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The final countdown to the London Olympics has started and the celebrations are in full swing. What better time to adorn your street-frontage with some colourful ideas from the floral kingdom? And you don’t have to live in London either, because many tourists are going to use the occasion to explore the UK in the glorious summer months. One of our regular London gardeners has put together some colourful ideas.
The Floral Olympics 
Why not consider making up colourful window boxes all the way down your street. If you really want to be patriotic, you could alternate the colours of the boxes in the red, white and blue of the Union Jack. Imagine how inspiring that could be for some of the participants – that might just be passing by your neighbourhood too!
Another simple, but effective idea is to plant out marigold seedlings right now and pack them around your front flower beds and verges. You could even call your creation “growing for gold” and inspire some of our athletes to push the limits and win gold for themselves and the country.
We have several pre-screened garden and landscape experts here on Mr-Skill. They are offering some fantastic deals on plants and designs, and, if you move quickly, your individual contribution could be just in time for the opening of the Games – get your garden and landscaping quote right away.
Truly Inspired
Chris Collins, regular garden advisor to popular TV show Blue Peter, attended the recent unveiling of the giant floral Olympic rings at Kew Gardens – see the picture insert (courtesy of the Official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games).
Chris goes on to offer some tips for creating your very own rings:
‘It might seem like a complicated design, but using flowers such as violas in the various colours of the Rings will make things more straight forward. Plant a nice bright-leaved plant, low growing like Pyrethrum, around and inside the Rings to make them stand out. Or, you could just do a simple coloured display using edibles like purple lettuce, rocket or mint.’
Come on – Join in the Fun
It won’t be happening again anytime soon. Mr-Skill and all its members are encouraging every citizen to do their bit in celebrating this, the greatest sporting event in the world. Find your garden and landscaping expert right here on Mr-Skill, and be part of the spectacular celebrations of British culture, watched on TV by billions worldwide. Don’t miss it for anything!
Tags: beds, celebrating, celebration, colour, creative, expert, find a garden-and-landscaping specialist, flowers, garden and landscaping quote, gold, ideas, inspirational, inspiring, landscape, london garden-and-landscaper, London Olympics, marigold, marigold.plants, sports spectacular, window box
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There is a certain calmness and serenity, when you enter a home with an indoor water feature trickling away gently in a room. Here, we are going to help you design and set up your very own magic indoor fountain, and because this is the merry month of May, there’s no better time to do so. This not difficult to achieve, in fact we rate this one as “easy” to complete, and you may not need to find an electrician either.
What You’ll Need 
- Suitably sized urn with hole in base
- Submersible water pump (as used in aquariums)
- Nozzle head and extension pipe
- Waterproof ceramic basin for the urn to stand in
- Some decorative pebbles and plants
- Heavy-duty plastic sheet to waterproof and house your display
Visit your local outdoor centre, and get a garden and landscaping quote. Then, if you feel confident to go it alone, purchase all of the above items to suit your budget. Decide where you want to display your new indoor water feature. Set down the plastic sheet to protect the floor on which the feature will stand. You will need a power socket to run the electric water pump – not too close, we all know that water and electricity don’t mix!
Place your ceramic basin in position. Place the water pump at the bottom of the basin. Attach the extension pipe to the pump (remembering to seal the joint at the base of the urn), and then lower the urn over it. Once the water is added, the pump will fill the urn with water which will cascade over the rim of the urn and collect in the basin. The water is continuously re-cycled by the pump.
Add sufficient clean water to the system, and then run it to see if any topping-up is required.  Once you have the water side of the feature set up, you can add pebbles and plants as you please. These additions will have the effect of displacing some of the water, so make sure that you don’t overfill the water feature.
Many of our London plumbers love building water features, so if you think this is all too difficult, then you can find help through Mr-Skill. Nearly time to switch on and sit back and admire your handiwork! You could also add some exciting light displays around your new water feature, so that you can enjoy a different ambience at night.
Tags: basin, calmness, cascade, electrical socket, extension, find an electrician, fountain, garden and landscaping quote, indoor, indoor water feature, lights, london plumber, pebbles, plants, plastic sheet, pump, re-cycle, serenity, urn, water
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Did you know that the roots of trees can sometimes spread to 2½ times a tree’s height, and that the moisture they draw out from clayey soil can cause the earth to heave? Miss the point of this and plant a tree close by your house, and you’re inviting cracking and subsidence. Rather Find a Landscaper on Mr-Skill who knows what they are talking about.
 If you have heaving clay, and like to garden around your your house then the following may prove useful:
- Avoid the problem in the first place by NOT planting strongly-growing trees like poplars, oaks and willows near to buildings. Plant shy-growing flowering shrubs instead. These may not get tall enough to foul your gutters either.
- If you inherit a tree that’s not grown too big already, then you could try what some London Gardeners still call pollarding. This involves pruning it back annually to keep it smaller. Remember, there’s a ratio between tree height and the spread of roots.
- Don’t leap out of the starting blocks and get a Gardener Quote to chop a tree down the moment you spot subsidence.
 Trees take a long time to grow, and the problem could be the clay itself. An alternative could be to cut the roots back, and see whether this helps first.
- If all else fails and you are forced to cut down a tree, then seek advice from your local council first, because it might be listed and require permission to remove. Chop down deciduous trees in wintertime when the sap is low. You’ll find the job far easier when there are no leaves.
Chopping down a tree sometimes seems like an attack on nature, and the birds that nest there. Don’t try to do the job yourself because tree-felling is definitely dangerous. Use a Gardener on Mr-Skill instead. And finally, please do plant a suitable replacement tree further down the garden.
Tags: Building, chop, chop down, clay, crack, dangerous, earth, fell, find a landscaper, flower, Garden, gardener quote, ground, grow, gutter, heave, height, house, london gardeners, oak, plant, pollard, poplar, prune, ratio, root, shrub, shy, small, soil, spread, subsidence, tall, tree, vigorous, wall, willow, winter
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The Royal Horticultural Society seems endlessly full of good ideas to make Britain even lovelier. This year, it’s inviting the nation’s schoolchildren to commit to sowing wildflowers as their contribution to the Golden Jubilee. Right now they’re inviting applications  from kids for free packs of seeds. This is what to do with them, after they arrive.
- Find a site where you’d love to see summer come alive, with a riot of poppies, marigolds, chamomile, cockles and cornflowers. The best place to sow them would be moist, wind-free, and benefiting from four hours of sunshine a day.
- If the area you choose is full of weeds and stones, you may wish to Find a Gardener here to prepare the soil for you this mid-March. If the quality of the earth is poor, ask them to dig in some well-composted material or a balanced fertiliser while they’re at it.
 Dispose of any weeds that appear in the weeks that follow. The ideal sowing period is mid-April. Sow later than that, and the young plants may shrivel in the heat of summer. The society’s seed packs are good for 10m2. Stick to that – enjoy this great show of colour.
London Gardeners recommend placing a scarecrow in the middle of your field to keep scavenging birds away from seeds.
Now that would make an interesting weekend project, would it not?
Tags: april, chamomile, children, cockle, colour, compost, cornflower, fertiliser, find a gardener, flower, gardening quotes, kids, london gardeners, march, marigold, moist, poppies, prepare, project, R.H.S., RHS, royal horticultural society, scare crow, scarecrow, seed, site, sowing, stone, sun, weed, weekend, wide free, wild, wildflower, wind
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It may not feel quite like it yet, but with the Winter Solstice passed on December 21st, the days are getting longer and Nature has already begun to react. Plants have increased their growth in accordance with the available ambient light, and already bulbs are  gently stirring beneath the snow.
Some, come on Gardeners, it’s time to brave the chilly UK weather and start helping Nature to get going once again. Alternatively, you’re due to get those Gardening Quotes in time again!
- The Vegetable Garden. Order seed potatoes and plant out garlic cloves in pots. Dig the earth over for asparagus plantings. Mmmm – that sounds really good!
- How about an Orchard? The right time for planting trees is when the sap is down. If in the City, find a London Gardener while their rates are reasonable still.
- The Flower Garden. Remove fallen leaves. Cut down and compost annuals. There’s just so much to do, including taking hardwood cuttings of your favourite plants.
 How about a Few More Roses? Dig deeply to prevent root stock from shooting, and then plant in rich organic matter. Remember to support with stakes in case the high winds come.
- And Finally the Greenhouse. If the weather’s inclement you may like to Find a Gardener to clean inside and outside, and check the insulation. After that, you just need to do weekly visits and tidy up.
Don’t be surprised if the neighbours gawk at you out in your garden in your winter woollies. They’ll be jealous in the Spring though! There’s no need to tell them either about the wonderful Gardeners on Mr-Skill. For now at least, it’s a secret between you and me! And it’s all free too … when it comes to finding the perfect tradesperson of your dreams.
Tags: annual, asparagus, bulb, chill, compost, cut, cutting, deep, dig, find a gardener, flower, Garden, gardener, gardening quotes, garlic, green house, greenhouse, growth, inside, Insulation, leaves, light, london gardener, nature, orchard, organic, outside, plant, potato, potatoes, react, root, rootstock, rose, snow, spring, sprout, stake, support, tidy, tree, vegetable, weather, week, wind, winter
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There is nothing quite as lovely as a water feature tinkling in the background on a gorgeous summer’s day. Before you even think of asking Mr-Skill for Landscaper Quotes, you first need to decide on the design and the location.
•  Choose on the position of your water feature first, because there’s no point in rushing off and buying one unless you know where it is going. Will it be a detail on the patio, or something more generous in centre of the garden? Take advice from a registered electrician before you finally decide. That’s because the cost of running cabling can be higher than you think, and cost is distance-driven.
Your next step is to choose the water feature that best suits your needs. There is a huge range of pre-fabricated ones available, although some gardeners still prefer to Find a Landscaper to build one especially for them.
• You could recess a water feature in the middle of the lawn and install a water jet in the centre of it. Installation costs will be higher and the disruption disappointing. In the end though, you will have a delightful feature for many years to come.
•  Perhaps you prefer something more compact and self-contained. There are any number of designs that have water flowing between stacked containers. Just remember that these are never more than adjuncts to other space, as opposed to being centre pieces.
• Your third alternative is something even smaller and more ornate. London Landscaping Firms often favour these because they have a tiny footprint and if used indoors you merely plug them in. Another advantage is that they are highly portable and make perfect gifts.
We take electrical safety seriously at Mr-Skill, and that’s why we insist that you request an electrician to check electrical safety for you, and to wire-up all outside water features too. Remember water, electricity and your body can be a harmful combination – act safely, please don’t get hurt.
Tags: cabling, check, compact, container, cost, decide, design, detail, distance, electrician, estimate, feature, find a landscaper, Garden, generous, gift, landscaper quotes, lawn, location, london landscaping, need, patio, plug, position, pre-fabricate, recess, safety, self-contained, space, summer, tinkling, water
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I have noticed something interesting about the Gardeners in London that I come across, and that is the super condition of their tools in general. No doubt they do a better job with them that way,  and of course they also have to replace them less frequently. I have to admit though that mine used to be a total disaster, but only before I discovered these useful tips.
You will need a bucket with a lid, enough sand to almost fill it, new or used engine / cooking oil, and a few old rags. The bucket lid is to keep out the dust and dirt, so almost anything will do.
• Make a habit of keeping the bucket in a dry corner of the garden shed or garage
• Fill the bucket with the sand except for the last four inches. This helps keep it stable while sprucing up your tools. I agree that this can make it heavy, but at least your wallet won’t be lightened by the cost of Gardening Quotes after your tools all rust away.
•  Top up the bucket with the oil, and watch it as the sand absorbs it. If you spilled some, well… that’s a further use for the old rags…
• Take each garden tool in turn and shove the working edge in and out of the sand until it is cleaned. Four or five repetitions should do the trick.
• Wipe the tools with the rags as you go along, remembering to leave a thin film of oil behind.
How’s that for something different from us? Should you need to Find a Gardener on Mr-Skill (which is easier than you think), you could leave your tools out in the garden for them to admire while working (but not to borrow, naturally). It’s a funny old world isn’t it. The cleverest ideas are often the simplest too.
Tags: absorb, better job, bucket, condition, cook, corner, cost, dirt, dry, dust, edge, engine, fill, film, find a gardener, garage, Garden, gardeners in london, gardening quotes, lid, motor, new, oil, rag, replace, sand, shed, spill, stable, tool, used, wipe
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We are all becoming a bit more conscious about the state of our planet these days, aren’t we? A related theme is the quality of the food we eat, after farmers have finished bombarding it with chemicals to increase the yield per acre. Commercial honey is a case in point. If the jar does not say organic, then what in heaven’s name is waiting  for us beneath the cap?
Because bees are a loyal gardener’s friend that pollinates the next season’s flowers for us, attracting them to our gardens makes a great deal of sense. Who knows, perhaps we shall be making our own honey soon, and I personally think that that would be a really great idea. Perhaps next time we Find a Gardener we should be checking out their green profile too.
Bees are active between March and late October every year and the trick is to sow seeds accordingly. Bees like striking colours, fancy petal shapes, enticing scents and sweet nectars which are great for gardeners who love variety too. Bees also look out for movement and prefer to land in open spaces, meaning that single flowers on supple stems are just perfect for them. Perhaps this is why so many of our native flower species are made just like that.
 The borages are the most effective way to attract bees to the garden, with comfrey coming up a close second best. All varieties of fabaceae are good too, including clover and other species of pea. Next time you are looking for a Gardening Quote, remember to consider the seedlings they will be planting out for you.
But please, when your little friends arrive to share your flowering garden with you, remember that pesticides also kill bees too. In fact, why use pesticides at all when so many useful plants have been found that do the same job just as well. A firm of London Gardeners I visit often, have a sign above the door that says this so perfectly. A garden is a place where birds and bees come home to share with us – the gardener is just the custodian. Now that’s something for every gardener to think about.
Tags: attract, bee, bird, borage, chemical, clover, colour, comfrey, custodian, fabaceae, find a gardener, flower, food, friend, gardening quotes, honey, kill, london gardeners, loyal, march, nectar, october, organic, pea, pesticide, petal, planet, pollinate, quality, scent, season, seed, shape, share, sow, specie, state, yield
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By the late 18th Century landscaping artists like Capability Brown were transforming the countryside around the stately homes of landed English gentry into imitations of earthly paradise.  Hills were leveled, and earth dug out to create naturally appearing lakes. Gazebos and even marble temples were erected. Anything in fact that was deemed necessary to create a romantic vision of ancient Rome. And after that, ten thousands of trees were planted.
Few people visiting today can comprehend that these vistas were created by men wielding picks and shovels and driving horse-drawn carts. Perhaps the time these monumental landscaping jobs took to complete is why they represent such perfection.
These days our gardens are usually smaller and are often set in housing estates. When you need to Find a Landscaper though you still do need one with the soul of an artist. One who could transform a blighted urban landscape into a little piece of heaven.
 At Mr-Skill we list the finest landscapers that we can find, and ones that we know will provide the most cost-effective Landscaping Quotes too. Whether you need a Landscaper in London or anywhere else in the country, you can be assured of best service and best prices here.
Why don’t you roll out your imagination and dream of how else your garden could look. A small adjustment in earth levels can make an amazing difference to perspective. A signature tree in a strategic place. A quiet table on a cobbled patio. Good company or a good book to read. Where better to complete a crossword puzzle on a summer’s day.
Tags: find a gardener, find a landscaper, gardener in London, gardener quote, landscaper in London, landscaper quote
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The question on everybody’s lips this morning is what flowers will be in Kate Middleton’s arms tomorrow as she processes  up the aisle towards an unfamiliar life in a grand palace, and the role of Queen someday. The answer lies in where the flowers will be grown.
Reliable information is that the Bride’s family will not need to Find a Gardener this time at least on Mr-Skill. This is because the Groom’s Mother kindly agreed to provide them from her garden at Windsor Great Park Green Valley planted under the patronage of her father King George VI.
Wills and Kate will have quite a choice to make now, perhaps even more complex than that wedding dress. Every Gardener in London is already taking bets on what they will make of all the beeches, euphorbias, rhododendrons and wisterias growing in profusion there.
 Fortunately for England’s favourite loving couple they will not need to call for Gardener Quotes in order to get help to shin up ladders and pick roses. I would put every penny that I owe on the fact that the queue of volunteers would stretch all the way from Buckingham Palace through to Westminster Abbey, were they to ask for help.
Kate Middleton has a keen interest in the language of flowers that spoke so elegantly of secret desires in Victorian times. My own guess is that the Solomon’s Seal she chooses to confirm her love will be of azaleas and lilacs, but that in her hands she will bear a simple posy. Tomorrow will tell for sure.
Tags: azalea, beech, bride, choice, eophorbia, father, find a gardener, find a landscaper, flower, gamily, gardener london, gardener quote, gardening london, gardening quotes, groom, kate, ladder, landscaper london, landscaper quote, landscaping london, landscaping quotes, language of flowers, lilac, mother, palace, posy, rhododendron, rose, valley, wedding, wills, Windsor Great Park Green Valley, wisteria
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