Tulip Rococo is a stunning 'Parrot' tulip with fringed, deep cut velvety petals of bright red edged with green markings, and covered with a soft blue sheen - a real taste of the baroque.
Plant now up to the end of November for flowering in April. They grow to 14-16" in height which makes them perfect for growing in containers and for cutting.
Benches are often boring and utilitarian, sometimes decorative but not often stylish. But the 'Lightwave' bench designed by After Architecture is different.
Though designed as an exterior installation at New York's Cornell University campus, it would make a great statement in any yard. Formed from a grid of upright timbers with their sides painted in miriad colours, it glows at night with the help of internal lighting.
Is this the perfect mug for keeping your tea hot and free of gardening debris when working in the yard?
The 'Cube Mug' from www.gattola.com is available in seven colours and is microwave and dishwasher proof. It is stackable and the cube creates a drawer for the mug to slide into.
£7.84
Seen at GLEE this September, the Wave Garden range of high-grade plastic planters from www.scheurich.de
Available in a great range of colours in this striking new design.
Brooms and brushes can be rather boring but with the autumn leaf fall starting and yard sweeping on the horizon, look out for these colourful 'Gorilla' brooms from http://www.faulks.co.uk/store/gorilla-brooms/45-gorilla-broom.html
European made, it is available in 4 fabulous colours at only £16.99
www.seeitgro.co.uk produce these very handy and enviromentally friendly mini-growbags that are perfect for growing herbs or even just a single tomato plant.
They are available in a range of colours that allow the bags to feel at home in the yard or even on the kitchen worktop. The bags come as a flat pack containing a block of coir compost that expands to fill the bag when water is added - it only takes 15 minutes. Add the See It Gro plant food supplied and its all ready to plant up.
Available through Amazon at present at £3.99
Just love this 'Mirtoon' hose reel from www.zeedesigns.be. Made from ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) it follows a traditional round design that reflects its internal structure. It comes in 10 and 30 metre versions with the smaller being great for yards. Easily fitted to a handy wall, it swivels 180 degrees to allow easy use of the hose. Best bit though, is the way the hose matches the reel rather than being the traditional green or yellow found in most garden watering fittings.
Available in a small range of colours including pink, green, black and white.
Final touch though is that they come with a very stylish bag to stow your reel away over winter. Love the packaging as well.
The Pod is a sytem based on fogponics where a nutrient rich solution is transfered to suspended roots in a vapourised form. It is a clean system for growing without the mess of pots and compost - great for growing herbs indoors.
This concept for indoor gardening was developed by Greenfingers, a group of students from the University of Auckland.
If you only have a small yard, growing apples might not be on the cards.
There is one solution though if you want your own fresh picked apples - rent an apple tree!
There are quite a few farms that do it now and at around £30 per tree a year it is very cost effective. You can enjoy the opportunity to inspect your tree at blossom time and then enjoy a harvest day in the autumn.
http://the-barnyard.com/shops/rent-a-tree/
What a great idea for rooting cuttings - and so stylish too!
They are molded from flexible elastomen thats UV resistant, nonporous and water proof.
