1st Class Gardens

Many people have become more adventurous with their cooking recently as various cooking programmes have become popular viewing. As part of this interest in exciting meal preparation the use of herbs and spices has become more prevalent. Although most herbs and spices can be bought from the local supermarket in dried form using fresh herbs is preferable in many recipes and growing your own supply is a rewarding challenge. Growing your own herbs to use in recipes is easy to do and plants can either be in pots on a sunny windowsill, in planters on a patio or planted in the garden. Be aware that herbs can spread and take over a whole area in the garden especially a herb such as mint so if you want to restrict this... Continue reading

In February we can begin to see signs of spring in the garden. Snowdrops may start growing in sheltered spots and daffodils and crocuses may be beginning to poke their heads through the soil. The garden often looks very drab at this time of the year so now is a good time to wrap up warm and venture out to do a bit of tidying. The first task is usually sweeping up any leaves that have gathered in some areas and either composting them to make mulch or taking them to the nearest recycling centre if there are too many to compost. Many garden plants die back in winter so now is a good time to cut back plants taking care not to cut back any hydrangeas as the new... Continue reading

With Christmas only just round the corner and everyone wanting to put a bit of extra effort in to their decs this year, you need to start planning now if you haven’t already. Although we have been in lockdown, many of the shops and garden centres that sell Christmas decorations and lights have been able to stay open. This means that people have already been making their purchases and there is not a massive selection left in many of the shops. When it comes to your garden, it is nide to have some decorations that bring some festivity to the street. You may decide to go all out with inflatable Santas and moving LED light projectors or you may decide to simply put some lights up in the windows or... Continue reading

Many of us love to see wildlife in our gardens and as the colder weather is approaching, looking after the wildlife, and giving them food and shelter is even more important. Having a bird table is a great place to start. Be sure to regularly fill it up with bird seed and nuts to keep the birds coming back. If you notice after a while that they have stopped coming, you may need to give the table a good clean, replace any food that may of gone off and even move it in to another position. Bird boxes will also attract birds who are looking to nest. They often start to look for a home to nest in during the early spring or possibly late winter if the weather is... Continue reading

The opportunity to grow your own food in your garden is a dream that a lot of homeowners have but it is not difficult to make that dream a reality and save money at the same time. Even if your garden is small it is still possible to grow some food producing plants throughout the year by using raised beds and other innovative ideas. The first thing to do is to research the type of vegetables that can be grown in each season as some can be planted in autumn to produce a crop throughout the winter. Plan out the best areas in your garden to dig over and make sure that the soil has been enriched with a good quality compost as this will give your plants a good... Continue reading