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Posts Tagged ‘plants<’
The team here at Mr-Skill know that autumn is a good time to prepare their gardens for the cooler months ahead whilst the weather is still pleasant. Of course, in the winter months the landscape can look somewhat drab, but Audrey – she is one of our London gardening and landscaping experts – will provide some guidelines and tips to keep your beloved patch in tiptop condition over the coming months. So, don those old gardening cloths, pop on the gloves and grab the usual tools as you prepare for a day communing with nature! 
Have a Plan
Audrey says, “Preparing the garden for the colder months will keep it looking neat, as well as protecting the less hardy plants to a great extent. You must formulate a plan before you get stuck in though. Autumn is the perfect time for dividing perennial plants, and spreading them around the garden, as this will maintain their health and ensure greater coverage in spring.”
Our green-fingered Audrey has even more to offer. “If you are planning to plant new shrubs, trees or bulbs, do it well before the winter months while the earth is still easy to work with. Winter is an important time to many of our hardier shrubs as that is when they build bigger root systems.”
Garden Clean Up
As the days start to cool down, the leaves will begin dropping, and this provides an excellent opportunity to start a compost heap – or add to the one you already have. Raking and weeding are important activities at this time of the year, but be careful not to add weeds to the compost pile.
Gentle reminder from our team of gardening experts – they are ready and waiting for action, so if you feel this is all too tiring, then get your garden and landscaping quotes right here.
Mulching
Mulching is only necessary for more delicate plants, but even a thin layer of mulch will help insulate them from severe temperature drops – and it helps boost the soil and reduce erosion too. Don’t forget to move plant containers indoors or at least under cover to avoid frost, and a layer of mulch will also help them greatly.
There we go, all done and dusted as they say. Not a difficult job, unless of course you are not the gardening type. If that describes you better, then look no further: find a garden and landscaping service right here on Mr-Skill. This will leave you free to enjoy the pleasant autumn weather!
Tags: autumn, bulbs, clean up, cold, find a gardening and landscaping service, frost, Garden, gardening-and-landscaping quote, landscape, leaves, london gardening-and-landscaping expert, plants, preparation, rake, roots, shrubs, tidy, trees, weather, weeds
Posted in Gardening & Landscaping | Comments Off
 In these days of spiralling costs, isn’t it nice to know that you can make meaningful savings just by growing your own lovely vegetables. There’s nothing to beat the taste of freshly harvested produce, and you will be safe in the knowledge that it’s free of chemicals and pesticides too. Summer squash, tomatoes and peppers are three easy-to-grow crops that will help cut back on your fresh produce shopping. Why not find a gardener here on Mr-Skill and stock up with some good ideas for your summer veggie garden.
For Starters – Summer Squash 
One of our regular London gardeners says that the many varieties of squash available make this a firm favourite. Not only is it hardy and easy to grow, this family of vegetables is versatile in the kitchen too. She suggests that you select a variety that appeals to you when it comes to adding colour to your garden. Patty pans, for example, are available in dark green and yellow “fruits”, while zucchini offers both green and black combinations.
The Amazing Tomato Plant
Officially, the tomato plant is a fruit rather than the hugely popular vegetable we all use it as. There are several varieties, all stemming from the original wild Mexican tomato plant. Can you imagine Italian dishes without the important ingredient of tomato puree? And a salad would look unfinished without the presence of a sliced or chopped bright-red tomato.
Don’t forget to stake the plants as they sprout forth, and if you train them up a trellis, you’ll soon have an active production line of crops. Tomatoes love water, lots of it, and it may pay to fertilise the soil too.
Nutritious Peppers
Peppers come in a large variety of flavours, ranging from succulent and sweet to hot and spicy. This crop just loves the sun, but it needs plenty of water too. The jalapeno variety makes a lovely bush with the bright orange fruit contrasting nicely with the green leaves. All varieties of peppers offer lots of vitamin C to keep you in good health.
The Sky’s the Limit!
We all know the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, and as kids we fully believed that our nimble elf really did visit the land of the giants! So let your imagination grow wild as you grow your own lettuces, radishes and several different herbs too. Get a gardening quote from one of our many members right here on Mr-Skill. They’ll be sure to provide you with some practical ideas.
Tags: chemicals, fertiliser, find a gardening-and-landscaping expert, Garden, garden and landscaping quote, home grown, italian food, london gardener and landscaper, pepper, plants, rainwater harvesting, salad, squash, stake, sun, support, tomato, trellis, vegetables, water
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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
Posted in Electrical Work, Gardening & Landscaping, Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
Posted in General Building on Apr 01
Asphalt driveways (some folk refer to tar) are popular with UK developers because they are quick and easy to lay down  and are relatively cheap. However if the asphalt surface becomes damaged (for example a weed pops up from underneath or a plumber digs a trench across) then you do need to Find a Builder quite urgently to repair the breach before the whole fabric begins to break up completely. This is because asphalt is not reinforced.
If you want to have a crack at the repair yourself, this is what you have to do.
o Remove any loose debris and plants. Tidy up the edges with an angle grinder to achieve a tidy patch.
o For a crack no more than half an inch in width, backfill it carefully so that it is only as deep as it is wide. Fill it with asphalt-emulsion crack filler from a caulking gun and smoothen off with a putty knife.
o  In the case of a larger repair, undercut the edges of the opening with a cold chisel and mason’s hammer so that the patch will flow underneath the existing surface. Using a spade, shovel in matching pre-mix coldpatch blacktopping slightly above the surface level, level with a metal rake and tamp it down. Finally cover the patch with a board that extends a foot beyond it on all four sides, and drive over it several times to compact it finally. The picture to the right illustrates two points – how not to choose the right pre-mix, and how to do a tidy job.
A large patch is seldom within the capabilities of the average DIY person, and we recommend that you Get Building Quotes from a reputable tradesman to do it for you instead. The motto of most Tradesmen in London is that the driveway must look right because that is what most people see first when they arrive.
Tags: angle grinder, asphalt, backfill, blacktop, blacktopping, builder london, builder quote, building job london, building quotes, caulk, chisel, cold patch, compact, crack, cut, damage, debris, emulsion, find a builder, find a tradesman, hammer, macaddam, patch, plants, premix, puttyknife, rake, repair, tamp, tar, tradesman london, tradesman quote, trim, undercut
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A Water Feature adds beauty to any home, and to any office too. A leak can be troublesome especially if the pond is indoors, and requires repair soon. Slight cracks are often within the skills of an amateur repair person – more serious ones  indicate a need to find a handyman to sort them out, because leaks get worse, not better. Before you start any repairs, allow the water level to drop gradually, but not enough to risk your precious fish and plants. When it stops, you have found at least one site of your leak.
Important Hint Be careful of using toxic materials that may harm fish and plants. If in any doubt, contact the manufacturer for advice.
Remove all plants and fish, and store these in buckets of water taken from the pond. Keep these in a cool place, and remember to keep feeding your friends. If they have to remain like that for several days, aerate the water by gently pouring it between buckets.
Locate the source of the leak and chisel out any loose pieces, widening it if necessary to provide room for a good key. Remove all dust, and paint the opened crack with several layers of bonding liquid.
Make up a rich mix of concrete or cement, moistened with the same bonding liquid instead of water. Work this carefully into the crack, using an old flat screwdriver to eliminate air pockets. Smooth off the surface of the fill and blend it into the surrounding area. Wait patiently until the following day.
 Depending on the circumstances, re-seal the entire water feature with one of the following products according to the manufacturer’s instructions:
o Acrylic waterproofing compounds come in different colours, are flexible and can bridge hairline cracks.
o Latex waterproofing compounds dry quickly. However, curing times must be respected before reintroducing water, plants and fish.
o Rubberised bituminous products are more effective on larger ponds. Curing times can be extensive making them less desirable for repairs.
o Flexible polyurethane sealants applied with a caulking gun are perfect for sealing around pipes and filling small cracks. Beware though, many of these can harm plants and especially fish.
Wash out your water feature when the sealing compound is dry and properly cured. Handymen London based believe that this is the perfect time to paint a pond inside as well. When ready you can return the water you removed, and re-house your plants and fish according to good practices that are beyond the scope of this advice.
Did you find this information sufficiently comprehensive? If not, perhaps it would be wiser to get handyman quotes on Mr-Skill.
Tags: acrylic, bitumen, bituminious, bonding liquid, cement, chisel, concrete, crack, find a handyman, fish, fix, handyman quotes, handymen london, latex, leak, open, paint, plants, poison, polyurethane, pond, pool, repair, rubberised, seal, toxic, wash, water, water feature, water proofing, waterproofing
Posted in Gardening & Landscaping, Handyman Services | 2 Comments »
Most of us have neighbors, and we are often too late to stop them when they build a high wall on our boundary. We may have a similarly unattractive feature on our own property too, and little time to find a gardener to plant a quick growing hedge. Some people go to a great degree of trouble to install a false door or window – others, especially tenants may find a trellis option simpler, and they can take it with them too
The possibilities here are as endless as the imagination – you could even create a curbed arbor against an artificially bricked up wall. The feature here is the one that many people prefer, because it is cheap and possible to make yourself, and you may not need gardener quotes.
Here is how to do this:
 o Pop down to your local outdoor-living shop and purchase a piece of pre-formed trellis, such as illustrated here. At the same time, buy a plastic rectangular flower box of suitable proportions, and the plants you need
o On your way back home, stop by at your local hardware store and buy pre-cut timber to face the box, and some fittings with which to assemble it.
o Back home, attach the pre-formed trellis to the blank wall, set the rectangular flower box in place, fill it with earth, and fit the boxing.
o Plant your garden feature with bright colored flowers, and one non-invasive flowering creeper too.
Gardeners in London may go to elaborate efforts to create ornate decorative features. For most of us, though, simplicity is the key.
Tags: arbor, blank wall, boundary, boundary wall, creeper, creepers, false door, false window, find a gardener, find a landscaper, flower box, gardener quotes, gardeners london, landscaper quotes, landscapers london, plant, plantings, plants, pre-formed, trellis, ugly wall, wall
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Whether you are thinking of moving or just improving, at this time of year our thoughts inevitably turn to sprucing up the outside of our house. First impressions definitely count and, whether it’s friends and family or potential buyers, visitors to your home will judge the outside before they even step foot in your house. If you are planning on putting your house on the market it’s worth remembering that viewers are buying into a lifestyle – you want to ensure that lifestyle looks as attractive as possible.
 Example of kerb appeal For instant kerb appeal, think about fitting a new front door. Whether wooden, PVC or glass, a new front door makes the world of difference to how the front of your house looks. If you have an existing wooden door, it may be possible just to paint your front door – an inexpensive way to make a big impact. However, unless you’re an aspiring artist it might be best to bring in a professional painter and decorator – drips of gloss or untidy edges can spoil the whole look in an instant.
Take this one step further and refurbish or paint your windows, fence and gates. The uniform look that this will achieve will far outweigh the extra financial outlay. Choosing the right colour is important – if you want to stand out from the crowd why not pick a bright colour that complements your neighbours’? This way you set your house apart but maximise on the collective look of the neighbourhood.
Pointing and tidying up your brickwork can transform the way your house looks. A good London builder will be able to do this quickly and easily. Our eyes enjoy symmetry and perfect brickwork looks a lot better than shabby, crumbling bricks and mortar. Especially if you are thinking of selling your home. You never get a second chance to make a first impression and, when you consider that it can take buyers as little as eight seconds to decide whether they want to buy a house, your property needs to look as good as possible at first glance.
If you are lucky enough to have a garden, make sure it looks as tidy as possible. A landscape gardener will be able to transform your garden into an oasis of calm and luxury, but you don’t have to blow your budget. If you can’t stretch to landscape gardening, simply planting a few flowers, re-turfing the lawn or even just giving it a trim and tidying the hedges can make a huge difference at a low cost. Our eyes are automatically drawn to the edges of a lawn so, if you don’t have the correct tools, get a gardener in to use a round edged lawn cutter to get a crisp, even finish. Planting a few bulbs and tidying borders also enhance the appearance of your garden easily, as does adding window boxes and hanging baskets. Gardeners are relatively inexpensive and you might find that it makes sense to get someone in to maintain your garden once you’ve got it looking spick and span – after all, you want to have time to enjoy it!
Hone your exterior style by tidying up paths and driveways using monoblock or, less expensively, woodchip, gravel or crazy paving. The former will give a gorgeously uniform look to the front of your house but, if price is a factor, woodchip, pebbles, gravel or crazy paving will achieve the look on a budget. Building a new wall to surround your entrance will finish off the look perfectly.
If you want to be a little more extravagant, why not consider creating a garden pond or water feature? The sound of running water is perfect for disguising traffic noise and giving your garden a tranquil feel. While this is a bigger job than simply tidying up the garden, the effect will definitely be worth it and will transform your outdoor space.
So, next time you get home after a long day at work, have a look at the front of your home and see what it says about you. After all, it’s the only bit of your home that 99% of people ever get to see. If you don’t feel it shows you in the best light, why not put together a ‘to-do’ list and get quotes from our tradesmen today?
Tags: bricks, brickwork, builder, building a pond, building a water feature, building garden wall, bushes, crazy paving, doing up house, drive, driveway, fence, front door, Garden, garden fence, garden wall, gardener, Gardening, gardens, gate, glass, gravel, hanging basket, Home Improvements, house, improve, landscape, landscape gardener, lawn, lay, London, monoblock, mortar, move, moving, mow, mowing the lawn, new, new front door, new windows, paint, painting fence, painting front door, painting windows, path, pebbles, plant, planting, planting bulbs, plants, pointing, prune, pruning, PVC, re-turf, re-turfing, re-turfing lawn, reconditioning windows, refurbish, refurbishing windows, renovate, shed, tidy, tidying, trim, turf, turfing, wall, window, window bo, windows, woodchip, wooden
Posted in Improving the appeal and value of your home | Comments Off
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