It will soon be time to prepare your home and garden for the blustery autumn months ahead?

To help, Sadolin has created a checklist to Autumn-proof your wood:

Garden Furniture -To keep your tables, chairs and loungers looking good, year after year, use a durable and protective product like the new Sadolin Four Seasons Garden Furniture Colour & Protector.

It’s the first wood care product to include Teflon® surface protector, which guards against scuffs and knocks, while offering excellent year-round protection from the elements (£14.99 for 1 litre can).

Shape up your shed - As with any timber, it is vital that it is treated with a quality product to protect it against the elements, but don’t limit yourself to shades of brown – Sadolin Superdec is available in over 45 colours, so why not make a feature of your shed by adding a splash of colour, which will keep your garden bright and alive, even when your blooms die off?

Gates and Fences - Exposed to all the wind and rain that autumn can throw at them, gates and fences need help to keep them looking good come spring.

Check that all the panelling is secure and then consider using some Sadolin Classic (£9.98 for a litre can) to treat fences and a product like Sadolin Superdec (£14.99 for a litre can) for gates – a classic shade like Pondessa Pine, will look great all year round. Remember when treating large areas, such as fences, to work from the top down.

For more application hints and tips visit:

Web: http://www.sadolin.co.uk.
Or call the Sadolin Woodcare Advice Centre:
Tel: (0844) 7708 998

David Harber specialises in creating innovative garden ornaments and sculptures in contemporary designs that pay homage to the past, inspired by the marking of time.

Fascinated by the use of shadows, David incorporates light, water and reflections to create surprising and delightful illusions.

His work has an ethereal quality, drawing integrity from his commitment to using only the finest quality materials; beautiful, sometimes mysterious, always intriguing.

More recently the element of water features in David’s garden designs — a natural marriage of elements that complement and interact with each other in a dynamic manner.

Featured here is a shining example of a garden water feature - the Chalice sundial which builds on the past, reinventing a hemicyclium one of the oldest types of sundial, first seen in around 350BC, into contemporary and award-winning garden art; available in stainless steel, copper, bronze and brass.

David Harber uses only the highest quality materials to ensure that a sundial, sculpture, or water feature will endure into the next millennium; each design is conceived to meet the specific requirements of both the site and the client’s desires

Many different crafts and skills are combined in the creation of each dial; from more traditional skills such as hand letter-cutting stone, engraving, etching, sign-writing and casting, through to highly technical plasma and laser-cutting, electro-plating, polishing and welding techniques.

A striking choice of water walls, garden rills, garden globes and large garden sculptures are also available.

David Harber is an RHS Sundries Trophy winner at RHS Chelsea 2007.

Web: http://www.davidharbersundials.co.uk

Tel: (01235) 859300

Did you think sundials were old-fashioned timepieces mainly seen rusting away in overgrown English country gardens?

Not any more as David Harber has pioneered the restoration of a centuries old craft, coinciding with the renaissance of interest in the garden and built up an international reputation for making both contemporary and classical sundials.

He started making small armillary sphere sundials in 1992 and has now expanded to embrace contemporary sculpture and water features for homes, country houses and corporate clients; his work combines different materials and plays with light and reflections, to produce striking contrasts and fascinating optical illusions in the garden.

The featured Armillary sphere owes its design to the Egyptian astronomer and geographer Ptolemy and is crafted in bronze, brass or mirror-polished stainless steel.

The Armillary’s interwoven rings represent the celestial arcs of heavenly bodies and the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, while the arrowhead points to the pivotal Pole Star.

All sundials can be personalized with engraved mottoes, birthday markers or pointers to places of personal significance.

David also makes traditional vertical sundials in a whole range of materials and dramatic garden obelisks in steel, stone and copper.
Also available are water walls, garden rills, garden globes and large garden sculptures.

David Harber was awarded an RHS Sundries Trophy at RHS Chelsea 2007.

Web: http://www.davidharbersundials.co.uk

Tel: (01235) 859300

Putting your garden to bed properly for the colder months will often save time and effort in the spring and can lead to a thriving garden that will really flourish next year.

nicenstripy, the leading UK domestic lawn cutting and garden services company, is advising clients that now is the perfect time to start planning ahead for next year.

However, in today’s hectic lifestyle, you may have little or no time to tend to your green-fingered responsibilities.

nicenstripy can help; operating across the UK, it’s teams of fully trained and vetted operators, provide an extensive range of professional gardening services at affordable prices.

Supplies of the very best lawn care feeds and treatments and the latest equipment are used to ensure that your garden is well maintained during the winter months and therefore in great condition for the spring.

nicenstripy’s core grass cutting service continues in the winter; milder weather means lawns continue to grow, but at a slower rate, so their technicians will cut the lawn to a length that is best for winter.

At present the company is offering a special Winter Works package, which includes lawn feeds and treatments, hedge trimming, leaf and general debris clearing, garden tidy ups and gutter clearance.

Web: http://www.nicenstripy.com

Tel: (0845) 230 7676

What do you need to know to create your dream garden?

According to recent research over a third of people in the UK don’t make the most of their garden, due to a lack of confidence and gardening knowledge.

To encourage more people to identify gardening as a creative leisure activity, PlantforLife has teamed up with Blue Peter Gardener Chris Collins to produce The Plant Advice Guide, which is a free easy to use booklet, for anyone who wants a flourishing garden but doesn’t know where to start.

When it comes to beginning in the garden, the sheer choice of plants, shrubs and trees can be overwhelming and once you have chosen the plants, you not only have to know where to plant them but also how to maintain them.

Chris Collins comments, “The Plant Advice Guide should equip any potential gardener with the basics to make a start and see rewarding results this summer.”

The guide contains no gardening geek speak; it’s an easy to use free booklet which includes details of 20 flowering plants and shrubs plus advice on how to plant and maintain them.

It also advises on the kind of soil in your garden, which is essential information to enable you to choose plants that will thrive there.

Gardening can really improve people’s quality of life – from the satisfaction of growing something and keeping it alive, to the enjoyment of colours and scents in the garden.

The Plant Advice Guide is free to download from:

Web:  http://www.plantforlife.info
Tel:  (0118) 930 3132

How about a gift voucher from nicenstripy for Mother’s Day this year? Mum may find this a most welcome gift, providing her with a head start in getting her garden in shape for Spring.
 
nicenstripy is a leading garden maintenance company operating across the UK, who provide an extensive range of professional gardening services at sensible prices, with teams of fully-trained, reliable and trustworthy staff.

Vouchers come in values to suit the purchaser so whatever your budget, nicenstripy can provide an affordable solution.

The service is tailored to meet the individual needs of each customer - whether it’s an exclusive package or just a one-off job - and prices start from just £10 a cut.

nicenstripy’s core grass cutting service can be booked for regular cuts, or one-off jobs. In addition, the company offers a special discount package; for a set fee each month, your grass is cut at the appropriate frequency, depending on the requirements of the season.

The company also provides seasonal lawn feeds, scarification, aeration, weed and moss control; plus hedge cutting and leaf and gutter clearance; state-of-the-art equipment and only the very best lawn care feeds are used to ensure superb results.

So this Mother’s Day, let your Mum sit back and relax, while nicenstripy takes care of her gardening problems!

Web: http://www.nicenstripy.com
Tel:   (0845) 230 7676

A well-kept garden is a year-round delight and can also increase the price and saleability of your property.

But with today’s hectic lifestyles, there’s little or no time left for the garden and many of us don’t have the skills required for proper maintenance.

nicenstripy - the leading UK garden services company is ready to help!

Operating across the UK, its teams of fully trained, reliable and trustworthy staff provide an extensive range of professional gardening services at affordable prices. 

The company uses state-of-the-art equipment, quality lawn care feeds and wood treatments, to ensure superb results and customer satisfaction.

Employees complete a comprehensive training programme and undergo a strict vetting procedure including police checks, to ensure that clients enjoy the highest levels of workmanship and peace of mind.

The nicenstripy service is tailored to meet the individual needs of each customer, whether it’s one of their exclusive packages, or just a one off job.

As well as its core grass cutting service, nicenstripy also provides lawn treatments, seasonal feeds, pruning, turfing, general tidy-ups and hedge cutting.

So why not sit back and relax while nicenstripy takes good care of your garden?

Prices for nicenstripy garden services start from just £10 a cut.

Web: http://www.nicenstripy.com
Tel:  (0845) 230 7676

Green Interiors was established in 1988 as an interior landscaping company specialising in providing live and artificial plants for corporate customers.

In response to an increasing demand from private clients for top quality plants, plant displays, and planters, not readily available elsewhere, they set up www.brightgreen.co.uk in 2001.

This is an interesting and stimulating website, where you can choose from a selection of live houseplants, wonderful silk arrangements, preserved roses, contemporary stems, grasses and planters for interior and exterior use.

The elegant Polystone Partner planters featured here, are composed of clay and resin, fashioned in moulds then finished by hand, creating the look, feel and durability of stone minus the weight.

Polystone is perfectly suitable for outdoor use and comes in a choice of stone or black.

Prices and sizes are as follows:
370×900mm     £155.99
500×1200mm   £278.01
670×1600mm   £497.99

Green Interiors is a family run company, who pride themselves on service and approachability. They also offer a planting and installation service.

Web: www.brightgreen.co.uk
Tel:  (01327) 262525

Now that the gardening season is well underway, gardens across the country are bursting into life with beautiful displays of flowers and plants, surrounding well-tended lawns.

Does that describe your garden? Probably not - with today’s hectic lifestyles, many people simply don’t have enough time to spend creating a beautiful garden - and have to make do with some weed filled flower beds and tired looking, patchy lawns. Not a very inspiring sight, and bad for your property’s value too - a lacklustre garden can depress the price of your property by more than 10%.

But don’t worry - for London residents at least, help is at hand. The Keyholding Company is offering its members a special ‘Gardening’ package. When you book one of their skilled gardners for a half day, you’ll receive 4 hours work for £120, and if you book for a full day, you’ll get 8 hours work for £225.

As well as organising a suitable gardener, The Keyholding Company can provide access for them, lock up on completion of the job, and ensure that the site has been left clean and tidy.

They Keyholding Company requires all its gardeners to undergo a strict vetting process, so members are assured that their gardens will be in safe hands.

Registering your keys with The Keyholding Service costs £24 - and membership costs from £10.95 per calendar month.

web: http://www.keyholding.com
tel: (0870) 770 6880