The Garden is the New Living Room

There was once a time when the garden was considered an afterthought for people who were buying a new home or decorating. It was a place where you went if the weather was warm enough for sunbathing and apart from that, it was usually a neglected space.

Today however the garden has become a highly valued, important part of the home. It can even be what sets the standard of your overall house. The garden’s reputation as a secondary accessory that came with a house has developed into it being an important space with the potential to do lots of creative things.

If you have been to some extent neglecting your garden or think that you have not used it to its maximum potential then you may well be correct. 

However there are lots of ways in which you can update your garden and transform it into a space that you are proud of, even without spending very much time or money at all.

Here are some ideas for you to have a think about...

 You may have noticed that many modern gardens feature lots of different textures in one space. Regardless of how large or small your garden is, this effect is easily achieved.

Take a look at the garden to the left. This imaginative design has combined grass, decking, slabs, pebbles, and sand (around the tree) all in one.

The merging of a range of different textures is a modern development which allows you to structure your garden in a unique and interesting way.

Here you have a delicate pavement – identified by the slabs which leads a route though the natural grass to an area of decking where friends can gather and enjoy one another’s company. The tree even looks as if it has been planted on the decking itself; a clever way of merging the artificial with nature, bringing the whole garden together.

Vegetables

Part of what has made the garden such an important room in the home is the increasing convention for gardeners to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

This concept has gained a lot of momentum over the last few years with increasing numbers of people taking an interest in gardening as a whole, and the joy of nurturing one’s own food and eating it with the added satisfaction that one’s own hard work has literally put food on the table

Colours

One of the elements of a garden that appeals to most people is a lot of different colours. By adding plants of all sorts of different colours to your garden it instantly becomes a vibrant and inviting room that everybody feels welcomed by.

Daffodils, Crocus, Polyanthus, Alliums, and Gazanias are just a few of the plants that would add spectacular colour to your garden.

Remember to research which plants thrive at what times of the year, just because it is winter does not mean that you have to have a dull, bare garden; plants such as Viola Tricolour, Sedum 'Herbstfreude', and  Erica carnea thrive in colder conditions and can therefore keep your garden looking colourful all year round. 

Highlight Features

To truly bring your garden up to the standards that have been set today, you need to think hard about your landscape lighting. 

Landscape lighting serves a variety of functions including decoration, guiding you in the dark, and security.

The lights on the left for example can be used to highlight particular features in the garden that you are particularly proud of. 

If you have an impressive water feature that you would like to draw attention to in the evenings, using this type of lighting can achieve just that and make your garden look truly spectacular.

Likewise, if you spend a lot of time in the garden during the evenings – this is something you probably enjoy during the summer especially – then these small spotlights can give you a little bit of guidance as to where to stand, and can help to set a relaxed atmosphere.

 

Sociable Space

   

 The garden is the new living room which means that it needs to be just as welcoming, calming, and comfortable as its indoor counterpart.

Prepare your garden with cosy chairs which are not hard on the back, but can happily be used for several hours over dinner.

Finish your garden design with some stunning, temporary festoon lighting. You might choose to add brightly-coloured festoon lights that bring your garden to life, or classy, refined, economically-run LED rope lamps which look pretty without costing too much money.

At Garden Lighting you will notice that most of our outdoor party lights are long-lasting, low voltage lights which means that they will not need replacing for a long time and will not vastly affect your electricity bills either. 

If you would like to find out more about our outdoor lighting and how it can transform your garden, contact us on 01773 541 003.

From Outdoor Security Lights to Wheelie Bins: How to Safeguard your Home While You’re on Holiday

For many of us summer is the most exciting time of the year. We swap our work suits for swimsuits and the office for the poolside to enjoy a week or two of luxury. However, before we leave it is important to ensure that our home is not going to attract unwanted attention.

Something that plays on our minds when we are on holiday is the idea that nobody is at home, leaving it susceptible to burglars. The last thing anybody wants is to return to an empty house that has been violated by an opportunist burglar.

So what can you do to protect your home while you are away?

The Basics

• It might sound obvious but a lot of people leave their windows unlocked when they leave the house, particularly the upstairs ones. All windows and doors should be locked until you return from your trip.
• Even windows that are higher up should be locked. A lot of people don’t realise how easy it is for their home to be scaled by an intruder so make sure that any possible entrance is secured.
• It is common for burglars to enter the garage before they break into the house. This is to obtain tools which will assist the burglary of the house. It is therefore paramount that the garden and shed are also secure.
• Activate the burglar alarm. Worryingly, many reformed burglars have reported that most of their burglaries took place on homes where alarms were left inactivated or ignored. Activate the alarm even if you are only away for the weekend because there is no set time for when burglars will approach. 

Hide Your Belongings

• Hopefully nobody will break into your home but in case they do you should hide your valuables in the most obscure place. Invest in a solid safe so that if somebody does find it they will have difficulty getting into it.
• Burglars usually stay in your house for 10 minutes or less. This means that they are very limited in where they can look. Try not to hide things in plant pots, drawers, wardrobes, behind the toilet, or in the underwear drawer as these are obvious places for burglars to look.
• A children’s toy box or beneath a cot is a good idea as most burglars will not think to look here, another alternative might be in a hollowed-out book.
• They do not want to hang around so once a burglar has found what they consider the “best stuff” they will leave. Photocopy old, useless documents and leave some cash near it. The intruder will assume that they have found everything useful and leave while your real documents and valuables will remain safe.

Ask a Friend

• Ask a neighbour or friend to check on your house every day so that if anything untoward did take place the police can be informed immediately.
• It was once commonly believed that one should always leave the curtains closed when they went away. However, having the curtains closed all day and night can actually function as a very noticeable signal to burglars that nobody is currently staying in the house.
• Instead ask a neighbour to simply open the curtains in the morning and close them in the evening.
• If you usually have quite a neat front garden then ask your neighbour / friend to give it a quick mow once a week. An unkempt lawn can also signal that nobody has been at home for a while.
• Another tip is to ask your friend to continue putting rubbish out. Even if there is no rubbish put the wheelie bin out so that it appears as if somebody has been in during the week. Similarly, a dog is thought to put intruders off so a warning sign or simply leaving a doggy toy on the lawn is worthwhile.

Be Private

• You might be excited at the prospect of going away but don’t be tempted to tell everybody you know.
• Social media can compromise your privacy and ultimately your safety if you’re not careful.
• Danniella Westbrook recently complained that she was broken into twice in a short period of time. Interestingly during one of these occasions she allegedly tweeted that she was stuck in traffic on the motorway. This might have been purely coincidental but possibly the intruders followed her on Twitter, recognised that she was away from home, and identified an opportunity.
• If you are going away on holiday try not to constantly post about it. Wait until you have returned home and then post all the pictures and statuses that you want.
• All it takes is for you to be friends with one burglar unknowingly, or for a criminal to know somebody whom you are friends with and they can see all of your information.

Outdoor Security Lights

• One of the most effective ways to deter burglars is through outdoor security lights.
• P-lux lights are built with tri-sensor technology which enables them to sense light, temperature, and movement. This means that if any burglar creeps past them during the night they are instantly drenched in light.
• Putting lights on the floor can help you in the evening to see where you are going. However some people worry that this also guides a potential intruder directly to the front door. Situate some lights higher up, attached to the house itself, so that the intruder is made visible if they go near the door.
• Make sure you have lights near the back door, the patio doors, and any other potential entrance ways so that burglars are made visible from whatever direction they approach your home.
• As well as adding lights, make sure that you trim back bushes before you leave home. An overgrown bushy area is a great hiding place for intruders so be sure to make your garden as neat as possible before you leave.

If you would like to find more information about how you can add outdoor security lights to help protect your garden then please explore our website or call us on 01773 541 003.

Light up your summer garden with festoon lights

All thoughts turn to the outdoors at this time of year, as the weather improves and we can begin to daydream of sitting outside smelling the remnants of that delicious summer barbecue, with a glass of wine or bottle of beer in hand. But as the long and mild evenings draw closer, how do you plan to add that extra sparkle to those summer nights of respite?

Living and dining al fresco is one of the more pleasurable benefits of the summer, but what if you didn’t have to enjoy such magical moments during just one season of the year? Nothing signals summer evenings outdoors like ambient lighting while entertaining friends or family at those garden gatherings. Dim lights create a romantic, warm feel without attracting hundreds of flies!

With our unpredictable British weather it does prove difficult to find a functional and portable solution for such occasions. Although, why just opt for lighting in the summer months, and not all year round - something to make your garden glisten all year long.

Creating your own seasonal space doesn’t have to involve costly renovations or the re-thinking of your entire living environment, by purchasing the right outdoor lighting you can create the perfect ambience and settings with just a small investment.

Wedding and event planners have used outdoor festoon lighting so beautifully for years and now thanks to more affordable options provided by the Garden Lighting Shop you too can recreate that gorgeous elegance in your very own back garden.

As a quick and effective solution to your entertainment lighting, festoon lighting also has many diverse and varied applications offering the perfect solution when creating atmosphere at summer parties, weddings, garden displays or even just lighting up walkways and dining areas.

Why not cordon off a small corner of your garden to create a new and exciting environment to find respite and put your feet up or even spice up the space rerated by your decking?

With the addition of the right festoon lights you can turn an area of your garden into a brand new venue for relaxation and entertainment, after all , why have a garden if you can’t enjoy it during the day or at night?

How to Create an Eco Friendly Garden

In recent years people have become more and more concerned with the environment, both locally and globally, and this concern is something that is inevitably going to increase as time goes on.

There are of many ways for you to live in a way that is as environmentally friendly as possible in all aspects of life, for example taking the bus instead of driving, walking instead of taking the bus and recycling household waste wherever possible. Of course some things are much easier to do than others and sometimes it just isn't possible to do the most environmentally friendly option; however one way in which all of us can help out our planet a little bit is to create an eco friendly garden.

Whether you have a large garden out in the countryside or just a small space in the middle of a city there is always something that you can do, no matter how big or small that thing may be it will contribute towards helping the environment.

So if you want to completely turn your garden into an eco friendly haven or even if you just want a few tips on how to garden in an eco friendly way then hopefully this guide will help you!

The first thing to keep in mind is natural; avoiding synthetic and chemical products is one of the best things you can do for your garden and the flora and fauna in it:

• It is no secret that chemical fertilizers are not particularly favoured by lovers of nature; plants managed to grow before it was invented so surely they don’t need it now?! That’s not to say you can’t use fertilizers to help give your plants a boost, but use natural alternatives. There are many natural products which you can add to your garden to boost plant growth such as bone meal, cottonseed meal, fish emulsions and composted manure; most of which can be bought from your local garden centre or gardening shop.

• We all know that weeds are a nuisance and can make your garden space look unsightly, so it is no wonder that we all want to get rid of them. Just like with fertilizers, the majority of products that you can buy are synthetic and the chemicals in them are not only unhealthy but they can harm plants that you do not want to kill and reduce the nutrients in the soil. There are several natural products that can act as herbicides including boiling water, rock salt and vinegar, all of which will kill the unwanted weeds in a matter of days. Another option is smothering, it’s simple; if you cover the weeds and prevent them from getting any sunlight then they can’t grow!

• Creating your own compost heap is a fantastic way of tackling two problems, you are able to recycle waste as well as add nutrients to your soil. Recycling is an obvious way of being environmentally friendly and by creating a compost heap with your food and other organic waste you can recycle these products into your own garden, to benefit you. Compost is (organic) waste that has decomposed, when this is mixed into soil it adds nutrients which encourages and improves plant growth. Similar to this is mulch, mulch is materials such as decaying leaves, peat and compost that is used to cover the ground around plants to enrich the soil and insulate it.

It is important to think about wildlife in your garden, both the wildlife that you do want in it and the wildlife that you don’t; firstly let’s think about those creatures that aren't welcome in our gardens.

• Pests are called pests for a reason, some can seem impossible to get rid of and some can keep returning so it is no wonder that the majority of us resort to using pesticides. If you do opt for these then there is one thing that you must take into consideration, many pesticides don’t just kill the pests that you are trying to kill so make sure that you are using a pesticide that specifically targets the pest you want to kill and no others.

• There are natural alternatives that can be used for some pests which are more environmentally friendly. For example you can set up sticky yellow sheets to catch flying insects or you can lay beer or fruit traps for slugs. 

• Birds can be a fantastic way of catching pests as they eat many of them such as slugs and caterpillars. Adding a bird feeder or a bird box to your garden will welcome birds, therefore encouraging them to spend more time in your garden and as a result eat more pests!

Although we work hard to prevent and get rid of a lot of unwanted weeds and wildlife, in order to create an eco friendly garden, flora and fauna are absolutely vital.

• Foreign plants and flowers may be beautiful but they aren't necessarily best for the ecosystem. Not only can they introduce pests and diseases but they aren't naturally suited to the environment and therefore are likely to need more water, more fertilizer and all in all more care. By planting native plants and flowers that are perfectly suited to the natural environment they will require less care and more importantly will improve the local ecosystem as they will create habitats for wildlife.

• Planting trees is extremely eco friendly and beneficial for the local environment for two reasons; they improve air quality and they provide a natural habitat for local wildlife.

• Depending on the size of your garden, having a vegetable patch can be beneficial for your garden and for you. Growing your own vegetables can save you money, make you more self sufficient and maybe encourage you to eat more greens! Even better certain plants grow well together as they help each other in different ways, for example parsley repels asparagus beetles so is perfect for planting next to asparagus.

Water plays a critical role in any garden so if you want to be as eco friendly as possible then you should be as careful as you can be with it.

• Conserving water is easy and practically free, simply set up a water butt that will collect rain water; you can then use this water for watering your garden instead of using water from a hose. This will save you money as it means that you are using less water from your house and therefore paying for less!

• Installing drainpipes that transport water from your home’s downspouts down to your garden is another excellent way of reusing rainwater and reducing the need for using water from your home.

• There are also several types of watering solutions that are more efficient than a regular hose for example a drip line or a soaker hose, these target the roots of plants and therefore there is less wastage. Again this means that less water is needed and you will therefore save money.

To keep your garden neat and tidy you will need different tools and equipment, most of these will just be hand tools that don’t require power, however some gardening equipment such as lawn mowers and hedge trimmers will need a power supply; if you can’t avoid using powered tools then it is important that you stay away from gas powered tools and only use electric.

Of course gardens don’t just have plants in them, we all like to decorate our gardens and make them suitable for us to spend time in. One thing that many of us like to add to our gardens is lighting, this makes the garden look more attractive in the evenings and allows us to spend more time outside during the warm summer nights. If you want to add lighting to your garden but want to keep with the eco friendly theme then solar powered garden lights are the way to do it, these are extremely energy efficient as they require no power source other than sunlight, so they are not harmful to the environment and they save you money.

In conclusion, there are many things you can do to ensure that your garden is eco friendly as well as a place that you can enjoy. Whether you are starting from scratch or just want to make a few changes, we hope that this guide will help you to create an eco friendly haven that will benefit both you and the environment!