yardz

A BIT MORE THAN A BBQ

 Electrolux has launched the Outdoor Kitchen, designed by landscape designer Jamie Durie. It features the Electrolux Integrated Barbeque and the new Electrolux Integrated Burner. It is a remarkable addition to the Electrolux outdoor entertaining portfolio with as much emphasis on beauty besides function. The outdoor kitchen is made from eco-friendly materials and has the signature branch detail and actual greenery as a basic part of the design. What’s more it can be custom designed to suit an individual’s requirements. It blends effortlessly into the garden and has the beauty to draw people out of their houses making them spend their leisure time outdoors.

Designed by Toby Clayton, the Lotus relaxer is made from three sections of powder coated laser cut steel. yardz saw it at the Chelsea Flower Show last month and it really is stunning.

Available from www.hmeng.co.uk  £1200.00 including cushions.

 

DOUBLE YOUR PATIO YIELD WITH AN EARTHBOX

The Earthbox from www.earthbox.co.uk is a super design for 'growing your own' . The growing boxes are small enough to fit on a patio or balcony and growing in them couldn't be simpler. 

The Earthbox is easy to use and it uses a fraction of water and fertilizer utilised in conventional growing. Available in two colours - Hunter Green and Terracotta. Initial kit starts at £34.99

 

PUTTING THE WIND UP THE COMPOSTER

This is a great design from Ben Bangser. Style, practicality and eco friendly - what more could you ask for in a modern garden product.

The Kineticompost creates nutrient rich compost 10x faster than a conventional composter. The barrel turns once for every 200 revolutions of the windmill. This turning motion mixes and aerates the compost material allowing it to break down quickly.

www.tuvie.com 

REACHING THE HEIGHTS IN THE YARD

Putting height into a small outside area can be difficult - trees are great but for immediate effect why not try these high wooden posts as used by the Eden Project in their Chelsea garden this year.

Its nice to see stained wood being used without overkill. Cuprinols Garden Shades are perfect to replicate the effect using pressure treated timber to help prevent rotting.

THE MODUS RAISED BED

Over the last few years we have seen many types of raised bed for the small garden launched on the market place. Most have been very basic composed of rough timber that is cheap and works well but is not very stylish.
Sculptor David Watkinson had designed this modular raised bed system in marine grade aluminium and stainless steel fittings. It will last a lifetime and as a bonus has slug repellent properties.
Www.davidwatkinssculpture.co.uk

Blog posted here.

STYLISH BUZZ WITH A MENU WASP TRAP

Entertaining in the yard on summer evenings can be ruined by wasps upsetting family and guests alike. Wasp traps are the perfect solution but most on the market are cheap plastic models with little style.

Designed by Pernille Vea for Menu, the organic wasp trap is made from charcoal grey glazed ceramic and stainless steel. The trap once filled with a mixture of sugar and vinagar acts like a fish trap, once the wasp is inside it can't get out!

www.bombero.co.uk   £20.00

http://www.bombero.co.uk/epages/Store_Shop852.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Store.Shop852/Products/4749139
 

CLOCHES OR SCULPTURE

It's not always the show gardens or superb plant displays that catch your eye at the Chelsea Flower Show. Sometimes it's things that may not be what they seem. These traditional glass bell cloches are normally used to protect tender plants but enmasse they look amazing as a modern scipture that can change as the plants grow beneath them.

ASIAN STYLE AT CHELSEA 2010

This years RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London last week was one of the best of recent years. It is difficult to know where to start in posting the things that relate to yards and small space gardening.

The garden by Kazuyuki Ishihara, 'The Image of Parts', showed how much effect can be made of planting small spaces using mainly green foliage and Moss. Movement within the garden was provided by a high drop waterfall which gave a muffled rather than load sound of falling water as cleverly the water slid down an acrylic slope. This is a great idea if you want a feature waterfall without upsetting your neighbours with the load noise usually generated with a strong flow waterfall.

The other feature was the use of pure white cobbles running throgh the garden and in the bed of the stream. Whether they would stay white for long in the British climate I'm not so sure.

 

UP TO SCRATCH FOR CHELSEA WEEK

Is your garden up to scratch for Chelsea Week?

The highlight of the garden design year started yesterday after perhaps the toughest build up period that garden designers have had to put up with. The weather has been a nightmare with cold days, colder nights and then a sudden few days of heatwave. But what ever they have to face the gardens always reach the Chelsea standard and amaze us with the designers professionalism. 

All the tickets are sold out for this years show - so make the most of the superb BBC TV daytime and evening shows.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/