Fairy Rings

Why do fairy rings always appear around October/November time and what causes them?
Simply, the weather conditions are just right. Even though air temperatures may have dropped, ground temperatures are still higher. Also, there is a lot more moisture in the air and in the ground.
The reason you have them in your lawn is because the spores have always been in your soil and have now activated. There are 3 types, all of which are created by the same spores. The first type is the most destructive which causes dead rings in your lawn with a mucus like or waxy substance which coats the soils surface and stops water permeating down.
The second type produces a ring of lush green grass the grows more vigorously than surrounding grass.
Type 3 is the one we most know - a ring of toadstools, although they can be just arcs, groups or individual clumps.
All can be treated quite easily and they are all caused by microscopic strands of fungal mycelium. They consume thatch and fibre and exude nitrogen. This is the key constituent is any lawn feed that makes your lawn greener.
If you are struggling with any of these, leave a note and I can help you out. By the way, ignore the old wives tales - digging out the affected area is not the way to solve the problem and most often makes the situation worse. Hope this is useful

Bird feed and weeds

A week or so ago my summer seed feed for the birds ran. So I thought I'd get the 'winter warmer' to help the birds stay fit and well over the winter months.
Bad idea.
Within a week, the seeds left on the feeder had started GROWING. Make sure you check any seed you buy will not actually 'seed'.
The feeder is right above my Huecheras And Alchamilla mollis, which are now surrounded by hundred of stems with tiny baby leaves sprouting. You have been warned.

Roses

There has been a lot of discussion with customers and friends over the last few weeks asking what needs to be done with their roses
Most of mine are budding again so any hard cutting back should be delayed.
Continue with cutting back any dead wood, keep dead heading and where flower heads have passed their best, cut back down to the second or third bud from bottom of that stem.
All hard pruning and renovation can be done in late winter/early spring and I will of course give you the details then
In addition to this, go and buy yourself a bag of well rotted manure(horse, cow, chicken - doesn't really matter) and place a load around the base so that you cover the crown. This is to help protect from frosts and the colder weather. If you need anything more specific, post your question here. Thanks

Lawn care

At least the leaves are coming down slowly this year. Some of you might prefer them to come down all in one go, which happened a couple of years ago, which was a nightmare.
A slow drop at least gives you the opportunity to clear them without getting over run by them. Make sure to keep clearing leaves off your lawn to keep it in the best condition that you can.
Temperatures are such that you will still need to cut your grass for at least the next few weeks. If you are raking your leaves before mowing, notice wether or not leaves are sticking to your lawn. If they are, avoid cutting your grass unless you absolutely have to. The soil structure at the surface can be damaged which can lead to excessive moss next year.
If you are keeping your leaves for compost, bag them in black sacks, hose them with water for 5 seconds and tie up the bag squeezing the air out. They should be ready for spring 2013.
If you have anything to add, please post it here. Thanks

Look out for your garden wildlife

Picture below of holly berries. All your little friends in the garden will snap these up over the next few months, but you can help them as well.
If you don't have a feeder you can put food on ground feeders as well. Nuts, seeds, fat balls, mealworm sticks, seed blocks, suet blocks, fat balls and the list goes on. From recent experience, berry flavour suet blocks are the best chance of getting the greater spotted woodpecker to visit your garden. I'd never seen one before and I've had one one visit my garden twice. Well worth the investment of a few pounds. Post your pictures here if you have any feathered visitors to your garden

Welcome

Welcome to the brand new blog from LawN & Border, a garden maintenance and landscaping company based in Coulsdon, Surrey, UK.
Just in case you have any concerns that this is from a company, be assured that I am not soliciting for business. I have a lot of information I want to share and although I have been in business for nearly 10 years, I know that there is always something new for me to learn.
I hope to be able to share with you daily updates that will inform you of useful bits to be doing around the garden. I'd like to share projects with you that I'm working on and have your input, you questions and even your suggestions and advice.
I would love like mided gardeners both casual and professional to create their own community here to chat, discuss and discover.
As a company and individual I have a presence on 'free info, skill pages, LinkedIn, I google, twitter (@UrbanGardnrNick) and Facebook. I have had people post self-serving posts and not general advice. This is specially a general help and discussion blog.

I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANYONE TRYING TO PUSH YHEIR COMPANY OR PRODUCTS ON THIS BLOG. I want an open discussion and I want people to get answers, hopefully from me, but I know better than anyone that the tooc of gardening is a huge topic. I look forward to your posts, your questions, your discussions and if I can work out how to use this blog properly, your photos.
One of my favourite moments when I get a new customer is the first visit when I can have a good nose around their garden. I hope to the same with your discussions. I hope to see you on here soon.
Nick Barban