Insect friendly garden

Insect friendly garden - This species rich lawn created a natural habitat within hours of being laid. Butterflies, dragonflies and bees arrived to have a look while we were laying the turf.

Project revisited

After 2 years of undertaking this project the plants are looking amazing, all with the help of irrigation

Lawn care for the spring

Early spring lawn advise

Now is the perfect time to plan your lawn maintenance programme for spring. Your lawn may not be looking its best just now, which is to be expected at this time of year, but once temperatures rise and with some TLC it will start to recover as the grass begins to grow. Wait until temperatures rise sufficiently in spring before carrying out maintenance such as feeding, overseeding or scarification.

Service mower

Don’t forget to service your mower if you haven't already done so, to ensure it is in good working order ready for the first cut of the year. A well maintained mower with sharp blades is essential for maintaining a beautiful lawn. A dull mower will damage the leaves, making the lawn look untidy.

Mowing

Try to stay off the lawn if there’s a heavy frost or the ground is very wet. Any damage will not repair itself until the grass is actively growing again in spring. Whilst temperatures remain low, mowing won't be necessary, but once temperatures start to rise and the grass begins to grow, mow your lawn if necessary and conditions allow. Over winter your lawn will have been bombarded by falling leaves, twigs and other debris. If need be, start off by giving your lawn a good rake over a day or two before its first cut.

Despite there being little growth in winter it is advisable to raise the cutting blade height on your mower for the first few cuts. This prevents you overstressing the lawn before strong spring growth occurs. The height can be brought down gradually as we move into spring.

Aerate

Aerate consolidated areas of the lawn with a fork or spiking machine, providing the ground isn’t too wet. This will relieve compaction, improve drainage and allow more air into the root system.

Sunken garden design

Before image

                                                                       Before image

Before image

Lowering the level of the garden created privacy from overlooking houses. Easy to maintain raised planters with a fully automated irrigation system adds to a low maintenance garden.

Lights inserted into the retaining walls and uplighters to highlight plants add extra value for the

evenings. Built in settings was constructed with the same material as the trellis work.

NEW patio laying technique.

Extension work has been completed at this house in Marlow, leaving a rather messy outside space.

Bi-fold doors opening into the garden are very popular with open plan kitchen and lounge. This makes the garden an even more important space to be considered when extending the house. This client wanted to bring the aspect of the garden into the interior living space.This was achieved by providing a floor height the same as the garden patio height, so once doors are open the garden flows into the house.
Flooding and the increased likelihood of flash flooding raises concerns over lifting the patio above the damp course of the house. After much research we have discovered a patio laying system that solves this problem.

The image shows the use of raisable pedestals that take the weight of the patio stone and lift the patio height as required. This allows plenty of drainage and equally spaced tiles (with the aid of built in spacers) and an overall great final look.

TeePee landscape - Pub entertainment area

Blue Skies have had the pleasure of constructing a TeePee entertainment area for the Royal Oak pub in Marlow. 

Raised brick patio with a view

Existing sloping plant border was hard to manage and was better served as a hard standing sitting area.

Reclaimed bricks create a hard standing patio. Wooden sleepers enabled a raised

area and created a space with an amazing view over the Chilterns.