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Posts Tagged ‘exotic<’
It’s a lovely time of the year, as the long dark nights make way for warmer, sunnier days. The cherry blossom season is over for another year, but the local fields and woods and paddocks are full of bluebells, primroses and lots more besides. Here are some tips and a few secrets for getting your own garden looking like a piece of paradise. In fact, now is a good time to find a gardener right here on Mr-Skill, while you sit back and admire their handiwork!
Diary Tips for This Week of Spring
- This is a good time to apply a weed and feed mix to established lawns. Water in well with a hose after a couple of days too, if it doesn’t rain.
- Deadhead old daffodil flowers, but let the leaves die back naturally.
- Now is the time to plant up ponds with aquatics to help oxygenate the water.
- The time is also right to apply a good fertilizer feed to your roses.
- As your primula and polyanthus plants finish flowering, lift and divide them.
- If you have any orchids, April is the main flowering month for most of these exotic bulbs.
- This is a also good time to plant evergreens such as laurel, otherwise known as the bay tree, and renowned for the delightful aroma imparted from the leaves to meat dishes.
Brief Interlude
Why you may not need to go to the expense of re-landscaping, why not get a garden quote for servicing your lawn mower and edge trimmer. They are both going to be in high demand shortly, so you need to have them in tiptop condition. Just like a car, regular maintenance is important for all mechanical or electrical garden tools.
The Secret’s Out 
Claire, our avid London gardener, suggests that you keep a watchful eye on the weather forecast. Frost is still a distinct possibility, and she suggests covering the more sensitive shrubs with sacking or garden fleece just to be safe – as she does her face in sunshine too.
Resist the urge to buy and plant your summer flowers, unless you plan to keep them in your greenhouse. As she says, frost is no stranger to your garden, even as late as May here in the UK.
And finally, do tidy up dead leaves and garden rubbish. If you don’t, you will be providing free accommodation for snails, slugs, weevils and woodlice, and before you know it, disease and infection will strike.
Tags: bluebells, daffodils, exotic, feed, find a gardener, flowers, Garden, garden quote, gardener, laurel, lawn, lawn mower, london gardener, orchid, pond, primroses, rose, slug, snail, split, spring, trimmer, water, weed, weevils
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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.
Tags: balcony, bracken, bulb, chicken wire, climb, compost, conservatory, cordyline, evergreen, exotic, fern, find a gardener, fleece, frame, frost, frosted, Garden, gardening quote, greenhouse, head, hessian, leaves, london gardeners, manure, mulch, night, palm, plant, plastic, pot, protect, root, shady, straw, sun, tender, treefern, trunk, winter
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