Latest fence work and some words from a customer
Well .. have a look yourself
Just an old falling apart panel fence changed to close board fence with concrete posts and concrete gravel boards. Total height 5′
Few words from this customer here
Few words from this customer here
Lawn care
Lawn aerating – crucial service if you require a beautiful lawn
Over here in Reading / Berkshire a very common soil type is clay, if not heavy clay. Clay soil is a good base to build on, but you can’t just leave it to itself.
What are clay soils like?
- heavy
- high in nutrients
- in winter clay soils are wet and cold
- in summer clay soils can get extremely hard and dry
I do recommend to mix clay soil with lots of compost ( 50/50 ratio ) that help with drainage. It’s easily achieved when setting up new areas / flower beds, but what if we have a lawn sitting on
heavy clay soil ? We could still make considerable improvement and lawn aeration is one of them!
LAWN AERATION – are there any benefits of it?
Main benefit of lawn aeration is opening up the soil which leads to reduction in soil compaction and drainage improvement.
Decompaction, better drainage, better air penetration – these are all benefits of lawn aeration which in my opinion is a best service you can offer your lawn to improve its appearance !
LAWN AERATION vs other lawn treatments / chemicals
Aeration is a mechanical process, no chemicals are being used. In my opinion it really is a best service you can get for your lawn. Unless PH level of your soil is beyond an optimal spectrum for grass growth of 5.5 – 7 there really is nothing better.. but wait .. there’s chemicals…You might think I can buy lawn fertilisers, herbicides, moss treatments and yes indeed you can! Using these chemicals will surely help your lawn quickly, BUT it is only a short term solution. Once you stop these treatments your lawn will quickly go back to what it looked like before.
Let me paraphrase..
Chemical lawn treatment is like a bodybuilder on steroids.. You’re not building strength in your lawn to make it withstand everyday stress. Chemicals will make your lawn look good but
they won’t make it feel healthy and you will constantly need to spoon-feed your lawn.
GIVE YOUR LAWN A CHANCE TO BE BEAUTIFUL AND START AERATING IT !
Do we offer this service ?
Yes ! We do offer an affordable lawn aeration service ! and our prices start from 50£ for a single treatment
Aerating if done correctly and unlike lawn mowing is only required twice / possibly once a year.
We offer lawn aeration service either as a one-off or as part of our regular maintenance visits.
Please do contact us if you require more information or if you would like to book our lawn aeration service
You might also want to read more about common lawn weed identification here
Gallery
Our gardening work. To get to know us better you can either - read our testimonials. - visit our social media channels: * TIDYWORK UK - gardening on instagram * TIDYWORK UK - gardening on YouTube - please subscribe to our channel if you like our work! - see below some...
Weeds as soil type indicator
Weeds can be a good soil indicator
In this article I will provide some information about how to determine type of soil in your gardens.
It’s based on weeds observation. Some weeds as well as more desired plants like certain conditions. By observing carefully what weeds grow in your garden you can then assess what “good plants” would thrive in this spot.
Observing the most prevalent weeds can indicate if soil is:
- acidic
- alkaline
- healthy and balanced
- depleted of certain nutrients
- poor draining soils
- sandy soils – poorly retaining moisture
Some points you have to take into consideration:
- You have to observe several the most prevailing weeds
- Pay attention to healthy weeds. You might find a certain weeds growing in many places, but in some of them the same weed will be healthy and in some others not so much ..
Plants like hydrangeas or cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus)are excellent soil indicators.
Some grow very well in most soils like: purple nettle ( lamium purpureum ) and Shepherd’s purse ( Capsella bursa pastoris )
Today I would like to concentrate on weeds that prevail in acidic soils. Weeds that may indicate an acidic type of soil are:
Plants that grow well in an acidic soil are amongst others: azaleas, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, camellias
And fruit and vegetables like: rhubarb, potatoes, shallots, sweet potatoes, endive and watermelons, blueberries
Next I would like to list some weeds that prevail in alkaline soils, that is soils which PH is higher than 7.0. Weeds that may indicate an alkaline type of soil are:
Please find a few plants that will grow well in both acidic and alkaline soils but are also good for partial shade, clay and poorly drained soils – these are conditions most common for Reading, Berkshire.
Anny’s Winter Orange (Cornus sanguinea), Bamburanta (Ctenanthe lubbersiana), Chilean rhubarb (Gunnera manicata), Snowberry Hancock (Symphoricarpos chenaultii), Strawberry Fields (Deutzia hybrida), Veitchii (Deutzia longifolia), Chestnut-leaved rodgersia (Rodgersia aesculifolia), Golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia), Knotweed Superba (Persicaria affinis), Variegated Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis), Bleeding heart ‘Langtrees’ (Dicentra formosa)
Where grass won’t grow
*
“Now, here on this ragged patch of earth called” a lawn..
Grass doesn’t grow well everywhere.. hence sometimes you have to come up with something different.
Here’s two patches near the house that barely got any sun.. landscaped to give a maintenance free area and of good appearance.
* Quote from 300. One of my favourites.. 🙂
