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Buddlejas are a favourite with gardeners who want to attract wild life to their garden especially butterflies. But the problem with most varieties of buddleja is that they become lanky and unwieldy.
www.thompson-morgan.com have now introduced a new compact patio variety called Buddleja Buzz. It is available in two colours, Lavader and Magenta. They are taking orders now for delivery spring 2010 at a cost of £9.99 a plant.
Ground cover is the widely used term for low growing plants that cover the soil surface and help to prevent the growth of weeds. They can also be a very attractive feature in parts of the yard or small garden that are difficult to use.
In a lot of cases using single species of plants can be very effective but using a mixture of evergreen foliage plants can make the planting more exciting. The mixture shown is Asplenium scolopendrium, Pachysandra terminalis variegata and Ajuga Burgundy Glow. All these plants are suited to shady conditions and are easy to obtain and grow.
The popularity of deck chairs has grown at an amazing pace in the last few years. New designs have included the Penguin Book Cover designs, The london Parks annual designs and also the availability of having your own graphic image or photo printed onto a deck chair, all of which we have posted on.
These stylish chairs are from www.bau-outdoors.co.uk.
'A contemporary take on the iconic British deckchair, the Bau Outdoor versions come in either a solid black or off-white woven canvas.
The sleek frames are beautifully constructed from merpauh wood and treated with teak oil, are well protected against the elements and will stay looking good for years to come.
Perfect for the Urban garden where space is at a premium, the deckchairs fold flat and take very little space when not in use.'
£69.99 + £9.99 delivery
http://www.bau-outdoors.co.uk/product.aspx/132/deckchairs_contemporary.html
Mon Pot -designed by Julien Bergignat. The ideal lazy yardners pot!
'Mon Pot is a pot for flowers, plants that can help you to know when you need to water it. Some plants do not need water frequently, some plants need to “suffer”, we can easily forget to water them. When it is on the base, you just need to turn the pot towards one of the time indicators, a small mark for one day, a larger one for one week, two larger for two weeks. The pot will turn to regain its original position. This rotation also allows the plant to benefit from more light.'
Trees for very small spaces are difficult to choose. Because they will become a or the major feature in their space they have to earn their keep.
One of my favourites has always been Catalpa bignoniodes, the 'Indian Bean Tree'. It has large glaucous green leaves the size of dinner plates which are the perfect background to the lilac spires of flowers borne in late spring/early summer. These are followed by long dark purple pods of beans which stay on long after the leaves have fallen. There are some super examples of Catalpa at Disneyland Paris alongside the lake where the hotels are!
Catalpa bignoniodes as a tree is too big for most yards so look for the smaller version Catalpa bignoniodes Nana. it can be trained into an amazing lollipop shape which would be perfect planted in a large egg cup shaped container
Why not try folding your own chair? Start McFarlane's Lapel chair can be folded and assembled in minutes without tools or glue. Made from 100% recycled plastic, it is inspired by origami techniques. The Lapel chair is designed for inside and outside use and when you're fed up with it just dismantle and recycle.
http://www.stuartmcfarlane.com £146.00
Not everyone wants to spend the time and trouble to select plants and containers for their patio, yard or balcony. www.thebalconygardener.com run by Isabelle Palmer has the answer to this problem.
www.thebalconygardener.com supplies a range of planted containers in four styles, Contemporary Urban, Edible, English Country and Evergreen. Each of the ranges are supplied planted and ready to display.
Isabelle also supplies a range of garden and decorative items suitable for the smaller garden. Well worth a visit.
My father was a beekeeper so I was brought up with all the paraphernalia of beekeeping equipment. We had smart white painted WBC hives at the top of our city suburb garden as well as two apiaries at farms in the adjoining countryside. It seemed as a child to be a very magical thing, keeping bees in their own homes, feeding them in the hard times with sugar syrup and taking taking most of their honey in the autumn. My interest carried on into my late teens when I studied beekeeping as part of my training at horticultural college.
www.omlet.co.uk has with the introduction of their stylish 'Beehaus' brought beekeeping into the twenty first century. With the recent loss of many of our suburban and rural bees in the last year it is now of vital importance to bring beekeeping into the city. The 'Beehaus' is available in five colours, red, purple, green, yellow and white and a starting kit cost around £465.00
http://www.omlet.co.uk/products_services/products_services.php?view=Bees&about=the beehaus
The Out/In garden Chair is only £701, but that does include delivery, and is worth every penny. You wouldn't need anything else in your yard except perhaps a white rocking dodo!
'The Out/In garden chair is part of a garden furniture range designed by Philippe Starck with Eugeni Quitllet for uber prestigious Italian furniture company Driade. As the name suggests the Out/In chair is as suitable for indoor use as it is for outdoors.
Made from high tech moulded polyethylene the Out/In high garden chair has a very high back (the chair is 1.47 metres high) & looks stunning in groups. It is available in anthracite grey, white or a beautiful silver grey.
The Out/In designer furniture collection was launched at Milan in 2009 & consists of this armchair, an easychair & a garden sofa.'
http://www.gomodern.co.uk/store/philippe-starck-out-in-chair.html
A lot of outdoor sculpture can be very boring and straight laced based on classical designs of the past with no relevance to modern urban gardens. So we hunt elsewhere for interesting features to brighten our yards.
These 'giant rocking dodos' are really childrens play things but the strong design by Oiva Tokka, best known for his collectable glass birds for Littala, makes for great garden sculpture.
Can't find a stockist in the UK but try www.myurbanchild.com
https://www.myurbanchild.com/servlet/the-2668/Magis-Dodo-Rocking-Chair/Detail
