yardz

WHERE DO I PUT THE WHEELIE BIN?

The wheelie bin has arrived.

Having been in our new house for two and a half years, our local council has decided that we can become part of the recycling scheme now our road has been 'adopted'.

A few weeks ago our recycling boxes arrived for papers, bottles, cans, etc. and now they have delivered our 'green waste' wheelie bin. It's a great idea, we can fill it with cardboard, vegetable kitchen waste and any prunings, etc. from the garden. All these gets taken away and turned into compost which the council then sells.

Great! but where do I put this big green bin in my 5m x 5m yard? Its not good looking and stands out like a sore thumb. I have found the above though.

The Coverbox - the bin fits neatly inside the galvanised steel shed - functional but very trendy!

www.maxmartin.at

VERTICAL GARDEN

Vertical Garden by Joost Bakker

Joost Bakker is a sculpter who uses a wide range of materials from leaves & flowers to discarded objects.

"Vertical Garden is a sculptural almost architectual form, allowing leaf and flower to inhabit spaces, to create spaces, with a natural raw beauty"

What a great idea as a simple yard divider that would allow light through yet create an amazing green wall. Could become a salad machine if planted with salad leaves, salad onions, Tumbler tomatoes and herbs.

www.schiavello.com.au

CONTAINERISED KIWI

Dianella nigra Marg Pringle

A superb New Zealand plant that looks a bit like a young phormium. Dianella Marg pringle has tufts of variegated cream and white foliage that the edges can tend to turn pink. It has white flowers in the summer that are followed by viridescent blue berries on a long stalk in autumn. Dianella makes a great container plant or plant in large groups in a sunny position.

http://www.trevenacross.co.uk/shop/page8d.htm

CHEEKY ART

Cheeky Mojito specialise in art designs to live outdoors. The designs are a bold mix of retro and stylish geometric illustrations. The canvas is 100% water proof and start from £95.00.

There are currently 36 designs and all are in a limited edition of 150. New designs are being added all the time.

www.cheekymojito.com

CLASSY PLANTERS

It is so difficult to find stylish pre-constructed raised beds. They are usually made of untreated timber or white plastic panels - not what you are looking for in your lifestyle statement yard.

These raised beds are from www.citysquared.co.uk and are really for public realm applications.

 Available in a variety of standard and bespoke sizes, the Basic Planter is tough, attractive and easy to install. The Planter consist of a stainless steel frame with heavy duty hardwood panels & a galvanised steel liner.

It is not cheap at £1299.00 per unit (excluding VAT & delivery)

http://www.citysquared.co.uk/products/basicPlanterP1.html

RHUBARB MOUNTAIN

One benefit of our constant bad weather, I can't remember that last day we had without rain, is that our rhubarb has been amazing.

I planted Rhubarb Red Champagne last year and only pulled a few sticks. This year we have had so much and the quality has been so good that we have frozen large amounts.

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2713524/27245996

URBAN GNOMES

Urban Gnomes from Vitamin.

An alternative to the traditional garden gnome. Comes in a cool range of graphic designs. 21cm high. £49.50

http://www.vitaminliving.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=14

WHAT A MISTAKE TO MAKE - OR HAVE I?

Last year I planted a 'Russian Vine', Fallopia baldschuanica, against one of my yard walls. I knew that Russian Vine was a rampant bully that grows at a 'mile a minute' but I had a new small garden and very bare 8' brick walls.

This month, having covered a large area of those walls, tried to throttle any tree or shrub within its extended reach, and now heading for neighbouring gardens, you would think I would be reaching for the spade to dig it out!

But no, wait, it is justing starting to flower, beautiful blush white flowers covering its growth along the length of its growth and it looks superb. I will keep it - but I will have to make sure it knows who's master and prune and clip it back as required.

www.crocus.com £7.99 3ltr

TYRED OUT

I understand that we now have a shortage of bark chips that are used by gardeners as a decorative natural mulch. They are being used as fuel in power stations and will become more and more difficult to get for garden use.

A newish product, 'Dunweedin', was introduced last year as an environmentally friendly alternative to bark.It is made from recycled tyres that are granulated to form a realistic bark substitute. Available in a range of colours - blue, granite, plum, brown and terracotta, it is also impregnated with citrus to not only mask any lingering rubber smell but also to deter cats and dogs. 10kg £7.99 500kg £325.00

www.dunweedin.co.uk

RADIO WAVES

Perfect for our British summer!

The THYKO radio designed by Marc Berthie, is a rubber covered AM/FM radio. Available in red, blue, yellow, green and grey. £38.30

http://www.madeindesign.co.uk/prod-Tykho-Lexon-refla42r.html