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Weeds are simply wildflowers growing in gardens, that gardeners don't want. Some get sprayed, others get pulled, so you might not even ever see them in flower. So, here is some wildlfowers in August. These are typical are what you might find in any grass verge on a country lane. As you can see, some are quite pretty. Next year, perhaps leave a small part of your garden to grow wild and see what shows up (for example behind the garden shed), and these native plants are great for bees and butterflies.

Autumn officially began on the 22nd September, here in Britain. So here is a last look at some late summer flowers. Still some Dahlias and Chrysanthenums in gardens, but things are certainly turning autumnal shades and summer flowers are being thrown in the compost bin, where they will slowly decompose to create soil for next years flowers.

 

Good news! The greenhouses and most of the smaller storage sheds, ideal for lawnmowers, bikes etc, are available again this month, after being unavailable for months. Unfortunately, the prices have increased quite a bit compared to early 2020 as there has been 3 manufacturer price rises due to the price of timber, which has rocketed since the pandemic began.

Unfortunately the price of water butts and composters will be going up in price this weekend. For the last few years the price has remained the same, but now the manufacturer has increased prices due to the cost of plastic rising, and also the delivery companies that deliver these products have recently increased their prices.

So, if you are looking at the water butts now, and think you will wait a few days, please consider ordering now so you can buy at the current price.

For a while now it has not been possible to deliver the 330 litre composters to South West England, Scotland or Wales. The good news is the haulier is now delivering again to the South West England region, so if you live there, you can now order one if you want. Unfortunately delivery is still not possible to Scotland or Wales, but it is likely this will be possible by the end of summer. (330 litre composters have never been delivered to Northern Ireland).

https://www.gardenis.co.uk/products/220-litre-green-plastic-composter

In recent days there has been flash floods in the London area and serious flooding in Germany and Belgium. Water butts if widely used in an area can slow water going into drains considerably....

You might have heard about the concept of turning garden lawned areas into 'mini wildflower meadows', where wildflowers are grown to help bees and butterflies. A great way to make your garden more wildlife friendly. Gardenis.co.uk already sells preformed ponds and wildlife pond liner pond kits that are popular, so I thought I'd create a new mini wetland kit, which can help create an area in your garden that resembles a small wetland. It includes

1 small preformed pond

1 medium preformed pond

1 4x3m pond liner

The two preformed ponds can be used to create deeper pools. The pond liner rather than be used to create a deeper pond can be placed in a hole of about 10cm with gravel, logs and rocks to create a shallow area. Alternatively the liner can be cut in half, with one half used for a shallow area, and the other to create a bog garden, by digging a hole of about 15cm deep, placing the liner in, then covering with soil, then plant pond marginal plants. The liner will help keep the soil marshy. Add a variety of native marginal and pond plants, and before long the mini wetland will attract aquatic insects, birds and possibly frogs, newts, toads and dragonflies. The kit can be ordered here;

https://gardenis.co.uk/collections/pond-water-features/products/mini-wetland-kit

Two things Gardenis.co.uk will NEVER sell is artifical plastic lawns and plastic plants. Both are terrible for the environment and nature. Firstly, at some point, all these lawns, or more accurately, plastic outdoor carpets, will end up in landfill and remain there for centuries, in contrast to real lawns, where the grass, if removed, just turns to compost. Secondly, they are a disaster for wildlife, which is under enough pressure from us humans. How can a blackbird get a worm from a plastic lawn, and where is the nectar for bees and butterflies on a plastic hanging basket? 

However, it is understandable that many people find lawns too much work, and especially if the homeowners are getting elderly or have mobility problems. However, there is some really nice natural alternatives to grass lawns that are great for nature, look lovely and are much lower maintenance than grass lawns. Plastic lawns are not cheap, and the money spent on covering your grass lawn area with one, could easily be spent on one of these options. Here is a summary - 

 

This article from the BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57247757

is interesting, as this is something we have experienced. The timber products have had 2 prices rises this year from the supplier due to the increase in global demand for timber. This has unfortunately made the timber sheds and other garden products a lot more expensive.

Another recent development is the pond manufacturer has been having problems getting hold of the specific required plastic to make the preformed ponds, so currently the Large has gone out of stock, with only the medium  and small preformed ponds available, and these will probably become unavailable at some point when stock is depleted. If you were hoping to get a large pond, the main option is the plastic pond liner, or alternatively you could opt for 2 medium ponds, which is 400 litres, and combined just 20 litres less than the large pond, and just £5 extra, with no delivery sucharges to pay. These can be placed long ways to create a longer, narrow pond, or can be placed near each other as a double pool pond, with some pond edging plants, placed between them.