Things To Consider When Buying A Garden Water Feature

Garden water features are an excellent addition to a garden. They can add that finishing touch to your outdoor space, develop a sense of calm and relaxation in your garden, and they could even be good for the plants and wildlife, depending on the type of water feature you choose.

Things To Consider About A Water Feature

The Water Feed

The most important thing about a water feature is – you guessed it – the water! But where will it come from? The first thing you need to consider before setting up your feature is where it’s going to go and how close that is to your water supply. You don’t want to have to dig up your whole garden.

How The Water Feature Is Powered

If you’ve chosen a small water feature, you might be able to get away with solar power to create the pressure that carries the water. If so, make sure your water feature sits somewhere in your garden that normally gets plenty of sun.

If you’ve got a larger garden water feature, it’s probably going to need electricity to run it properly. In this case, you need to ensure you have access to water and electricity in the same place, which can be trickier.

The Space Available In Your Garden

Depending on the size of your garden, you’re going to need to select a water feature that’s proportionate. There’s no point buying a tiny water feature in a large garden – you’ll never notice it. Similarly, having a giant water feature in a tiny garden will look very odd.

Try to set the water feature so it takes up a corner of your garden – enough to make it a ‘feature’ but not enough so that you can’t fit in foliage, a seating area, and other garden furniture around it. You want to be able to sit out there in your garden and admire the water feature.

The surroundings of your feature are important to its upkeep too. If you’re thinking of placing your water feature under a load of trees or next to any foliage, it’s more likely to grow algae and you’re probably going to see a ton of bird poop floating in there too. It’s great for the local wildlife, but it might not look the best. Try to keep on top of leaves and dirt that falls into the water.

The Style Of Your Garden

What type of garden do you have? Is it modern and metallic? A Japanese paradise or a honeysuckle cottage? Always ensure you select a garden water feature in keeping with your style. If you have a cottage, perhaps a stone basin will work best, or if you have a modern home, perhaps a metallic structure may fit in with your style.

Sound The Water Feature Makes

Always ensure you like the sound of your water feature. It seems odd, but if you don’t like how the water sounds when it trickles through, it’ll put you off sitting outside. If it’s just a trickle, it might get a little annoying, but if it’s gushing like a tap, it’s not relaxing at all. Aim for somewhere in the middle.

Cleaning The Water Feature

Before you commit to the setup of your water feature, make sure you’ve considered how to clean it. A water feature will need a thorough clean every few months, so make sure it’s easy to drain the water and get it back in there afterwards too.

Water features are beautiful, but most of the time they’re quite technical pieces of equipment. You should always ensure a perfect cycle of clean water through the system. If you’re looking to have a water feature placed in your garden then get in touch with us at Kite Landscapes and let us help transform your garden.

The post Things To Consider When Buying A Garden Water Feature first appeared on Kite Landscapes.

source http://www.kitelandscapes.co.uk/things-to-consider-when-buying-a-garden-water-feature/

5 Key Tips to Maintaining your Garden this Summer

When spring finally hits, if your garden has been neglected all summer, it can leave you wondering why you should bother fixing it up. However, there are plenty of simple solutions at hand that can help get your garden back in prime health for the warmer months. 

The last twelve months have been particularly isolating for everyone, so creating an inviting garden this summer is a great idea for hosting your family and friends. This blog will share some top tips for getting your garden back in shape in time for summer.

5 Tips To Help Maintain A Garden In Summer

1. Mow the Lawn

Maybe your lawn hasn’t been cut since the end of last summer. Although this is completely fine, getting that first cut in as soon as the temperatures begin to rise above 10 degrees is a great idea. The sooner you get that initial cut done, the sooner your grass will start to grow again, letting through fresh new blades of grass to create a thriving lawn.

You will want to consider cutting your lawn each week to ensure it doesn’t become overgrown in the summer months. By creating this weekly habit of lawn care, you will prevent your lawn from becoming overgrown, which can attract pests and generally become harder to maintain.

2. Stain Or Paint Your Shed

The sun’s harmful rays have a damaging impact on your garden’s timber features. You may not notice it, but your garden fences and sheds will fade over time due to UV exposure and can dry out and become brittle. By staining or painting your timber each year, you add a layer of protection to prevent the wood from becoming damaged by the sun. Think of it as applying sun cream to your timber each year. Not only does staining prevent UV damage, but it also helps timber to become more water-resistant and therefore less prone to wood rot.

3. Tidy your Flower Beds

Ensuring your flower beds are tidy is one of the simplest things to do for your garden that will see a substantial benefit to its look. You could have the most glorious garden in your neighbourhood, but if your borders are letting you down, then it brings down the garden as a whole. Tidy up the edges by pulling out any weeds and planting fresh summer flowers that will stay in bloom all season. An easy way of neatening your borders is to use bamboo edging to separate your flower beds from pathways.

4. Utilise a Water Butt

By investing in a water butt for your garden, you can collect and store rainwater to use in your garden. This has a positive effect on the environment and is generally better for your plants as the PH levels of tap water in some areas can be damaging for plants. It also means you can beat any hosepipe bans by having a natural storage of rainwater to use for watering your garden.

5. Start a Compost Heap

A compost heap has many positives for both your garden and the environment. You should start one straight away to help maintain your garden this summer. A compost heap can be made in any large container. Instead of throwing away garden waste, add it to the compost pile to decompose naturally and enrich your soil. You can even go a step further and add all your vegetable and fruit peelings to the compost for maximum effect. By doing this, you are throwing less in the bin and contributing to the overall health of your garden.

If you would like to find out more about our Gardening Services get in contact with us today on 01344 886331. Alternatively, visit our contact page to send a message.

The post 5 Key Tips to Maintaining your Garden this Summer first appeared on Kite Landscapes.

source http://www.kitelandscapes.co.uk/5-key-tips-to-maintaining-your-garden-this-summer/

5 Key Tips to Maintaining your Garden this Summer

When spring finally hits, if your garden has been neglected all summer, it can leave you wondering why you should bother fixing it up. However, there are plenty of simple solutions at hand that can help get your garden back in prime health for the warmer months. 

The last twelve months have been particularly isolating for everyone, so creating an inviting garden this summer is a great idea for hosting your family and friends. This blog will share some top tips for getting your garden back in shape in time for summer.

5 Tips To Help Maintain A Garden In Summer

1. Mow the Lawn

Maybe your lawn hasn’t been cut since the end of last summer. Although this is completely fine, getting that first cut in as soon as the temperatures begin to rise above 10 degrees is a great idea. The sooner you get that initial cut done, the sooner your grass will start to grow again, letting through fresh new blades of grass to create a thriving lawn.

You will want to consider cutting your lawn each week to ensure it doesn’t become overgrown in the summer months. By creating this weekly habit of lawn care, you will prevent your lawn from becoming overgrown, which can attract pests and generally become harder to maintain.

2. Stain Or Paint Your Shed

The sun’s harmful rays have a damaging impact on your garden’s timber features. You may not notice it, but your garden fences and sheds will fade over time due to UV exposure and can dry out and become brittle. By staining or painting your timber each year, you add a layer of protection to prevent the wood from becoming damaged by the sun. Think of it as applying sun cream to your timber each year. Not only does staining prevent UV damage, but it also helps timber to become more water-resistant and therefore less prone to wood rot.

3. Tidy your Flower Beds

Ensuring your flower beds are tidy is one of the simplest things to do for your garden that will see a substantial benefit to its look. You could have the most glorious garden in your neighbourhood, but if your borders are letting you down, then it brings down the garden as a whole. Tidy up the edges by pulling out any weeds and planting fresh summer flowers that will stay in bloom all season. An easy way of neatening your borders is to use bamboo edging to separate your flower beds from pathways.

4. Utilise a Water Butt

By investing in a water butt for your garden, you can collect and store rainwater to use in your garden. This has a positive effect on the environment and is generally better for your plants as the PH levels of tap water in some areas can be damaging for plants. It also means you can beat any hosepipe bans by having a natural storage of rainwater to use for watering your garden.

5. Start a Compost Heap

A compost heap has many positives for both your garden and the environment. You should start one straight away to help maintain your garden this summer. A compost heap can be made in any large container. Instead of throwing away garden waste, add it to the compost pile to decompose naturally and enrich your soil. You can even go a step further and add all your vegetable and fruit peelings to the compost for maximum effect. By doing this, you are throwing less in the bin and contributing to the overall health of your garden.

If you would like to find out more about our Gardening Services get in contact with us today on 01344 886331. Alternatively, visit our contact page to send a message.

The post 5 Key Tips to Maintaining your Garden this Summer first appeared on Kite Landscapes.

source http://www.kitelandscapes.co.uk/5-tips-to-maintaining-your-garden-summer/