New Year Gardening Jobs

Now that it's 2013 and we've all hopefully had great New Year's celebrations and wonderful Christmas too, it is time to get back into the swing of things and prepare the garden for the coming Spring.

Clean Up Your Greenhouse 

 

This is definitely the best time to clean your greenhouse out ready for when you begin growing in there. The same goes for cold frames or mini growhouses too. The easiest way is to wipe the glass down with some warm soapy water and then squeegee it off and it should be clear.

Doing this will mean that you will be prepared and the job will be done ready for you concentrate on sorting out your plants to be grown.

The Compost Bin

 

If you don't have a compost bin, then you should set one up now, there are many available from simple wooden slot together composters to the more durable plastic composters, you could even build your own if you wanted to. It's a great place to put all the waste from the garden which will be created throughout the year like for example weeds and grass cuttings.

Feed The Birds!

 

If you are a bird lover, then you will want to put out some bird feed for them, as food is scarce at this time of the year, so put out some fat balls for the birds to graze on during this hard time for them to get some much needed nutrients.

Plan For The Year Ahead

 

If you start planning now, you will make it easier on yourself for the rest of the year as you will know what to do and when, there's no better time than new year to do this as it's like a fresh start for you. Planning will also mean you are more likely to carry things out as you will have a routine and will be more likely to stick at it, it's also a good reminder if you do forget soemthing.

January Pond Maintenance

A common question that we're asked here at UK Gardener's Blog is what do I do with my pond during the winter, especially New Year time, so we thought it would be time to give you an idea of what to do.

The first thing you will want to do is make sure you have some sort of pond heater available if you have aquatic life in the pond. These will not heat the entire pond, so don't worry about them being costly, they will just keep a small area free from ice depending on their size and this allows for oxygen to enter the water and harmful gases to escape too.

There are many pond heaters available on the market, and we aren't going to advise a specific one, but we do advise to look out for the ones with a thermostat built in. The reason that we say this is because these heaters will switch off when they know that the water isn't frozen, so you don't need to worry about switching it on and off, especially in the UK where we seem to have ice one day and the next it could be raining.

Sludge Removal With a Pond Vacuum

The next job that can be carried out during January is to vacuum your pond, this may sound strange if you are new to ponds but bear with us, a pond vacuum works by removing silt and sludge from your pond. The most common way a pond vacuum works is by sucking through an inlet hose into it's main chamber and then running through an outlet hose which will normally have a finely netted bag to catch the debris but let you pond water run back out.

The great thing about this is that you can vacuum your pond without having to remove the water permanently as it will be going back into the pond. The reason you vacuum your pond is to remove the silt and sludge which will build up and release toxins into the water leading to water pollution and this can cause harm to your aquatic life and plants too.

Pond Pump Maintenance

The final job of this month is to get your pond pump out and give it a good service, there are plenty of how to videos out there which will show you how to do this but you will want to do the following:

• Disconnect from the power source. This is vital, you do not want to be shocked.
• Remove your pump from the pond.
• Open the strainer cage, this is the cage with small holes to prevent large debris from damaging the pump.
• Once opened, give the cage a rinse through to remove any stuck on debris or blanketweed.
• Remove the impeller, this will usually depend on your make of pond pump, but there is normally a cap, also known as pump housing which holds the impeller in place and this will usually twist off.
• Take out the impeller and wipe it down to remove all algae and clean inside the pump where the impeller sits too.
• Now put the pump back together and place back into the pond and reconnect.

It's as simple as that, we advise that this kind of maintenance is carried out on your pond pump every couple of months just to ensure that it's running efficiently and will last for a lot longer too.

These are the jobs that we advise are carried out during January, of course if you'd like to there are other jobs that you can do, but these are the ones which are going to keep your pond running nicely into February and hopefully will stay that way all year round too.

Pond Winter Care

It’s very important as a pond owner to be prepared for winter, especially when the freezing weather arrives as it can cause big problems if certain things are not prevented.

We always advise that you prepare in advance, that way you are preventing problems as opposed to treating problems, as catching it early can be a lot more beneficial.

First things first, remove any dead plants, during this time of year aquatic plants start to die off, and it’s extremely important that any rotting leaves or plants are removed, if not dealt with they can release harmful gases into your pond which is bad for plants, fish and other aquatic life.

If something has died off, then remove it. We also advise cutting back any plants which have thrived during the spring and summer as this will begin to die off as the sunlight is rarer and the cold sets it. Doing this will mean less work when it happens as you have already removed the bulk of it.

Use a pond vacuum or net to remove any leaves from surrounding trees and plants because if these are left in the pond then over the winter period they will rot down too, turning into silt and sludge, holding pollutants and releasing their own into the water, causing bad water quality.

To stop leaves and other debris getting into the pond in the first place, we’d advise using a pond cover net over your pond, this will catch everything before it gets into the water, making for easy removal.

Track The Temperature

Always keep a check on the temperature of your pond too, as fish should not be fed at very low temperatures. This is because their digestive system shuts down when it’s cold, so even if they do eat (which they normally won’t) the food will sit in their stomach and rot down, causing internal bacterial problems.

If food is uneaten and not removed, which is more likely the case then this can pollute the pond, leading the fish disease, so either way we advise to not feed once the temperature has gone below 5 degrees.

You can either remove your pump and filter from the pond, or raise the pump up from the bottom of the pond, this stops your from taking warmer water at the bottom and circulating it around, the fish prefer the bottom due to this slightly higher temperature.

Your Pond and Ice

Ice is something which can plague a pond during the winter, especially the last few we have experienced. Ice will trap gases in your pond, it will also prevent oxygen from getting into your pond water. If snow also falls onto this ice then your pond will also have been blocked from light entering, which means the plants you have left will die off.

Our best advice is to use a pond heater, they come in many sizes, from 150 watt to 300 watts and more, they higher the wattage the more efficient they will be at their job. They will keep a small area free from ice, this means they gases will be able to escape and your fish will have oxygen in their water to breathe!

Create a Bird Friendly Garden

The siting of bird features is very important, is you site features poorly it makes the birds you want to attract vunerable to predators.

The winter months are vitally important and food and water are in short supply due to freezing conditions. Once you start feeding, you will need to continue regularly as the birds will start to rely on you during this time and if the supply is cut off they could end up dying, so to start then stop is worse than doing nothing in the first place.

Bird Tables

Bird tables are common and basic bird feature, you should place it close enough to your house to be seen, but 6 feet from any brand or wall. Make sure that the table is 5 feet high or more. Always try to get one with a roof, this keeps food aswell as the birds out of the rain and stops falling leaves too.

            If you want to stop squirrels and cats from climbing the bird table then use a plastic drainpipe over the top of the wood, this should prevent them from being able to grip stopping them getting up. 

Nest Box

Suitable for all hole-nesting species of birds such as tits, nuthatches and sparrows. Mount it around 6 feet from the ground and camouflage too. Do not situate too close to the house or south facing. The hole should be around 1 inch in diameter and 5 inches from the base. Make it about 4 inches square or more.

Bird Baths

Birds require water to drink and to bath in, this is especially true during hot dry summers or very cold winters. Don’t fill the bird bath too deeply and change it regularly. If using a ground level bird bath always use a wading stone so birds are able to walk in and out.

Give Birds a Variety of Foods

Birds enjoy to eat a variety of foods not just seeds, this includes:

• fats
• peanuts
• cheese
• bacon
• cereals
• fruit
• suet
• wild bird food
• and wholemeal bread too

Spread it out so a number of birds can graze at the same time and avoid foods such as uncooked meat, salted peanuts, white bread and spicy foods!

Feeding Birds at Ground Level

Robins and Thrushes like to feed at ground level, so spread food out in a shallow tray or on your lawn so plenty of them can feed at the same time, but remember to take it away before nightfall to prevent vermin.

Hozelock Bioforce Revolution Update

Hello everyone, we just thought we would let you all know that we have discovered more information regarding the Hozelock Bioforce Revolution.

At present we have only found one company which has listed the Bioforce Revolution on their website, and they have a wide variety of information available for us to read on the product too.

They have 3 models of the revolution which are going to be available, these sizes are a 6000, 9000 and 14000. These numbers are also relevant to the volume of water that the pond filters can handle, interestingly though is that the numbers stated are what the filter can do WITH fish, which is a first. Normally you find that a pond filter will be called for example a 3000 but when you take fish and sunlight into account it can only handle half of that number, and this has how it has been for years which has always confused people, especially beginners. 

Don't worry, you are not alone, there have been plenty of people who have worked out they have 5000 litres in their pond and bought a pond filter which says it can do 5000 litres, and found out afterwards that this is without fish.

We were lucky enough to speak with someone from Hozelock who told us that they have been testing the Bioforce Revolution for a while now, and they have decided that making things more simple for the consumer was the best option all round. They have also tested these filters on ponds without fish and they can handle up to double what their figure says so for example the 14000 could handle a 28000 litre pond maximum without fish.

The filtration will be a mix of mechanical and biological, by using foam cubes with the mechanical filtration which will be stirred up when using the winding handle and Kaldnes K3 media which will house millions of colonies of live bacteria which will be your biological filtration, breaking down waste in the water.

They have also started using a PLL UV Lamp in the Revolution's too, these lamps are a lot better and stronger than PLS or G8 UV lamps, so green water will be a thing of the past for your pond. The 6000 will use an 18 watt lamp, 9000 will use a 24 watt lamp and the 14000 will use a 36 watt lamp.

To coincide with the release of the Bioforce Revolutions pond filters, Hozelock are also releasing some new filters which includes the Bioforce 3000 (which can do 3000 WITH fish), which replaces the Bioforce 5500 (which can only do half that volume as per our info above)  and the Bioforce 4500 which again can do this volume with fish in the pond. These smaller Bioforce's will not have the winding handle and will use a PLS lamp as they are designed for smaller ponds.

They will also be releasing these filters as Bioforce Filter Kits which will come with a pump which is optimal to the size of the filter and better value to purchase too.

It looks like the future is bright for Bioforce pond filters with this revolutionary (excuse the pun) new design. Hopefully other manufacturers will follow Hozelock and start to brand their filters with the size it they can handle with fish. One of Hozelock's main reason for doing this is because of extensive market research, in the UK you rarely find a pond without fish, so it makes sense to brand the products with the volume of water which it can handle with fish. 

Duckweed in a Pond

Duckweed has featured at the Chelsea Flower Show in the past, but this doesn't mean it's desirable to everyone, nor does it mean it's easy to look after. 

When duckweed starts to thrive it will literally cover the entire surface of your pond if left untamed. Eventually your pond could look like the image, which almost looks like a surface you could walk on. (Once when walking the dog, she thought it was a solid surface, and did she get a suprise!)

Some fish will eat duckweed, but not at a fast enough rate to hold it back.

Duckweed is not necessarily dangerous to your pond, it will make your fish and wildlife difficult to observe. Dead and brown duckweed though, should be removed from the pond as soon as possible, as it can sink to the bottom of the pond and pollute  the water.

The ideal solution to get rid of duckweed is to use a pond skimmer, a pond skimmer works by "skimming" the surface of your pond and removing any excess waste, this includes duckweed.

There are difficult types of skimmer available, you can buy stand-alone skimmers, which have their own pump built in and will float around the pond. You can also buy a skimmer which will fit onto your pump, sending the debris to your filter, but please note, your pump must have a sucking option for this to work.

To begin with, we'd advise to remove as much of the duckweed as possible yourself by hand, then to add the skimmer, this will prevent the skimmer from clogging up too fast and means it will work more efficiently, hopefully preventing it from growing back.

Frost In Your Garden

Frost can cause many problems in your garden, and a lot of people are usually caught out by early or late frosts.

The best way to tell if a frost is possible is to check outside at night, if it’s cold and there are no clouds, it’s very likely, especially during the late Autumn and Winter months, even into early Spring.

The moisture that your plants hold will freeze when temperatures go into minus figures, this will normally affect just plants outside, but if the temperature gets very low then even plants in your greenhouse could be affected.

Always avoid placing plants which are tender to frost where they will catch the morning sun, if their moisture freezes and the sun then hits them, it can rupture the plant cell’s walls.

Try not to feed your plants until the warmer months either, as they will start to grow green and soft which is more vunerable to frost. 

You are best to protect crops with a layer of fleece, like the fleece tunnel in the image and place a thin layer of fleece over greenhouse plants too.

Bubble insulation is a good investment at this time of year, it will help to keep the air in your greenhouse warmer for longer, so if you use a heater, it will also be more cost effective.

If you’ve been too late and frost damage has already happened, then don’t panic. You can still help your plants. 

First of all make sure to cut off and brown stems or foliage, next set up some protection by wrapping with fleece if the icey weather has been forecast to last a long time.

Stopping Blanket Weed

There's no doubt that blanket weed sometimes know as string algae is unsightly, and can not only spoil the look of your pond, it can also cause many other problems too.Blanket weed is easily recognisable as a hair like structure which will grow from the sides of your pond and other surfaces in the pond itself, it thrives off sunlight, oxygen and fresh water, which is why you should never refill your pond like some people do, it sounds like the logical thing to do, but it's like feeding the fire.

If you want to stop blanket weed, then there are various forms of removing it from your pond, I will list these below, with a short description of how they work:

Powder Chemicals - You would normally sprinkle these into the water around the edges of your pond, these are designed to kill the blanket weed at it's root, which is the sides of the pond normally. 
Pros: works fast and effectively, ideal if you're rushing to get rid of it for a weekend BBQ or something. 
Cons: The dead blanket weed will sink to the bottom of your pond, and if not removed effectively will pollute the pond.

Example of a Natural Enzyme

Liquid Chemicals - These are a very simple to use solution, which you would dose the correct amount in relation to your pond size, pour it into the pond and let it do the work. 
Pros: rapidly works and effective too, again ideal if you're in a rush.  
Cons: This again kills the blanket weed and it will sink to the bottom of the pond causing pollution if not removed.

Natural Enzymes - These treatments work slowly to remove the blanket weed, normally taking around 2 weeks or so to work. They will remain in your pond breaking down the blanket weed in the future.

Pros: Will not take oxygen out of the pond and hard to overdose the pond. 
Cons: Can take longer to work.

Barley Straw - Barley straw bales can be purchased and put in your pond, they will need to be somewhere with moving water. 
Pros: Completely natural, and works long term (usually up to 6 months). 
Cons: Not ideal in ponds with no moving water, not guaranteed to work.

So which one should I use?  

An example of a powder chemical

Choosing depends on your situation really, if you've got guests coming over on the weekend and you need something to kill the blanketweed ASAP, then a chemical (powdered normally work faster) is probably your best solution as they are faster working. Just make sure to use some type of sludge buster to  consume the dead remains afterwards.

On the other hand if you don't mind how long it takes and you don't want to use chemicals, then maybe barley straw is your best option, just bear in mind that it will need to be placed under or near moving water to be effective so if that's not an option go for the natural enzymes which will break down and consume the blanket weed naturally and continue to over the next few months.

Just be careful when purchasing the powder chemicals, some of the older types which are no longer available usually would kill all plant life in your pond including lilies. These are still on sale in some shops which have got old stock, but normally a fully trained member of staff will let you know. This type is best used in ponds with no plants!

Drought In Your Garden

We all enjoy a lovely long and hot summer, but plants definitely do not enjoy it, especially if it's uninterrupted sunshine and dry for days. This is because plants need an adequate amount of moisture to grow, and in drought conditions they cannot, their roots shrivel up and leaves go brown and crisp. With crops like tomatoes you need to keep them permanently watered to prevent the fruit from splitting, well watered vegetables will also not taste bitter. Composts can be difficult to re-wet too, so it's important to stop them becoming dry and hard.

So what can you do to prevent drought?

Conserve your water! Use water butts in your garden, collecting rain from your guttering and fit an overflow into your drains so you can collect as much as possible and if it does rain a lot then at least the excess will drain away as normal.

In drought conditions always give new/young plants priority. Water them first and the rest afterwards sparingly, it may not rain for another couple of days or even weeks.

Always concentrate water at the plants roots, not their leaves, their roots are where the water is taken in by the plant. Water about once to twice a week heavily as opposed to little and often as the moisture may never reach the plant and just get soaked up by the soil or evaporate away. It also promotes plants to root deeply rather than shallow rooting.

Don't worry about your grass, it will go brown, but lawns are much more robust and come back quickly and strongly once drought conditions are over. Water the plants not the lawn.

If you're too late and problems have already started, then there are some things you can do to help still! If plants in pots have started to look droopy, then move them out of the sun and water them slowly, they will pick back up after a while.

Soak smaller plants in their pots into water and leave them to soak for a while, once out of the water, keep them in the shade for a while at least.

If your plants are drooping, don't be afraid to water them even when the sun is shining, we're told in tradition to avoid doing this, but when they are drooping it's a matter of life or death for your plant and you need to do something rapidly. You have to be careful though, don't splash onto the leaves or anywhere around the plant, just concentrate fully on the roots.
 

Building A Rockery or Rock Garden

A rock garden can add an area of beautiful interest to your garden, transforming a plain garden into something stunning in no time. You usually want a space that is at least 8-10 feet by 4-6 feet for it to be worthwhile.

There are some basic rules with rockery stones though, first of all don’t steal stones from the countryside, it’s illegal. Second, don’t use broken concrete or other substituted stone as these will not be suitable. Try to use the same type of stone for the whole rockery. For a 10 x 5 foot rockery you’ll need around 1-2 tons of stone, dependant on how dense you want the stone quantity to be.

Types Of Stone

Limestone – This stone readily weathers, so the sharp edges are lost rapidly. 

Lime hating plants may suffer if you use limestone though. We would advise against using this type of stone around any ponds too, as this will turn your water alkaline.

The colour is usually grey, but this is not always the case (Cotswold stone is a good example of a non-grey limestone).

Sandstone – There are plenty of attractive colours available for example York Stone, although this does split easy and is very hard. 

Gloucester Red is a very nice looking brick coloured stone.

Granite – A very hard and fine-grained. 

Granite is a non-porous stone and weathers very slowly, we’d advise against using this for a rockery. 

You will find granite is normally very expensive too.

Slate – This rock comes in shades of grey, green or purple and is sharply cornered at first but will weather over time in your garden. 

Slate is a good choice for rockery if you can get nice pieces.

First things first, plan carefully. This is essential before you begin your rockery, remember that you want it to look as natural as you possibly can. You want to pick an area which is free from shade for most of the day for it to thrive. We also advise drawing a rough sketch too.

Next is to prepare the site. Pick a day when the soil is dry so it is easier to work with. Make sure to remove all traces of weeds or these will come back to haunt you and destroy your rock garden. Use a good weed killer if necessary before you begin, glyphosate is a brilliant product for killing weeds.

Drainage is definitely recommended, Dig down around 1 foot and fill with a layer of broken bricks and stones, rubble essentially, then add 2 inches of sand and then top soil.

Move the stones into place. Please be careful at this point, we all know someone with a bad back and we don’t want to be one of them do we? Remember, bend your knees and keep your back straight, and don’t try to lift something you aren’t strong enough to lift.

Set the stones into position. Place the stones in your desired spots, with around one third to a half below the ground, make sure fracture lines run vertically, not horizontally for a more natural look. Stand back after setting the stones to view them and see if you like the appearance.

Planting time, use larger plants sparingly, and try to plant smaller varieties in groups together. Try covering some, but not all of rock faces with carpeting plants also. You can sprinkle gravel around in between your rockery stone. 

Hozelock Bioforce Revolution

For those of you looking to build a pond, or just upgrade your filter, there's some great news! Hozelock, who are one of the leading pond equipment specialists, as we know because some of us do use their products are in the process of releasing a new filter! 

It's going to be called the Bioforce Revolution, and it looks like it's definitely going to be a revolution in pond filtration too! There isn't much published on the filter as of yet, but we were lucky enough to find a little bit of information on the Hozelock Bioforce Revolution. 

It's designed to be easy cleaning, which is something we all agree is a definite plus! They have gone of the design of their original Bioforce pond filter, which has been one of the top pressurised pond filters for many years. 

Rather than just an inlet and an outlet, you now have a second outlet, which is the waste outlet, and when you are cleaning your Bioforce Revolution you would switch the flow to the waste and this will take the waste away to wherever you want to send it. (We always say feed the waste from your pond filter into your plants to give them some extra fertilization.) 

The new Bioforce will focus on taking full advantage of Kaldnes K3 filter media, which has a large surface area due to it's design, this houses millions and millions of colonies of beneficial bacteria, which breaks down the waste in your water, keeping your pond healthy and clean by make use of both biological and mechanical filtration.

It will also house filter foam which will be chopped up, this means the K3 media and foam will be mixed together for a better effect. The cleaning handle will stir up this media, which will remove all the excess waste, this then means that your filter does not become clogged and will work more efficiently, and it also means no more taking the filter apart, and having to clean it by hand with a bucket of pond water! 

It will also hopefully mean that beginners to ponds will not make the mistake many people do and clean their filter media out in tap water! (If you're not sure why you can't, I'll explain now...) Tap water contains chlorine, which makes it safer for us to use, the only problem is that chlorine kills all of the beneficial bacteria on your filter media, which is very bad for your pond! This also means that technically, your foams are like brand new and could take weeks, even months for the bacteria colonies to grow to a substantial enough amount to work in your pond. 

Hozelock haven't released much information about this filter as of yet, except for a small piece of information on their website, but we were lucky enough to speak with someone from Hozelock to get a better perspective on their new filter. 

They are due to be released to the public in February 2013, and are currently under going rigorous tests at Hozelocks expert testing facility in Minworth, Birmingham.

Pre Formed Ponds

A question that often comes up is, what type of liner should I use to build my pond? Should I use rubber liner? PVC liner? Concrete or a Pre Formed Rigid pond?

A preformed pond is a rigid liner which is already molded into a shape ready to use, the only thing you need to do is dig the hole, put in the pond and fill it up (of course there is more to it than that, which we will go through soon).

What are preformed ponds made from? They can be made from different materials, the most common and cheapest is plastic, but you can also buy reinforced plastic and even fibre glass pre formed ponds. So let's go through the pro's and cons of each type first. 


Ordinary Plastic Liners - These are the least expensive of the three mentioned, usually quite lightweight and slightly flexible, this makes them alot easier to transport. This also means though that they are easier to pierce and are weakened by sunlight and the corners can crack with age. You will find a lot of these liners will have simulated rock for a nice effect also. Definitely a good idea for beginners or someone on a budget.

 

Reinforced Plastic Pond Liners - Sometimes also called "toughline" preformed ponds, they are alot stronger than ordinary plastic pond liners, this makes them more expensive, but it is worth it if you can afford it at the time. They are heavier and less flexible which makes transport harder. These type of ponds should last between 15-20 years, but some last even longer than that.

Fibreglass Ponds - The most expensive of the three, fibreglass pre-formed ponds will not be affected by the elements because they are resistant to UV light and frost. They are much heavier than plastic ponds and do not flex at all, but if you can find transport for them it is definitely worth it, they are recognised as the best material for rigid pond construction. They should last for 20+ years. Just be careful not to damage them when transporting them as the corners are vunerable to knocks.

Once you have decided on a type of preformed pond to use, and bought it the next step is to install the pond. Incorrect installation is usually the reason that a pond will begin to leak and lose water. Follow these steps below to install your pond correctly and safely and it should last for years to come!

Step 1: Mark Out The Pond
Once you have decided where you want the pond to be, mark out the perimeter of it, and then make another line around a foot (12 inches) out from the perimeter, this will be your excavation area.
Step 2: Start Digging!
Begin your dig from the middle of where the pond will be, this will help to keep the edges intact. Dig the area 2 inches or so deeper than the pond will be, make sure to keep measuring the depth as you don't want to go too much deeper as you will have to refill and soil like this will sink and your pond will begin to sink once the water is in.
Step 3: Installation Begins
Add a layer of building sand (as it is soft) approximiately 2 inches deep. This will protect the pond where the weight is pushing down the most. Drop your preformed pond liner into the hole. Make sure the pond is level by placing a plank of straight (make sure it is straight!) wood across from edge to edge and place a spirit level on top. Once you are satisfied with this you're ready for the next step.
Step 4: Infill Around The Edges
Insert some wooden battens around the edges to hold the liner in place. Start filling the pond with your hose pipe and at the same time as this start to back fill around the edges with the excavated soil, this will make the pond sit firmly in place. Just check you have definitely filled under any marginal shelves.
Step 5: Add Your Finishing Touches
Once the pond is full of water and sitting firmly in place, you can now add your finishes to it, where it's crazy paving around the edging or gravel liner to hide the edges. Remember to seal any concrete or mortar with a sealant to prevent lime leeching into the pond, even if it's not actually in the pond, when it rains it will eventually send the pond alkaline (which we don't want!!).

You have successfully installed your liner, or you're about to. Congratulations! We hope this has helped.

Artificial Grass

In the UK we experience varying and unpredictable weather, and this can make maintaining a lawn a pain at times, with the wet summer we’ve just had, the grass has continued to grow, but it’s been hard to get out and cut the lawn as it’s always damp.

This is where artificial grass comes into it’s own. Having been around for quite a while, there are many styles now available. They vary a lot in the look, feel and quality and price.

So where did Artificial Grass start from?

Also known as Astro Turf, it originated in the United States and was patented by the Monsanto Company Inc. originally called “Chemgrass” and renamed in 1966 as Astro Turf.

Earlier versions of artificial grass were purely for decorative use and could not withstand sports or other uses. Later versions were built to be weather resistant and serve as a permanent outdoor artificial lawn.

Artificial grass was slow to take off in the UK, but it has been growing in popularity in recent years and gardeners are realising the benefits of a year round maintenance free lawn.

There are many benefits to having an artificial lawn, shaded areas for example where the sunlight never gets to. Or areas which get too much sun and it becomes dry. Children’s play areas, where the lawn would get lots of use and would slowly wear away or become dangerously slippery.

Artificial grass can be laid on almost any surface, therefore you could cover an old patio or worn decking, even soil where you’ve never had a lawn before. Just make sure that your base is level.

Is it easy to install this lawn?

Fixing the Astroturf down can be done in different ways, it can be either adhered to a surface with a bonding agent or placed onto a surface and dressed with either sand or rubber granules which will hold it down. 

If you have 2 lengths of the grass side by side, they can be joined with joining tape to hold them together also.