs of chlorosis.

March

Aquatics in Spring - A Pond Maintenance Overview
It is time to take a look at the principle feature of many gardens - the pond. After winter the pond appears with clear water, untidy looking plants and lethargic fish. Attention to various aspects of the pond now will pay dividends later in the year.

The first thing is to check all electrical equipment for any problems. (Ensure that a circuit breaker is fitted and that power is switched off before servicing electrical items.) If unusre what to do, seek professional advice. Check all cables and plugs for wear, breaks, water damage and dead fuses. Rectify or remedy any faults found. Make sure the pump is working properly by immersing in a bucket of water (never run a pump dry). Check for any wear, movement or excessive noise. Replace the impellor if worn and replace or rinse all pre-filter sponges. Asses the condition of all hoses running from pumps to filter boxes, features and back to the pond. Replace any brittle or tired hose and double check all connections for weeping or ageing. Replace the UV lamp in the filter unit (this should be replaced every year). Rinse out all sponges in pond water. Where a filter has been switched off for winter, it must be given a thorough rinsing to remove all dead bacteria and rubbish. A commercial starter culture will be required to help kick start the bacterial activity in the pond again.

Clean out any streams, waterways, pools, waterfalls of all debris that could be washed into the pond, especially if they were not running over winter.

Large clumps or Iris, Sedges and Lilies may need dividing and replanting, usually every three or four years. Trim off all dead, decaying material and feed lilies with food tablets pushed into the soil near the crown. Most of the other marginal plants are best left undisturbed except for the removal of all dead and decaying matter. New plants should be positioned in aquatic baskets lined with hessian and filled with aquatic compost. A layer of pea gravel around the plants helps to retain the soil. When choosing new plants careful consideration must be given to their eventual natural size growth habit.

Any accumulations of dead and decaying matter in the bottom of the pond may be carefully removed with a net. Only clean the entire pond out of debris if there is much more than 75mm (3 inches) deep. A partial water change may be beneficial, remembering to add tap water treatment on topping up the pond. The addition of barley straw bales now will help to discourage algae and blanket weed later in the year. Check the health of the pond water by using a proprietary pond test kit and make any adjustments necessary according to manufacturer's directions.

The fish will be more obvious and less lethargic. Feeding may resume with a wheatgerm based food until the temperature rises above 10c/15c when foods with a higher protein content should be introduced. Cover the pond with a net to discourage herons and other unwelcome visitors.

Self contained water features may be brought out, given a good clean and set up ready for the balmy summer weather.