Whether you are looking for Berkshire automated garage doors or any other style, we will be only too happy to help you in the process. Our team are helpful and friendly and happy to assist with any questions you have. They all have expert knowledge regarding garage doors, so let them help you make the process of choosing your new door easier.
Wildflowerhour this week was a glorious shimmering sea of blue, as so many of you joined in with the #bluebellchallenge!
You captured some incredible images. The talented @JoAnnuniki took this week’s star image above.
The beautiful photograph below of the native Hyacinthoides non-scripta was taken by @sarah_lambert7.
A striking very pale form of our native bluebell was spotted by @chilternwoods.
The hybrid bluebells that you found were, as to be expected, highly variable and differing in shape, hue and the arrangement of the individual flowers.
In this image snapped by @KateGold24 the blue anthers are clearly visible.
A carpet of bluebells is a breathtaking sight, further enhanced by the bluebells delightful fragrance. In this beautiful photograph by @dorsetphill you can almost imagine yourself lost amongst the delicate blooms.
We hope you enjoyed the #bluebellchallenge. Thank you so much for taking part!
More of your gorgeous finds can be seen in the collection below.
There are few sights more enchanting than that of a woodland carpeted with an expanse of the English Bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta.
Alarming then, that in recent years there has been talk of an alien invader, a conquistador, in the form of the Spanish Bluebell, posing a threat to our much-loved English native.
You can hear Isabel Hardman and Mick Crawley discussing this very topic on the latest Wildflower Half Hour podcast!
For this week’s challenge we thought it would be a bit of fun for you to find a Bluebell and then work out whether it’s English, Spanish or the hybrid between the two!
So how do you tell the difference between the Spanish and the English and what does their hybrid off-spring look like?
EnglishBluebell
Above is a lovely English Bluebell spotted by wildflowerhour member @juhaynes_93.
In a nutshell, the English Bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta has narrow leaves between 1-1.5cm with hooded tips, slender sky-blue flowers which are sweetly scented.
The flowers also have straight parallel sides and droop elegantly to one side. Look inside the flower and the anthers are creamy-white.
SpanishBluebell
Rarely encountered outside gardens, the Spanish Bluebell, Hyacinthoides hispanica has broader, fleshier leaves, 3cm wide.
Generally scentless, the flowers are a paler blue and the overall shape is a wider, flared bell-shape. Each flower is held more erectly on the stem. Look inside and the stamens are pale blue.
HybridBluebell
Above is a lovely image of a hybrid Bluebell snapped by @Airerys.
As you may expect, the hybrid off-spring, Hyacinthoides x massartiana has a blend of its parents’ characteristics.
This plant is variable, the leaves may be between 1-3.5cm wide. The flowers are paler and more widely bell-shaped than its English parent.
The flowers are arranged stiffly and spirally around the stem and so has an upright look. Peer inside and the stamens may be blue or cream.
This is a very simplified round up! Don’t worry if you can’t identify your Bluebell. The lovely wildflowerhour community will be on standby to help.
Post your pics for #wildflowerhour this Sunday on Twitter, Instagram or in our Facebook group using the hashtag #bluebellchallenge.
Happy Bluebell hunting!
For inspiration below are some other #wildflowerhour members Bluebell finds.
What an amazing Wildflowerhour! Woodland up and down Britain must have been alive with Wildflowerhour members this week, as so many of you took part in the #woodlandlants challenge!
You didn’t just find the beautiful Bluebell either!
This week’s featured image is the stunning Herb Paris photographed by @MoiraVelli. Its Latin name is Paris quadrifolia, but perhaps this particular plant should be renamed!
Other lovely finds include Town Hall clock, Adoxa moschatellina, found by @JonathanPembs.
A magnificent Lords and Ladies, Arum maculatum spotted by @thorogoodchris1.
Finally, the #woodlandplants challenge wouldn’t be complete without our native Bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta. @DavidBBurbidge took a perfect shot complete with a gorgeous Early-purple Orchid, Orchis mascula.
The rest of your wonderful #woodlandplants finds can be seen in the collection below.
On the latest episode of the #wildflowerhour podcast, Isabel Hardman interviews Professor Mick Crawley about the English Bluebell and the threat from its Spanish relative and hears about the great botanical fraud of the 20th century from the journalist who revealed the full story, Karl Sabbagh.
You can listen to this podcast on iTunes, Acast, Stitcher, Spotify and all other good podcast platforms. Just let us know if it doesn’t turn up on yours and we’ll add our feed. Please also considering leaving a review of the show as it helps other people find it more easily which means that more people will learn about how amazing the native flowers of Britain and Ireland really are.
from #wildflowerhour http://www.wildflowerhour.co.uk/blog/2018/04/22/podcast-fake-news-and-frauds/
Garden privacy screens have really changed alot in the last few years. There are lots of new, exciting designs.
As more houses are built, gardens get smaller and more overlooked. Privacy is increasingly difficult. But new companies have poppped up, making garden privacy screens a design element as well as a functional one.
The main new development is the patterned metal garden screen. It’s usually laser-cut and made of corten steel or powderised aluminium. You’ll see them in many show gardens – where screening your design from your neighbour’s is key.
Laser-cut privacy screen from Screen With Envy creates a private corner in the garden.
However there are also new contemporary designs in traditional materials, such as willow or other woods.
If you prefer to watch a video, you can see most of these garden privacy ideas here:
How much garden privacy can you expect?
If you live in a town or you have neighbours, then don’t expect total privacy in a small garden. Aim for one or more private corners.
This is where garden shelters with screening work so well, especially if they’re at the bottom of the garden. You probably don’t want them near the house as they’d screen light from your windows. But further down the garden, a garden shelter with a screen can make a private outdoor dining room or place to relax.
Contemporary slatted wooden dining pergola from Tom Hill Garden Designs at the Ascot Garden Show. Although it’s only screened on one side, there’s a hedge behind, and the windows you can just see wouldn’t be able to see the diners underneath. It’s not total screening – there are gaps, so it will be light, but that’s enough privacy to have dinner without your neighbours being able to see exactly who is there and what you’re eating! In some slatted pergolas and screens you can shut the slats if it rains or cover the roof in polycarbonate.
This seating area designed by Langlea Garden Design creates a private but sunny space a few metres from a boundary.
Distract the eye with partial screening
I asked Mat Webb-Jenkins, MD of Stark & Greensmith Ltd about their garden privacy screens and fences. He explained that when you give the eye ‘something to rest on’, then you distract it. That’s why screens with patterns and gaps do work as garden privacy screens, even though you can, technically, see through them.
Laser-cut corten steel screens from Stark & Greensmith, seen here at RHS Chelsea. Used here as garden fencing, these panels are also good privacy screens, as they let through attractive patterns of light and distract the eye. They’d also filter the wind in windy spots – well worth thinking about as solid walls and fences make the wind go up and over.
Close-up of corten steel laser-cut garden privacy screening from Stark & Greensmith.
This is a brick-built screen between the terraces of two adjacent properties -one is my brother’s house – in El Canuelo, Spain. Although you can see through the gaps, you are barely aware of any activity beyond, perhaps because there is lush planting and the walls are thick.
This is a very see-through screen from Kate Gould Gardens at the Ascot Show, but it still distracts the eye from what’s beyond (there are white tents, but you’re barely aware of them!)
Kate Gould uses see-through divisions between different parts of the garden at this show garden at Ascot Garden Show. You would be able to see people, but it’s rather like Venetian blinds in a house.
Screening practical areas or eyesores
Mat Webb-Jenkins says that there are two kinds of people who often want privacy screening to distract the eye or screen new extensions. ‘We often get people ringing up to say “my neighbour has built a really ugly extension, and we don’t want to have to look at it”. Or you get others calling to say “we’ve built a really gorgeous new extension, but our neighbours are being completely unreasonable and say they don’t want to see it.”
As an extension is often quite sizeable, it’s probably a question of distracting the eye rather than covering it up altogether. Or make one part of the garden private from the view of the extension.
This double pergola from Jacksons Fencing has wires and growing boxes so you can create a living privacy screen. Useful for espaliered fruit trees.
Jacksons Fencing say that ‘Double pergolas are great for flanking walkways to create a feature path or even a terrace, and for separating patios, creating extra privacy when dining. You can add growing beds with tensions wires between the posts for climbers, which would eventually give a green screen effect.’
This would look good with espaliered fruit trees, which can make a great garden privacy screen.
This terrace at the St Erth garden in Southern Australia is screened by an espaliered fruit tree, trained onto wires anchored to decking.
A trellis and pergola from Jacksons Fencing creates a private space anywhere in the garden.
Trees or screens for privacy?
You can consider planting a tree or trees to screen an eyesore, but a towering conifer could take over your garden (and all your neighbours’ gardens). There’s more about trees for privacy in my previous posts – the important thing is to consider the line of sight. Don’t fall into the trap of surrounding the edges of your garden with the tallest trees you can manage. Consider having one or two trees, placed to interrupt the line of sight, whether it’s a window you want to screen or a view you want to block.
It may not matter if the tree is deciduous – if you only need privacy for the summer months when you’re out in the garden, then you’ll have a much better range of trees to choose from. Before choosing your tree, consider if it’s suitable for your soil and climate and find out how fast or high it grows.
This nicely shaped holly at Leeds Castle screens the upper windows.
These multi-stemmed silver birches, planted away from a boundary hedge, would make a good screen for upper storey windows in summer, while also being a delightful feature in the border. Also seen at St Erth garden near Melbourne, Australia.
Francesca Sideris, Design Director of Langlea Garden Design, says that trees draw the eye into the garden rather than allowing you to focus on what’s beyond the space.
This garden was designed by Francesca Sideris, Design Director of Langlea Garden Design. You’re more likely to look at the evergreen olive trees than at the buildings behind them.
Know the law about screening for garden privacy
In most parts of the United Kingdom, you can’t have a fence higher than 2 metres without getting planning permission for it. Councils vary as to whether you also need to get planning permission for trellis on top of that.
The guidelines around hedges are less strict and rely on how the local council interprets them, but generally you’ll need to keep an evergreen hedge below 3 metres. See here for more about hedges for privacy.
And wherever you live, you may have local laws or regulations restricting how high hedges, trees and garden structures can be.
But I see thousands of pictures of small urban gardens in London with high fences and trellis so you may live in a part of the world where nobody worries much. Or you may get your neighbours insisting you reduce the height of your screening!
These trellis panels from Jacksons Fencing are for both planting and garden privacy. You may have height restrictions on how high you can take your trellis, so check first.
But garden structures can be higher than garden privacy screens
A sloping roofed pergola or bench can be an excellent choice. Pergolas, gazebos and other garden structures can be 2.5 metres high. If they’re more than 2 metres from the boundary, they can be up to 4 metres to the top of a pitched roof, with eaves no higher than 2.5 metres (UK legislation).
This is a gorgeous example of garden privacy screening. It’s higher than it could be if it sat on the boundary so there is a path between it and the fence, but it creates an all-weather space to sit while screening the buildings behind. By Langlea Garden Design.
Depending on what you are trying to screen, this can give you lots of privacy. And because your pergola or gazebo is lower near your neighbour’s boundary, you won’t block their light so much. Even if there is no legislation where you live, it makes sense to consider your neighbours when creating privacy in your garden.
This has a cantilevered roof sloping away from the boundary, and is designed by Langlea with a Thai theme. An ideal solution for the end of a small garden!
Garden privacy screens in front gardens
Many people prefer a thick evergreen hedge screening their front windows. But if you have a wonderful view – for example if you’re close to the sea, like the front garden below – then you may want to make your front garden special. This garden below was designed by Langlea Garden Design and has stone seating and a stone firepit.
A six foot high evergreen holm oak hedge screens a seating area in this front garden designed by Francesca Sideris, Design Director at Langlea Garden Design.
Drop your terrace down a level
This is a heavy earth-moving solution, but if you’re landscaping your garden, you may be able to create an extra private seating area by having tables and chairs at a lower level than the garden privacy screens. The advantage of this is that even a 4ft high screen would give you about 8ft of privacy, but wouldn’t block your views of the rest of the garden (or your neighbour’s light).
This seating area is in the All the Flowers garden for Yardley by Pip Probert. It makes the most of different levels, and there are two garden privacy screens positioned to create a private space without blocking light.
With more garden shows coming up, I’ll be returning to the subject of garden privacy again. And I’ll be looking out for other new garden trends, so do join me, either on the Middlesized Garden blog or the Middlesized Garden YouTube channel.
Well, you have certainly found some stunning road verges this week!
The featured image is of a glorious carpet of Wood Anemones, Anemone nemerosa snapped by @KateGold24
Throughout the week you have spotted a profusion of Primroses, Cowslips, Cuckoo flowers, Bluebells and Wood Anemones!
This charming Pembrokeshire verge was photographed by @JonathanPembs
@dolly_and_dj found this lovely carpet of Sweet Violets, Viola odorata growing alongside a busy bypass!
The eagle-eyed amongst you managed to spot Danish Scurveygrass, Cochlearia danica as featured in last week’s podcast episode. This one was found by @PinkfootedGus on the central reservation of the A96.
Many of you also found a diminutive plant which is often overlooked.
The lovely Ground Ivy, Glechoma hederacea, a frequent resident of roadside verges. Up close the flowers are beautiful. This fabulous image was captured by wildflowerhour member @Barbus59
Lastly to finish this gorgeous verge full of Primrose, Primula vulgaris Spotted by @rosebroadly
Thank you so much for taking part in the #ontheverge challenge. Wishing you all a week of happy flower hunting!
The rest of your fantastic #ontheverge finds can be seen in the collection below.
I’ve just been to the Ascot Garden Show, England’s newest garden show (held 13th-15th April).
It can’t be easy to start a garden show from scratch, but the Ascot Garden Show has done it very well. Most big new horticultural shows are organised by the RHS. But this one is a partnership between Ascot Racecourse, The Savill Garden and The Valley Gardens at Windsor Great Park.
Stephen Bennett, former shows director at the RHS, is at the helm, so his expertise is evident. But it’s quite a different venture for a racecourse to take on. A new RHS show can rely on the reputation and customers of the RHS, but as Ascot Racecourse says ‘it’s sporting different colours’ to do a garden show.
What I liked about it
With 30+ specialist plant stalls, 6 show gardens and 6 ‘young gardener’ gardens, plus other stalls, it’s big enough for a day out. But it’s also small enough to get round. You can probably see everything.
There was also a full programme of talks from horticultural experts and celebrities, such as Pippa Greenwood, David Domoney and more.
And, above all, there are lots of places to sit down or eat and drink. I’ve often left a garden show earlier than I intended to because I was exhausted. It’s great to have a food court, but you need places to rest between food courts if your show is big.
The Show Gardens
The quality of the six show gardens was excellent. They were all relatable and had ideas that would adapt to a garden of any size.
Tom Hill’s On Point garden. I love the balance of the planting and colour.
Claudia de Yong’s garden for the Association of Professional Landscapers was extremely pretty but also showcased landscaping elements with clear glass ‘windows’ in the decking and stonework to ‘what lies beneath.’
Claudia de Yong’s Posh Shed in the APL garden.
A Garden for All Seasons by Kate Gould had an interesting use of screening in a garden – a way of dividing up an area but still being able to see through.
The Young Gardener of the Year competition
There were six student gardens from Capel Manor College, Pershore College, Shuttleworth College, Writtle University College, Myerscough College and Reaseheath College.
One of the student gardens for the Young Gardener of the Year competition.
See more of Ascot Garden Show in this video
It’s easy to get to. You can walk to Ascot Racecourse in just seven minutes from Ascot station. And there’s free parking in the racecourse car parks.
The Ascot Garden Show is definitely a high quality show, but it’s also relaxed. I hope it stays small enough to keep those qualities. But even if it grows, the venue is used to handling crowds, so it has great potential to become part of the horticultural calendar.
I’ll be visiting other garden shows throughout the year. You can see them on the Middlesized Garden YouTube channel and the Middlesized Garden blog. So do join me by subscribing – just enter your email in the box on the top right, or go to the YouTube channel and click on ‘subscribe’. Thank you!
We are asking you to check what’s in flower on the road verges!
If you have been listening to the Wildflowerhour podcasts, you will know how important our roadside verges are and how they form a linear sanctuary for many species of our wild flora.
So go out and see what is in flower on a verge near you, photograph what you find and post your pics using the hashtag #ontheverge for #wildflowerhour this Sunday 8-9pm on Twitter, Instagram or in our Facebook group.
Don’t worry if you can’t name your finds the lovely friendly community of Wildflowerhour will be on standby to help you.
In the latest episode of the Wild Flower (Half) Hour, Isabel Hardman explores some of your favourite nature reserves, learns about a very popular roadside verges plant, and discovers the plant that inspired the creation of LSD.
from #wildflowerhour http://www.wildflowerhour.co.uk/blog/2018/04/09/podcast-the-wild-flower-that-inspired-lsd/
A host of golden daffodils is this week’s highlight and featured image, fittingly from the heart of Wordsworth country!
A beautiful shot of our native wild daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus ssp pseudonarcissus taken at Grizedale by Wildflowerhour founder @issybryonyh
This gorgeous shot of the Snake’s-head Fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris was taken by Wildflowerhour member @JoAnnunaki
@potager_cook found Allium triquetrum flowering in North London, a pretty but invasive alien species.
The curious Butcher’s Broom, Ruscus aculeatus photographed by @KateGold24
After the recent significant reclassification of the Lily family, Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem, Gagea lutea, now considered by Stace, to be our only native member of the Liliaceae. This shot taken by @Huffy_Bird
Finally, several of you found bluebells just coming into bloom. This lovely shot of our native bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta is by @LeifBerwedsen
This week’s #wildflowerhour really felt as if Spring is here at last!
The rest of your fabulous #lilychallenge finds can be seen in the collection below.
A new week, a new challenge! This week we would like you to try and find a member of the Lily family. Sounds simple enough, right?
Except, If you have listened to the latest podcast you will know it is not that straightforward, with significant reclassification of this former family.
However for the purposes of our challenge we are happy for you to follow the taxonomy as detailed in The Wildflower Key by Francis Rose.
The Lilaceae is a large family of diverse forms. Typically it can be characterised by the flowers having six equal, similar perianth segments and usually having six stamens.
The perianth may be separate or fused and usually the ovary is three-celled and superior.
Many species of the Lily family flower in the Spring and you may see the Fritillary, Fritallaria meleagris which is just beginning to bloom.
The Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem, Gagea lutea is also a member of this family.
As are the more familiar favourites of Daffodil, Bluebell, Snowdrop, Spring Squill and the Summer and Spring Snowflakes.
The Alliums are also members of the Lilaceae. You may spot Ramsons or Wild Garlic, Allium ursinum or Three-cornered Garlic, Allium triquetrum.
Some less obvious family members include Butcher’s-broom, Ruscus aculeatus, the Solomon’s-seals and Asparagus!
Flowering slightly later in the season, the beautiful and enigmatic Herb-Paris, Paris quadrifolia is also a member of the Lily family.
So as ever, have fun seeing what you can find!
Post your images for #wildflowerhour Sunday 8th April between 8-9pm using the hashtag #lilychallenge.
Our latest #herbologyhunt spotter sheets are now live!
You can download the sheet for free here, or if you want your child to join the Wild Flower Society as a #HerbologyHunt member, then they’ll get printed copies of the spotter sheets, along with a free hand lens. More details on how to join here.
from #wildflowerhour http://www.wildflowerhour.co.uk/blog/2018/04/02/april-spotter-sheets/
In the latest episode of the #wildflowerhour podcast, Isabel Hardman learns about botany in a city, and how wild flowers have adapted to London life, finds out about the flowers in our latest challenge, and hears a reading from Zoe Devlin’s beautiful book, Blooming Marvellous.
You can listen to this podcast on iTunes, Acast, Stitcher, Spotify and all other good podcast platforms. Just let us know if it doesn’t turn up on yours and we’ll add our feed. Please also considering leaving a review of the show as it helps other people find it more easily which means that more people will learn about how amazing the native flowers of Britain and Ireland really are.
from #wildflowerhour http://www.wildflowerhour.co.uk/blog/2018/04/01/podcast-wild-flowers-in-the-city/
