Archive for the ‘Vegetable and Kitchen Gardens’ Category
Make sure you are recycling your garden waste
Sunday, November 18th, 2012
Gardenproud have just installed their latest 3 bay composting system for a client in Tunbridge Wells.
This is typically constructed of treated softwood with bays of 1.5m -2m sq and 1m high.
“Many composting systems are poorly made of flimsy materials, or engineered as an afterthought. We build systems to last of heavy duty timber and large profiles.
We are also conscious that clients have to look at the them, so we use fine detailing to suit the garden or surrounding architecture.”
Comments Tim Sykes.
The front of each bay either has a slot arrangement or uses wing nuts so that panels can easily be removed, allowing turning over, or removal of fresh compost.
If you want to improve the recycling in your garden contact Tim Sykes at Gardenproud on 07725 173820.
Lamb House – Home of Henry James
Sunday, September 2nd, 2012
Lamb House was built in 1723 by James Lamb, an important citizen of Rye and 13 times mayor. The house remained in the family until 1864.
The author Henry James who fell in love with the house then took on a lease in 1898 and lived there until his death in 1916. The house and gardens were to provide the quiet and peaceful retreat from which he wrote many of his novels from a garden house in the grounds (this was destroyed in an air raid on 18th August 1940), including The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl.
The writer E.F.Benson, an admirer of James, came to live in the house after Henry James died. He shared the tenancy with his brother (also a writer) famous for having written the words to Elgar’s ” Land of Hope and Glory”. E.F. Benson went onto live in the house until his death in 1940.
Today the house and gardens are looked after by The National Trust. If you are staying at The Mermaid or one of the other superb hotels and guest houses in Rye, Lamb House is conveniently placed and definitely worth a visit!
Despite having no prior knowledge ( ” I am hopeless about the garden, which I don’t know what to do with and shall never, never know – I am densely ignorant.”), Henry James secured the help of a friend Alfred Parsons – a landscape gardener, to help create a beautiful walled garden, leading from a pair of french doors on one side of the house.
The layout of the garden is much the same as in James’s time with a large sweeping lawn, various flower beds, shrubs and a rose garden and kitchen garden situated behind an attractive trellis supporting climbing roses.
Various attractive benches adorn the grounds acting as resting and focal points…
Other features added by Henry James to the house and garden help give a unique perspective and charm..
At the back of the shrubbery, in the South-West corner of the garden, you can still see the dog cemetery where he buried many of his favourite dogs.
James’s favourite Mulberry tree was blown down in a gale, this has now been replaced and he’d be very pleased to note is bearing lots of fruit!
The gardens were a delight…
When you consider this oasis sat within the beauty of Rye, you can easily understand how the setting gave Henry James so much inspiration for his great works.
Lamb House, house and gardens are open from 24th March to 27th October, Tuesday and Saturdays, 2 – 6pm ( last admissions 5.30pm). For further information see The National Trust website at www.nationaltrust.org.uk and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_James
Beating Drought Conditions in the Garden
Saturday, May 5th, 2012
Planting under trees can be a nightmare, but successful schemes can be achieved here and in other dry conditions using water efficient leaky pipe systems in combination with an appropriate planting plan.
Fitting a flow reducer to the supply and a timed output will also help conserve water supplies and keep your plants alive. Covering the beds with a moisture absorbant mulch will also help nourish plants and give a slow release of water to the root structure.
Other situations in the garden may benefit from more simpler watering practices such as a watering can. Here an attractive water butt maybe erected (such as this mock terracotta urn) and linked to the rainwater downpipe system. You’d be amazed how much water even the smallest shed roof generates!
Elsewhere you may have situations in the garden where access to water is limited. Take this Vegetable Garden we recently designed. Here a smart design is supported by a rainwater fed tank that incorporates a pump so that water can be directed locally at raised beds. A design like this could also be adapted to include timed watering using leaky pipes.
With watering of gardens coming under more public scrutiny Gardenproud can help you create more efficient systems in your garden to enable you to enjoy its full potential and remain friends with your neighbours!
Call us for further details on 07725 173820
NEW driveway puts our project management to the test!
Saturday, May 5th, 2012
Earlier this year we were invited to redesign a front garden in Tunbridge Wells. This included designing a new driveway, new raised beds, lawn areas, rockery, lighting and planting as well as moving the vehicle entranceway. And this all had to be designed, submitted for planning permission, approvals by Kent County Council and groundworks and planting completed for an important family occasion scheduled for April 2012!
NO PRESSURE!
Well I’m happy to say we took up the challenge and following a number of alternative design concepts settled on a treatment that would provide improved access to the house, greater levels of parking, privacy for the client and importantly enhance the presentation of the house. Because of its proximity to the kitchen the concept was subsequently developed to even include a potager garden that incorporated a whole host of fresh herbs to support the clients keen interest in cooking.
Tim Sykes, Gardenproud designer said. “This design doubled the size of the driveway, it improved access for vehicles, it created the opportunity for an enhanced planting scheme in front of the house, and it re-focused attention on the main entrance of the house. Given the planning constraints of moving crossovers it was pretty ambitious to achieve all this in the timescales. But our client was really helpful and keen to progress, so having received our approvals, and with the threat of severe weather we pressed on in March 2012, like mad!”
The old entrance was narrow and led to a parking area for just 2 cars.
Ground works began in March in ernest!
The new driveway shape was excavated, new soakaways and drainage installed and cabling for the new lighting was laid.
Things soon started to take shape with the bed and perimeter walls being erected.
A wider front entrance step was built to add stature and focus to the main doorway and provide a level base for planters.
With KCC approval we set about creating the new central entrance and crossover.
A beautiful new tarmac and flint impregnated driveway surface was laid.
Smart new oak entrance posts were fitted with lead copings and integral marker lights.
The lighting featured copper style fittings throughout, and sockets for trickle charge feeders for cars.
So having got everything in place we closed up the old driveway and pedestrian access points, then created new walls to match in with the existing pavement edging. The old driveway crossover was replaced by a new run of Tunbridge Wells brick pavers that reinstated the pedestrian pathway. New mature laurel bushes were planted in a dense formation to plug the gaps in the old hedge. You can’t see the join!
We then created a planting plan for the beds and new rockery area and got straight on with the ground preparation and planting…….
The potager garden starts to take shape with its combination of herbs, flowers and shrubs all set in a new rockery feature.
The two new front beds feature a number of key shrubs and perennials including Photinia (Red Robbin), Buxus (Box) Spirals, Pieris Japonica, Camelias, Box Balls, Dwarf Roses, Alliums and Peonies. The two planters feature Bay trees and lavender. It was just our luck half way through the project when SE Water announced their hosepipe ban! The watering cans came out. Then God stepped in and gave us plenty of rain! Thank you.
Suffice to say we finished the project with a week’s grace before the big family do!
So everybody was really pleased with the result, our project management, and that we and our grubby boots were nowhere to be seen!
Final comment from the client: “We are really delighted by the new front garden you have created. It exceeds all our expectations.”
For further information about designing and landscaping your garden please contact Tim Sykes on 07725 173820.
Hosepipe ban to be introduced April 5th
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012Seven firms including Southern Water, South East Water, Thames Water and Veolia South East have to today announced that they are to enforce a hosepipe ban from April 5th.
Local reservoir Bewl Water is currently standing with just 42% of its normal water reserves.
Source: Shot by photographer – Chloe, 19th February
This means you will not be able to water your garden or lawns with a mains water fed hosepipe until the ban has been lifted.
So we’ve got 3 weeks to prepare ourselves for this.
Not withstanding it might rain either before or after this period it maybe sensible to consider ways in which you could build up water reserves.
If you already have a rainwater recycling system then you may like to consider ways in which this might be connected to a pump which feeds either a leaky pipe or fine spray system.
Hozelock amongst others make such systems, and Karcher make submersible pumps.
You could use the time you have and fill a water butt or tanks and link this to a similar system that can feed off rain water as well.
Here is a system we recently created for a vegetable garden, linked to a rainwater fed water butt near Tunbridge Wells…
For further information on conserving water in the garden contact Tim Sykes on 07725 173820.
March is a great month in the Garden
Friday, March 9th, 2012
It’s the time when the garden really comes back to life. For Gardenproud it’s the point when we get more calls for help than any other month – so it’s like the golden month!
What should you be doing in March?
- plant up the new roses, shrubs, trees and fruit
- plant up the gladioli, lilies and summer bulbs
- plant out the fruit plants
- prune the roses
- sow new lawns, or repair lawns
- sow poppies, marigolds and lobelias
- get in the green house or propagator with the brussel sprout, cabbage or lettuce seeds
New Signs To Look Out For!
Friday, March 9th, 2012
If you see this sign around Tunbridge Wells or indeed Kent then you know we’ve designed a new garden and are working on creating a fresh landscape!
If you are looking for some new ideas for your garden then do talk to us first. We are happy to provide a range of concepts for a very competitive price!
So what are you waiting for?
Contact Tim Sykes today on 07725 173820, or at info@reallygardenproud.com
2012 – Happy New Garden!
Monday, January 9th, 2012Happy New Year to you all from Gardenproud.
There’s nothing quite like a beautiful garden in full bloom to lift the spirits!
And as we all sit watching The News at Ten and listen to the threat of a double-dip recession we all need something to hang onto.
Well for just £250, plus the dreaded VAT( I’m sorry according to George Osborne this isn’t likely to be coming down yet) we can make you feel better and hopefully inspire you onto greater things!
That’s all it costs for Gardenproud to provide a series of concepts demonstrating how you can transform your garden. It maybe that you just want a fresh look at your planting, or a new terrace designed, or a vegetable garden, or the kids are getting bigger and you need to re-think the front driveway, or maybe you’ve bucked the trend and just moved into a new house and the whole garden needs a re-think. Whatever your desires we have the experience and expertise to help you realise your dream.
Don’t leave it till the tulips come out, call us now and be sure to have a much improved view by the Spring.
For a FREE consultation call Tim Sykes on 07725 173820 today, or email us at info@reallygardenproud.com
A New Vegetable Garden in Rotherfield, East Sussex
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011The Challenge
Client is a keen gardener and wanted to create a vegetable garden with raised beds.
The brief also included providing space for a small tool shed.
There was already a designated area c 11m sq. that had previously been used for growing vegetables, but this had become overgrown and needed a serious blitz before work could start.
The area was some distance from the house and there was no running water or electrics.
The vegetable garden needed to be made rabbit proof.
The Solution
First a thorough blitz was undertaken of the old vegetable patch and the soil was rotovated and weeds and brambles removed.
The perimeter fence was repaired and a new gravel board perimeter created inside.
Gardenproud then created a strong design in the style of some of the more formal Potager gardens of the French aristocracy.
Potager Style Garden
A Potager is a French term for an ornamental vegetable or kitchen garden. The design idea emanates from the gardens of the French Renaissance period. In these gardens flowers were often planted alongside herbs and vegetables to enhance the aesthetics of the working garden. Apart from its beauty a Potager Garden is also very practical as it becomes the source of food, cut flowers and herbs for the house.
Perhaps the most well known example of a Potager Garden is to be found at Château de Villandry. A 16th Century Chateau situated at Villandry near Tours in the Loire Valley. In the last century the gardens have undergone a transformation. So it’s well worth a visit.
Photo: Château de Villandry – Jean-Christophe Benoist
Our take on the Potager Garden features a cylindrical central water distribution point surrounded by 4 raised beds.
There is a main walkway with a sentry style shed at its head.
The raised beds have been carefully shaped to dramatise the watering point and give the vegetable garden a distinctive look.
An electrical supply has been connected to the vegetable garden area. This provides power to an ingenious water pump that has been fitted to the watering point. It pumps the water out at sufficient pressure to power a traditional hosepipe thus providing easy watering of each of the raised beds.
Topping up the water is easy, especially if the heavens open! Otherwise the large water tub can occasionally be topped up by hose.
The Gardener
The Client Sarah has great plans for her new vegetable garden, she comments….
“ Every year I have despaired as the plot, that in early Spring looked so neat and orderly, spiraled down into a weed infested jungle into which vegetables disappeared never to be seen again. Never again! I can hardly believe the transformation. The joy of my new veg patch is that not only does it look stunning but it is extremely practical. Apart from the raised beds there is plenty of room to expand the growing area by using containers. There is also room for a sitting area where I can relax and admire the fruit of my labours. I can’t wait to get cracking and look forward to sending pictures to Tim of a flourishing and productive plot – he’s done his bit and it’s up to me now! “
For further information about Potager Gardens, see Marylyn Abbot’s book “Gardens of Plenty – The Art of the Potager Garden”. You can buy it at www.Amazon.co.uk
