Quick makeover

                                                                       Before

After

Composite decking sat next to the sound of water and an extremely low mainenance area.

Winter landscaping at the Ralph Centre

Winter work can be a challange with minus temperatures. It just means we have to work a little harder to keep warm. 

Currently working on an exciting project in Marlow, creating an out door area for a new veterinary hospital. The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre for cat and dogs is a state of the art emergency and critical care specialist. We are proud to be working with them to create out door spaces to help with the care of the animals and provide a pleasant environment for the owners.

We will update on the progress.

See more details of the hospital here:

https://theralph.vet

Oak framed carport

Oak framed car port with log store at the rear.

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.

Making use of space

Working along side Andrew Cryer on this interesting project. great outdoor space with sitting, cooking and sun bathing areas.

Decking

Before and after photos for decked garden 

- An additional 1metre of sitting area at the front with a large bark play area at the rear. 

A quick make over

Before

After

A quick makeover - Forest glen sandstone

Flood Barrier Jan 2016

Flood barrier fitted at Bourne End Sailing club - river is raising.

Decking in marlow (September 2015)

Before image

After 

After

Incorporated within the decking area is a 2000 litre water harvesting system, this will automatically water the plants shown using a solar powered pump. Additional storage is also added under the deck and under the seating area.

Summer lawn care

Mowing

Whilst growing conditions are favourable lawns will require more frequent mowing than usual for the time of year. As temperatures rise grass growth will slow down and mowing frequency can be reduced. Mow as and when necessary, never taking more than one third of the length of the plant off in any one cut. If you are going on holiday, especially for more than 1 week, make arrangements for someone to mow your lawn whilst you're away.

During periods of low rainfall we recommend increasing the cutting height slightly. Leaving lawns a little longer will help trap moisture by reducing evaporation from the surface and encourage deeper roots to grow.

Feeding

Whether you need to feed your lawn during summer will depend on the weather and growth patterns. A late spring application of Lawn Fertiliser, Weed & Moss Killer should see your lawn through to autumn, but during cooler, wet summers an additional application may be required, to replace nutrients which have been taken up by grass plants or leached away.

The ideal conditions to apply a fertiliser are when the soil is moist and the grass leaves are dry. After application, a shower of rain to wash the fertiliser into the soil will complete the job. Do not apply fertiliser during periods of drought as this may scorch your lawn.

Toadstools in lawns

Toadstools are a naturally occurring form of fungus that can appear on any lawn given certain weather or ground conditions. Their appearance on recently laid turf is not unusual as the action of harvesting, transporting and laying new turf can sometimes stimulate the fungi to produce toadstools. They most commonly appear when the weather is warm and humid and will usually disappear after a few weeks or when the weather conditions change.

Toadstools can be removed by picking them off by hand (wearing gardening gloves as a precaution) or brushing them off. Alternatively they can be mown off with a box on the mower in order to collect them. In new lawns they are very unlikely to reoccur, however in established lawns there may be an underlying issue which will require further investigation to prevent repeat occurrences. 

Broadleaf weeds & weed grasses

Broadleaf weeds can be treated using a selective herbicide or an all-in-one treatment such as Rolawn GroRight Lawn Fertiliser, Weed & Moss Killer or removed by hand. Weed grasses, such as Annual Meadow Grass, should be removed by hand by cutting the plant out and removing the roots. Any gaps which are left can be filled with a mix of top dressing and lawn seed to help prevent new weeds and weed grasses from germinating. Annual Meadow Grass is usually more prolific in spring, but the recent wet conditions have been ideal for it to flourish. 

Driveway

Epoxy resin driveway -

Brick patio

Brick basket weave laid patio using 'Tuder slips' time consuming project but a great effect. Still to do pointing and finishing off.

Front garden landscape

Raised wooden planter - planted with espalier fruit trees - Turfed area - Granite setts edging 

Turfed area with new plant borders edging new driveway. Jasmine arch

Concrete block piers, rendered and painted

Before image

Bec

Flood mitigation equipment

Examples of flood mitigation equipment

garage door flood barrier

Door Barrier

Wall water proofer

Sump and pump system