Are you searching for a way to keep your larger garden furniture protected from our unpredictable British weather, when your shed and garage are already full?

Your valuable garden patio sets, or your cherished BBQ need to be kept clean and in pristine condition, ready for next summer.

Camelot Outdoor Living has launched their new 2011/2012 range of garden cover products, which provide the ideal protective solution.

The new collection features durable, strong all-weather protection covers made from lightweight polyester fabric.

High quality stitching and reinforced seams ensure years of protection, against most of the problems, including:
UV damage; Rain damage; Pollution; Frost damage; Bird fouling; Dirt and grime and Falling tree sap.

The covers come in a great range of sizes and shapes, to address all of your different garden accessory needs.

Prices start from just £7.99 for a parasol cover to £49.99 for a three-seater hammock cover.

Also available are covers for patio sets, BBQs, hammocks, parasols, cushions and tables, there really is something for everyone.

Drawstring bags are supplied for easy and handy storage when not in use. Camelot don’t sell their products direct, but they are all available from good garden centres.

For further details about the Camelot Garden Covers range please visit the website.

Tel: (0121) 504 2700

Why not treat your garden to a makeover, encouraged by the superb gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show?

For an immediate landscaped look with minimal effort, topiaried hedges are a quick way to significantly change your garden.

Jim Kirkwood, garden tools expert from Worx Power Tools, offers advice on how to introduce some of the newest topiary trends from Chelsea into your garden:

Pyramid Pruning:
Pyramid pruning gives texture to borders, as seen in Diarmuid Gavin’s Irish Sky garden; the sharp structured hedges contrast with the soft edges of meadow-planted shrubs.

To achieve this look at home, you will require:

• Hedge trimmer.

• Cordless handheld shears.

• Topiary wire mesh (optional).

“Begin trimming your hedge, starting at the base and working upwards, angling the trimmer to the desired gradient for your pyramid. You can either cut by eye or use a topiary wire mesh to guide you, taking a few steps back from time-to-time to ensure an even cut.

Once you’ve achieved a triangular outline you are happy with, use a pair of hand shears, such as the Worx Shrub/Shear (RRP £49.98, diy.com), to go over the hedge to define the shape. Look out for compact models with lithium-ion technology - this makes the tools super-lightweight so your arms won’t tire.

Box-Shearing:
For a formal effect, try box-shearing small leafy trees to create a neat and structured look, as seen in The B&Q Vertical Garden.

Tools for the job:

• Cordless hedge trimmer.

• Step ladder.

• Topiary wooden frame (optional).

“Begin by shaping the bottom of the tree with a cordless hedge trimmer, starting at the base of the trunk and cutting outward. Use a cordless model, like the trimmer in our picture,from Worx (RRP £94.98, B&Q), giving you more flexibility of movement and meaning there’s no danger of tripping on electric leads. Once you have an even box shape at the bottom, start clipping the sides and top. You could do this by eye or by using a wooden topiary frame as a template, to ensure the cube is cut uniformly.”

For further information about the Worx ranges of power tools, please visit the website.

Why not embrace the Grow-Your-Own lifestyle to celebrate British Tomato Week (15 – 22 May)?

Botanico the award winning Grow-Your-Own and eco product supplier, offers a great range of garden accessories that are ideal to help you grow an abundant crop of tomatoes.

Tomatoes are straightforward to grow and produce a multipurpose ingredient for salad soups, pizza and sauces.

They are an excellent source of Vitamins A, C and recent research has shown that the pigment lycopene, which makes most ripe tomatoes red, may be particularly active in protecting the body against heart disease and some forms of cancer.

Growing your own crop of tomatoes couldn’t be easier!

Grow bags are a handy way to produce a wide range of home grown fruit and vegetables including tomatoes:

• The Botanico Grow Bag Watering Pots, RRP £9.99 for a set of three,( in our picture)-are a quick and easy way of watering plants in growbags: Simply fill the reservoir and leave it to drip feed your plants, to ensure your tomato plants stay hydrated.

• Once the plants start to grow taller, the Grow Bag Cane Set – Quick Fit - RRP £6.99, is perfect for supporting the plants.

• Botanico’s Tomato Greenhouse - will generate better results on a sunny patio or balcony. It’s the perfect size for grow bags and eyelets in the top of the clear plastic cover, also permit bamboo canes to be put in for support and the full length, double zip door will help to increase ventilation.

• Also of interest, is the Let’s Grow.Tomatoes Upside Down Tomato Planter, - which is a growbag that can be hung above a patio – making it ideal for gardens where space is scarce -suitable for growing tomatoes, chilli and courgettes.

Botanico products are available through home and garden retailers in the UK.

For more information on the full range of Botanico products, please visit the website.

The Bow Hammock from Living It Up is beautifully crafted and exudes the height of elegant style.

Designed to complement any garden or patio, this roomy hammock provides the perfect place for an afternoon nap.

The frame is made from treated Larchwood, so that it can be left out in the garden all year round and the canvas can be easily removed for storing to keep it clean.

Tools are provided in the pack for DIY assembly by two people, which takes less than 30 minutes. Priced at: £139.00.

Living It Up supply a range of contemporary furniture for the modern garden. Their rattan garden furniture range is made from a hard-wearing weatherproof material that ensures longevity and low maintenance.

The range includes day beds, outdoor sofas, dining furniture and more, all of which are suitable for the garden or conservatory.

To view the stylish ranges of garden furniture from Living It Up, please visit the website.

Tel: (0116) 269 5960

Whether as an avid gardener, you are looking for a grand glasshouse, or a smaller greenhouse for a cottage garden, to help you to ‘grow your own’, Griffin can design an entirely bespoke structure to suit your requirements, and sympathetic to the original features of your home.

This includes their smart glazing system, which creates the look of wood minus the continuous maintenance headaches, which usually accompany it.

A Griffin Glasshouse is designed to last and be an attractive feature of your property for many years. Every element is planned to provide both aesthetic and durable finishes, ensuring you have an attractive, top quality glasshouse with virtually no maintenance.

Griffin Glasshouses design, build and install beautiful aluminium glasshouses to the highest standard, to suit their clients’ exact specification and individual requirements.

As specialists in their field, they can also assist you with the best solutions for benching, cold frames, heating, irrigation, internal water storage, shading and ventilation.

For more information about the complete range of Griffin Glasshouses, please visit the website.

Tel: (01962) 772512

Urban dwellers and novice gardeners throughout the UK are to be encouraged to grow their garden knowledge and transform their tired, outdoor space as part of Ronseal’s Urban Gardens Week 2011.

The leading woodcare manufacturer has announced Urban Gardens Week 2011 will take place for the third year running between 11th and 18th April 2011.

With many urbanites shunning the green fingered approach to gardening and neglecting their often overlooked outdoors spaces, the week aims to encourage and empower novice gardeners, providing easy-to-follow inspiration and support.

Urban Gardens Week 2011 will again be supported by celebrity gardener Charlie Dimmock, who will provide advice and top tips on how to improve your urban space, whether you own a new build with a blank canvas or have simply inherited an overgrown mess!

• Throughout the week a series of template garden designs will be available for easy download and execution, offering a range of simple styles to suit even the most novice of gardeners.

• Ronseal will also be linking with conservation charity, The Woodland Trust, official partners of the week, highlighting the environmental and economic value, of planting just one tree in domestic gardens and showing urbanites how native trees can flourish in even the smallest of spaces.

Novice gardeners - turn your forgotten gardens into green havens with Ronseal!

First time buyers - grow your green fingers to get your dream garden!

For more information about Urban Gardens Week, please visit the website.

Pollination is as important to gardeners as it is to farmers and commercial growers, without it fruit and vegetables do not set and yields are reduced.

Bees are the most important pollinating insect and their decline in numbers has been widely reported recently. Historically the only answer for a gardener has been to plant bee friendly plants or flowers to help attract the many different bee species.

But that is about to change with the introduction of Harrod Horticultural’s exclusive new product range - Beepol. Beepol is set to be the bee’s knees - enabling gardeners to have their own working Bumble Bee colony!

Enjoy the benefits of Bumblebee pollination in your garden with the Beepol Garden Hive or the Beepol Bumblebee Garden Lodge:

• The Beepol Garden Hive - Exclusively available by mail order from Harrod Horticultural, contains a live colony of bumblebees housed and supplied in a maintenance free hive.

• The hive contains a queen bumblebee, workers and bee food and is populated with a native UK species of Bumblebee, all primed and ready to pollinate and therefore increase the yields of your garden and greenhouse fruit, vegetables and flowers for the summer!

• The Bumblebees are released by an easy to use trap door system. Bumblebees are more efficient pollinators than honeybees because they visit more flowers and carry heavier loads, are active at lower temperatures than honeybees and use “buzz pollination”, which helps pollinate a wider variety of plants. Priced at £64.95 + £4.95 P+P.

The Beepol Bumblebee Lodge - Also exclusively available from Harrod Horticultural, is based on traditional beehive designs and is made of cedar from FSC grown timber sources.
It comes complete with a Beepol Garden Hive housed inside.

• Bumblebee colonies do not continue through the winter and will die back in the late summer or autumn, when the new queen bumblebees have dispersed. The old hive can be taken out and a new one placed in the Beepol Bumblebee Lodge the following spring, ensuring you have your own Bumblebee population each year. Priced at £124.95 plus £4.95 P+P.

• The Bumblebee lodge comes with a voucher to send away for the bees when they are in season from mid March to the end of August.

Pre-order your Beepol Bumblebee Hives and Lodges from Harrod Horticultural now, to ensure you are one of the first to benefit from these industrious and fascinating pollinators!

Tel: (0845) 402 5300

As the family grows and our possessions increase, we all strive to make the best of the space we have with clever storage solutions.

But unless you’re lucky enough to already have all the bedroom and living space you need, there will undoubtedly come a time when you need to consider upsizing to accommodate your needs.

But it needn’t mean a costly extension or stressful move - a garden building could be the answer to your prayers.

Forest, a leading UK garden timber company, have a new range of log cabins and summer houses in a variety of sizes and prices to suit most budgets and requirements.

Log Cabins
New for 2011, Forest has introduced a range of beautifully designed timber log cabins for its garden buildings collection.

If you’re looking for an office space, craft workshop or study, a playroom for the kids, gym space or even a spare bedroom for visitors, or an entertainment room, each of the premium log cabins have been designed as a solution.

Priced from £1,249 to £7,999 RRP, with sizes from 2.2 x 2.2m to 5 x 5m.

Featured here is the Kington Log Cabin. 4.8m x 3m / 34mm log thickness. RRP from £3,749.

For added peace of mind, each log cabin features a Euro locking mechanism on the doors.
Forest offers a full assembly service, which is available throughout mainland UK.

Summer-houses
Forest has added five attractive new summer-houses to their collection. Made from 12mm shiplap, with rounded window and door finishes, as well as stylish window and door furniture and styrene glazed windows and doors.
Each design is finished with dip treated, factory applied preservative.

For example:

The Aurora Summer-house is available in two sizes and has a contemporary design with sweeping curved roof, double doors and large rectangular windows.
(Large 2 x 2 x 1m RRP £1,499 and Small 2 x 2 x 3m RRP £1,099).

Forest’s products can be purchased in more than 1,000 garden centres and builders merchants in the UK. All products are FSC certified.

For further information about Forest, details of stockist locations, home delivery options and prices -

Tel: (0844) 248 9801.

For the garden enthusiast, planning your garden for the forthcoming season, or for many years to come, is one of the most interesting and rewarding parts of the gardening year.

Gifts from Handpicked have two beautiful garden planners, which would make perfect gifts for any budding gardeners:

The Practical Garden Planner is designed to grow with the garden, with a colourful loose-leaf section and storage pockets,

• It provides the ideal place to make notes as the seasons change and record those vital plans for the next year of successful gardening.

• Enthusiastic gardeners will love the seasonal reminders, the yearly planner and the value of having all the information they need together in one place.

My Garden Journal is a ring-bound book with 4 tabbed pocket dividers, 6 plastic pockets and 2 fold-out A3 gridded planning sheets.

• There is plenty of space for adding photos of your gardening space, and a fold-out year-to-view planner.

• Plus space for you to mark off your seasonal tasks and reminder pads for all-important notes.

• There is also a pocket to hold up to 12 business cards, labels for filing care tags and a deep zip-lock bag for any other important documentation.

Garden Planner, £14.95.
My Garden Journal, £9.95.

Gifts from handpicked is an established online retailer that arose out of passion for gorgeous gifts and homewares that were not available on the average high street! Their selection is handpicked ( hence the name! ) to be unique and special.

Visit the website to view the range of Handpicked gifts for gardeners.

Tel: (0845) 519 2408

An expert garden designer has launched a new service offering gardeners the chance to create their very own award-winning borders.

Philippa Pearson, whose design and planting skills have been scrutinised by and rewarded with medals from Royal Horticultural Society judges over the last five years, is offering a tailor made, affordable border design service that takes into account your specific gardening conditions:

• An online form outlining the needs and requirements for the border is the basis for Philippa to create a unique hand drawn colour border design, using plants suited to the soil, site conditions and the garden owner’s personal design wishes.

• A shopping list is provided, specifying which plants to buy, and how many, plus a useful plant maintenance schedule, to help with caring for the border throughout the seasons is also part of the service.

• The specialist on-line garden store Crocus has teamed up with Philippa, to offer a 10% discount off plants for the new border. The choice of top garden designers, Crocus have grown and supplied plants for Philippa’s own award winning show gardens.

“I think all gardeners face times when they would appreciate some expert advice and knowledge,” explains Philippa.

“We all have parts of our gardens that don’t work well, or need a boost.
In some cases it is a flower border that needs updating, or it’s a tricky area that can be given a new lease of life with some thoughtful planting.

My border design service is a cost-effective way to treat you and your garden to some TLC.

For that reason it also makes a great Christmas, anniversary or birthday present.” Gift vouchers are also available for the service.

• Prices start from £180 for a border of up to 10m².

• Rising to £280 for borders of between 10m² and 20m².

• £400 for a border between 20m² and 30m².

• For border areas over 30m², and for whole garden designs, prices are quoted separately.

The Border Design service is easy to do - Just visit Philippa’s website and go to ‘Border Design By Post’.

For more information about Philippa Pearson, please visit her website.

To contact Philippa Pearson Tel: 01767 651253, or 07709 947284.