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New from the USA are these pavers from www.vastpavers.com that are a green alternative to concrete. They are made from 95% recycled tyres and plastic. Sitting neatly on a grid system, they are easy to lay and also take up. The pavers are available in a range of muted and natural colours and in three thicknesses.
Great for roof gardens and balconies as they are lighter than concrete or stone.
http://vastpavers.com/products/composite_paver/general_information.php
Pinus strobus Horsford is a compact form of the Eastern White Pine. It has amazing greeny blue thin needles that form a rounded bun shape. Being dwarf and only reaching about 24" high it makes a perfect container plant. Make sure any old needles are cleared out of the centre to keep it shape and allow movement of the needles in the breeze.
This simple idea from www.ladderallotments.com allows for a large growing area in a small space.
Up to a 5m of growing space is gaining using the Ladder Allotment which can be attached to walls or fences.This unique design can be attached to sheds walls and fences. It is constructed from pressure treated timber which has been FSC sourced.The Ladder Allotment comes in flat pack form and should take about 30 minutes to assemble.
A new free standing version is also available.
http://www.ladderallotments.com/index.html
Prices from £27.99 + £7.00 P&P
It is great to find another unique chair for the yard. This is the 'i b pop' from www.bluemarmalade.co.uk.
'i b pop has such a unique form, because they have taken a single sheet of plastic and turned it into a stunning contemporary chair. i b pop is perfect as a dining or occasional chair and can also bring easy style to any outdoor space. The colour options with a different outside and inside colour are ideally suited for making matching sets or inverted colour combinations.'
http://www.bluemarmalade.co.uk/en/products-Ib-pop.htm
£159.99
These chic watering cans were last on sale in the 80's & 90's. Their almost art deco styling made them very popular in the 'Thatcher years'. Available in 5 and 10 litre sizes and in four colours they will be available at garden centres early next year.
www.bosmere.co.uk
I know all the gloom and doom merchants go on about how you should never plant Russian Vine, Fallopia baldshuanica, in a small garden as its rampant and if you turn your back it swallows half of England! But I don't care! I love love love it. It has attitude and likes a fight - cut it back as hard as you like and it hits back. So you have to be the master and in doing so you get wonderful green foliage held on red stems that will cover anything in your yard you want it too. I teat it as cheap topiary and cut it into shapes. The best of all is you get to autumn and wow the Russian Vine is covered in loads of frothy creamy white flowers - not so doom and gloom now!
So who's going to join me in the Russian Vine Appreciation Society?
There are a wide range of seed kits on the market but this one from www.ugro.co.uk took my eye. At £9.99 per kit it would make a great Christmas present for a keen yard grower or for a novice starter kit.
The "Get Growing" seed kits come complete with everything you need to get your seeds growing. Including packets of seeds, biodegradable pots, plant markers and labelling pencil, compost and full instructions booklet.
You can choose from 'Healthy Vegetables', 'Delicious Herbs' and 'Oriental Vegetables'.
Why stick to the standard reds and yellows when choosing and planting tulips? There are such a variety of more unusual forms and colours.
The above is Tulip Rai which has deep violet frilled, ruffled and flared petal that are splashed with contrasting light yellowish green accents. They are available from www.thompson-morgan.com at 10 for £8.99. A companion tulip would be Tulip Exotic Emperor which has double white flowers that are streaked with vibrant dark and lime green on the outside. (available from www.hayloftplants.co.uk)
Some of the showiest Tulips around, Parrot Green Wave has strikingly beautiful pink & white ruffled flowers flamed with green. Dazzling & different this unusual May flowering tulip has immense flowers.
http://www.gardenoasis.co.uk 10 for £8.95
To contast against some of these colours and link with the underlying lime green found in these tulips try planting them in containers with the Trailing gold Creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummularia Aurea, that has lime green foliage in spring and the early flowering Euphorbia Polychroma, that has wonderful acid yellowy green flowers in early spring.
New at the Autumn Fair (NEC Birmingham) this year were these unusal pots from www.4all-seasons.com .
They are made in Bali Indonesia using pebbles and concrete. A slate version is also available, Various sizes are produced from small 10cm candle holders up to large planters. They also produce stunning round pebble and slate water features. Look out for them in garden centres next year.
Lambs Lettuce or Corn Salad as it is sometimes known, is a hardy and highly nutricious winter salad crop that has attractive green leaves and a slighly nutty flavour. It is well suited to growing in pots, trays or growbags over winter in a small grow house or cold frame. It can be grown as single plants or 'cut and come again' seedlings. By growing under cover you will get better quality leaves and the plants will be more productive.
There are two forms of Lambs Lettuce, the broad leaved and the dark leaved compact varieties that are more popular in Britain. Why not try Carallo, Elan or the old variety Volhart, with its bright green leaves.
Lambs lettuce is best used in a miwde sala with chicory and radicchio.
