Go with the flow

Pull up dandelions and thistles – because the soil is wet, you have the best chance of getting the taproot out whole. You’ll know that in dry soils it always snaps off then re-grows after a while. It is always best to act now before the flowers set seed. For lawns and gravel gardens use a taproot weeder and because its blade is narrow it doesn’t leave a hole.

Pick lettuce – your garden will have plenty of lettuce that are sweet and tender, because of the cool conditions and moist soil.

Get sowing watercress seed – sow half an inch deep, outside, in a pot of moist compost, or plant a stem with some roots. This edible plant doesn’t mind being drenched in the rain.

Welcome nettles – they are growing fast now, there’s even ‘Be Nice to Nettles’ Week starting on May 16. Check out nettles.org.uk to find out nettles’ benefits, and you can even try a recipe for nettle soup, at nettles.org.uk.

Mint loves moist soil – mint is one of the first herbs to put on new growth.

Support border plants – new top growth will be soft. When the soil is wet it will be much easier to push in wire supports and pea sticks. If some of your plants are flopping you’re your paths then try using permanent edging or a row of link stakes to held them back.

Visit gardens – you have a good chance that in rainy weather they won’t be crowded. See The National Trust website for rainy days ideas by region at nationaltrust.org.uk

Damage control

Guard with cloches – cloches are a great way to keep rain off seedlings or strawberry flowers and fruit. The classic Longrow Super Cloche is easily moved from crop to crop and is strong and lasts for a long time. For defence from late frosts and cold winds, garden fleece is a flexible cover but needs to be properly secured, don’t forget to remove it on warm days.

Feed stragglers Plants – for example tomatoes, may look as if they are running out of nutrients. Others that look pale and gangling are suffering from low light levels, so rotate them to keep stems straight.

Re-sow if needed – outside sowings may have rotted due to cold, wet soils. Re-sow leafy and root crops when it gets a bit warmer. They will still do their stuff this year, but check seed packets as it is possibly too late for some crops such as tomatoes and sweet corn, even if grown indoors.

Salvage drenched pots – outside container plants can die if the compost becomes soaked. Save pots by removing trays from under them, at least for now. Pot feet, from garden centres, can help with drainage.

Turn the compost mound – Use a fork to mix the wet and dry layers and cover open-topped bins.

Stay dry

Put on gloves – stay dry while planting, weeding and pricking out.

Stay indoors – look at some DIY clips on YouTube that offer gardening advice.

Buy some wet weather kit – source waterproof but breathable clothing such as walking or sailing jackets and trousers. A waterproof baseball cap or hat with a rim allows more movement than a hood. Wellies are fine for most garden activities but for carrying heavy items or digging, walking boots offer more shield. For quick dashes out, it’s worth keeping a pair of slip-on plastic clogs by the back door.

Plan in advance

Get mulch material – as soon as the raining stops apply it to the soil. Loose mulch, laid at a depth of 2in, will seal in moisture to maintain plants through the summer. Bark chips are priceless for shrub and mixed borders; well-rotted compost suits the vegetable and fruit plot; whereas gravel sets off herb gardens and rockeries. To save lugging bags around in the rain, order online and have it delivered.

Blaze a trail – wet soils are muddy underfoot but a cover of bark chips will give you way in to borders. Buy “play grade” bark chips to go under the base of play equipment.

Plan a path – make this the last year you squelch your way to the greenhouse or shed by putting in hard landscaped paths or steps, either stepping stones, a gravel path or something more ambitious. Now is the time to get some quotes from landscapers and garden designers.

Make a list – find out which flowers do well after heavy rain. You can take your list when buying bulbs and roses in autumn. For example, tulips vary to a great extent in their tolerance to rain – some shake it off while others have flowers that fill with water, flop and their stems break.

May’s warmer weather supports weed seeds to take root, recurrent weeds continue their quest to  spread all over your garden and into new dirt. There is plenty of moisture for weeds to feed on in May.

Probably the only benefit to a gardener in times of drought is the fact that weeds don’t grow. But dry weather is not the best for the rest of your garden so we have to keep on top of the weeds.

If you get prepared now, when there’s a lot of rain, you will get ahead of the weed to stop them in their tracks. Don’t waste time weeding when you can easily stop them growing without having to resort to all those chemical sprays and solutions that you see on TV.

When  planting a wooden lattice obelisk on an island bed with sweet peas weeds develop and grow in the centre of the obelisk unrestricted. The gaps in the trellis are too small to get your hand through to pull them out. The idea is to cover the soil inside the obelisk with thick mats of newspaper, then covering it with compost.

For this to work you need to cover the soil with an obstruction that blocks out light so that weed seedlings can’t survive. Thicker weed-suppressing membranes are available to cover weedy ground. After being left in place for about six months they can be removed to reveal a weed-free site for planting.

Some professional landscapers use these weed membranes to cover soil before planting, only making small holes for the plants. Appropriate places can often be found in gardens and allotments to use the same technique.

If you can stop weeds from growing and spreading in the first place you’ll have more time for gardening.

Northern Gardens
Vegetables
•    Harvest cool season crops such as asparagus, peas, spinach and spring lettuce.
•    If you’re not picking asparagus, get some planted for next year.
•    Seed cool season vegetables and root crops after mid-month (beets, beans, cabbage, carrots, chard, lettuce, onions, potatoes, radishes, turnips…).
•    Set out transplants of cole crops after hardening off.
•    Keep seeding lettuce and beans.
•    Hold tomatoes and peppers until the end of the month.
Flowers
•    Finish seeding annuals.
•    Resist the temptation to put out heat lovers until the end of the month.
•    Summer bulbs can be planted outdoors.
•    Plant new roses. Prune one-time blooming roses as they faded and feed.
•    Give fall bloomers like asters and mums, a first pinching back.
Trees & Shrubs
•    Plant or transplant trees and shrubs before the heat of summer.
•    Prune forsythia and other spring blooming shrubs, before they set next year’s buds.
•    Prune spring flowering clematis after blooming to control size and shape.

Southern Gardens
Vegetables
•    Direct seed warm season vegetables (melons, beans, okra, squash, southern peas…) for a mid-summer harvest.
•    Keep cool season crops harvested, so they’ll keep producing as long as possible.
•    Get heat loving vegetables established (tomatoes, hot peppers, sweet potatoes…).
Flowers
•    Replace cool season annuals with heat lovers (marigold, cosmos, sunflower, tithonia, Nicotiana, verbena, zinnia…).
•    Feed blooming roses.
•    Mark bulb plantings that will need separation.
Trees & Shrubs
•    Finish planting new citrus trees and berry bushes for a late harvest.
•    Prune flowering trees and shrubs as they finish blooming.
•    Clean up any wilting or torn fronds on palm trees.
Pests
•    Keep a look out for fungal problems during the rainy season

Bees aren’t just hard working small insects that keep buzzing around our gardens and parks; they also carry out a very important role in the creation of our staple foods. As they gather nectar and transfer pollen from flower to flower, they pollinate garden vegetation and wildflowers, such as bluebells and foxgloves, as well as vital crops like cereals, nuts, fruit and vegetables.

Bees pollinate over 70 of the 100 crop varieties that make up 90% of the world’s food. So we should be concerned that the number of honey bees and bumblebees has fallen drastically over the past few decades.

How could you help save the bees?

Bees have lost a lot of of their bloom rich field habitats, but the UK has more than a million hectares of garden space, so each of us can do our bit to boost the bee population. Bees love a broad range of local and more exotic flowers, so no matter what your garden style is, you can encourage them in with flora you love.

Lavender, sage, aquilegias and lupins are all bee friendly and are hardy and easy to grow. Bees also like fashionable alliums, gladioli and open-flowered single dahlias, such as ‘Bishop of Llandaff’. Bees are not eager to pollinate over-bred varieties with ruffled or double flowers because they can’t get into them, or blooms that produce no pollen, such as most annual bedding plants.

Each bee species have a preference of different flowers, and they hunt for nectar all year round.  The Bumblebee Conservation Trust UK suggests you offer them a wide range of plants and flowers  throughout the  year. If you have limited garden space why not try planting a bee-friendly blooms in pots and window  boxes. Keep your eyes open for specifically labelled bee-friendly plants in gardening centres.

Bee-friendly plants

Spring

Provide for the bees and add colour to your garden with flowering quinces (Chaenomeles), hardy wallflowers (Erysimum) and flowering cherries.

Summer

Bees love lavender and it’s easy to grow. Also try hardy geraniums, hebes, scabious and single-flowered fuchsias at this time of year.

Autumn

Japanese anemones, hardy plumbago and sedums, such as ‘Purple Emperor’ will brighten up the garden and give bees a treat.

Winter

Maintain the bee feast with hellebores, plus the deliciously scented Mahonia an dSarcococca shrubs.

London based Muddy Wellies has been Highly Commended for their landscaping work, at the annual Association of Professional Landscapers awards ceremony. This year’s sell-out event took place at the stunning Kensington Roof Gardens in London on Wednesday 14^th March 2012.

The company based in Wimbledon received the Highly Commended award for their Dawlish Avenue garden which was in the Project Value for under £10,000 category.

The judges commented: “The garden showed a good use of limited space and worked well looking down from above. It is a neat little garden and is a good showcase of what you can do with small budget.”

Muddy Wellies were also Commended for their Jubilee Primary School and Children’s Centre project.  The judges said: “The workmanship is good. It is well put together. Landscaping skills have been well demonstrated.”

Commenting on their success, Tracy Whelan of Muddy Wellies said, “We have been designing and creating gardens in SW London for over 21 years and we are really pleased to have our wide range of work recognised by the APL and receive these two awards at our first attempt.”

Chair of the judging panel and APL, Mark Gregory said, “There were some exceptional entries this year and there were several that were outstanding. Many congratulations to Muddy Wellies for being Highly Commended.”

The awards, sponsored by Bradstone, which celebrate their 16^th anniversary this year, recognise and promote the very best in landscaping undertaken by APL members in categories that range from smaller projects to garden maintenance to contracts of over £100,000. The awards are a celebration of the high standards that have been achieved by members demonstrating the APL’s commitment to quality landscaping.

This year’s judging panel consisted of Mark Gregory (Landform Consultants), James Steele-Sargent (Arun Landscapes), Adam Frost (Adam Frost Designs), Jo Thompson (Jo Thompson Designs) and Jason Lock (DeakinLock Garden Design).

For details of the awards, please visit  www.landscaper.org.uk

View our Award Certificates:

Contractor Certificate – 01 – Under £10k – Muddy Wellies

Contractor Certificate – 10 – Commercial Garden – Muddy Wellies

Staff Certificate – 01 – Under £10k – Muddy Wellies

Staff Certificate – 10 – Commercial Garden – Muddy Wellies

The Association of Professional Landscapers represents landscapers who meet a required standard of professionalism. Members of the Association are registered with the government endorsed TrustMark Scheme. They are regularly inspected and agree to follow a customer charter with clients. The APL is part of the Horticultural Trades Association which is the trade Association for the UK gardening industry. It is dedicated to helping develop the industry and its member businesses, including most garden centres and other garden retailers, growers, landscapers, manufacturers and service providers. www.landscaper.org.uk

• Anglian Water
• Southern Water
• South East Water
• Thames Water
• Sutton and East Surrey
• Veolia Central and Veolia South East

When there is a hosepipe ban in your area you are prohibited to water your garden or wash your car using a hosepipe or a sprinkler. To water your garden you must use only buckets and or watering cans.

The full list of do’s and don’ts when there is a hosepipe ban visit Hosepipe Ban website by clicking here. Don’t forget that there’s £1,000 fine so be careful.

We have a few tips and tricks on how to save water and keeping your garden healthy and green during summer.

How to save water

The easiest and most common way of saving a water is installing a water butt by attaching the unit to your house’s downpipes or any other building you might have which has a guttering system (shed, summer house, garden office, greenhouse).

These are available in all DIY stores and range in sizes so depending on how big your garden is you can choose what size to install. We found ones as low as £18 for 100l water butt, check the internet and choose most suitable one. The great thing is that with a connecting kit you can even link them together to save even more water, how green is that?

How to re-use water from your household

Another great way of saving water is to re-use water from your household for example after washing your dishes. For re-using water from your shower, bath or washing machine you would need to install a diversion kit for channelling the water outdoors or get a professional company to install a special collection and storage system.

To prevent this re-used water being harmful to your plants and greens you should use environmentally friendly detergents instead of the traditional ones and to further decrease the chances of contamination dilute the water with your collected rain water or water from your main supply. Re-used water should not be used on edible plants such as vegetables etc.

How to water your garden effectively

Soak the area below the plant’s canopy to promote the growth of longer roots, which will search for moisture deeper underground – sprinkling the surface lightly results in roots developing near the surface, making plants more prone to drought.

It is best to water your garden when the weather is cooler – evening or early morning. Water will not evaporate quickly in the heat and will give plants plenty of time to soak up as much moisture as they need.

How to keep your lawns moist

Having longer grass means it deals better with drought so during hosepipe ban raise your lawnmower blades to a higher setting and don’t mow as often.

Some plants love dry weather

There are a number of plants that are naturally tolerant to drought, such as agapanthus, fennel, sage, lavender, oriental poppy and bearded iris. They will look great in your garden and you will not have to worry about them being affected by the hosepipe ban.

If you are an enthusiastic gardener or even if you are not…yet, spring is the best time for gardeners. The days are getting longer and the sun is getting stronger.

It is better to not go sowing and planting as yet especially if your garden soil is wet and cold and frosty, but don’t be disappointed as there are plenty of gardening jobs to do in March. As with your house, March is a great time to do some spring cleaning in the garden.

• Prune roses – this will be the final cut to your roses
• Cut your lawn, first few times the mower should be set on a high cut
• Trim new edges, tidy and make new borders and then dig compost into them which will improve water retention
• Get ahead and get rid of the weeds now, when the beds are empty
• You can plant shallots, onions and garlic
• In the greenhouse plant strawberry in hanging baskets
• Protect flowers in pots and containers from slugs and snails by adding copper rings to them

Spring is also a good time to give your petrol mower an ‘MOT’ and clean and repair your garden tools and check your garden furniture for any rot after the winter. Don’t forget your wooden sheds and fences and treat them with wood preservatives. You can paint them with brushes, rollers or even buying a sprayer.

What to check on your petrol lawn mower?

• Check whether the spark plug is dirty
• Once a month check the oil level
• Once a month check the air filter
• Regularly check that the wheels are not loose and move freely
• Wipe the underside with a damp cloth, this prevents grass building-up and helps to stop it rusting
• Brush or wash off any grass and leaves and leave it to dry

Garden maintenance doesn’t have to be a chore for some gardeners but of course there is always Muddy Wellies Ltd. to help you out.

The nitty gritty gardening jobs to complete:

• Finish the digging over of your beds, adding in very well rotted organic matter if you did not do it in the autumn and prepare your soil for sowing

• Finish off any construction work, such as cold frames or putting up temporary greenhouses

• Clean out pots and sort out seeds ready for planting

• Peg gardening fleece on the ground if you have some to heat up areas for sowing

The exciting sowing and planting begins…

In the vegetable garden:

• Plant out onion and garlic sets

• Establish asparagus crowns now

• Put out your chitted potatoes Mid-March

• Any bare-rooted fruit trees or bushes can still go in the ground

SOW

Outside

Beetroot (early varieties), Brussel sprouts, cabbages, carrots, leeks, peas, parsnips, salad leaves and spinach can all be sown outside this month

Outside under cover

Broccoli, globe artichokes, radishes, mangetout, turnips can be sown outside under cloches

Indoors in the warm

Aubergines, beans (broad, dwarf, French), cauliflowers, celeriac, celery, chillies, peas, peppers and tomatoes need to be sown on a sunny windowsill

It is time to harvest all parsnips and leeks, before they begin to re-grow.  Stock pile in the freezer for later in the year if there are more than you can eat right now and enjoy a delicious cool vichyssoise in the summer when your early potatoes are ready.

The rest of the garden

There is still time to pick up seeds and fruit trees from your local garden centre.  Around the Wimbledon area there are quite a few to choose from and they will be able to advise you on how to best care for your new plants.

If you are planning to have annual flowers in your garden, this month is the time to sow them.  You may like to try night-scented stock which gives off the most beautiful scent from dusk, perfect for wandering around your garden with a glass of wine on a long summer evening; a great way to relax after a day working in London.

Bare-rooted shrubs can still go into the ground this month.

Pruning needs to be done as soon as possible while the trees are dormant.

March is the time to plant out perennials and gladioli corns, train climbers and prune the roses.  It is also time to divide any herbaceous plants.

If you would like any more gardening advice or a hand with all the work, give your local Wimbledon gardening experts a ring and we shall be able to come and have a look at the work you would like to have done in your garden to get it ready for the summer.

However, if you’d rather be indoors perusing the seed catalogues with a hot cup of tea; your local Wimbledon garden design company can help with all your garden tasks.

Top Gardening Tips

Here are our top tips for those brave enough to face the February gardening weather, pull on your muddy wellies and your woolly hat and…

1. Clear snow off plants if necessary to try to reduce frost damage.
2. Prepare beds for vegetable planting.  This could mean a quick rake over or the construction of raised beds if the ground is not frozen solid.
3. Prune; the end of February is the time to give that old evergreen shrub a serious haircut.  Cut back hard on one side, allowing the other side to cope with the lack of leaves.  It may look a bit sad for a couple of years, but it will be well worth the effort.
4. Prune some more; wisteria, climbers, hydrangea, buddleia and vines will all need a good cut back before the spring growth.
5. Clean off those muddy wellies, glass houses, cloches, cold frames and pots ready for spring sowing using a bucket of warm soapy water and some elbow grease.
6. Clear out fallen leaves from your pond; unless it’s frozen over. This helps to avoid the build up of toxins released by the decaying debris.
7. Check on any stored harvest and keep an eye out for any signs of rot or rodent damage.
8. Chit your own potatoes ororder onion and potato sets from your favourite supplier.
9. Sow seeds indoors such as cauliflower, aubergine, chillies, peppers and tomatoes later in the month.
10. Feed: The wildlife around Wimbledon and London is getting a bit hungry at this time of year.   Providing a good bought or home-made supplementary feed will support the local birds and encourage them in to your garden.

This is a great time of year to give your garden a make-over ready for the exciting planting season ahead. One final tip:  a quick consultation with a Wimbledon gardening expert might bring give you the inspiration you need for a green thumbed 2012.

Security matters… don’t let you garden give you away

First things first, home security is a must if you’re planning to go away.  Whilst most people remember to lock up their home you’d be surprised how many go away without locking garden sheds or garages.  Considering that most are full of garden tools that could make a would-be thief’s job a lot easier, securing all of your outhouses should be a top priority.

In London garden design can often mean that it’s easy to climb over walls and fencing and into back gardens.  You can’t turn your property into Fort Knox but you can make sure that you don’t leave anything lying about on paving and patios that could make breaking and entering quicker.

Keeping hard frosts at bay

It’s best to make sure that your garden plants are properly protected against the cold winter frosts before you leave.  Consider moving really delicate plants and herbs into a greenhouse or even indoors (if you’re able to ask a neighbour to water them) and protect others with cloches, tunnels or protective wadding.

Plants in containers can often feel the cold so think about wrapping up the pots on your patio for winter.  Almost anything will do, even an old duvet.  Although it won’t do much for your garden’s visual appeal it will make sure you don’t greet spring with a garden full of dead plants and, after all, in London garden design really takes off in the warmer months anyway..

Keeping patio plants moist

If you regularly go away and leave you garden it’s worth considering whether pots and containers can be moved onto beds and buried rim deep into the soil…  this will help them absorb moisture from the soil and reduce the need to water.  If it’s too late for that, put smaller pots inside bigger ones and fill the gap with moist compost but to be honest, at this time of year even the thirstiest of plants should be self-sufficient.

Give any vegetables a drink

Most of the vegetables that grow well over winter will survive with a minimum of care but if you’ve been growing salad or tender veg under tunnels and cloches it’s best to give them a good drink of water before you leave.

And finally, before you leave, spare a thought for the birds and hang up a feeder attached to the side of your garden shed or fencing… after all, it is Christmas!