Gardening

If you want your home to have an air of calmness and tranquillity why not think about placing a few green plants around the room. Research has shown that rooms which contain plants are considered by visitors to be more attractive than those without. Interior designer experts often use plants to draw the eye to a particular feature or to hide an unattractive area whilst some choose plants that are a talking point. The type of houseplants that suit your living space will have to be chosen and to get an idea of what is available a visit to your local garden centre is recommended..

Large floor-standing plants provide a focal point in any room but unfortunately not everyone has the space, however If space is not an issue, then a tall palm plant with bright green feathery leaves in the corner will be an eye-catching addition to any room.

Houseplants do need some TLC in order to keep them healthy and in good condition. Most will need to be watered regularly but not too much.  Most houseplant varieties should be fed with a balanced liquid fertiliser during the summer months and can be put outside in the warmer weather taking care to protect them from being scorched by the sun.

Everyone knows that home-grown fruit tastes superior to fruit bought at the supermarket which may have been treated with pesticides and coatings to prolong the shelf life but how easy is it to grow your own fruit and how much space is needed for fruit trees?

Well, the good news is you do not need an orchard to grow fruit trees as trained mini trees can be planted around even the smallest of gardens. Fan-trained trees can be grown against a fence or wall and cordon trees can even be trained to grow over a pergola.

As with all successful planting good soil preparation is essential with well-rotted compost added to provide a rich growing environment for the young fruit tree. After watering the tree, tip it out of the pot taking care not to damage the root ball and place it in the prepared hole with the root ball just below the surface. Cover with soil and firm gently in and finally water well. For the first few years it is advisable to keep the soil around the base of the tree free from weeds and other plants to give it chance to get established but after that apart from occasional pruning fruit should begin to appear ready for harvesting in the autumn.

If you are new to gardening and are interested in learning about all things horticultural there are several ways to go about increasing your knowledge in this area. There are plenty of good gardening books on sale or in libraries that can be used to identify plants and learn how to cultivate them, or you may want to download one of the many gardening apps that are available online. Watching online videos that avid gardeners have posted about different aspects of gardening is another way to further your gardening knowledge.

One of the common struggles for a newbie gardener is identifying plants in the garden and knowing which are weeds and which are flowering plants that you want to cultivate. Looking in a gardening book can be time consuming as you try to compare leaf shape and flowers with the pictures printed in the book. A much better way of identifying plants is to use one of the plant identification apps that are available online. Often these apps can be downloaded for free and give the user a few free plant searches per month but subscribing to the company producing the app will usually give you unlimited searches. Simply take a photo of the mystery plant and upload it to the app. Possible results will then be shown which can be viewed and selected from then hey presto mystery solved.

If you are trying to sell your property you will probably be trying to get all the little jobs done in the house that you have put off so that you give potential buyers a good first impression as they walk through the door. Many people however do not realise that the garden is also important especially if your property is one that will attract young families wanting an outside space for their children to play in, so it is important that you give the garden a bit of a makeover too.

The first thing is to mow any lawned areas and trim the edges as this immediately makes the garden look tidier. Any worn patches can be treated with grass seed if it is the right time of year for the seed to grow or new turf can be bought if the lawn is really bad although the cost of this may not be worth it if you are hoping to move in the near future.

The overall appearance of the garden should be tidy so any old, broken or outgrown children’s toys should be sent off to the local recycling centre along with any broken pots and planters. Wood bark can be bought easily from a garden centre or supermarket and can be put down on top of weed matting in areas where weeds often grow to improve the overall appearance of flower beds.

Many people enjoy looking out into their garden watching the birds and other wildlife and want to be able to encourage different species such as butterflies and bees to visit their garden so how is the best way to achieve this?

If you want to attract a range of different bird species into your garden then you will need to provide them with the food they like and a safe place to eat away from possible predators such as cats. Some birds are particular keen on some foods for instance robins love mealworms and sunflower hearts are a favourite of most small birds. Fat balls that contain mealworms and seeds are an excellent choice for the bird table and will attract lots of hungry birds in springtime when they have young. Even dog and cat food can provide a nutritious meal for blackbirds especially when the ground is hard, and it is difficult for them to get worms from the ground.

Attracting butterflies and bees into a garden is all about the planting. Buddleia also known as the butterfly bush will have insects flocking to its blooms making an attractive sight in any garden. Wildflowers can be planted in an unmanicured corner of the garden which will be a haven for insects and bees throughout the summer.