The LVG Guide to: Essential Garden Tools

If you’re new to this blog, hopefully my posts over the last few years will have demonstrated that it’s actually fairly straightforward and simple to start growing vegetables in your garden or on your balcony.  If you’re looking to give vegetable growing a go next spring, why not start planning your adventure right now?  It’s essential to invest in some gardening tools, and starting now can help to spread the cost over winter before spring arrives.

So here’s my guide to the beginner vegetable gardener’s essential toolkit (all images are from the GardenXL website).

Trowel (balcony, patio, garden)

One of the true basics!  A hand trowel is useful for all sorts of things and mine never leaves my side.  Whether it’s transporting compost from bag to plant pot, planting plants out in the vegetable patch or generally cleaning beds up, a trowel is essential kit, whether you’re starting on a balcony, patio or in a garden.

Rake (garden)

When I had my allotment in Richmond, I only then realised the importance of soil preparation.  A decent garden rake is an essential piece of kit if you want to prepare soil, keeping it raked over and oxygenated nicely.  Putting in the effort of soil preparation up front will pay dividends in the long-run! 

Spade and Fork (garden)

Some more essential kit for the garden vegetable-grower!  A garden spade is a useful tool to dig up and prepare soil in the garden, while the classic garden fork is vital to keep soil turned over and fresh.  Stainless steel tools not only look nice, but they also remain rust-free – perfect when gardening in damp conditions!

Pruning Shears (balcony, patio, garden)

Finally, pruning shears are a decent buy for the budding vegetable gardener.  While these are traditionally employed for pruning (hence the name!), my pruning shears come in useful for all manner of things – cutting string, shopping bits of bushes and plants – anything that needs cutting.

So there you have it: the London Vegetable Garden guide to essential garden tools.  If you’re looking to have a go at growing your own next spring, take a look at the full range of garden tools available at GardenXL and plan your growing adventures today.

These Boots Were Made For… Gardening!

As the cold mornings and autumnal drizzle wash away all remnants of this year’s warm summer, one could be forgiven for thinking that gardening activity has also been packed up for the year, but nothing could be further from the truth!  One of the things I love about being a gardener is that there’s always something to do, whatever the season, or weather: you just need to ensure that you have the right gear!

While summer gardening is spent standing on firm turf and dry soil, the autumnal months of September, October and  November are often spent in wet soil, muddy flower beds and tramping around in piles of wet and slipper leaves, making the right gardening footwear essential.

Luckily, the unisex Aigle Benyl wellington boots make gardening in the cold and wet a doddle.  Hand-made in France by master craftsmen from natural rubber, the Aigle Benyl is an excellent boot for general use.  Its natural rubber upper keeps you dry, while its polyamide knit, rot-proof washable and fast-drying lining keeps you warm.

So there really are no excuses this autumn: as the old adage goes, there’s no such thing as bad weather; just unsuitable clothing!  So make sure you’re prepared for an autumn and winter of gardening duties this year with the Aigle Benyl wellington boot. 

It's 2013: why not get a robot to mow your lawn?

Whilst gardening is perceived by many to be a timeless, traditional and rather quaint pastime, the gardener of 2013 can call upon  a truly diverse range of technological gadgets and wizardry to help save time or, if desired, effort!  Take the cutting edge robot lawn mower, the Honda Miimo for example.  Yes, you read heard me correctly: a robot lawn mower!

A wonderful new piece of machinery to help automate the aesthetic beauty of your garden, the Honda Miimo is a truly impressive piece of kit.  A robot lawn mower, this little beauty will run around doing the hard work so that you don’t have to!

While many of you may be worrying about a robot flying off and chopping your flowerbeds up, you needn’t worry!  A full set of cutting patterns can be easily programmed in to give a combination of patterns on your lawn, while the Miimo’s ‘random pattern’ ensures an even overall finish to your lawn.  The Miimo even produced less stress for your grass, ensuring a healthier, happier lawn.

The Honda Miimo will also work for as long as you want it to, thanks to its intelligent charging system.  While its lithium ion battery lasts twice as long as more traditional batteries, it also knows when it needs to re-charge and wheels itself off to the docking station, which can be placed anywhere in your garden, thus ensuring it’s charged and ready to keep mowing!

The intelligence of the Honda Miimo does not stop here however: as with all Honda products, superb design and intelligence has been crafted into the machine.  Rather than having to empty great buckets of grass clippings, the Miimo’s clever automation continues effortlessly.  The machine spreads tiny grass particles, which fall down and are locked under the thatch of the grass.  Not only does this save us gardeners the laborious task of raking up clippings or emptying the machine every five minutes, but it is actually beneficial for the garden itself, fertilising the lawn and reducing weeds on the surface.

Those of you with children or pets may have visions of a rampaging robot running over various animals and children, but this is not the case!  The Honda Miimo has a 360° floating cover, which means it is able to sense contact and will stop the moment it touches a person or a pet, making it a safe and reliable product to enjoy as part of your family life in the garden.

And as we approach autumn, it’s also important to note that the Miimo is completely rainproof, thanks to its sealed inner workings, meaning that you don’t have to keep putting it away in the garden: especially useful for those of you that live in the rainy Peak District like me!

So if you want to enjoy a perfect lawn without the back-breaking work of constant mowing, raking and cutting-collecting, then the Honda Miimo is the perfect product for you.

Top Tips To Get Your Garden Winter-Ready This Autumn

It all happened so quickly; one moment you’re relaxing in a deckchair in the sun, the next you’re wrapping up warm and sweeping leaves off the drive. It may have been a sudden transition this year but autumn is certainly upon us. Next thing we know, we’ll be shivering away in hats and scarves in the biting cold of winter. And that means that in order to get the best from your garden, you should be changing your gardening habits now, in line with the season to ensure that your plants get through the cold winter months to come. Here are a few things to try.

Plant Your Bulbs

Now is the time to get planting your spring bulbs, in order to give them adequate time to grow. Treat yourself to some hyacinths, crocus, iris and daffodils and you can look forward to a colourful springtime during the bleak winter months. To add some colour all year round, you can also try planting some evergreens such as conifers. The warm autumn soil will help your plants get rooted.

Look After Your Lawn

After the hot summer, your lawn may be looking a little dried out, so autumn is the perfect time to give it some good old fashioned TLC. With the warm soil and plenty of water from the rain, autumn is a great time for re-seeding your lawn. Ensure that the ground is level, spread seeds over the area and keep it moist for a few week; you’ll soon be rewarded with a luscious new green lawn. If you’re not planning on getting the mower out over the winter month, it may also be worth getting it serviced and checking the blades ready for next year.

Feed The Birds

If you have a large garden which often attracts birds, give your feathered friends a fighting chance over winter. You can pick up bird seed mixtures and even cake and food bars at your local pet shop, or just provide them with leftover rice and oats. Set up a bird table or purchase a feeder and enjoy some extra garden decoration from these beautiful creatures.

Tidy Up

Now really is the time to keep on top of your garden before the winter months when you’ll be more reluctant to venture outside. Make sure that you are up to date on your weeding, and trim back any hedges to stop them becoming overgrown. Once the leaves start falling, try to sweep them regularly – about once a week. Dead leaves can attract pests, and you’ll find it much easier to keep on top of things if you don’t allow them to pile up. It is also a great time to clear your shed out; get rid of any rusty old equipment, and disinfect everything else before it goes away for winter.

Invest In A Wheelbarrow

The wheelbarrow is your new best friend during the autumn months; allowing you to easily transport new bulbs, soil, fertiliser, weeds, leaves and more. When choosing a wheelbarrow, consider whether you would prefer a single-wheel barrow – which is easy to manoeuver but can topple easily – or a dual-wheel model, which is stable but more difficult. Invest in a sturdy wheelbarrow of your choice, with puncture-proof, pneumatic tyre wheels to make all those gardening jobs a little bit easier.

This guest post was written by Emma Williams on behalf of Rolltek International LTD. Rolltek are suppliers of high quality wheels, suitable for wheelbarrows, garden trolleys and sack trucks – perfect for all garden work this autumn.

Artificial Grass: Beautiful Turf for Minimal Effort

A lot of my friends tell me that they wish they could have a beautiful garden, but they don’t want to have to work tirelessly to get the results!  Well, although blood, sweat and hard graft results in a rewarding garden, there are also many ways to achieve a beautiful, simple garden that is also low-maintenance.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some tips and advice on how to achieve a beautifully simple garden that requires minimal maintenance.  But this week, we start with the basics: grass.

A beautiful, fresh lawn, like the one displayed below, is often the starting point for an attractive garden:

However, the grass shown here is actually artificial grass!  

Artificial grass has come a long way since the days of old astro-turf football pitches and glaringly bright ‘fake’ grass.  Namgrass is fast becoming the number one choice for artificial grass in the UK and it’s not hard to see why.

Namgrass design and manufacture a wide range of artificial grass suitable for a wide variety of garden, domestic and home uses.  Featuring ultra-soft friendly fibres and natural green tones, along with unrivalled quality and pricing, Namgrass products are manufactured to the highest standards.  Benefiting from heavy duty latex backing, Namgrass’s unique Tuftlock system and grass fibres (yarns) are of only the highest quality, enabling them to offer a 10 year Manufacturer’s Guarantee with all products.

From Green Meadow and Green Touch, to Green Mirage and Green Oasis, Namgrass offers a wide range of artificial grass to suit every need, whether you’re looking for a durable play area for the children, or a designer lawn that looks beautiful all year round.

So if you’re looking for a beautiful garden with minimal effort, Namgrass can provide you with a range of superb artificial grass options to create a great look in your garden.  Take a look at their website today!

Luscious Lawns: Grass as the Plant we Always Forget!

When gardening, it is so easy to get wrapped up in various flowers, plants and vegetables, that gardeners can often forget the plants beneath their very feet: grass!

From lush lawns to wild gardens, the turf beneath our feet contributes to the overall aesthetic appeal of our gardens much more than we give it credit for.  

If you’re looking for some turf-based inspiration, the London Lawn Turf company is the perfect place to start.   The leading turf suppliers in London and the Home Counties, this business specialises in providing high quality turf that will help you to achieve a professional finish in your garden or at your commercial premises.

And it’s not only grass that the London Lawn Turf company provides: top dressing, compost, bark and even lawn fertiliser can be purchased on the company’s website, allowing you to create a superb garden lawn and a wonderful outside space for your home.

And if like me, you’re a novice when it comes to laying grass, fear not!  The London Lawn Turf company has a range of really handy videos on its website that provide useful hints, tips and practical advice, from how to lay turf properly, to aftercare and keeping your lawn turf fresh and beautiful!

The regular blog posts and articles on seasonal care are also a truly invaluable resource for all of your grass-related gardening needs, covering everything from water retention to top design trends.  

In addition to all of this superb content, the London Lawn Turf company provides a range of competitive prices, superb products and experienced know-how.  If you’re looking to spruce up your turf, take a look at the London Lawn Turf company today.

Grow Your Gardening Skills With a Gardening Course This Summer!

I’ve been running the London Vegetable Garden blog since 2009, with the express aim of not only chronicling my own organic odyssey, but hopefully demonstrating along the way that growing your own is simple, easy to pick up and most of all, enjoyable!

However, if you’re still feeling nervous or unsure about gardening, but really want to give it a go, there is a wide range of different courses available, suitable for budding gardeners of all ages and abilities. 

UK

There are literally hundreds of gardening courses in the UK, designed for all people of all ages and abilities, as well as for all interests!  Whether you’re interesting in learning the traditional art of rural hedgelaying, ‘garden skills with a design edge’, or even something as exotic as a course on mushroom growing, there literally is something for everyone! 

What I really love about these gardening courses is that there is so much to enjoy!  I’ve long championed the ability to grow your own plants and vegetables no matter where you live or what your space; however these gardening courses in the UK allow you to explore the pleasures of gardening in fun and natural environments and ‘give it a go’!

London

For those of you based in the Capital, there are many gardening courses in London that you can do, from flower arranging courses to the fascinating ‘introduction to Japanese architecture, gardens and tea culture.  Again, these gardening courses in London allow you to explore an element of gardening that interests you, from practical skills, to wider social and cultural courses about gardening.

Learning Online

And if you are not based in London, or near any of the courses listed above, then the wide range of online gardening courses offered through the ‘lovemycourse’ website allows you to take in and enjoy a wide range of gardening courses, all from the comfort of your own home.

The range of online gardening courses available range from diplomas in gardening and horticulture to interior plant care: from Japanese garden design and bonsai courses to garden landscaping courses.  There truly is a fantastic range of online gardening courses available to suit the needs, interests and abilities of any budding amateur gardener!

So if you’re keen to brush up on your knowledge of the garden and learn new skills, or even if you’re afraid of getting started and fancy having a go in a fun environment first, a gardening course could be the perfect way to help you enjoy your garden even more this summer.

Good luck!!