De Coutances

Garden Designers, Landscapers and Landscaping Contractors.

2, Silver Street, Malmesbury, Wiltshire,

SN16 9BU.

 

Telephone(++44)

01666 822823

or Local Call

08456 44 70 35

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Are You trying to lead a healthier Lifestyle? 

Find out more about the chemicals in your food here...

 

Will Your Garden Survive the Drought and

Still look good This Year & Next?

The long mild but wetter winter may be followed by a drier than average spring and early summer this year. This will cause many gardeners to rethink their strategy for keeping their gardens looking really good.

There are a number of ways in which you can start to achieve a more drought resistant garden. Many of the ways are quite simple and easy to apply, but will require a certain amount of pre-planning and regular maintenance.

Does your pride and joy of a lawn look browned off? Have you made sure that you are not cutting your lawn too short? Leave the growth about 38 to 50mm long so that the blades of grass can attract night-tine dew to moisten the roots. You could consider incorporating a grass type that is more resistant to low watering conditions when re-seeding.

Do you have rainwater butts collecting all rainfall from your garden shed, greenhouse or house rainwater pipes ready for use in the garden? It really pays off and your plants prefer the softer rainwater to our hard chlorinated tap water. You can also use the rainwater for washing the car using a bucket and a watering can to rinse off. This uses much less than a hose-pipe will and saves your meter bill as well!

 

Use the washing up water rather than throwing it down the drain to water your plants in borders. The washing up liquid is not harmful to the plants. If it's too greasy then you may prefer to add it to your composter to help keep the heap moist.

Make sure that you cover your compost heap over the top with old carpet, black polythene or other old material to help conserve the moisture in the heap and to help the bacteria work properly and quickly.

Add a small amount of the rich liquid produced by a wormery to the watering can water to encourage really good strong green growth in all your greenhouse, border and container plants.

If you are not a regular composter of all vegetable waste then get into the habit now. Well rotted home produced compost is not smelly and when spread and worked into your soil will help it to retain moisture through the dry spells.

Use well rotted compost, peat-free compost, shredded bark, weedscreen membrane with a gravel, slate or stone chipping cover over the soil to help it retain moisture rather than losing it by evaporation.

Buy and use plants that are happier in the drier conditions that we are tending to experience each year. A list of special plants that are suitable for this purpose can be included into our specific design schemes.

Bob Flowerdew is a great example of a green gardener who wastes very little. You might find his book a useful read.

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These are some of the many techniques that we can utilise to help you get the best from your garden. Find out more about how Great Garden Design and Interesting Creation Services can improve your gardening experience by talking to: -

Richard Price-Walker at De Coutances Landscaping.

 

 

Stunning Garden Lighting Pulses and Changes to Music

Rhythmic lighting effects to your favorite music in your garden.

This years "Must Have" visual impressions.

Here is a link to

Lightscape Musicale

There's more on our lighting page.