Holiday Friendly Gardens?

As the peak holidaying season approaches those with high maintenance gardens will be tearing their hair out trying to come up with (cost friendly) solutions that ensure their garden’s holiday care plans don’t rival the cost of a further couple of days spent in paradise!  Perhaps now is the time to consider putting in place a few low maintenance features which will alleviate some of the stress and strain of going away …

If you are unaffected by the hose-pipe bans coming in, an automated irrigation system is a god-send during the watering season. This makes light work of the endless chore of restoring moisture to baked soil; adding mulches to plant borders will do wonders to not only help retain moisture, but will also fend off unwanted weed growth minimizing the hours spent weeding - and some mulch materials can also serve as a dramatic style feature in their own right. 

Replacing some of the grassed areas with hard landscaping (paving / decking / aggregate finishes) will naturally reduce the man hours spent mowing and if you invest in mowing strips, you can make the weekly mow-a-thon even quicker!  If you are interested in down-sizing in terms of the labour of love required to maintain your outdoor room, why not speak to one of our Garden Designers to find out more about further low maintenance measures to incorporate in your outside space ….

Merging Indoor Living with Outdoor Living

A recent article in The Independent drew attention to the number of hours we can sometimes spend choosing planting schemes and agonizing over paving materials for the garden, which is sometimes in sharp contrast to the lack of effort put into selecting the  furniture which will adorn the outdoor room. 

Given that a sizeable chunk of our well earned ‘garden’ down time is likely to entail eating, drinking or simply chilling, it seems ridiculous that  we are content to compromise on such a significant detail.  However, as the trend for outdoor living spaces continues to gather momentum, there is a growing body of designers who take pride in incorporating bespoke seating into their plans to achieve not only the delivery of a functional practical seating solution but to also provide a striking stylish focal point for the outside room. 

Choice of material, colour and the all important comfort factor are important points to consider when reviewing built in seating options and in our wonderful British climate, it is also advisable to incorporate some easy to access storage options to house any cushions during the less sunny months!  Speak to a member of our design team to find out more on this subject ….

Show Time Again for Lime Orchard!

The 18th BBC Gardener’s World Live event last month proved to be a massive success for Lime Orchard with an endless stream of visitors to our small but perfectly formed Show feature exhibit which was an awarded an RHS Commendation (the highest accolade for this class of exhibit). 


The compact but über chic space combined dramatic planting with cool sleek grey slate tiles and incorporated an innovative outdoor work space complete with a neat under storage solution.

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO BBC GARDENER'S WORLD LIVE 2010

Two winners will each receive a pair of tickets valid for any day at BBC Gardener's World Live, to be held at The NEC, Birmingham from Wed 16 - Sun 20 Jun 2010. The tickets, worth £21 each also included entry to the BBC Good Food Show, running at the same time.

Lime Orchard will be showing off its skills with it's outdoor exhibit 'Adding Designer Zing to the Garden'! Come and see us at BBC Gardener's World Live stand no. RHS12

To enter our   free prize draw, simply complete the form below (Terms & Conditions apply - click here). The draw closes at 10.00 am on Tuesday 15th May 2010 and winners will be notified the same day by email.

Click here for the entry form (opens in new window)

Click here for more information about BBC Gardener's World Live

Football Fever Allows Women to get what they Really Want!

As the nation prepares to sit back and watch the beautiful game for a whole month, this could be the perfect time for all ‘footie widows’ to cash in on the opportunity to get the garden looking great for summer.  So whilst the man in your life lies slumped in front of the TV why not grab the chance to get to grips with the outdoor room?  That way you can create the perfect environment for all those world cup celebration / commiseration parties!

Advances in outdoor living have made it possible to replicate pretty much all of the luxuries associated with the indoor living space – thus easing the way to creating the ultimate alfresco entertainment zone.  Get your party rocking with a sophisticated outdoor sound system; warm up your guests with a cosy patio heater, chiminea or fire pit / brazier and light up the ‘room’ with simple tea lights or a bespoke outdoor lighting system.  But regardless of the number of latest ‘cool’ features and gadgets you pack into your garden living room, your outside space will never fulfill its true potential if it lacks a basic design template.   

A professional garden designer will help you maximize the opportunities in the area available, taking into consideration you / your family’s specific aesthetic as well as functional needs to deliver a totally bespoke solution.  Investing in a professional design does not need to cost the earth, nor does all the work need to be completed in one hit.  A reputable designer can help you identify your priorities for the garden and can produce a design blue print that – if necessary - can be completed in stages 

HOT HOT HOT in the Garden this Summer!

It’s been a long time coming - a whole 12 months, in fact - but it seems the country really is on course for a barbecue summer. And this prediction comes from a forecaster with a more reliable track record than the Met Office who famously told us to expect a 'barbecue summer' in 2009, which turned out to be so spectacularly wrong that it led to an embarrassed Met Office dropping long-term seasonal forecasts.

In fact, last summer was a washout, as correctly predicted by Positive Weather Solutions, which has 'out-forecast' the Met Office over the last two years with a string of accurate long-term predictions. And it is PWS that is confident that Britain will indeed see a barbecue summer this year commenting saying “there will be stifling temperatures, making it possibly the warmest UK summer on record and placing it at least in the top three warmest summers recorded”.

Armed with this knowledge, it may pay to consider some creative ways in which to inject some shade into the garden before the temperatures begin to rise and the heat is really on!  Rustic pergolas boasting fragrant climbing roses or clematis; ultra chic modern sails; natural thatched sunshades and patio awnings are just some of the many options available.  Why not talk to our Garden Design team to get the low down on the latest stylish shade solutions?

Garden Design. Planting Plans.Garden Build by Lime Orchard

Is Your Street Top of the Crops?

The Horticultural Trades Association PlantforLife campaign has launched a new Neighbourhood Crop Swap initiative targeting the 67% of the nation who would like to do more gardening but don’t know where to begin. The new initiative aims to get streets in Britain growing, and most importantly, swapping their own fruit and vegetables. Neighbourhood Crop Swap is the first project of its kind and comes in light of new research from PlantforLife, which shows that the grow your own phenomenon in the UK has doubled with over half (54%) of UK gardeners now growing fruit and vegetables, compared to just a fifth two years ago.

Despite this trend, research shows 40% of people don’t think they have enough space to grow and a quarter remain clueless in terms of what they can grow. The Neighbourhood Crop Swap aims to encourage communities to work together helping them to enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables, regardless of the type of garden they have. Each household will grow two or three varieties which can then be swapped with neighbours, helping communities enjoy a variety of foods without the need for a lot of space.

To kick-start the launch of Neighbourhood Crop Swap, PlantforLife is running a pilot scheme with the budding gardeners of a street in Twickenham. Celebrity plants man Chris Collins will be working with the street, giving tips and expert advice showing, how with the right tools and know how, everyone and anyone can get planting. The whole nation will be able to monitor their progress too by logging on to www.plantforlife.info/cropswap to see pictures and video diaries from the street.
PlantforLife has also produced a handy Neighbourhood Crop Swap guide so communities up and down the country can get their new fruit and vegetable garden underway.

Log on to www.plantforlife.info/cropswap to download the  free Neighbourhood Crop Swap guide.

Lime Orchard - Your Dream Garden Designed, Built, Planted