Tag Archive for: garden

2022 Garden Trend Report

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2022 Garden Trend Report: A new study by garden furniture retailer, Moda Furnishings, has looked into a variety of data sources to see what types of gardens people are looking at for inspiration this year, their favourite colours, furniture trends, flowers and more.

As spring is here people are looking to give their garden a refresh or maybe even a total makeover. Moda Furnishings has put together their 2022 Garden Trend Report showing all the most popular garden trends!

2022 Garden Trend Report

2022 Garden Trend Report

As warm weather hits the UK people are beginning to plant their flowers for the Spring and Summer seasons. Moda analysed search patterns to discover what flowers people were most interested in as spring approaches. Violets came out on top with over 659,000 searches and tulips were not far behind in second with 558,100 searches. View the full list here:

Flower Searches
Violets 659,000
Tulips 558,100
Ammaryllis 442,900
Daffodils 373,100
Hyacinth 286,600
Primrose 207,800
Forget Me Nots 194,200
Ranunculus 186,900
Pansies 175,800
Lillies 104,800

The study analysed Pinterest data and was able to find the number of pins used for each key term to determine which ones people were getting the most excited about. The winner was in fact “Colourful gardens” with almost 1.5 million pins in users’ inspiration boards, showing that people are wanting a splash of colour in their garden as we move closer to the warmer and longer days. Coming in a very close second is “Natural gardens” with 1.3 million pins, which shows that people are taking inspiration from the current climate to create more natural-looking spaces.  See the full list below:

THEME NAME PINS
Colourful Garden 1,435,672
Natural Garden 1,340,090
Entertaining Garden 1,034,231
Modern Garden 903,350
Sustainable Garden 672,280
Cottage Garden 567,210
Wild Garden 448,540
White Garden 256,788
Balcony Garden 132,475
Foliage Garden 101,435

Moda also looked at what colours seem to be trending this year when searching for garden furniture, flowers and accents. The most popular colours people were incorporating into their gardens are natural colours like greens, nudes, whites and greys or pastels, blues, purples and surprisingly yellow.  

With the warmer weather and longer days on the horizon people might be looking for some furniture to kit out their garden or balcony, but the big question is what type of furniture are people looking at this year? Rattan garden furniture took the top of the list with almost 9.1X as many searches as the second place, wooden furniture. I think it is safe to assume rattan furniture reigns supreme this year. See below for the full list!

TYPE OF FURNITURE SEARCHES
Rattan 301,000
Wooden 33,100
Aluminum 14,800
Metal 12,00
Teak 9,900
Wicker 6,600
Plastic 5,400
Iron 3,600
Bamboo 2,900
Recycled Materials 1,100

As we all know trends come and go so sometimes the best way to spruce up your garden is with an accent piece. Moda looked at searches across garden furniture trends to see which trends are booming this year. Firepits have quickly risen to the top of the list this year with the always favourite “egg chair” close behind. Check out the full list to see other ways you can bring your garden to life!

ACCENT PIECE SEARCHES
Firepits 433,000
Egg Chair 299,000
Outdoor Rugs 195,000
Unique Lighting 169,000
Bistro Set 97,400
Large Sofa 82,600
Water Feature 82,400
Outdoor Bar 71,800
Sunbed 58,000
Dinning Set 46,600

To read more about Moda and its products please visit here.

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Garden of the Year award

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Garden of the Year award: The Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award 2022 kicks off this Friday (1 April 2022) with eight extraordinary gardens competing to be named the Garden of the Year in a public vote. The award, launching in 1984, and run in conjunction with Christie’s auction house, has gone from strength to strength since then with over ten thousand votes cast in the 2021 competition.

Shortlisted entries are chosen from among the hundreds of gardens, parks, and grounds that offer free entry to members of Historic Houses, the association that represents and supports the UK’s independent historic homes, castles, and gardens. Details of this year’s eight finalist gardens are detailed below. Voting opens at 10am on Friday 1 April 2022, with the voting page located on the Historic Houses website.

Garden of the Year award

Garden of the Year award

Ben Cowell, Director General of Historic Houses:

“Once again, our Garden of the Year Award celebrates the very best gardens from across the UK – and now, beyond. That’s because for the first time our shortlist features a garden from the Channel Islands too. We are very excited to launch this public vote, at the start of what we hope will be a very successful year for open gardens. The award shines a welcome spotlight on our national passion for horticulture – so we encourage everyone to take a look at the shortlist and cast their vote.”

Ursula Cholmeley, Chair of the Historic Houses Gardens Committee:

“The Garden of the Year Award recognises the beauty and quality of independent historic gardens – often still those of family-owned homes. The contemporary spirit of our great country houses is reflected in gardens in which each generation of inhabitants makes their mark and leaves a legacy for the future. These evolving gardens are amongst the finest in the country and we hope that you will get great pleasure from visiting some of these gardens and voting for your favourite.”

Orlando Rock, Chairman, Christie’s UK:

“If a garden is a reflection of a person’s soul (as The Prince of Wales said) the shortlist for the Historic Houses Garden of the Year sponsored by Christie’s exemplifies some truly wonderful individuals. In addition to being horticultural wonders, the gardens selected from the rich variety across the UK and beyond reveal the changing fashions and tastes which have shaped our outside spaces and lives. I urge you, the public, to vote, and more importantly to get out there, visit and enjoy.”

About the eight competing gardens

The garden at Abbotsford, in Melrose, Roxburghshire, is distinct in character; taken together, the layout forms three outdoor ‘rooms’ designed to offer picturesque settings for the main house. The gardens we see today are still fundamentally Sir Walter Scott’s work, though with certain alterations carried out by his descendants to adapt the space for the changing needs of the family.

The gardens at Bressingham Hall, in Suffolk, range from the colourful island borders encircling the front of the house, laid out by founder Alan Bloom, to Foggy Bottom gardens developed by Alan’s son Adrian. Here you will find wide curving walks and great drifts or ‘rivers’ of perennials and grasses.

At Grimsthorpe Castle Gardens, in Lincolnshire, there is a long history of gardening, which continues to this day with fresh planting ideas that provide something to enjoy whenever you visit. Intricate parterres marked with box hedges lie close to the Castle, and a dramatic herbaceous border frames views across the lake.

Mount Ephraim Gardens, in Kent, are most well-known for their spectacular ten-acre Edwardian gardens featuring a topiary garden, rock and water garden, arboretum and rose garden. They also have a fabulous grass maze, planted with ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials, and are home to an extensive collection of spring bulbs, trees and shrubs including Rhododendrons, many types of Camelias and Magnolias.

Parcevall Hall Gardens, in North Yorkshire, are a renowned historic plantsman’s garden laid out from 1927 onwards by the late Sir William Milner and set in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Comprising of 24 acres of formal and woodland gardens they rise up a hillside for 200 feet giving wonderful views in every direction.

At Pashley Manor Gardens, in East Sussex, you will discover eleven acres of beautiful borders and vistas – the culmination of a lifetime of passion for gardening and an admiration of the tradition of the English Country Garden. These award-winning gardens are family owned and maintained – visitors often express delight at the attention to detail displayed throughout and the intimate, peaceful atmosphere.

The Wild Subtropical Garden at Sausmarez Manor is an ancient woodland surrounding a couple of small lakes and is inter planted with exotic and subtropical plants, trees, ferns, and shrubs, which, because of Guernsey’s mild, equable climate can survive and flourish. Visitors can enjoy seeing around two hundred varieties of camellia, tree ferns from New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania, and around forty different bamboos.

At Wentworth Woodhouse’s gardens, in South Yorkshire, you’ll discover a wildflower meadow, ancient trees, shaded woodland copses and 18th Century follies. Roam at your leisure or follow a trail which begins at the Stables and takes in the West Terrace, and don’t miss the sweeping views from the Ha-Ha and South Terrace.

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Recharge your garden

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Recharge your garden: Imagine a battery: powerful enough to drive lawn mowers, intelligent enough to automatically recognise whatever garden tool or machine it’s in, and versatile enough to tune the power to match it!

That’s exactly what Mountfield‘s new E-Power 20V technology has delivered. Designed, developed and produced by STIGA engineers specifically for the Freedom 100 range. Available in both 2Ah and 4Ah capacities – this 20V battery helps make every day gardening jobs easy!

Recharge your garden

Recharge your garden

Innovative E-Power battery that does the thinking for you
At the heart of the 20V battery lies a Smart Tool Recognition System. This battery management microchip optimises the performance of the battery to each tool by analysing the electrical resistance. It then adjusts the power output and current levels accordingly – constantly balancing charge and discharge rates with the temperature to maximise the battery’s storage ability, longevity and run-time.

Achieving the perfect size-power-safety balance 
Expertly designed, the lightweight battery unit…

– Is small enough to handle power easily and efficiently, but big enough to ensure maximum airflow.
– Has Lithium Cobalt Oxide cells that are carefully spaced to allow sufficient cooling.
– Has a charging terminal protection that offers even greater safety thanks to the smart long-life transistors which open to isolate the terminals if an alert is activated.
– Has energy saving power indicator lights that also mean the battery’s charge is only displayed when the status button is pressed, meaning 100% of the charge is preserved to power the garden tool.

Tested for the ‘real world’, not just to pass the standard test
Like all Mountfield batteries, the E-Power 20V system is tested at a full, ‘real-life’ usage current. This goes far beyond the common, but less demanding, Industry Standard test of only 300 charges at 20% of the ‘real-life’ usage current.

Testing methods that stipulate that E-Power batteries are still going strong after 600 charges – the equivalent to an owner running down and recharging the battery twice a week for six years. In actual gardening terms, that’s 30 lawn mows, five tree-pruning sessions or 30 leaf-blowing occasions!

Whatever the tool, whatever the job, this cost-effective, convenient and adaptive 20V battery performance is something none of Mountfield’s main competitors in this price segment have come close to matching.

Easy Mows it
Easy Blows it
Easy Cuts it
Easy Trims it
Easy Prunes it

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Fueling the future of garden machinery

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Fueling the future of garden machinery: Leading power tool manufacturer Makita UK is offering end users the chance to get their hands on FREE LXT and XGT products with the purchase of selected cordless garden machines. With a wide selection of freebies on offer, the deal is perfect for professionals looking to start or expand their existing Makita cordless range.

Makita’s latest garden machinery promotion gives end users the chance to claim the highly sought after MR002GZ01 Bluetooth Site Radio (compatible with LXT, XGT and CXT batteries), or 18V LXT DMP180Z Inflator, or 18V LXT DUM604ZX Grass Shear with the purchase and registration of a huge selection of its leading LXT outdoor products – including blowers, grass shears, hedge trimmers, line trimmers, brush cutters, split shafts, lawnmowers, chainsaws and the Twin 18V DDG460T2X7 Brushless Earth Auger.

Fueling the future of garden machinery

Fueling the future of garden machinery

In addition, those who purchase selected XGT 40VMax outdoor equipment (including blowers, hedge trimmers, brush cutters, linetrimmers and more) can redeem a free MR002GZ01 Bluetooth Site Radio, or MP001GZ XGT 40VMax Inflator, or ML003G XGT 40VMax Work Light.

Kevin Brannigan, Marketing Manager at Makita said: “At Makita, we believe that the future of garden machinery is cordless – which is why we are offering end users the chance to introduce new cordless products into their armoury with our latest promotion.

“Our 18V LXT and XGT 40VMax outdoor equipment has been designed to offer professionals the power and performance needed to tackle any task with ease, without compromising on battery run time, user safety or productivity. With over 270 LXT products and 50 XGT models in our wider range, we are helping end users achieve a truly cordless jobsite.”

Makita’s latest redemption offer launches on 1st February and will run until 30th June 2022. Customers who purchase any of the qualifying models in this period will have 28 days to register their purchase and claim their free product.

For more information on the promotion and terms and conditions, visit: www.makitauk.com/redemption

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Fight against the Garden Chafer

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Fight against the Garden Chafer: International Pheromone Systems is looking for trial sites as part of its work to develop lures and traps to help monitor and control an insect pest that is menacing golf courses, race courses, amenity gardens and parks across much of the UK.

Dr Sam Jones, Technical Manager for IPS, explains: “Garden Chafer beetles are turf pests and are most problematic in locations where turf must be kept pristine.

Fight against the Garden Chafer

Fight against the Garden Chafer

“While adults can cause some damage from feeding it is the grubs (larvae) that are the most damaging as they feed and develop on the roots of the grass. In certain locations populations of the Garden Chafer can proliferate. There has been an increasing demand for an environmentally friendly, biocontrol method of managing these pests particularly following the ban of some pesticides. We estimate that a typical golf course would probably need 8 – 12 traps to efficiently monitor for these pests, dependent upon size, shape and planting.”

Monitoring provides early warning of a pest’s presence and identifies areas to be targeted, rather than treatments being applied to large regions where the beetle may not be present. Any trials would be expected to take place between May and July when the pests are usually most abundant.

“We don’t have a pheromone for either the Garden Chafer or the Welsh Chafer, so we currently use plant derived attractants which in the case of the Garden Chafer are floral odours. The hope is that our new lure formats will attract both species. This work will later be extended to the less damaging pests, the Rose Chafer and the Cockchafer,” Sam added.

Chafer larvae are distinguished by their “C” shaped body, which is white with a pale brown head. Garden chafer larvae reach up to 15 mm long when fully grown. Larvae feed on the roots of grasses which results in the formation of patches. Damage is often exacerbated by badgers and crows which like to dig into the turf to feed on the larvae.

“Damaged turf on sports pitches can sometimes impact on player welfare. Once weakened the turf may not provide adequate traction which can result in increased slips and falls and potential player injury.

“As well as injuries there can be loss of revenue for the facility if a sporting event has to be cancelled and the capital costs of replacing the damaged turf can often be substantial,” Sam explains.

International Pheromone Systems offers a nature-based approach and specialist knowledge for natural and safe solutions to monitor and manage pests in agricultural and domestic environments.

The company’s highly skilled entomologists find solutions from nature itself. Together with universities, scientific partners and growers, the IPS team works to find natural solutions to help reduce pesticide use and support integrated pest management (IPM) in agriculture, horticulture and forestry businesses.

A healthier, safer and more productive environment is achieved by using the natural behaviour of pests and finding the right pheromone combination and trapping solution specific to a particular species.

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