Gardeners world

Once again adding my sincere recommendation for the work Andy has done for me & a request for Andy to contact me by text please, as my phone is playing up. I have another job for you to quote for. Cheers Nigel

After a very wet Winter & Spring,Summer turned out to be very good, & I hope you all found time to make full use of your gardens. Lets face it, if the last 4 winters are to go by, you're going to wish you had!! The consequences of the last 3 seasons are an abundance of autumnal fruits & very lush foliage to our shrubs & trees. So, I encourage you to get out & enjoy this abundance picking blackberries, elderberries, a wonderful crop of apples this year & more with the kids. Any resulting pies or berry wines gratefully accepted!! So to the month ahead; 1. This is a good time to apply systemic weed killers that will keep working throughout the winter. If you have Japanese knott weed, cut them to around 18 inches & pour the strongest root action weed killer you can buy down the inside of the stem. It works most of the time. Let the offcuts dry out & burn them, you are not allowed to dispose of them any other way! 2. Lawns. Time to give them a straight cut, lower the blades one notch & then cross cut at 45degs. This will strengthen the roots & then apply an autumn lawn feed to look after the lawn for winter. Apply this after rain or watering. As always, do not over feed or you'll be needing a new lawn! Talking of which, if you are thinking of putting in a new lawn, this is a really good time of year to do so. The lawn won't be used as much & gives it a good time to establish itself before next spring. 3. For all my customers & those of you who planted new shrubs, trees & plants, despite the recent rain, they will still need a good soaking, preferably with a sprinkler & for around an hour or so in the evening to avoid evaporation. While you're at it, make sure all your hanging baskets & pots get a feed & watering too, still plenty of colour to be had after a late start. 4. New spring & summer bulbs are in the garden centres & shops now, so plant away, choose a colour pallet that will match what you have with an array of colours you're going to enjoy. This is also a good time while the soil is still warm to plant up new shrubs,trees & fruits to establish them selves over winter. Give them & the hole they are going into a good soaking. 5. Before this, as we live on good old south east London clay, it's a good time to dig it over & add a combination of organic material & sand, this & the winter frost will help it break up & make it more manageable. 6. Good time of year to start a compost heap or bin. Put all your soft autumn cuttings in, but not any diseased plants or leaves. You must burn these. 7. Pruning. Prune your hedges, privet, hawthorn, beech, yew, Leylandii & lonicera ( honeysuckle) before the end of September. Add to this wisteria which needs specialist pruning if you are to get a decent show of flowers next year. Continue to deadhead your flowering plants, collecting any seeds & putting them in an envelope in a dry place. Give your lavender a good haircut when it's finished flowering to avoid it getting leggy & falling over. Cut back your herbs & use the cuttings over winter in the kitchen. 8. Nearly finished! Leave out bird food & fresh water for our feathered friends to build up their energy for winter. 9. Lastly. I have noticed many self seeded trees in many of my customers gardens. It's mostly the Sycamores & Mountain Ash I'm refering to ( the ones with the helicopter seeds) these seeds get everywhere & start off very small of course. Most people just cut them off above the root. This does not kill them, the root just gets bigger & if left these trees grow to around 90 feet!! In most of East Dulwich gardens this is hugely disproportionate to the size of the garden, takes a huge amount of water from the soil, takes away light, shades & kills off the lawn, spreads more seeds & if that's not enough, the root system is enormous! My advice would be to get a tree surgeon in over winter when the leaves have gone. The other reason for getting rid of them early is that when fully mature they will cost around ?900 to ?1500 to get rid of. Check this with the recommended tree surgeons on the forum. That's it, except to say as always, if you don't have the time or energy, please use the wonderful gardeners available on the forum, enjoy the abundance of this time of year, send me any questions you may have, preferably about gardening, but other subjects are available. We are just finishing a design & build project, then we are free for any work you may have in mind. Happy gardening Nigel 07947119161

Hi, very happy to help out. We can erect sheds, summerhouses & most outbuildings. Do you have a prepared base for it, or would you like us to include one, either concrete or timber in the price. Also, will it need painting or treating? Let me know if you would like us to come & quote. Please check out my thread for reccommendations Nigel Text 07961888253

I'm afraid, nowadays The Secret Garden in Crystal Palace is your best bet or Homebase in La belle Penge!

Having had a major fire in my flat last year, the boiler needed replacing. I got 3 quotes. The one from British gas was outrageous, the second from another local man was good, but I went for Gary because his advice was really good, especially concerning choice of boiler, which ones were best & which ones suited my requirements, & why the cheap ones are cheap. He took only 2 days, flushed the system & his pipe work was excellent. He's also a really nice honest guy. Highly recommended. His no. 07931526266 ( Gary Edwards)

Thank you Wilson, very kind of you to say so. I'm off to the Hampton Court flower show today to research for a design I will be submitting for next years show. It's a really lovely day out, & has so much more space than Chelsea. A good idea is to take a boat ride to Hampton court to avoid the traffic & about ?20 for parking! Let me know what you think of the show

Additional advice in view of current weather. Please please water your gardens every evening. The water won't evaporate & your lawns & plants will really benefit from this. Get in quick before the hosepipe ban comes in!!

Hi Teresa, I have many recommendations for our gardening design & building on the forum & have a van too. I would be happy to visit & discuss some ideas for your garden & suggest you get at least 2 or 3 quotes to give you some ideas & a range of cost. Nigel 07961888253

Thank you Red Devil, much appreciated

My humble apologies for having gone missing for the last couple of months, but a combination of being really busy during that awful Winter & Spring led to being ill & having to take time off at my own holistic base The Big Calm in beautiful Kefalonia. But I'm back, restored to full health & full of ideas for your summer garden. Probably best to start off with the weather! As I know only too well, we are probably suffering climate change & at the moment that means extremes of weather. As we experienced in Winter & Spring it was wet & cold, the consequence of which was our plants & shrubs were all late in developing. So continued feeding & nurturing will be needed this summer. Also everything has become very lush requiring more maintenance than usual. So, as always, use your favourite gardeners from the forum to keep on top of things. 1. Lawns. The key to a good lawn is frequent mowing. Make sure the blades are sharp & for those of you with medium to large lawns a mower with a roller is best. If you have one of these, cut first in straight lines, then lower the height by one notch & cut at 45% to ensure strong roots & a healthy lawn. Apply weed & feed regularly, but as always, not too much or you will burn the lawn & then have to call me to lay a new one!! Make sure the lawn is watered before applying weed & feed & if it doesn't rain ( which it probably will)water within 24 hours. After around a week, rake out any thatch or dead weeds & mow. 2. Weeds. They are prolific this year, & need spraying with a gypsophate based product. The predominant weeds are bindweed, ground elder, mare's tail & bramble. They are pernicious, which means if you try to dig them up, any little pieces you leave, will produce a new weed! So choose a weed killer that goes to the roots, but does not affect new planting. 3. Slugs & Snails. Please don't use non organic pellets. The dead slugs & snails are eaten by the birds & other creatures, which kills them! If you can bear to part with a saucer of beer, that will work, as will salt. Alternatively get the kids to search for them & give them to a passing Frenchman! Or take them on your next trip to the countryside. The slugs & snails, not the Frenchman!! 4. Dead heading. This is one of those tasks that needs doing to encourage more flowering or the plants think they have done their job! It's a pottering type of job that gets you out enjoying your garden & the sights & sounds of nature. With Roses, I've found, cutting the dead bloom back to the third leaf below it, can result in a second flowering. An additional feeding of manure will encourage them too. Continue to feed all your Summer flowering plants, they need all the help they can get just now. 5. Watering. Despite that Winter & Spring, we are having something that looks like summer just now, so watering is essential.Water in the evenings, so the water doesn't evaporate in the heat of the day. If going on holiday, Kefalonia highly recommended! an automatic watering meter can be fitted to your tap. These are around ?40 & will need a hose or pipes to your borders or pots & when set will ensure you don't come back to a dead or dying garden. They even do in line sprinklers for your lawn & borders. Ask your gardener to supply & fit if you need to Sorry. A lot to get through at this time of year!! 6. Plants. Good time to plant up some insect friendly plants like Lavender,Buddliah & Nepeta. Also a lovely time to plant up a Trachelospermum Jasminoides against a warm sunny wall, preferably near your seating area or by you front door to welcome you home with a waft of Jasmine. They have a shiny waxy evergreen leaf that provides some colour in winter. That's it, except to say, after a winter like that, try to find time to potter or just sit in your garden. It's our best & closest opportunity to engage in nature in the middle of a very fast,busy & hard city. Our jobs are not necessarily the most important thing in the world, our families, friends & the care we give to them & our Selves are. Other philosophies are available! As suggested, if you don't have time for these tasks,ask any of the recommended gardeners on this wonderful forum to help you out. I'm up to my neck in designing, building & maintaining gardens this year, but still have a bit of space if you would like a quote or advice. But get in quick, I'm off to Kefalonia again at the end of the month to help some of my customers find things to help them relax & enjoy life. Happy Gardening Nigel

Hi Eddie I have been recommended on the forum for about 8 years now & would be happy to pop round & give you a quote. We are busy & are just finishing a beautiful raised hardwood deck in Pellatt rd. pictures available soon. We get a lot of work as we are reasonably priced & do a good job. I recommend you get at least 2 other quotes to give you a balance of prices & ideas. Feel free to give me a call if happy, Nigel 07961888253

11. Forgot to say, good time of year to add a good bark chip mulch as a weed suppressant. This will keep the weeds at bay, & make those that make it through easy to see & pull out. The bark chip will break down in around 18 months to 2 years

Morning DB & B I would be happy to give you a reasonable quote for your decking & fencing. I have been working in the area for around 10 years & have a good reputation. We get plenty of work as we do not overcharge & have a wealth of experience building decks & fences. As a suggestion, it is always good to get 2 or 3 quotes for prices & ideas. Kind regards Nigel 07961888253

A belated gardening tips this month. Apologies, been a bit unwell & very busy. Not a good combination! Managed to escape the clutches of Mayday hospital & survive!! My sincere apologies to the lady that I did not manage to deliver her quote to, trying to rebuild my flat after it burnt out & the aforementioned illness & workload have been factors. But things are on the mend & after 2 days of sunshine, whisper it, Spring may have just sprung! So, no excuses my city dwelling friends, time to get out in the garden & engage with our little ( or big) bit of nature. 1. Firstly, we still have to protect soft plants (olives, fruit blossoms, Jasmins) using a fleece, keeping them close to the house if in pots. 2. Give your shrubs & roses a good forked in feed of manure. If you have seed heads still on your roses ( naughty!) cut them back to the third bud at an angle with nice sharp secateurs. Too late to hard prune now. 3. Sow hardy annuals in position using a compost warmed by putting under black bags in the sunshine. Work out a colour pallete that includes your favourite colours that work well together. 4. Get your weeds under control before they start to self seed & take over. At this time of year, a Dutch hoe will get into more open borders easily, or a light forking to tease them out. For those of you unfortunate enough to have pernicious weeds like ground elder, then use an organic root weed killer. These are weeds that continue to grow from the tiniest bit of root left in the ground! 5. Tie in all your climbers, like Roses.Jasmins,Solarnums. & lightly trim if you have not managed to prune them. 6. Divide bamboos before they get too big, re-plant or give them to your friends, still not too late to divide clusters of snowdrops to give an improved show next year. 7. Time to go to work on that lawn! If you're really serious, then feed with a good lawn weed, feed & mosskiller. Feed sparingly, if over fed, this stuff will burn your lawn & then you'll need a new one anyway! After about a week, the moss will have died back & gone brown, get out the spine rake & give it a good going over.(come on, we could all do with a bit of exercise after that winter & so called spring!) Give it a mow on the diagonal if you have a mower with a roller & then in straight lines. This will strengthen the roots. If your lawn is beyond repair then just ask if you would like advice on laying a new one. 8. Sorry, it's a long one this time of year! Power wash your decks & patios, giving your deck a treatment when dry & your patio a sealant. If your deck is made of softwood then painting it might be a long term solution to its care & life. Hardwood decks will need treating with a good teak oil. 9. Now comes the philosophical bit! After such a horrendous period of bad weather, it's time we city dwellers got out into our gardens, parks & countryside. Wether you potter, fully engage or just sit in quiet contemplation or meditation, nature is our natural healer & we haven't had enough of it of late! If the weather persists you can always join me at The Big Calm my holistic centre in Kefalonia. 10. Kids: If you have children, there's nothing like encouraging then to plant up easy seeding flowers like nasturtiums, sweet peas, cornflowers & a packet of wild meadow seeds, as said before, good to get them collecting slugs & snails for a trip to the park! Take them to places like Wisley & Kew for a bit of inspiration, they have great educational resources, as does the wonderful Wetlands centre near Barnes for a great day out. Finally, whilst busy as said, quite happy to help with any questions you may have & to take on any projects you may have, if patient. If not, please as always continue to use the highly recommended gardeners & landscapers on this excellent forum. There's plenty of work for good gardeners who love what they do. And to the Lady I let down, please get in contact if the work still needs doing & I will happily give you a generous consideration for what has to be done. Very happy gardening Nigel 07961888253

Hi Esme Thanks for the enquiry. I would need to look at the tree first as not sure of the size, but in order to cut costs, we could advertise the chopped up wood for fire wood on the forum, which helps things on an ecological basis too, as sadly the local dumps are nearly all private now & not only charge tradesman, but have a tendency to use green waste for landfill!! Give me a call/text, & I'll happily pop round for a look Nigel 07961888253

I would like to add Andy to the list. As a garden designer & builder, I have always used him for exterior paintwork. He has always done a consistently good job & my customers think so too. I normally recommend my customers get 3 quotes, to get ideas & a cross section of price. I'm sure he would be happy to add his quote to the others. His no. is 07564194363. He has a good sense of humour too, which always helps Good luck Nigel

Urgent addition: During this cold weather, please remember to keep your soft plants; Olive trees, Bougainvillias, Jasmines & other Mediterranean plants & new shoots well protected with a fleece or mulch if close to the ground, & offer a little prayer for all us outdoor workers for a proper lovely warm spring like last year, followed by a beautiful summer, unlike last year!!!

Forgot to say; we need to look after our feathered friends as they are about to start nesting. You may have heard the birdsong in the mornings now. Keep an eye out for where they are nesting & don't prune those areas. Keep the cats away as much as possible & please keep feeding them. The fat balls seem to be their favourite. We are losing our songbirds at an alarming rate, so please do everything you can to protect & encourage them Nigel

Re cats. I don't think they like chilli either. Nor for that matter Jack Russell's who think they're bigger than they actually are!!!

In the hope that winters over & spring is round the corner (please!!) here are this months tips to get you busy & tidying & preparing your gardens for spring & summer. There's a lot of it. So here goes... 1. Lawns. You can give them their first cut if dry, but keep the blades high, just taking the top off. Aerate with a fork every 9-6 inches & fill with fine sand, compost & a little seed. You can apply weed, feed & mosskiller at the end of the month, but as I always say, not too much & evenly, or you'll be laying a new lawn!! 2. You can split clumps of snowdrops, hostas, hellebores & primulas & spread them into new areas of the garden. FREE PLANTS!! Cut back your ornamental grasses.Still time to plant summer flowering bulbs 3. FOXES!! Many of my customers are having problems with urban & very bold foxes. Firstly they are attracted by waste food products. If the bins are kept tidy & bin lids secured tightly, that will help, BUT, I've discovered they can't stand Chilli!! Powder or sauce, spread it around your borders, tops of fences or where they dig under the fence. It's not cruel, but it is effective! Either that or you can hire my huge killer of a Jack Russell Barney!! Very expensive in dog biscuits!! 4. Pruning. Prune shrubs such as Buddleja, Salix,Cornus,Eucalyptus ( take out the leader each year & prune to max of 8feet, or you get an 80 foot tree!!!) Do not prune your spring flowering shrubs, wait until they have finished flowering. Prune back Clematis to lowest pair of strong buds, then feed & mulch. 5. Planting. Best month for planting Roses in our wonderful South East London clay Give them a good Rose or manure feed. Still time to plant deciduos hedging, shrubs, trees & climbers to give a good summer show. Feed all your existing shrubs, trees, hedges & climbers. For security of your house & garden plant up large Pyracantha plants, not only do they keep the burglars & foxes out, they give a lovely display of bright red & orange berries in winter. Wear good thick gloves for this job. You have been warned!! Time to plant out those flowering bulbs you were given for Christmas. Top dress pots & containers with a John Innes compost. 6. Not far to go now! Power wash timber decks & patios. Softwood decks will need a treatment or if you want a longer term solution painting after they have dried out. Time to start switching on the pumps on your water features & feeding the fish. Please keep an eye out for our feathered friends by feeding them & cutting your hedges quickly before the French eat them ! Sorry, before they start nesting. Get the children to collect snails before the French eat them & relocate when out & about. Think that's it, I'm sure there's more, but quite frankly that should be enough. If its too much, as always get your locally EDF reccommended gardeners to help you out before they get too busy, like me. But please feel free to text or phone for any help or advise especially if wanting to design or build a low maintenance garden. Happy gardening Nigel 07961888253

Hi Roger. I have many recommendations from forum customers over 8 years. We; Exterior design specialise in low maintenance gardens, soft & hardwood decking, patios, water features,lawns,fencing,sheds, log cabins,maintenance, plant & gardening advice. I would be happy to visit & listen to your requirements & give a free quote. I recommend you seek at least 3 quotes for price comparison & to pick our brains for ideas. Nigel 07961888253

We held a dinner dating evening last night at Suzanne's & it couldn't have been improved upon in any way. The food was so good, the organisation which I lack in such circumstances was handled so well and I have no hesitation in recommending Suzanne's company, totally wonderful chef & staff for your next event. We all had a lovely uncomplicated evening thanks to the delightful people who bravely turned up & Suzanne's love of what she does. Thank you Suzanne Nigel

Hi, thank you red devil for the recommendation. I would be delighted to pop round & give some ideas. We; Exterior Design specialise in design & build of mainly low maintenance gardens & have been working in the area for more than 10 years. I would suggest you get around 3 quotes & get as many ideas as you can, along with a range of budgets. Also, this is a great time to start a project before spring, so you can have a lovely garden for summer & before we get really busy! Please give me a call & I would be delighted to make an appointment at a convenient time. Nigel 07961888253

Having attended one of Suzanne's supper clubs, I was so impressed, I have organised a dinner dating evening on 7th February. If interested, please take a look at what's on in Dulwich or contact her on 02086936331. Should be fun!

I would like to add my recommendation to the growing list of Andy's admirers. As a landscape designer & builder, he has helped me in areas we are not accomplished at,as much as we would like on more than a few occasions. His work has always been first class & he's a lovely bloke too. He won't let you down, something that I'm becoming more aware of as more of my customers & even myself last year have had tradesmen take their money & not show up!