April: Your Garden

spring-queen-lShowers – maybe. Frost – possibly. Some sunshine, well who knows? But the plants are springing up and growing like they belong the 100-meter dash. So is April a great time to discover cool garden projects to implement? Definitely.

By now your gardening efforts should be starting to reward you with fresh greenery stretching out of the soil and making ready for the Summer and revealing their spectacular colours and scents.

Tulips are just one example of whats currently around and I think everyone should have tulips in their garden or window boxes somewhere. Queen of the Night, above happens to be my favourite. It blends well with modern and traditional planting schemes and is very easy to grow. Back in the mid sixteenth century a single tulip bulb could cost as much as a modest house would today. This madness was known as Tulipomania. Today tulip bulbs are a bargain and worth every penny.

So now that you have prepped, pruned and planted across the last 3 months or so maybe take a look at doing some fun and interesting things in the outdoor space that is your garden.

tropical-landscapeNot every one has the luxury of a large garden, regrettably I fall into that category but on the plus side it is far easier to manage which is just as well as I do tend to change my garden nearly every year. I can’t help it! But if you have a small space or a courtyard don’t fret as the concrete or paved areas that don’t get a great deal of sunlight or are odd shaped, surrounded by roads and buildings etc. These are some of the most interesting gardens I have ever seen.

For instance this Tropical urban garden demonstrates very cleverly the use of materials that can be used to great effect in small spaces. Wood, cobbles, gravel and structural plants and of course lighting can all be used to create calming areas for you to relax in. Here are some other interesting ideas.

Corten steel or weathering steel is an interesting material to use as a feature piece as it has this amazing ability to rust very quickly on the outside or so it would appear. But actually it is not rust but a sealing process that occurs when the elements meets the steel and it changes color as each year passes. It is a mixture of metal alloys that creates this effect, a little expensive but on a small scale as a water feature or plant pot or even a sculpture nestled in with perhaps some ornamental grasses and subtle lighting looks stunning.

april

Driftwood – Take the kids to the beach for the day and collect driftwood to make cool objects for a wall. Stone garden ornaments look great subtly placed about driftwood. Small little stone frogs in a wall crevice or a giant Easter Island head in amongst bamboos. Whatever your imagination conjurers up.

Instead of buying them make them with the children. I have, and still do make them. It’s fun it’s easy and most satisfying peeling out your own ornaments from the moulds. The children can paint them up when there dry. You can buy latex moulds of all sorts of things quite inexpensively and use them again and again. Even give them as gifts.

I must confess the first time I made some I got a little carried away as you can see. All you need is some moulds of your choice and a couple of empty buckets and a bag of soft sand. Pack around the moulds and then fill them slowly with quick drying ready-mix cement and wait for them to set. Then peel out slowly. Tip; talc the inside of the mould first for ease of removal.

Carved timber posts also look great used as stand-alone pieces or perhaps as a looped rope fence connecting each post. Fair trade carvings sell some wonderful pieces again quite inexpensive.

I could go on forever about plant choices and ideas for gardens but I fear this blog would never end. I hope I have given you some inspiration to go outside as a family and create something wonderful from your imaginations in your precious space.

daveDave, from Garden Design Services has been madly keen on gardening for as long as he can remember. He decided to start a business in landscaping at the request of friends and family who quite simply said “I was mad not too” “The garden is a most valuable space, and I feel it is quite important to have a space that you can thoroughly relax in and enjoy”. If you need help in enjoying your garden then give Dave a call on 01322 559 660 or 07780 461 148.

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