Find a Landscaper you can trust in Carluke.

If your lawn edges are overgrown, it can make an otherwise well-cared for lawn look unsightly. Luckily, it’s easy to edge your lawn and make it look beautiful again. You should edge your lawn every spring and trim any overhanging grass you notice after mowing. How to edge a lawn There are different types of equipment you can use for different types of edging:

• Edging shears
• Half-moon edger
• Grass shears with a long handle
• Gardening knife
• Long rope or a plank of wood

Depending on how regularly you’ve maintained the edging of your lawn, you might want to do one of the following things:

• Annually in spring or if you’ve left the grass to get out of hand: Decide whether you want a straight or a curved edge along your lawn. If you want a straight edge, lay a plank of wood along the edge and use your half-moon edger to cut along. If you want a curve, lay a rope along the edge and cut along that. Or if you can still see the existing curve of the lawn, you can stick with that.
• After mowing: Use long-handled shears to trim the grass the mower couldn’t reach. If you want to make it look extra tidy, collect up the cuttings and put them on your compost heap or dispose of them.
• Overgrowing grass onto paths: Use a sharp gardening knife to cut the pieces of turf that are growing over the path and pull them away.
• When your lawn is flush with the path: Snip a clean edge along your path with your long-handled grass shears to make it look neat and tidy.
• If you’d rather a low-maintenance option: Spiked metal sheeting is a good material to use to keep your lawn’s edges at bay. Fix it in the ground along the edges to keep the outline of your lawn and stop it from growing into your borders.

The best way to keep your lawn edges looking fabulous is to keep them maintained. Remember to give them a little trim every time you mow your lawn to be the envy of all your neighbours.

A patio is an outdoor space which can be used for a variety of stuffs which includes fun time with family and friends, reading time or just relaxing as the fresh breeze blows. With all these benefits and more, it’s becomes more obvious that there’s a need to keep your patio in a tip top condition at all times. If otherwise, you may not be able to enjoy your patio to your satisfaction and probably, for as long as you would want. You simply have to provide it with a regular maintenance which involves inspecting and identifying the damages that needs to be repaired before it gets out of hand. Fortunately, the minor repairs can be done by yourself if you’re confident enough. However, for bigger damages it’s advisable to call in a professional for help. In this article, we’ll take you through the patio reparation process.

✓ Prepare the area. This involves removing the problem piece gently and carefully. If there’s a piece you think can still be useful, store it in the re-use pile or you can start a new one. Once you’re done removing the pieces, the next thing to do would be to start removing anything that’s unwanted from the damaged area like debris, unwanted soil etc, and start sand fitting with some fresh sand. This should be levelled out to ensure there’s no bumps.

✓ With the sand down, you can start by putting the pieces back in together. This should be done gently to avoid any further damage. Do this until your patio

✓

Gardens need regular maintenance and without it they can get really out of hand. When you’re thinking about how much gardeners charge, you should bear in mind the state of your garden and whether you need a one-off tidy up or want a regular ‘manicure’ of your garden to keep it looking neat and tidy. Gardeners generally charge in two different ways for their work depending on the job: with an hourly rate or with a fixed price. Generally, gardeners will charge an hourly rate of between £20 - £40 depending on their experience, the job and where you are in the country. They may also charge a minimum call-out charge since a lot of their day will include unpaid travel from job to job. If you don’t need your gardener for a full day, for example if you just need your lawn mowed, then they will probably charge a fixed rate. It’s unlikely to have anything to do with their hourly rate. We’ve found that the average fixed cost of a gardener is around £250 - but this of course includes small jobs like weeding and mowing to larger jobs like pulling out shrubs and replanting, so you may find that your gardener charges more or less than this. Bear in mind that most gardeners will charge a price that doesn’t include waste removal, since lots of people have compost heaps or garden waste bins. So if you need them to take the garden waste away, expect another £100 - £200 on top of your quote.

There are several reasons why you may wish to plant a garden. To have a healthier environment, eat healthier, cook with fresh produce and lots more. Regardless of your purpose, one challenge faced by several home and property owners is exactly how to go about this and where to get started. If you’re having the same issues, then you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’re going to take you through the process involved in planting a garden to ensure your project turns out a success. If you lack the confidence required to pull this off, we’d highly recommend you call in a professional who can guarantee the best results.

1. Start small. Being overly ambitious when planting a garden could be easiest way to a disastrous outcome. Give yourself a realistic goal and learn to plant healthy and productive plants by starting small.
2. Identify your site. To ensure a great garden, the plants need lots of sunlight. So, you can go for a space that gets about 6 to 8 hours of sunlight on a daily basis. Also, make sure that there’s a water source nearby to make it easy to give your plants water as required.
3. Choose you garden type. Decide how your garden will grow, be it in raised beds, in ground, in containers or a combination of styles. This will ensure that your garden is neat and orderly while also enhancing its curb appeal.
4. Make a list. Create a list of the plants you’d love to have in your garden.
5. Plan your planting. This involves spacing your plants as they’re going to grow bigger, deciding which plant goes where and identifying the best soil to grow them.
6. Get your plants.
7. Plant them.

Whether you’re starting a garden from scratch or adding plants to a garden that needs a big of work, the biggest step in planting a garden is preparation. We’ll give you a few tips on how to plant a garden whatever your garden’s size. Check your soil The most important thing to do before you start to plant a garden is check your soil type. Different plants suit different soils, so you should choose ones that will like the soil in your garden. If your soil is sticky and muddy, it’s referred to as clay soil, but if it runs through your fingers when you pick it up it’s known as sandy. Ideally, you want something between the two to help your plants’ roots spread easily. If you have heavy clay soil, you’ll need to add well-rotted manure or compost to improve the structure, but if it’s sandy you’ll need to add organic matter to improve its fertility. Make a plan Don’t just start planting wherever – make sure you’ve got a plan of where you want everything to go. Do a simple drawing or cut out photos from magazines or the internet. How to plant bare root plants and trees When you’re planning what to plant in your garden, make sure you choose the correct amount and size of trees you’re going to plant. In a small to medium garden you only want one or two trees, and you don’t want anything too large that might spread too far. When you’re ready to plant, make sure there’s enough room for the roots to spread. Look for the soil ‘tide mark’ near the base which will show the depth that it was planted before, and use that as your guide. Dig your hole to the correct depth and width and fork the sides so it’s easier for roots to get in. Add some well-rotted manure and place the plant in the hole so the roots are spread out and fill the hole with soil. Planting potted plants Dig a hole deep enough for your plant – put the pot in the hole to check whether you’re there yet. You want around 2cm around the outside and don’t make the hole any deeper than the pot. If your plant has a tight root ball from outgrowing its pot, gently tease out the roots – it won’t harm the plant. How to plant plug plants in your garden Plug plants are usually mail-order plants that you get in spring and are a great way to start planting a garden. You must handle them carefully and water them before planting. Fill a small pot with compost and make a well in the centre, then drop the plug in. Gently pat the soil around it. You might need to pot them again to the next size up later on, and harden them off outside before planting them in the ground after there’s no risk of frost. With these few tips you can easily get started with planting your garden. But if you need some help and advice, get in touch with local gardeners who will be happy to give you a quote.

Properly erected fences shouldn’t require a great deal of maintenance. Any rotting boards can usually be replaced without replacing the whole panel. Timber fencing should be stained every 2-3 years. General maintenance is something you can carry out yourself, however, larger works may need a qualified professional to come in.

Laying artificial grass is a popular project – it’s a great way to create a smart, low-maintenance garden. There are plenty of professionals around who are experts at installing artificial grass, but it’s possible to DIY too if you’re feeling confident.

Lots of homeowners choose to replace their existing turf with artificial grass, so lay it on soil. To do this, start by clearing the area of any greenery or turf. Then remove any extra soil to a depth of about 40mm. You might want to leave the centre of your area slightly higher than the edges for a more natural look.

Next, you need to add a weed membrane and a sharp sand sub-base. It doesn’t really matter which one of these you do first, but you might find it easier to lay the weed membrane first and then use the sand to weigh it down, to a depth of about 35mm. Use a rake and plank to make the sand level, and compact it with a plank and heavy hammer. It doesn’t need to be completely flat – gentle slopes are fine. The weed membrane should overlap joints by 300mm.

After you’ve done this, you can lay your grass. Roll it out, trim it to size and fasten it in place. Make sure the ends of the grass rolls are staggered so they don’t end in a line. Lay the artificial grass with the pile (the strands) leaning towards the house so it looks nice and full when you’re looking out from the house. If you’ve decided to use edging boards, you can nail the grass into the tops of the boards. Or, if you haven’t, use ground pins to anchor it into the soil. Brush the grass and you’re done!

Everyone wants their garden to feel luscious, spacious and welcoming. But if you’ve got a small garden, it might feel like there’s no way to stop it looking cramped and unappealing. Luckily, there are ways to make a small garden look bigger – and they don’t have to cost the earth. Plant high You can’t expand your garden outwards, but you can go upwards. Harness your neighbours’ walls and fences to plant climbers and trailing plants to add height to your garden. Hanging baskets are a great option too. By using all the space available to you, it creates the illusion that your garden is bigger than it really is. Remove bulky bushes Now you know to plant high, you might realise that there are some shrubs and bushes that need to go. Large bushes spread out and take up too much space, making it feel crowded. If you’ve got a bush for security reasons, consider replacing it with a fence and adding climbers or tall plants around it like we suggested. Create depth An easy way to make a small garden look bigger is to create depth with different textures. Around borders, plant fine-textured plants in the background with course, large-leafed plants in the foreground to give the impression of a deeper space. This is a great idea for shallow, sloping gardens. You can use vibrant colours in the front with a backdrop of green to draw the eyes back. Blend into the background Consider using similar colours, shapes and plants to blend into the view beyond your garden, so it blurs where the boundary of your garden is. If plants and trees creep over from your neighbours’ gardens, don’t trim them back – merge them with your own garden’s style. Stick with a few favourite plants Another mistake people make when trying to make a small garden look bigger is they plant too many different things. This makes your garden feel cluttered, so stick with seasonal combinations; a good rule of thumb is to have at least 3 different flowering species at any time.