• Put all garden furniture in a shed or the the garage to prevent it being blown around the garden and breaking or worse still being blown through a window or patio doors.
• If you have a large sun brolly as part of a garden set and it is unable to be moved, ensure it is wrapped up and tied together and if possible put a cover over it and secure at the botom, this will prevent it from being broken and also soring into the sky and into a neighbours greenhouse!!
• Make sure all outside doors are shut and secured, this way they will not be ripped off of their hinges!
• Inspect any fence posts periodcally through the winter and replace any wobbly or rotten posts, its cheaper to replace one post now than four or five posts and the panels as they have been smashed into fire wood.
• Ensure any trees in the garden are safe, have any deadwood removed and the tree crown reduced if required as part of your routune garden maintenace. If there is any damage to a branch or tree during or after a storm ensure it is removed as soon as possible. Contact our tree surgeon to carry out this proceedure as it is a job for the professionals, never attempt to climb a tree to remove damaged branches or even more so use a chainsaw on the ground or up the tree. Fallen timber is put into many different types of stressess and a cut in the wrong place could result in serious injury or even death!!! For any storm damaged of fallen trees call the landscape gardeners, 24 hours on 07876 452744.
• Check garden and boundary walls for cracks, movement or damage. Cracked walls or poor, damaged joints can result in the wall becoming unstable and blown over and if this adjacent to a footpath could lead to serious injury or death. If in doubt please call us for a free consultation on 01243 575713/01202 348078
• Prevent flooding in really heavy downpours by ensuring your patio drains are not full of leaves or debris and your gutters/downpipes are also clear. Remember do not climb or use a ladders in high winds. If you need any assistance please call 07748 282107 and we will gladly come and help.
• In snowy and icy conditions try to have a couple of bags of rocksalt in the garden shed or garage for your pathways, this will be of great assistance to you in the event of ice and freezing conditions. Living Landscapes have rock salt in stock for you to purchase or we can pop round and spread this for you while you stay snuggled up by the fire! We offer this as part of our garden maintenance package.

If you’d like us to help with your garden maintenance, please get in touch

Maybe you are having or have just had an extension built by a builder who has done a fantastic job in building a two storey extension, I know I will ask him to quote and perhaps a couple of landscape gardeners too.

I hear this story time and time again to such a point I will not quote for a job if I am competing alongside a builder, why is that I might hear you ask???

Every time I have submitted my quote in direct competition the builder have always come out cheaper and this is nine times out of ten what the client excepts as they believe it is value for money.

Most builders do not submit a quote they submit an estimate, so what I hear you say again, well a quote is a fixed price and cannot be added to without written authorisation from the client and agreement with the contractor and this will usually be for added work to the original quote. An estimate is what is says an estimate of what the builder (or even landscapers) thinks it is going to cost. So when you compare all quotes and estimate and there is a huge difference you need to ask the question WHY??? I have had differences of a few hundred pounds up to tens of thousands of pounds. I hear the same old phrase which is “oh that was not included in the estimate” and then the cost starts to escalate and before you know it you are probably spending the same if not more than the landscapers quote.

Why else would you think it’s important to hire a landscaper over a builder, the answer is landscapers undergo a lot of training to lay paving, build walls, water features and put up fencing, turfing, planting, garden lighting and all other features involved in creating beautiful gardens. Not many builders are aware that random paving should never run for more than four paving units before the joint is broken or have joints that cause cross road type effects (targets). I have even seen a design I created built by a builder, due to being much cheaper, lay the whole terrace of Indian sandstone, and wait for it, UPSIDE DOWN!!!

We haven’t even started on plant names etc; there are many reasons why you should use a landscaper over a builder. When you are going to create a stunning outside living space make sure it is done professionally, looks fantastic and you never have to do it again.

Ask yourself one more question would you ask a Landscape Gardener to quote to build your extension or loft conversion???

Thanks for taking the time read this article.

Paul Bentley

MSGD MBALI ARB

• Introduction of curves
• Changes in levels
• Water features
• Planting

Firstly when planning any landscape gardening project you need to carry out a thorough detailed survey and take photos to remind yourself of any aspects of the original garden

Then begin the design process starting from the inside (the heart of the garden) and work outwards. Do not design a garden around the boundaries or you will only reflect the boundary lines, keep playing with curves, lines and junctions until you are happy with the flow.

When designing the garden be mindful of the client brief, this is about the most important part as not listening to the client will result in a design they will never be satisfied with and subsequently you are unlikely to be successful in sealing the contract for the build.

Small narrow gardens are great fun to work with as you can achieve so much and introduce many features and aspects to create an interesting garden design.

From the above pictures you can see how the curved path takes your eye away from the straight boundary lines and leads you down the garden, once the blocking structural shrubs, that are located in strategic positions, fully develop will change the aspect once again and give the impression of ‘what’s down the path and around the corner’.

Here we have many features that the client wished for such as

• Raised shrub borders
• Water feature
• No lawn
• Substantial terrace for entertaining
• White, blue and pink planting
• New fencing
• Aggregate pathway (8mm – 10mm Scottish pebbles)
• Textured paving (Indian Sandstone)

This garden was designed by Paul Bentley MBALI MSGD and constructed by Living Landscapes Sthn Ltd of Chichester in September 2011.

Call us today on 01243 575713  for a free quote on your landscape garden design project.