Forget the EU Referendum, watch police join a street rave at Royal Ascot

A fellow police officer posted this on Twitter to show the lighter side of "public order tactics"

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/forget-eu-referendum-watch-police-11522416

Driver rescued after crashing into garage in Charvil

Fire crews had to rescue a person from the car after the crash

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/driver-rescued-after-crashing-garage-13116355

Spending on temporary A&E doctors in Berkshire trebles in a year

Royal Berkshire Hospital brought in extra doctors during the winter to help cope with the increasing demand

from getreading - Health http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/health/spending-temporary-ae-doctors-berkshire-13059879

Plans for first homes on TRL site in Crowthorne revealed

New plans show what houses will look like on controversial TRL development near Crowthorne.

from getreading - Health http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/property/plans-first-homes-trl-site-13109665

Berkshire Bank Holiday severe weather warning cancelled

There's still plenty of rain on the way though

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/berkshire-bank-holiday-severe-weather-13106500

A few of my favourite gardening things…

‘Gardening things’ may sound a bit vague, but I wanted to tell you about a few of the best things that I’ve tried recently.

I’ve bought or been given some items, and others have been sent for review. I’ll make it clear which applies where.

There are also some affiliate links (ie to Amazon), which means you can click through to buy. If you do, I may get a small fee.

The best garden hose…

There’s no such thing as the perfect hose, but I was sent a Flo-Pro garden hose and cart for review. It has transformed our watering.

Before getting the Flo-pro, I used a big brand name hose which constantly kinked. In particular, I dreaded rolling it back up, because of all the to-ing and fro-ing to unkink it. So I tended to leave it lying snaked across the garden, to the irritation of Mr Middlesize.

The Flo-Pro, on the other hand, rolls up and unrolls easily, with maybe just one kink (or two if I’ve really run it  round corners).

The Flo-pro hose and Kent & Stowe’s Garden Life lighter spade.

It’s also got a great nozzle, with a varying spray, which you can close off completely. We are metered. I have occasionally left a hose on in the garden (ie when the phone goes). Being able to stop the flow at the nozzle means much less chance of being distracted and forgetting to switch off at the tap. It also means you can stop watering, if you spot another urgent chore, then start again immediately.

Best cow compost…

I don’t really know how to tell whether one compost is better than another. But when I went to Vasterival in France to learn about French  ‘transparent pruning‘,  expert Dominique Cousin told us that cow compost is better than horse manure for shrubs and plants.

Cows on Oare Marshes – I see them every day on my dog walk, but rarely see cow compost for sale.

Since then, I’ve kept a lookout for a source of cow compost. It seems odd that it’s so difficult to find, as there are certainly more cows than horses in Britain. But I rarely see it. One of our local nurseries usually has a notice saying ‘no cow compost until further notice.’

So when Earthcycle sent me some Organic Peat-Free Cow compost for review, I was delighted. It is lovely and crumbly, and I’ve used it on the veg beds. I think it’ll be difficult to tell the difference in terms of veg growing performance as there are so many other factors in play, but at least we now know where to get cow compost from. They deliver and will also supply wholesale.

Best lightweight spade…

Lightweight tools are the big new story in garden tools. A number of companies have brought in light, strong new tools. Kent & Stowe sent me their Garden Life lightweight digging spade and fork to try.

I have often got twinges in my back from even the shortest digging experience, but I have really found this spade very light and easy to use. And there have been no twinges at all afterwards. I now reach into the toolshed without wincing in advance.

Best inert mulch

I wasn’t quite sure what to think when Westland sent me their Gro-Sure Smart Ground Cover. I had vaguely thought that the point of mulching was to add texture and nutrition to your soil. So why a completely inert mulch?

Six months after using it under a newly planted stretch of hedge, I could see what it does. There were virtually no weeds where I had used the Gro-Sure Smart Ground Cover. The area without the Gro-Sure was thickly covered in weeds.

I put Gro-Sure Smart Ground Cover along the front of this bed but not along the back. There are thick weeds along the back and just a few in the front (after 6 months with no weeding.)

All mulches help suppress weeds because they cover up the weed seeds, but an inert mulch is also very inhospitable to any seeds that are blown through the air.

The fibres in Gro-Sure Smart Cover have tiny hooks in them that cling together (like Velcro) to create a stable layer of mulch. That helps soil retain moisture, too.

Other inert mulches include gravel, slate chippings etc, but the Gro-Sure looks exactly like garden soil. So if you want the look of a freshly-dug bed without the weeds, it makes a good choice.

All mulches break down eventually, but the Gro-Sure has lasted eight months now in my garden without a top-up.

Best photography workshop…

Mr Middlesize bought a day workshop with Clive Nichols for my Christmas present. (I had forwarded him the link, as it’s wise to be clear about these things!)

It took place at Pettifers in Oxfordshire, a delightful (and indeed middle-sized) garden. Pettifers is known as a garden which manages year-round interest, and it also has beautiful views.

A border at Pettifers, taken under Clive’s eagle eye. I wish I could take photos like this all the time.

There were around 10 of us. We ranged from garden-lovers who wanted to learn more about photography to camera-lovers who wanted to know more about photographing gardens.

Clive started with a presentation, showing a range of his garden photos, talking about how he’d taken them. It was followed by a delicious lunch and some practical work in the garden.

Clive demonstrating photography techniques at Pettifers.

At one point he suggested I move my focal point by a tiny amount. The difference to the picture was astonishing.

It then started to pour with rain so we continued indoors, where I learned that you don’t have to find the lightest place in the house to take a photo. You just need a source of ‘soft light’.

Clive set up a chair by a window that seemed to let in relatively little light. He then used a light reflector to bounce the light back where he wanted it.

We took this still life indoors by a window in a corner – certainly not a very bright window. The result is a lovely soft light.

I really do recommend Clive’s workshops highly. It is such a treat to hear about garden photography from a photographer at the top of his game.

Best camera…

I don’t know anything about cameras, but I’m very pleased with the Canon Powershot G1X Mk II I bought last year. I’m not a naturally techie person, and it’s taken me a long time to understand F-stops and exposure triangles. This has been a good camera to learn on.

I asked a photographer friend, John Lawrence-Jones what he would recommend. I wanted something that was better than a phone camera, but I didn’t want anything too complicated.

John recommended the Canon Powershot, and also suggested that I ask Wex Photographic for their advice. They, too, recommended the Canon Powershot (without knowing that he had suggested it).

Macro photograph from Clive’s workshop. Macro means having a sharp focal point with a blurred background, and this is as ‘macro’ as the Canon Powershot Mk 2 gets. But that’s good enough for me, although you can see the blurred image of someone’s trousers top left. Clive warned us…

One of the people on Clive’s photography workshop was a camera expert. He looked at my camera and agreed. ‘I always say that you need to decide your budget and then buy a Canon.’ It seems to be a good choice for people who want a good – but not too complicated – camera.

You can’t change lenses on the Canon Powershot, so you’re limited on its zoom and wide-angle lens capacity. But you can fix a macro lens onto it if you want (for taking close-up flower pictures).

So far, I’ve found that it does everything I want it to. I probably still have quite a bit more to learn from it before I have to trade up.

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from The Middle-Sized Garden http://www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/a-few-of-my-favourite-gardening-things/

Berkshire victims targeted by fraudsters more than 1,000 times in just five months

Action Fraud figures reveal more than a thousands cases of fraud have been reported to police

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/berkshire-victims-targeted-fraudsters-more-13089766

Audi Reading staff not to blame for death of mechanic George Cheese, coroner rules

Peter Bedford concluded George took his own life but staff at the garage were not to blame

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/audi-blame-george-cheese-death-13096175

2,500 Twyford homes left without power after substation fire

Homes and businesses were left without power after the fire at a transformer station

from getreading - Local News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/2500-twyford-homes-left-without-13094132

Reading pub hopes to turn dilapidated outbuildings into bed and breakfast

Reading Grade II listed pub dating from the 1830s could become a B&B

from getreading - What's On News http://www.getreading.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/reading-pub-hopes-turn-dilapidated-13093925

Appeal to find two van drivers after M4 hit and run near Reading

The victim is hospital with serious injuries

from getreading - What's On News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/m4-hit-run-reading-vans-13093265

Reading and Wokingham open books of condolence for Manchester bombing victims

Out-going mayor councillor Mohammed Ayub was the first to sign the Reading condolence book

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/reading-wokingham-open-books-condolence-13090629

Mechanic George Cheese was locked in a cage and set alight by colleagues, inquest hears

Colleagues denied the 18-year-old was bullied and it was workplace 'banter'

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/mechanic-george-cheese-locked-cage-13086388

Armed police to patrol Berkshire stations, shopping centres and crowded areas

More armed police are deployed at key locations in the Thames Valley after Manchester bombing

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/armed-police-patrol-berkshire-stations-13085436

Two teenage girls missing from Ascot and Slough

Officers are growing concerned about 14-year-old Natasha Gill and 13-year-old Olivia Joel

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/two-teenage-girls-missing-ascot-13083096

Thames Valley Police urges people to be vigilant after Manchester terror attack

Public must act as the eyes and ears of Thames Valley Police to defeat terrorism, says senior officer

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/thames-valley-police-urges-people-13080745

The best plants for amazingly low maintenance garden pots

What are ‘low maintenance garden pots’? After all, how low can you go?

Can you go away on holiday for a fortnight without asking anyone to water your pots?

Er, no. Not unless you invest in a watering system. The first thing to make clear is there is no such thing as the ‘no-maintenance garden pot’. All plants need some care.

But my friend Debs has a charming arrangement of pansies on her terrace. They flowered from October to May. She only waters them, and feeds them once the growing season starts. I call that low-maintenance.

They’ve been flowering for six months on minimum care. I particularly like the way Debs has chosen just one colour of pansy for all her pots – it lends a bit of style to a humble pot plant.

This post is sponsored by Phostrogen plant foods and Baby Bio Pour & Feed ready-to-use plant food.

However, I’ve chosen the topic – because my definition of ‘low maintenance garden pots’ are pots that only need watering and feeding (and all plants in pots, however low maintenance, do need watering and feeding!). All opinions are my own, and based on my own experience.

Phostrogen Patio Plant Foood, Phostrogen Slow Release & Moisture Control Plant Food and Baby Bio Pour & Feed Ready to Use Plant Food ready for action in the Middlesized Garden.

Large pots are more ‘low-maintenance’ than small ones…

I once offered to look after a friend’s plants while she was away. She had about thirty very small pots scattered around in ones and twos in her courtyard garden and up the steps from her basement flat.

I put all the pots together in the bath, and gave them a good soaking. Then I put all them all in one corner together. This helps prevent them from drying out so quickly.

If I hadn’t done that, I’d have had to go in every day to water them. Even so, they had to be watered three times that week, whereas my big pots do fine on one good watering a week.

Large pots, such as these ultra-light fibreglass pots from Capital Garden Products, retain water for longer. So they need less maintenance than having lots of little pots.

You can maximise how often you need to feed and water smaller pots by mixing the compost with a water-control products, such as Phostrogen Slow Release Plant Food & Moisture Control. You could water less and wouldn’t have to feed at all.

However, a very small pot, particularly if it’s very exposed, like the one further down this post, will dry out faster, no matter what you do.

Although succulents may be the exception…

Everyone always says that succulents are perfect for ‘low maintenance garden pots.’ I am not quite convinced, as mine get ratty-looking very quickly.

These succulents look so charming in this Whitstable garden. But I suspect the garden owners are better gardeners than I am, as I have never succeeded in getting pots of succulents to look that good.

Succulents certainly need less water than most pot plants, and less food, too. Most pot plants need to be fed every two weeks, but you can feed succulents once a month with a well-balanced fertiliser, such as Phostrogen Patio Plant Food.

But they can be picky in other ways. They don’t like getting wet feet, for example, and need plenty of drainage in their pot. I think mine have rotted because their pots get saturated when it rains.

They have been brilliant on a plant stand, however. My mother had a 1960s plant stand (pictured below). She used to grow blue trailing lobelias (which, coincidentally, she fed with Phostrogen).

I inherited the plant stand, but have found it very difficult to make a success of it. My mother was happy to water plants in pots every day. I am not.  The pots dry out so quickly in the air.

Most plants on a stand like this dry out very quickly, so it’s ideal for succulents.

Box is my No 1 low maintenance garden pot plant

I know everyone is worried about box blight and box tree caterpillar, but my box plants go on and on in their pots.

I may have to change my mind, however. The box tree caterpillar is heading my way, as it is now common in London and the South of England, according to an RHS survey.

This topiary spiral from Bellamont Topiary has been here since September 2015. I haven’t had to trim it, but I water it once a week and have feed it once a fortnight with Phostrogen Patio Pant food.

In theory, you should take your box out of its pot every two years, give it a root trim, then replace it in fresh soil. I will do this for the topiary spiral, but I haven’t for my less elegant box in pots.

I have had these box cones (below) in the same pots for seven years. I water them once a week, and feed them once a fortnight. (Do note when you feed pot plants in your diary – by the end of the summer, one session blurs into another and I can never remember whether I fed the plants last week or the week before.)

This cone is trimmed once a year and watered once a week.

If you’re looking for an alternative to box, I’d recommend yew or another slow-growing evergreen. Buy it at the size you want it, then trim it. If you buy a small one, hoping for it to grow, it will either take a long time or it will need constant trimming once it gets to the size you want.

I’d advise against using ligustrum – I have two lovely privet standards trimmed into lollipops, but they need trimming at least four times a year. Not low-maintenance!

Topiary in pots – high drama, low-maintenance

Topiary in pots gives the garden structure.

Give your garden instant structure with a dramatic piece of topiary. It’s expensive – but cheaper than buying topiary for the garden, and I’ve found it very easy-care.

Cloud-pruned topiary in pots. Very smart. Topiary seems to grow more slowly in pots, so it needs less clipping. Or is that my imagination?

Nepeta and heuchera – two easy-care garden plants for pots…

Before the topiary spiral arrived, Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ made dramatic show in just one season. These stayed in these pots for nearly three years before they gave up the ghost. I simply chopped them back in September and they grew back again with charming grey-blue foliage.The heucheras in the pots in the foreground were extremely low-maintenance too. They lasted two years in the same compost before they were eaten by vine weevils.

Hydrangeas in pots for easy, late-season gorgeousness

Several of my friends swear by hydrangeas as the ultimate easy-care plant for garden pots. They don’t like being short of water, but otherwise seem remarkably unfussy and have a great winter presence.

Hydrangeas in pots: easy to look after. And you can also have blue ones, even if your soil isn’t right as you can put ericaceous compost in the pot.

Friends swear by Hydrangea paniculatas as ideal for low maintenance garden pots.

Plectranthus is good for low maintenance garden pots

This photograph, taken at Doddington Place Gardens, is one of my favourites from last year. The silvery-grey plectranthus looked so simple and elegant all summer long in the copper pots. And the plectranthus is very forgiving, even surviving a shortage of water.

The plectranthus in these lovely copper pots at Doddington Place Gardens even survive being a bit short of water.

Grasses are brilliant for low maintenance garden pots

I’d suggest buying the right size grass for the pot, however. I bought some panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ eighteen months ago. They’ve looked a bit forlorn in the middle of a large pot, although I surrounded it with petunias.

Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’, surrounded by petunias, in its first year in the pot. I had to deadhead the petunias occasionally, but the panicum was fine with weekly watering and a fortnightly feed.

I should probably have started them off in a smaller pot, then transferred them up in size. But that sort of fiddling-around breaks the ‘low-maintenance’ barrier.

In theory, I should lift and divide my grasses every two years, replacing them in new container soil. I may allow them to get thoroughly congested, as I’ve seen a congested panicum ‘Shenandoah’ look fabulous when it was bursting out of its pot.

Grass at the centre of a large planter at Doddington Place Gardens – very easy care.

Grasses in pots look good in the winter, too. I left mine until around February, and it only took ten minutes to give the four pots a haircut.

Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ adding a fountain of grasses to our winter garden.

The secret of a good low maintenance trough…

It may just be me, but I have never succeeded in planting and maintaining a beautiful old trough I was given.

And when I look inside friends’ luscious and romantic troughs, I see that they have simply inserted a grouping of plants in their plastic pots.

Having lots of smaller pots corralled together in a trough isn’t too bad on the watering, as they won’t dry out as fast as they would if they were scattered around on their own.

I’ve given up planting up this trough. I bought some pink marguerites and cosmos from the market and simply popped them, keeping them in their original pots. It took just a few minutes, and if one of them doesn’t do well, I can take it out and substitute it.

About Phostrogen plant foods and Baby Bio Pour & Feed

Phostrogen All Purpose Plant Food

Phostrogen All Purpose Plant Food is a balanced plant food for all garden plants, including shrubs, bedding plants, pots, vegetables and hanging baskets. It can be used either dissolved in water or sprinkled directly on the soil.

Phostrogen Slow Release Plant Food & Moisture Control will feed your pot for 6 months and reduces watering by 75%. Mix it in with your compost when you’re planting the pot up.

Phostrogen Patio Plant Food is for a balanced plant food for pots, containers and hanging baskets, including vegetables, hanging baskets and indoor plants. Use as a dilute solution or sprinkle directly onto the soil.

Baby Bio Pour & Feed is a ready-to-use balanced plant for all container plants. Just measure into the cap and pour around the soil.

The ultimate low maintenance garden pot

Leave the pot empty! Empty pots can look wonderful. Although I have discovered that empty pots are soon colonised by ivy or other plants, which often looks even nicer.

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from The Middle-Sized Garden http://www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/the-best-plants-for-amazingly-low-maintenance-garden-pots/

Thames Valley Police deny rumours of suicides linked to sinister online 'Blue Whale challenge'

Thames Valley Police has received no reports of deaths linked to the game

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/blue-whale-challenge-suicides-reading-13046835

Berkshire mental health services moving to University of Reading campus

Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust has taken 12,000 sq ft of space in the Science and Technology Centre

from getreading - Health http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/health/berkshire-mental-health-services-moving-13059571

Fun day to help save dumped horses in Berkshire

The first major fundraising event is being held since SAFE was granted charitable status

from getreading - Family & Kids http://www.getreading.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/fun-day-help-save-dumped-13044633

Tiny fox cub rescued from Reading play area after getting tangled in netting

After rescuing a tiny cub, the RSPCA warn of the dangers of nets to wildlife

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/tiny-fox-cub-rescued-reading-13041237

getreading's most read stories of the week

The end of the Rising Sun, a major police search and yet another Tesco store have all be generating interest

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/getreadings-most-read-stories-week-13031007

How to create a delightful seaside garden

I’ve been visiting gardens in Whitstable to pick up seaside garden ideas.

Above is a bed from the seaside garden at 5 Clare Road, open part of Whitstable Open Gardens.

The gardens are open for you to visit, too, on 21st May for the NGS Kent’s Whitstable Open Gardens.

No 1 seaside garden tip – no lawn

Immaculate green grass and seaside gardens don’t go together. Chuck out your lawnmower and lay down gravel, decking or shingle instead.

Whitstable beach is shingle, and here you see piles of oyster shells from the Whitstable Oyster Company.

At 5 Clare Road, Janet and Philip say that their triangular garden was originally just lawn flanked by large conifers. They replaced the lawn with shingle and decking. And there’s a bonus. ‘We really don’t get many weeds either,’ Janet adds.

5 Clare Road replaced lawn with shingle and decking.

The garden at The Guinea, a converted pub in Whitstable.

At The Guinea, a converted pub, Sheila and David’s garden was just lawn and a drive. They changed it into gravel, with lots of pots and planting, plus a stone terrace.

If you do have grass, think dunes.

Paint everything white…

At 5 Clare Road, all the garden fittings are painted white. The shed, the fence, the house walls and even the bin store…

White walls at 5 Clare Road – painting everything one colour also helps disguise the fact that some of the boundary is marked by fencing and the rest by wall – a common issue in town gardens.

White-painted bin store at 5 Clare Road. With a sedum green roof.

There’s lots of white at The Guinea, too…

Although black is also a ‘seaside garden’ colour…

The black wooden fishermen’s huts and workshops are a distinctive element along the Whitstable beach. At The Guinea, Sheila and David have echoed the traditional look by painting the back extension roof and also their storage huts in black.

Echoes of the black wooden fishermen’s huts and workshops in The Guinea’s garden.

Derek Jarman’s garden further down the coast at Dungeness is the classic ‘beach garden’, and also echoes the local black fishermen’s huts.

Plant into the gravel, stone or shingle…

Your gravel or shingle will be laid on a membrane, but you can cut through it to plant. Plants on a beach grow directly out of the sand or shingle, so scattering plants through the garden rather than having ‘beds’ will create a seaside garden feel.

Sea kale on Joy Lane Beach, Whitstable

And a salvia growing directly out of the shingle at 5 Clare Road.

Or use raised beds…

Raised beds, edged with weathered wood, are very ‘seaside garden.’ If you’re directly on the beach, it’s the only practical way to grow vegetables or flowers.

Raised veg beds at Clare Road.

Garden writer Francine Raymond is also opening her garden for Whitstable Open Gardens. She uses a mix of raised beds, agricultural feeding troughs and recycled galvanised bins and tubs as raised beds for her vegetables.

Francine grows veg in raised beds, galvanised agricultural feeding troughs and recycled zinc bins.

Francine’s agricultural trough.

Or pots…especially in recycled containers

Pots are very seaside garden. That’s because a garden on the beach won’t have soil or will have very poor soil. You’d need to plant most things in pots.

Pots on a table at The Guinea.

An old shelving unit and recycled containers for pots at 5 Clare Road

A fishy theme on a pot at The Guinea.

Kathie and Stuart’s beachside Ocean Cottage has a roof garden, planted with recycled pots of all kinds.

Kathie and Stuart’s garden is on a roof overlooking Whitstable Beach. It’s a punishing environment for plants. Kathie says that the combination of wind and salt air means that plants often die suddenly. However, they sometimes bounce back.

The roof is covered in pots of various sizes. Some are recycled tins – for example, the olive tins she gets from a friend with a deli. As it’s difficult to eat enough olives to empty a good-sized planter, the idea of asking deli owners for old tins is a good one.

Kathie says that she replants plants from other gardens or grows quite common plants because there’s ‘no point in planting something valuable when it’s so vulnerable.’

Kathie tries common and easily available plants out in the roof garden – there’s no point in spending lots of money on precious specimens as it is a harsh environment.

There are more recycled containers here in 10 ways of bringing the beach back to your garden.

Be a beach-comber…

It’s time to channel your inner beach-comber. Although you’re more likely to be combing junk shops, car boot fairs and vintage shops than the beach. But the principle is the same. A seaside garden will have things in it that other people have thrown away.

Objet trouves, shells and pots of various sizes, along with an old sink.

Succulent in a pot at The Guinea.

Pots are layered on shelves all up the sides of the roof. They include an agricultural feeder (top right), old olive tins, terracotta pots, galvanised troughs and lots more.

Especially shells, of course…

A seaside garden has lots of shells.

Seashells and stones at Clare Road, dangling from an old lampshade.

However, you are not legally allowed to take stones, pebbles or other material from the beach. I don’t think this is very fiercely enforced, but at least one woman has been prosecuted for gathering stones and shells for her garden.

You can buy shells and stones, however, from garden centres or online here (affiliate link)

Succulents make good beach garden plants…

Succulents are everywhere at the moment. I haven’t seen a garden without a regulation of pot of succulents for years. But they do work well in a seaside garden context.

Succulents displayed on a painted ladder at The Guinea

A display of succulents at 5 Clare Road on a recycled table.

Vintage furniture…

The salty sea air and the wind weather paint quickly. So even if your furniture is newly painted, a few months on the beach will batter it about.

A metal chair at 5 Clare Road.

Or paint furniture in shades of sea, sky or sand…

Good ‘seaside garden colours’ include all the shades of sea, sky or sand – although bright colours also have seaside cred, too. Think of decking stripes or cheery checks.

Or choose tin furniture in faded beach colours. Table and chairs at 5 Clare Road.

Table, chairs and upcycled ladder display painted in soft lavender blues at The Guinea

You can buy ‘bistro style’ or ‘pavement style‘ folding metal chairs here. That’s an affiliate link, so you can click through to buy. I may get a small fee if you do, but it doesn’t affect the price you pay.

Add sculpture with a coastal theme…

Pheasant Farm is also open for the NGS on several days this year, and also for private groups by appointment. It’s open today (14th May) and although it’s not a ‘seaside garden’, it overlooks Oare Creek, so there are maritime elements to it, such as this stunning seabird sculpture.

A beautiful seabird sculpture at Pheasant Farm, Oare.

The gravel garden at the front of Pheasant Farm.

The garden shed at Pheasant Farm has an old railway sign on it to seaside towns, such as Birchington and Herne Bay.

And finally, don’t forget Faversham Open Gardens & Garden Market Day, on June 25th 10am-5pm. There are no seaside gardens, but there is almost every other sort, plus plants and gardenalia to buy. Hope to see you there!

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Support network for victims of domestic abuse, stalking and hate crime launched

Victims First website is launched to provide support and advice for victims of crime

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/support-network-victims-domestic-abuse-13031795

Donors who have saved 2,000 lives urge others to give blood

Donors have been recognised for their dedication over the years.

from getreading - Local News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/local-news/donors-who-saved-2000-lives-13007544

Developers in Wokingham could be prosecuted under new anti-flooding powers

Bylaws give Wokingham borough the right to prosecute to prevent flooding

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/developers-wokingham-could-prosecuted-under-13025611

70s pop star sells Berkshire home with stunning and surprising garden

Breathtaking Japanese garden for sale in Berkshire village is an oasis of tranquility

from getreading - Property http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/property/70s-pop-star-sells-berkshire-13013297

Police update on death of man found unconscious in West Reading

The man died after being found in Prince of Wales Avenue with serious head injuries

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/police-update-death-man-found-13020641

The Queen visits Pangbourne College to celebrate 100th anniversary

It is the fifth time The Queen has visited the Berkshire boarding school, having opened the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel in 2000 and visiting again in 2007

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/queen-visits-pangbourne-college-celebrate-13008968

Berkshire Wickes worker stole almost £10,000 by faking refunds

Wickes’ team leader also shoplifted from the Newbury store where he was employed

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/berkshire-wickes-worker-stole-10000-13001842

8 steps to the long thin garden of your dreams

Two years ago Emma and Mel moved to a house in Whitstable with a long thin garden.

They came from a London flat with no garden at all: ‘I’ve been dreaming about how I would create my own garden for years,’ says Emma.

Mel and Emma have a colourful border on just one side of their long thin garden.

When they bought the house, the garden was a long thin strip of decking, concrete and lawn, with one tree. It hadn’t been ‘gardened’ for many years.

Now their garden is open for the Whitstable Open Gardens with the NGS on the 21st of May.

1. Think about the lines first

Mel and Emma contribute very different skills and talents to the garden. Like Harold Nicolson at Sissinghurst, Mel’s strength is structure and geometry: ‘I know nothing about plants,’ she says.

Emma is a passionate and committed gardener. She left her office career to become a gardener when they moved out of London. Now she works as a gardener two days a week at the Salutation Garden in Sandwich.

There’s a post here on the dahlias at the Salutation.

Emma and Mel’s long thin garden seen from the other end. Planting is deeper at the top and bottom of the path, because it has a slight curve in it.

Good gardens are a combination of good structure and planting. Emma and Mel decided to have a border on just one side of the garden. They ran the path to one side, too.

If they had planted beds on both sides of the garden, the garden would have looked narrower.

The lawn is also set to one side, rather than straight down the middle. That, too, helps the garden look wider.

The path has a slight curve in it, to take it round the tree. So the beds at the top and bottom of the garden are deeper and fuller.

There is more about paths in narrow town gardens here.

2) Every inch of space counts in a long thin garden

Mel and Emma say that inches count if you’re gardening in a very narrow space. When they completed one of their raised beds, they realised it wasn’t in quite the right place – just by 12 inches. They dismantled the bed and moved it.

Raised beds for vegetables at the bottom of the garden, plus a charming seating area.

3) You can have everything you want in a long thin garden

Mel and Emma have a large terrace, a path, full borders, a lawn, a newly dug pond, a meadow area, a vegetable patch, a greenhouse, a shed and wildlife area. Yet the garden is probably no more than 20ft wide (5 metres).

The greenhouse is towards the bottom of the garden and set to one side, so that you can see past it. The meadow area and wildlife pond is just in front of it. Emma uses a bulb planter to plant the meadow plants in the grass.

Their bug hotel straddles two raised beds.

4) But harmonise the hard landscaping materials

There’s a sense of unity in the hard landscaping Mel and Emma chose. They have a fence, path, terrace, greenhouse, gravel, raised beds and a shed, all in much the same bleached-out tones.

In a narrow garden, it would look bitty to have too many colours in the path, fence and sheds. Mel and Emma have lots of different materials. But almost all are similar in tone and colour.

Although they got rid of the large expanse of decking, they chose a deck path for the garden. It looks harmonious with the fencing. The bleached wood is also echoed in the greenhouse and the shed.

The decking path is harmonious with the fencing. Because the garden is long and narrow, the path is close to the fence, which is why thinking about the two together is important.

5) Have different places to sit throughout the garden

Create places to sit throughout the garden. There’s the terrace outside the back door, a bench halfway down the garden to one side and the little seating area at the end.

There’s a terrace directly outside the back door, with a seaside theme on the table.

There’s a bench on one side of the garden, to take advantage of the shade under the tree. It’s surrounded by a small patch of ‘meadow’ grass.

6) Divide the garden up with design

Divide a long thin garden up into ‘rooms’. That is the standard garden design advice. Mel and Emma have chosen to do this, but to do it very lightly.

The garden is divided up by different planting, benches or hard landscaping rather than by fences or hedges.

‘We decided not to divide the garden up with hedges or fences,’ said Mel.

Mel and Emma have divided their garden up almost ‘invisibly’. The greenhouse divides the raised vegetable beds from the rest of the garden, but you can still see through.

Changing from lawn to meadow divides up the long thin grass area.

7) Don’t skimp on terrace size

Mel and Emma have been generous with the size of the terrace outside the back door of their house.

When space is short, it’s tempting to try to save space, by making the terrace just large enough for a table and chairs. But a generous terrace starts the garden off with a flourish. And it also means you have room for furniture and pots.

There’s a table, chairs and lots of room for pots on Mel and Emma’s terrace.

8) Use container planting to create colour and interest

Container planting and pots work well in smaller gardens to create more structure and interest. Mel and Emma have wonderful pots all around the garden. You can also use move pots around to change the area of interest.

The seating area at the bottom of the garden has a little table with pots on it.

Pots are also useful because you can move them around for different effects.

An old sink is set into a border. It looks great surrounded by flowers.

These are some ultra-narrow ‘borders’ that Emma and Mel had built to cover up the ugly fence footings on the terrace. They’re a mix of brick and sleeper wood and are just a few inches wide/deep. They’re planted with gravel and succulents – one of the pretty details that make this garden worth a visit.

Visit Mel and Emma’s garden with the Whitstable NGS on May 21st

There are a total of 10 town gardens to visit on May 21 in Whitstable, including the garden of Sunday Telegraph writer, Francine Raymond.

See Francine Raymond’s garden in the Whitstable Open Gardens on May 21.

Don’t miss three new ‘seaside’ themed gardens!

5 Clare Road, one of three ‘seaside’ themed gardens in the Whitstable Open Gardens scheme.

And another date for your diary!

Do come to the Faversham Open Gardens & Garden Market Day on Sunday June 25th.

Pin this post for later

The post 8 steps to the long thin garden of your dreams appeared first on The Middle-Sized Garden.

from The Middle-Sized Garden http://www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/8-steps-long-thin-garden-dreams/

Berkshire restaurant named among best in the world

Private jet lifestyle magazine Elite Traveler teamed up with Grey Goose to run the sixth annual awards

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/berkshire-restaurant-named-among-best-12992884

In pictures: Pride of Reading 2017 launch party

Business leaders and community champions helped officially launch the 2017 Pride of Reading Awards

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/pictures-pride-reading-2017-launch-12979807

Reading firefighters channel Bruce Springsteen in new fire safety video

There are some talented musicians - and dancers - in the fire service

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/reading-firefighters-channel-bruce-springsteen-12990325

Try out archery for free in Berkshire with The Bowmen of Warfield

The Bowmen of Warfield are hosting the open day at its Target Archery Club in Binfield

from getreading - Family & Kids http://www.getreading.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/try-out-archery-free-berkshire-12981836

Countess of Wessex Sophie launches The Abbey School anniversary celebrations

Royal visitor launches 130th anniversary celebrations at The Abbey School in Reading

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/countess-wessex-sophie-launches-abbey-12988391

Berkshire man who had sex with underage girl avoids jail

London's Court of Appeal heard Ashley Cane's was too lenient 

from getreading - Reading & Berkshire News http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/berkshire-man-who-sex-underage-12972743