Pruning roses in the correct time is important for encouraging strong growth and vibrant blooms. The ideal time is late winder or early spring, just as the plant begins to wake back up. This is usually after the time when buds start to swell but before new growth.

You will also need the right tools, which should be something like this:

Bypass pruners are sharp and precise, perfect for cutting smaller stems and branches. You might also need long handled loppers for thicker branches and stems which are harder to reach. Gardening gloves are very important so you can protect your hands from thorns and irritation, and disinfectant is required to disinfect tools between cuts, so you don’t spread pathogens. Rubbing alcohol or a diluted bleach solution will work well.

Inspect the rose bush for any dead, damaged or infected wood. Dead wood should appear brown and dry, with no green tissue when cut through. It should be removed completely, cutting back to healthy tissue.

Diseased wood can have discolouration, lesions, or fungal growth. If you spot any, cut away the affected area and dispose of them. Make sure not to compost diseased material. Make sure to prune back to live, healthy tissue. This ensures that the plant’s energy is not wasted on dead or unhealthy branches.

When pruning, always try to cut just above an outward facing bud. This will encourage the plant to grow outward, helping the bush create an open shape. Pruning at a 45 degree angle allows for better water flow, preventing water from collecting on the cut. Prevent making cuts too close to the bud, a quarter of an inch of space is fine.

Roses need airflow to prevent infections and increase healthy growth. Thinning out crowded areas makes sure that sunlight can reach all parts of the plant. Look for branches that cross over or rub. These can cause damage, opening entry points for diseases. Look for areas where the plant is growing too dense or uneven and remove any weak growth. A balanced shape will help the bush direct its energy to strong and healthy stems.

After pruning, roses can benefit from nutrients to support their recovery and encourage new growth. Apply a balances fertilizer suited to roses, following the specific instructions. Mulching around the base of the rose can help moisture, suppresses weeds, and insulates the roots from extreme temperatures. Use mulch such as shredded bark or compost, and avoid piling it directly against the plant’s stems to prevent rot.

At Grasshopper Garden Services, we can make sure that your garden is at its full potential.

How to care for garden tools

With summer on its way, it’s time to get your garden in order. Kelly Friel, from trade tool and equipment suppliers Zoro, shares her tips for keeping your garden tools in top condition all season long.

Gardening is seeing a huge resurgence in popularity. The UK’s overall garden retail market value is estimated to be a whopping £5 billion, thanks to a 29% increase in health-conscious celebs and millennials are embracing the great outdoors and growing their own produce (AirTasker).

However, failing to properly look after your gardening tools can make this wholesome activity harder and more expensive for budding and seasoned gardeners alike. Below are my tips for how to maintain, store and repair your gardening equipment.

Maintenance

It’s important to clean your tools after every use but remember to regularly check your tools for wear and damage, even if they’ve been sitting unused in your shed for a while. If you have any power tools, you’ll need to take extra care to check these regularly as hedge trimmers, lawn mowers and other motorised equipment could quickly become unsafe to use, even if it only seems that there are minor issues with them.

To clean your tools, remove soil and loose dirt with a brush. If you need to use soapy water for heavy mud or grime, use a cloth rather than submerging them and make sure your tools are thoroughly dried to prevent rust and rot. Spray metal surfaces, including blades, with oil to prevent rust from forming and rub bare wooden parts with a rag soaked in linseed oil to avoid splintering. Following these maintenance steps help keep your tools safe to use and can even make them last longer.

Repairs and restoration

If your tools aren’t in perfect condition, there are a few things you can do to get them back in fine working order. Rusty tools can be restored by scrubbing with wire wool to remove the surface coating but be careful not to wear away the steel underneath as it can make your tools thinner and weaker. Similarly, if your wooden handles have become rough, use sandpaper to smooth them but be careful not to scrub too much wood away.

For dull tools, you can use a grinder to keep your tools sharp and efficient if you feel confident using one. However, a hand-held file can work just as well to sharpen your trowels, shovels, and blades.

A tool with a wobbly handle could mean that the connecting hasp has become loose, or the wood has worn away unevenly. Secure the head of the tool in a vice and use a drill or hammer to remove the handle from the hasp, sand down the wood until it is even, then put the handle back into the hasp and tighten it up.

Broken or snapped handles should be replaced, as even a well-repaired handle will be weak and more likely to break again. You can replace a tool handle by loosening the hasp, removing the broken handle and popping in a new one, then closing it up again as above.

Storing

Storing tools properly not only protects them from rust and weather damage but can make the right tool easier to find when you need it. A properly organised shed or tool cupboard is also more efficient space-wise, giving you more room for storage, and prevents accidents caused by falling items or tripping.

Invest in shelving, racks for poled tools, and hooks for trowels and secateurs. One stylish way to tidy your garden storage that is popular at the moment involves nailing an old wooden pallet to the wall to hang your tools off. This keeps them off the floor, dry, and easy to grab when needed.

With the tips in this guide, you can make your tools last longer and perform better, saving you time and money best spent on working your garden.

If you’re looking to sell your home, the chances are you’re doing all you can to make the internal spaces in your property look as inviting as possible. From a fresh lick of paint to a deep clean, homeowners looking to sell up are used to preparing their property for viewings.

But did you know that showing your garden a little TLC can be just as beneficial, maximising kerb appeal as part of a would-be buyer’s first impression. In fact, spending a few hundred pounds on the outside appearance of your home can add thousands to its market value.

In this blog post, Fantastic Gardeners has teamed up with Lawnmowers Direct, a leading online provider of garden tools and machinery, to explain how property owners can prep their garden ready to sell their home.

Take care of your lawn

This tip might seem obvious, but keeping a lawn in prime condition is no easy task and one which many home sellers often let slip.

From the risk of a discolored lawn during particularly dry and wet weather to the threat posed by pesky and persistent weeds, there are plenty of things that can damage the all-important first impression. Taking the time to keep your lawn in top condition can be a real selling point.

From ensuring your grass stays green during the summer months to going one step beyond with your cutting efforts to create impressive lawnmower art, having a vibrant and healthy lawn scores a point with potential buyers before they even step through the front door.

Add garden features

As satisfying as it is to look at a perfectly manicured lawn, one shade of green doesn’t leave much to the imagination for prospect purchasers.

Adding colour, textures and features to your garden in the form of plants and flowers, patio areas, water features and more can help spark creativity in interested parties and help them to picture living in your home, which is always a good sign.

A cleverly designed garden can be an exciting prospect for potential buyers, but be warned: it’s important to not go over the top. Add too much to your garden space and you could end up confusing buyers and, in some cases, putting them off all together.

Keep it tidy

Remember, kerb appeal is all about creating an instant attraction to a property and its surroundings. Done right, it can be the factor that makes a sale.

It’s a surprise to many that kerb appeal doesn’t have to cost the earth. Simply keeping your garden space tidy can add to your home’s overall kerb appeal.

From maintaining your lawn at the perfect length and removing fallen leaves to ensuring hedges well trimmed throughout the year, staying on top of the day-to-day upkeep of your garden can be what gives prospects the push to book a viewing and even put in an offer.

No matter the size, shape or style of your garden, keeping it in order while your home is on the market can help boost interest and potentially lead to a fast sale. Get in touch with Grasshopper Garden Services today to see how we can help!

4 ways to transform your garden into a wildlife haven

Who wouldn’t love to see their garden supporting local wildlife? We spoke to Nicky Roeber, Online Horticultural Expert from Wyevale Garden Centres, who told us how we can transform our garden into a wildlife haven.

The UK has seen a decline in wildlife populations in recent years due to pesticides, climate change and non-biodegradable plastics (WWF). But we can help to support UK wildlife numbers by growing animal-friendly plants, providing food and creating varied habitats. In this article, I’ll be sharing my top tips on how to turn your garden into a wildlife haven.

Grow native plants

Plants that are native to the UK are a great idea for maintaining the ecosystem.  This is because non-native plants can outcompete their native neighbours for space and food and there is an increase of diseases being brought in from overseas. That’s not to say you shouldn’t plant non-UK grown varieties, just make sure to select plants that have been responsibly sourced and their origin is known. Great native varieties to plant are: lavender, marigolds, cosmos, hyacinths, crocus, and daffodils, as well as herbs like rosemary, sage, oregano, and thyme.

If you’ve got the room, it’s a good idea to plant a mixture of flowers, shrubs, and trees, as these can all attract different kinds of wildlife. So, the more varied your garden is, the more wildlife you’re going to attract. Shrubs and bushes like hawthorn, bramble, firethorn, and holly are ideal for enticing a mixture of animals, because they provide good shelter for homes and nesting, as well as food.

Build wildlife-friendly homes

Different animals like different places to live, so having a mixture of habitats means you’re going to attract a lot of diverse wildlife to your garden.

Trees such as birch, oak, and lindens are great for attracting squirrels. But, if your garden is too small to start planting trees, you can leave out food like walnuts or hickory nuts, as well as acorns, which are all hugely popular with squirrels and can encourage them to visit.

A pond will also make a great addition to your garden, as they’re perfect for attracting different types of water-loving animals like frogs, toads, and newts. Birds also love drinking from ponds and can often find insects in the water to eat, too.

When creating your pond, it’s good to surround it with different varieties of plants that can provide varying environments for the animals living there. Things like purple loosestrife, water mint, pennyroyal, greater pond sedge, and great water dock are perfect for providing wildlife with shelter from the sun as well as a place to hide from predators.

Hedgehogs like to roam freely through different gardens at night, so they need easy access through fences. You can easily create a ‘hedgehog highway’ by providing little walk-ways in your fence. Simply cut a 13x13cm hole in the bottom of the wood. This should be big enough for hedgehogs to get through, but won’t allow any small pets to escape.

Compost heaps and log piles are perfect nesting places for hedgehogs and can also attract slugs, worms, snails, beetles, and even frogs and toads.

Entice wild birds

Birds are by far one of the most common animals we see in our gardens in the UK. Who doesn’t love waking up to the sound of them chirping? You can encourage more birds to visit your garden by planting evergreen shrubs, which will provide shelter for birds all year round. The likes of blackberry, elderberry, hawthorn, holly, and firethorn bushes give great protection when nesting, and birds will love eating the berries.

You can also put up birdfeeders and nesting boxes for them. It’s wise to hang these around two metres off the ground so other animals, such as cats, can’t reach them. In terms of food, sunflower seeds, peanuts, nyger seeds, suet balls, and mealworms are great at attracting different species of wild birds.

Help the bees

You probably know by now that the population of bees has been showing a decline in recent years, but what can we do to help bring the numbers back? By planting a mixture of flowers in our gardens, we can attract bees and give them a good place to live — just make sure that the flowers you choose will provide them with plenty of pollen.

In the summer, plants such as fuchsia, sweet William, sunflowers, hollyhocks, snapdragons, foxgloves and honeysuckle are great for bees. They also love busy Lizzie, which is great for hanging baskets if you’ve got a smaller garden. In spring, it’s best to plant horse chestnut, sycamore, and flowering cherry trees as well as spring crocuses.

For autumn, Michaelmas daisies, open-flowered chrysanthemums, and dahlias are perfect for the little pollinators. When it comes to winter, you can keep any surviving bees happy with snowdrops, winter-flowering crocuses, and hellebore.

Creating a wildlife garden is really easy to do. Just remember to keep things as varied as you can to broaden the diversity of the animals you attract. If you follow my simple tips, your garden will be full of wildlife before you know it!