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Winter is upon us, and without a doubt we’re in for a long cold one to add to Britain’s woes. But at least we can keep our gardens going despite the frost by doing a few simple things. That way we’ll all be smiling when Spring blossoms bloom again.
- Protect tender plants on open ground and those trained up walls with fleece-covered frames sold at garden shops. You can
 make your own too, by sandwiching bracken leaves or even straw between two layers of chicken wire for use on frosty nights. You might need to Find a Gardener to do this for you though, because the wire mesh is harsh on hands. While one of Mr-Skill’s Gardeners is at it, ask them to cover your bulbs with a thick mulch of manure or compost too.
- Keep the roots of evergreens frost free by mulching around their bases, and move pots of tender plants inside to the conservatory. Crowns of tree ferns and their trunks are easily insulated with fleece or hessian stuffed with straw. You can protect the heads of palms and cordylines by drawing their leaves over them with twine. If you do not have the time to do this properly, why not get a Gardening Quote on Mr-Skill instead?
Recovering Plants from Frost
 If your plants do get frosted this does not mean that they are going to die, although you do need to take remedial action to reduce the damage.
- Protect frosted plants from morning sun to prevent them from warming up too rapidly. If they’re potted move them to a shady spot, otherwise cover them with black plastic bags. When Spring returns cut off the damaged branches to encourage new growth. After you have done that, remember to feed them with a balanced fertiliser to give them the extra boost they need.
- Even better move tender frosted plants to the greenhouse, and plant them out again after the frost is over. Chances are that they will recover sooner than you thought. In fact they might even bloom earlier in Spring.
Our London Gardeners are particularly adept at protecting the exotic plants from frost that City people keep on their balcony – often in pots that are far too large to move indoors. You’ll find them and all other kinds of UK tradesmen listed on Mr-Skill for virtually every postcode. Why not surprise yourself with the discovery that quality workmen can still be found.
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Climbing ivy is undoubtedly a sight to behold as spread out across a wall and creates an environment in which the birds may nest. But it has its disadvantages too. Snakes and spiders and even rats may use it to gain access to your bedroom, and it can also cause damage to bricks, window frames and gutters.  Are you of a mind to get rid of yours? Then you may need to Find a Gardener on Mr-Skill to do the work for you. That’s because standing on a ladder all day is dangerous, and the job is laborious too. Not convinced to call in help? Then here is what you need to do…
• Pull a test sample of ivy away from the wall to determine how thick it is, and whether it tears off without causing damage. If it comes away easily then you could continue. If not, then you may need to get Gardening Quotes to have poison applied by an expert, and perhaps even call in a builder afterwards to make repairs.
• Returning to ground level, lop off all the vines as close as possible to the ground before proceeding to peel away the cut branches. Be careful here, because a sheet of ivy can come loose unexpectedly, and this will be heavy and surprisingly dusty too. Do not attempt to deal with the tiny hand-like suckers yet.
•  Bag the cuttings and dispose of them at your local council dump-site according to the bylaws.
• After approximately two to three weeks, remove the suckers with a stiff wire brush covered with approximately two tablespoons of household laundry detergent. Every Gardener in London knows all too well not to miss the deadline. That’s because beyond this period the suckers oxidize, and are stubborn to remove.
So there you go. It’s not really all that difficult to get ivy off a wall. It’s just a messy, time-consuming job. Not in the mood to do it anymore? Then speak to Mr-Skill about the services of a Rated Local Gardener.
Personally, I find the patina of natural brickwork far more appealing, especially on an older building.
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Now that the first blush of spring has come and gone, and the roses have been all lightly pruned back, it’s time to get the shears and garden spade out, and finally sort out the weeds.  Don’t feel like doing this again? No worries. We have all the help you need right here on Mr-Skill.
o Perhaps all you really need is a quick tidy up? We have garden experts here who are ready and able to provide you with a competitive Garden Quote. And what’s more you can check their references from all their other jobs too, so you know exactly what you could be getting.
o In no time at all our gardeners could be in and out of your garden as quick as a proverbial flash, leaving everything neat and tidy for you. What a pleasure. All that’s left for you to do is to pop down to the garden centre, and buy some punnets of late summer flowers.
o  Perhaps, though, you need a complete garden make-over? You could also find an expert landscaper here. Just provide them with a budget and a few ideas, go away for a weekend, and it’s almost like your home was featured on the telly courtesy of a London Landscaping Firm when you return home.
At Mr-Skill we believe that gardens are there to be enjoyed these days, and should never be allowed to become a drudge. That’s why we decided to add gardeners and landscapers to the lists of skills we broker. Why not jump on our website right away, and ask us to arrange a few Garden Quotes today?
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A recent survey revealed that almost every Gardener in London these days has several orchids growing in the house, and I suppose that this would be true of gardeners elsewhere in the country too. Of all of these, the Moth Orchid that the boffins call Phalaenopsis is  reputedly the most popular, and I for one am not surprised that this is so. Did you know that millions of these beautiful while or pink flowers are grown and sold in Britain every year?
The average citizen does not have the same green fingers though. Every year hundreds of thousands of Orchids in Britain fizzle out, and not because Gardener Quotes for small jobs are impossible to obtain either. It’s just because we do not understand that all they need is a draught-free room, some sunlight, a little food and drink occasionally, and a friendly nod in their direction from time to time.
In their natural environment, Orchids grow in forks of trees or in stony crevices. This means that they do not like to grow in earth, but are happy nestling among bark and moss and other natural debris around their roots. Their natural environments also ensure that rainwater drains away rapidly too – forget this principle and they could drown or rot away.
If after several years your Orchid seems as it it’s trying to climb out of its container, then it is time to learn  how to re-pot it. All you need is some Orchid compost (or an imaginative stroll through the local wood) and you are ready to begin this simple process.
Remove the Orchid from the old container, and shake its roots clear before removing any shrivelled ones. Cut the healthy ones back to about four inches long with a pair of sharp secateurs. Wrap the roots gently into their fresh growing medium, press them into their new pot, moisten the compost daily with an atomiser, and your job is done.
You don’t need to Find a Gardener for a simple job like this, and I doubt one would be particularly interested either. If you have a bigger gardening job though why not speak to Mr-Skill. They have all the good gardening professionals on their books.
Tags: atomise, bark, breeze, compost, container, crack, crevice, cut, cutter, dead, debris, drain, draught, drink, flower, food, fork, Garden, green, medium, moisten, moss, natural, orchid, pink, pot, rain, rock, secateur, short, spray, stone, sun, Survey, tree, trim, water, white
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Not cleaned the greenhouse yet? It is almost summer already and time to get going. Clean it to maintain the structure. Clean it to get rid of pests. And do it on a warm breezy day so your plants don’t catch a chill and everything dries nicely.  You could Find a Gardener on Mr-Skill to do this for you, or you could take the weekend off and do it yourself.
o Begin with the Exterior by washing it down with warm water and a sponge. By all means use a little washing up soap but do remember to rinse. Use a soft inside broom soaked in warm soapy water to reach the roof and upper sides. Mind the glass!
o Check the frames and glass for any damage as you go along. Replace where necessary to keep your greenhouse looking good and to extend its life. If yours has a wooden frame, sand it down and paint it. Anything less and it will rot away. If rot has already set in however, get Gardener Quotes to build a new one, rather than throwing good time and money after bad.
o  Before cleaning the Interior please make sure that the electricity is turned off and isolated. Remove the contents to a sheltered place away from wind and fierce sun.
o Have a general clean-out of leaves and dirt. De-clutter your greenhouse – throw the junk away. Scrub down, including brick walls and inside pathways and disinfect thoroughly. When you are satisfied that everything is clean and functional inside, you can bring your plants back home and turn on the electricity again.
A Gardener in London who I know quite well always leaves a cyclamen behind as a special thank you, and believe me she gets regular return business. I’m not a gardener myself however I do think that this is a beautiful idea that should be propagated everywhere, just like cyclamens.
Tags: breeze, broom, clean, dirt, disinfect, dry, electricity, exterior, find a gardener, find a landscaper, frame, gardener london, gardener quote, gardening london, gardening quotes, glass, greenhouse, inspect, interior, isolate, junk, landscaper london, landscaper quote, landscaping london, landscaping quotes, leaves, maintain, off, paint, pests, plant, replace, rinse, rot, sand, soap, sponge, summer, warm, wash, water, wood
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Hedges are far better than wire fences and ugly concrete walls. They also add a touch of countryside to grungy UK city grime while making space for birds to nest in too Trimming them is easy thanks to  modern power tools. In fact, now that I think about it, I could not find a single reason not to plant a hedge, especially since Mr-Skill makes it so easy to Find a Gardener. Here is what you need to do.
o Choose what to plant. Indigenous is robust, and hawthorn popular because the plants are so cheap. Other options include blackthorn, field maple, guilder rose and hazel. All these flower in summer too, which is exactly what you want.
o Decide when to plant. If you can, buy the plants out of season when they are cheap and let them acclimatise until planting time. This is between October and Christmas for light sandy soils, but after the Festive Season if you have heavy clay.
o  Prepare the ground. Dig it over and get rid of weeds or work them in. Leave a layer of mulch on top to discourage new ones and help Mother Nature and her earthworms to do their work.
o Set out your plants and protect them too. In wintertime, the hares and rabbits are hungry and they will dine alfresco off your hedge unless you fence them out. Tender shoots also do not like frost. At an appropriate time plant out your hedge. Remember to add spiral guards to keep them growing straight and tall, and frost protect them until spring.
Did I stimulate your interest? Good. The world needs many hedges. They can be hard work planting-out though, and you my have other things you need to do. No worries then. Get a Gardener Quote on Mr-Skill instead. Could life be simpler? Or the neighbours be more jealous?
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Many gardeners prefer to leave pruning roses to the experts and Find a Gardener on Mr-Skill to do this for them instead. Others find this a relaxing hobby and prefer to do the pruning themselves. In that case they have no need to get Rose Pruning Expert Gardener Quotes.
 There are four objectives behind the custom of pruning English bush and standard roses. These are:
o Getting rid of dead wood, briars, and weak shoots
o Creating balanced shapes
o Stimulating new growth
o Obtaining the desired balance between quantity and quality of flowers
Throughout the flowering season bushes must be deheaded regularly. At the end of the burst of spring flowering some firm pruning is required to encourage continued flowering throughout the summer too –  this is of course at least as much an art as it is a science.
The principle is to cut back each previously flowering stem until one shoot pointing outwards remains, and an insurance one below it too. Leaving more than that could create top-heavy growth that could break off in the wind, spoiling the plant’s shape for some months to come.
In the case of climbing roses though the opposite applies. In fact some Gardeners in London and other Cities only prune to tidy up a straggling branch. There are no hard and fast rules here though – plants and gardeners both have souls, and together they can sense what is needed to be done. Do this, and they will reward you with yet another brilliant summer show.
Tags: balance, briar, bush, climb, cut, dead wood, dehead, expert, find a gardener, find a landscaper, flowers, gardener london, gardener quote, gardening london, gardening quotes, growth, landscaper london, landscaper quote, landscaping london, landscaping quotes, plant, prune, pruning, quality, quantity, rose, shape, shoot, standard, stem, summer, tea
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Getting up in the morning the other Monday and finding a tree down in my garden beneath the weight of snow hardly made my day. I had a host of other things to do and really did not have the time to sort things out. Then it struck me  that all I had to do was find a Gardener on Mr-Skill and the rest would be made easy.
I could not believe how quickly Mr-Skill came to the rescue with Gardener Quotes. Within two short hours I had a contractor appointed and was on my way to catch my train to Paddington. When I came back that evening the tree had been removed and everything left tidy.
Personally I think Mr-Skill is a great idea for many reasons:
o The do not charge their customers a penny
o They reference check contractors before they admit them to their website
o They deal with all kinds of trades
o They have Gardeners London based and all over the UK too
o They are there for you if things go wrong (this seldom happens)
How much better is that than hiring a stranger off the street or getting frustrated with out of date yellow pages directories? This weekend I’m going to find a Gardener to get rid of all that snow.
Tags: all, check, contractor, customers, down, fallen, find a gardener, find a landscaper, gardener london, gardener quote, gardening london, gardening quotes, landscaper london, landscaper quote, landscaping london, landscaping quotes, reference, remove, snow, tidy, trades, tree
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 The inglorious British weather has been up to its nonsense once again. At least some of those of us who had to go out into our gardens recently have no doubt been cursing the design of our garden paths. What may seem ideal on a sparkling sunny English summer’s day usually does not work as well with snow around.
Generally speaking we all need paths that are both delightful in summer, but that drain well during rain too and are easy to shovel clear of snow besides. This does not have to be impossible to achieve at all, after you find a landscaper or two to choose from on Mr-Skill.
This is where hiring a professional landscaper makes so much sense. We can easily get so used to what is in our gardens that we no longer see the wood for the trees at all.  All the rated gardeners on our website have been carefully checked for their professional competence as well.
An old friend of mine who is retired now but used to work at Kew loves to relate an anecdote to anyone who is prepared to listen. It seems a landscaper from London had landed a job to build a path through a large rose garden. When he had finished his gently winding masterpiece my friend commented that’s great, but how the heck to I get the lawnmower through?
The moral of all this is that a garden path must be practical as well as a pleasure to the eye. When you get landscaping quotes from us, you also get advice from acknowledged and experienced rated experts in their field who love their gardening.
Tags: delightful, design, drain, expert, find a gardener, find a landscaper, Garden, gardener london, gardener quote, gardening london, gardening quotes, landscaper london, landscaper quote, landscaping london, landscaping quotes, lawnmower, path, pathway, practical, rain, rose garden, shovel, snow, weather
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Posted in Bricklaying, Carpentry & Joinery, Cleaning Services, Disposals & Waste Removal, Electrical Work, Gardening & Landscaping, General Building, Handyman Services, Kitchen Fitting, Locksmith, Moving Homes & Hauliers, Other Craftsman Services, Painting & Decorating, Planning & Consulting, Plastering & Drywall, Plumbing, Heating & Gas, Roofing, Gutters & Drainage, Tiling & Flooring, Window & Door Fitting on Dec 31
Mr-Skill, the amazing place to find rated tradespeople of all kinds across the face of England wishes all their loyal  customers and partners the very best for the New Year 2011. During 2010 and the preceding years we have built a rare relationship that has gone from strength to strength – for our part, our New Year’s Resolution is to promise you even more exceptional service in the years that follow.
Did you know the full range of services that we connect to in every County of England? We have tradespeople of every kind to assist you all the way from Land’s End to John o’Groats. Just in case you forgot the full range of services available on Mr-Skill, here is a complete list for you to bookmark in case you need it.
o Kitchen Installations
o Electrical Work
o Carpentry and Joinery
o Window Fitting
o Plastering and Dry Walling
o General Handymen
o Moving Specialists
o Gardeners and Landscapers
o General Builders
o Bricklayers
o Roofing and Guttering Experts
o Painters and Decorators
o Locksmiths
o Cleaners and Housekeepers
How is that for a comprehensive range of all the services available from Mr-Skill? Have a great New Year from all of us, and see you in a successful 2011. Thanks very much for all your continuing loyal support, and rest assured, Mr-Skill will be here whenever you are in need what we offer.
Tags: Baths and Heating, Bricklayers, Carpentry and Joinery, Cleaners and Housekeepers, Electrical Work, Gardeners and Landscapers, General Builders, General Handymen, Kitchen Installations, Locksmiths, Moving Specialists, Painters and Decorators, Plastering and Dry Walling, Plumbing, Roofing and Guttering Experts, Tiling and Flooring, Window Fitting
Posted in Bricklaying, Carpentry & Joinery, Cleaning Services, Disposals & Waste Removal, Electrical Work, Gardening & Landscaping, General Building, Handyman Services, Kitchen Fitting, Locksmith, Moving Homes & Hauliers, Other Craftsman Services, Painting & Decorating, Planning & Consulting, Plastering & Drywall, Plumbing, Heating & Gas, Roofing, Gutters & Drainage, Tiling & Flooring, Window & Door Fitting | Comments Off
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