Most of the evergreen topiary on sale in garden centres and on the web are standard spheres of 'box' (buxus). For something different look for cubes of 'box' - they are more achitectural and a lot easier to clip!
www.newleaftopiary.co.uk From about £128.00 40cm cube
Barby weathers here so you're all prepared with the furniture, the barbeque, the food and drink and oh yes ...what about the music? Yes that right you get the old stereo out with the cable going through the window or find something on your MP3 player and put it in its speaker dock. Not very professional so why not look for something taylor made.
'The OutCast weather-resistant, wireless speaker lets you enjoy rich multi-directional stereo sound throughout your house, in your yard, on your patio and even on your boat. With broadcast range of up to 350 feet, this powerful wireless speaker receives transmissions through walls, floors, and ceilings without the hassle of running wires.'
As regular readers know I am a sucker for bird feeders and boxes that are a bit different. This eco friendly feeder from www.henandhammock.co.uk fits the bill.
'Stylish window bird feeder made from an eco friendly recyclable plastic.
Semi transparent, with a contemporary leaf design which makes it easy to see the birds from any angle.
This bird feeder is easy to attach to a window using the four suction pads and to assemble into a teepee or tunnel shape.
The tray can be used for birdseed and scraps, the wooden perch can be used to skewer apples and suet balls can be hung from the roof clips. It makes a beautiful, practical gift.'
wwwandhammock.co.uk £18.00
http://www.henandhammock.co.uk/products/product_detail.asp?240,0,6,0,2
Water butts are a must in even the smallest garden in the most urban of situations. Most found in garden centres are just green plastic barrels that attach to a rainwater down pipe. These are fine for larger gardens but for yards and small spaces, as yardz has highlighted in the past, something with a bit more design is required. These water butts from www.water-tanks.net come in various sizes and colour finish and have a stylish simplicity that almost hides their purpose.
'Garden Water Butt 280ltr White Marble
Slimline tough and durable water butt ideal for sliding in to small spaces. Made from medium density polyethylene our new 280Litre comes with an 8" vented lid and 3/4" bsp outlet which is ideal for connecting a garden tap or even connecting water butts together.'
www.water-tanks.net £125.35
http://www.water-tanks.net/acatalog/Garden_Water_Butt_280_Ltr_White_Marble.html
Nepeta 'Walkers Low' is a great summer flowering perennial that is low growing, aromatic and gives bag loads of flower in early summer. It is perfect for small gardens as it is easily controllable - cut it back after flowering and it will give you another show in late summer. Great for planting in a raised bed where it will grow over the edge and soften the hard wall. One disadvantage is that it will attract any cat in the neighbourhood who will revel in lying and rolling in it!
'Deep violet to lilac-blue summer flowers and aromatic mid-green leaves. This violet-lilac catmint makes excellent, long-flowering, groundcover for a sunny border. Clipped back after the first flush in June, it flowers through to early autumn. Useful as an informal, scented edge for paths as, when trodden on, the foliage releases a pleasant aroma.'
www.crocus.com £5.99
I know that the Compospere is not the most practical object to have in a small garden but the design of it is just great and would make a great feature in its own right!
'The CompoSphere is a 315 Litre spherical composter which, because of its shape and design, allows you to easily mix and tumble the contents simply by rolling it around. Similar to a conventional compost tumbler, but its not restricted to a frame and its certainly not conventional!
Every time you roll the composting process is accelerated. Roll regularly and use an organic accelerator and you could enjoy a new supply of compost within a matter of weeks.
The CompoSphere is rotationally moulded using 100% recycled plastic and features an easy-twist lid. Its two hemispheres nest inside each other for convenient shipping and storage.'
www.greenstamp.co.uk £89.99
Clematis can easily be grown in small gardens on walls and fences but some are also suitable for growing in containers. The clematis shown in the photo is Clematis Fireworks. It has been in the container for almost twenty years, travelling down to Devon with us on moving, and always flowers well both in early summer and again in the autumn. If planting in a container make sure it is as big as possible, at least 24"/610mm across, and use a soil based compost such as John Innes No.3. Keep well watered through out the growing season, feeding every 10 days with a general liquid feed.
'The Clematis Fireworks has some of the largest flowers in the Clematis world, Fireworks has two separate flushes in the season May - June then again in Sept. This Clematis can tolerate shade and will grow to around 10 feet. Fireworks can be grown in a container or the garden and has the AGM.'
www.taylorsclematis.co.uk £8.00
http://www.taylorsclematis.co.uk/product.php?productid=16175&cat=269
Our small yard garden is now three years old. We started with a blank canvas as the house was on a new green field site in rural Devon. The plot is small, south facing, on a heavy soil and slopes steeply towards the house.
In those three years we have worked to create a plot that gives us somewhere to sit, relax and entertain as well as planting that gives us twelve months of interest and also a certain amount of food in the form of salads.
Birds now visit our garden to feed and then bath in the clear water of the rill. We have bats flittering over the garden at night in search of the insects that hover over the lush foliage.
Sadly our neighbours have plots in the state they were when the builders moved out. A square of grass or gravel and maybe an odd shrub or two. No trees even when offered by the builders are planted in these barren plots. I can understand that they are not interested in traditional gardening or do not have the time to improve their plots but what a waste. A waste in enlivening their lifestyle by not using this available space when there is so much information around to help and garden furniture, plants and accessories to excite.
The trendiest plant container this year is the wire Cage planter. You may have noticed it on Chelsea display gardens this year.
This white version is available from www.heals.co.uk. £120.00
'This wirework planter has a retro feel and is a great alternative to heavy terracotta or ceramic pots.'
http://www.heals.co.uk/Planters+Pots-/Cage-Planter-White/invt/897283
Dwarf French Bean Speedy from www.suttons-seeds.co.uk is great for growing in small spaces. This year I'm growing them in plastic troughs in multipurpose compost. I have used them as an edging to the overhanging deck where I hope they will be both decorative and productive.
They are ideal for containers being easy to grow and as their name implies they are speedy, growing to harvest in seven weeks. Keep sowing to the end of June/early July to give fleashy pods 13-14cm long up to the end of September.
