Latest news with #gardener
The Sun
9 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
Gardeners MUST carry out essential task if they want to get thick, bushy & super green lawns that last all summer
MANY people want thick, luscious lawns in their garden, but it can be tricky to achieve with hot weather and weeds springing up. One green-fingered whizz has shared an essential task you should do to get great results that last all summer. 4 4 A fellow gardener had made a plea for help after using Westland Triple Care on their grass, which they claim left it looking 'patchy.' Taking to the Facebook group Gardening on a Budget Official, they shared: 'What on earth! 'The grass was a little patchy and had some moss. 'I used this last week after spending two days using an aerator. 'The state of the grass now..... 'It wasn't like this before using this box of destruction! 'This is my first post on here and some help or advice would be appreciated. What should I do now.' Thankfully the gardening fan had some words of advice to save the day - and said that Westland Triple Care, which is £10 on Amazon, did actually work for her. They explained that it is aerating that 'does that' to lawns, but you need to 'water at least half an hour a day after using the seeds' to revive it. She explained the same thing had happened to her, and said: 'Mine was aerated. I was gutted, cried for a week. 'I waited till it was warmer as done in March, then I seeded, used two large boxes as did back and front. The four easy steps to get your tired lawn lush for summer & you don't need to worry about pigeons ruining it either 'I put the sprinkler on every morning at 7 o clock and every evening at 9 o clock. 'Once you get all the dead stuff up, sprinkle more, see and wait. 'Mine took 6 weeks of true dedication. 'I watered whether it rained or not as lawns are dry as a bone two inch down. 'All is not lost, good luck.' The upset gardener thanked her for her help and said he would 'water, water, water' his grass. The Westland Triple Care lawn feed is said to 'nourish your grass but also tackle weeds and moss head-on.' It is said to create 'a strong and healthy lawn', with greening visible within seven days - if used between the months of February and October.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Gardener, 65, miraculously survives freak chainsaw accident that saw him suffer catastrophic blood loss after he cuts his neck open - just millimetres from his windpipe
A gardener miraculously survived a freak chainsaw accident after cutting his neck open, but missing his windpipe by just millimetres. Christopher York, 65, said he was saved by a number of lucky coincidences after suffering 'catastrophic blood loss' while working in his garden in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The chainsaw had jammed while he was cutting left to right, but rather than kicking back it 'leapt forward and span around' as it followed through a branch, hitting his neck. The father-of-four described feeling a 'cold wetness' on his front as his shirt was soaked in blood, pouring down as far as his trousers. But by an enormous stroke of fortune, a specialist vascular surgeon happened to be at the hospital where he was rushed by paramedics - and was able to operate on him, saving his life. 'Had the vascular surgeon not been there, they would have taken me to a hospital where the journey probably would have killed me,' Mr York told the BBC. Mr York was subsequently informed that he had slashed only a few millimetres from his windpipe and would have quickly bled out if the chainsaw cut a fraction deeper. 'The nice thing was that it didn't actually hurt. It was entirely painless,' he said. 'I didn't know how serious it was, I just thought it was not much more than a paper cut at the time because I couldn't feel anything. 'But then my legs began to buckle. Really at no stage did I feel I was in danger, but I was.' In another potentially life-saving bit of good fortune, Mr York's wife, Veronika Semeradtova-York, 44, had come home 30 minutes earlier than usual to find her husband bleeding heavily. She said she would often get a coffee after going to the gym, but on that day the coffee machine had not been working. A friend of theirs also happened to call by the house to check on the pair at the time. They quickly phoned an ambulance, which arrived within eight minutes. By this stage, Mr York had lost about two litres of blood. The well-timed visit of the specialist vascular doctor meant they could go to Chesterfield Royal Hospital rather than having to take him to a major trauma centre in Nottingham or Sheffield. Mr York said: 'The ambulance driver remembered that a specialist vascular surgeon from Derby was visiting Chesterfield on that day by complete coincidence. 'I remember thinking 'although I don't think this is serious, they seem to and so will I survive this?'.' Just one month before the accident, Mr York had been encouraged by his wife to get a tetanus jab - which helped stopped him getting infected from the leaves, mud and twigs in his wound. 'Had my wife and friend not come, I would have died,' he said. 'Had the ambulance station not been up the road, they might have been delayed and I could have died of blood loss.' He added: 'All these things came together. My main question is 'why?'. If God did intervene, why me?' Mr York expressed his deep gratitude to the staff who had cared for him, saying: 'God bless them all. The thanks of not only me, but my wife and our four children remain with them for eternity. We are a family because of them. There are no words for our gratitude.' Lisa, a senior sister in the emergency department at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, told the BBC: 'It went like clockwork, there was someone looking over him that day. 'He was very grateful to everyone in the hospital. Thanks to the staff that assembled that day, his wife has a husband and his children have a father.'
Irish Times
14-06-2025
- Irish Times
A magical Burren garden that is at one with the wider, wilder world around it
To reach Caher Bridge Garden, visitors must drive deep into the rural countryside of northwest Clare , through a landscape of powder-grey limestone hills criss-crossed by meandering drystone walls, and winding boreens fringed with hazel, willow and wild irises. Its owner, Carl Wright, first moved here from Devon almost 30 years ago, buying a semi-derelict old farmhouse that he proceeded to restore with the same exceptional combination of artistry and practicality that now defines its remarkable garden. Over the course of those three decades, he has barrowed more than 1,500 tonnes of soil on to the site, every bucketload painstakingly sieved by hand; built roughly one mile of stone walls; and created five separate water features within its leafy boundaries. Those numbers might suggest a garden where its maker's firm hand is obvious for all to see, but one of the many wondrous things about Caher Bridge is its sense of having naturally emerged from the scrubby native woodland that once covered the site, as if the wild, damp, stony landscape of Co Clare somehow willed it into existence. I don't think I've ever seen another garden – especially one as intensely gardened as this one – so completely at one and in tune with the wider, wilder world around it. Part of the reason for this is Wright's celebration of the natural elements that have shaped this deeply rural region of northwest Clare. Just yards from his home lies the river Caher, whose watery beauty he has elegantly accentuated with the construction of a 'moon window' fashioned from flat slabs of local limestone. One of the garden's best-known features, it frames a view of the steeply arching stone bridge that gives the garden its name. READ MORE Carl Wright moved to Clare from Devon 30 years ago Stone and water have also been artfully and sensitively used in the rear garden, which slopes steeply upwards and away from the farmhouse. Here the contours of the site are defined by the limestone karst that lies just inches below the surface, as well as the knee-high drystone walls that loop gently back and forth across the ground. Not only do the latter act as retaining walls for the top soil imported by Wright to create opportunities for planting, but they also provide a charming bone structure for the half-concealed, trickling streams and tiny pools that so beautifully punctuate the space. As for the planting, it's magical to the point of being profoundly moving. Somehow Wright has succeeded in pulling off that very rare thing, of being a plant collector whose fascination with rarities hasn't intruded upon his determination to be restrained in his use of plants. 'One of the most profound lessons I've learnt about making a garden is to treat the surrounding landscape, whatever that might be, as the all-important frame that defines what style of garden will be appropriate. What's outside any garden will always be bigger than what's inside it. So instead of starting by working from the inside out, which is a very common mistake, I've learnt that in fact you need to do the opposite.' Caher Bridge Garden For that same reason, colour is used very carefully at Caher Bridge, with bright shades of yellow, orange and red – 'nature's warning colours' – generally off bounds. 'I don't understand the obsession with colour, especially very vivid colours, which you generally don't see in the wild Irish landscape. It's so easy to get it wrong and create something that's restless and uneasy on the eye, when instead you can create an outstanding garden relying solely on green foliage plants.' That same ultra-disciplined approach to the art of garden making means Wright uses very few summer bedding plants – 'they generally don't look right in this space' – while certain favourite genera of plants, including hydrangea and crataegus, are grouped together for visual simplicity. Other favourites, such as hardy perennial geraniums, astilbe, primula, filipendula, hemerocallis, rodgersia, iris, camassia and narcissus, have been chosen for their suitability for this damp, cool, generally shady garden's growing conditions. Caher Bridge Garden The same is true of the more than 200 different varieties of fern he has used to fringe the edges of the narrow curling pathways that weave their way back and forth through the garden, eventually leading visitors upwards into the wildflower meadows and newly constructed stone tower or 'folly' overlooking the surrounding Burren landscape. A recent addition, its curving walls are embellished with faithfully reproduced copies of ancient stone heads carvings painstakingly hand-made by Wright (the originals can be found in historic sites around the country), while he similarly fashioned its graceful 'stone' architraves out of cast concrete. Wright, a keen caver and potholer as well as a professional ecologist, first came to this corner of Co Clare to work as a tour guide in the nearby Aillwee caves. But gardening, he says with joy and wonder, has become an enduring obsession, one that compels him to spend every available moment extending, refining and embellishing Caher Bridge, forever adding to its beauty. Caher Bridge Garden 'It started out of necessity, by clearing away decades of overgrowth from around the house so that I could get to work on rebuilding it,' he says. 'Then I realised the hazel woodland around it needed editing to allow more sunlight to filter through the windows. Now it's all I want to do, seven days a week.' His training in ecology has also given him precious insights into creating a nature-friendly garden rich in a diversity of wildlife-friendly habitats, where lizards, bats, frogs, dragonflies, cuckoos, chiffchaffs and field voles are common visitors. 'The stone walls, stream and pools also act as nature corridors, safe routes by which wildlife can move throughout the garden.' Is there anything he might do differently if he was starting out again? 'My only regret, a big one, is not designing the paths to be wide enough to allow easy access by machinery. The result is that every crumb of top soil, every stone, has had to be barrowed in by hand. I think,' he adds with a bitter-sweet laugh, 'I was just far too engrossed in what I was doing.' Caher Bidge garden is open to the public by prior arrangement – email caherbridgegarden@ or phone 065-7076225. This week in the garden Finish planting any remaining short-lived annuals or bedding plants outdoors in the garden or into pots, making sure to give them the best head-start in the shape of fertile, damp but well-drained soil. Presoaking their root-balls just before planting is also a good idea. Start side-shooting indeterminate/cordon varieties of tomato plants to prevent them from sprawling as well as to encourage production of their delicious fruits. Sideshoots are typically produced in the joint between the leaves and the main stem. Left unpruned, they will divert energy away from the important processes of fruit production and fruit ripening, as well as resulting in too much untidy growth. Dates for your diary Garden Show Ireland, Antrim Castle, continuing until Sunday, June 15th. Expert talks, displays, practical demonstrations, and plant sales. Limerick Garden Festival Limerick Milk Market, Sunday, June 15th. Guest speakers, practical demonstrations and plant sales.
Associated Press
10-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Want to grow your own rice? A step-by-step guide for adventurous gardeners
Many of us think of rice as a plant that grows in flooded fields, and that's because the kind of rice we're most familiar with — the long-grain, wetland variety called lowland rice — can be considered semi-aquatic, although it's technically a grass. Lowland rice would be challenging to grow in a home garden, but another, less common variety can be cultivated more easily in typical backyard conditions. Duborskian rice, a Russian short-grained dryland, or 'upland' rice, is a highly ornamental plant that can even be grown in containers, where its 2-foot-tall green and gold panicles will lend height and beauty to the center or rear of mixed planters. But if grown as a crop, cultivating rice from your plants can be a fun activity for adventurous gardeners. Start by making spaceWhen determining how many plants to grow, consider that it takes approximately 10 plants to produce 1 pound of rice. Since each plant occupies only 1 foot of garden space, a 10-by-10-foot plot will hold 100 plants, which will yield roughly 6 to 10 pounds of rice in a season. In the absence of purchased starter plants, seeds are best sown directly into the garden in May or June in frost-free zones. Elsewhere, they should be started indoors four weeks before the danger of frost has passed. Expect seeds to germinate in five to seven days. A 24-hour water soak before sowing will hasten germination. Indoor starts are best aided by a heat mat. Four-week-old seedlings should be transplanted outdoors at the same time it's considered safe to plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in your region. Taking care of your rice plantsSelect a sunny spot and enrich the soil with a generous amount of compost before planting. Since the rice requires a high level of nutrients, fertilize every two weeks with a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer. Space plants 1 foot apart to ensure adequate circulation between them, as they will need to be pollinated by wind. You might also surround plants with netting to protect them from birds. Keep the surrounding soil free of weeds throughout the growing season. Separating the rice from the chaff, and other steps Your rice will be ready to harvest in about 105 days. You'll know it's ready when the seed heads appear dry but haven't yet dropped their seeds. At that point, cut plants down to ground level and hang the stalks up for a few days to dry further. But that's not the end of it. Rice will have to be removed from its stalks, and each grain's tough outer shell, called a hull, will need to be removed. On commercial farms, they have equipment to do this, but since you're growing rice at home, you will have to do it manually. Tie the cut ends of the dried stalks together, then place a screen (an old window screen will do) over a wheelbarrow. Rub the seed heads against the screen until the grains fall off into the wheelbarrow. If this sounds too complicated, you can achieve the same results by beating the tied bunch of stalks onto a clean sheet that you've laid on the ground. Once the grains have been separated from their stalks, scoop them up and remove the hulls in batches using a mortar and pestle (put the kids to work!) If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can hit them with a rubber mallet, but it's a delicate balance to remove the hulls without crushing the rice. The next step is to separate the proverbial rice from the chaff (the hulls). The easiest way to accomplish this is to use a fan to blow the light-as-air hulls away. You can't eat the hulls, but they can be added to compost piles or used as mulch. If you'd like to save rice for replanting next year, put some aside before removing the hulls; they'll need to be intact for the seeds to germinate. To enjoy the fruits of your labor, cook the grains as you would any rice and enjoy it in sweet or savory recipes. It'll be good, but not likely as good as the story you'll be able to tell about that time you grew your own rice. ___ Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice. ___ For more AP gardening stories, go to
BBC News
03-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Upper Eden man fined for aggressive dog's attack on gardener
A man whose German Shepherd repeatedly bit a gardener working at his home has been Holroyd thought his pet Rebel was locked in his house, but it managed to push up a door latch and attack Jilly Sandams on 23 June 2024. Appearing at Carlisle Crown Court, the 60-year-old of Upper Eden, near Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, admitted having a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of Michael Fanning fined Holroyd £150 and made a contingent destruction order, meaning the dog must be kept under strict control including being locked away from visitors and wearing a muzzle in public. Holroyd was also ordered to pay £2,000 compensation to his victim. The court heard Ms Sandams had decided to accept the landscape work even though she knew the dog was aggressive, because she knew it was kept inside. However, the court heard that while she was working, the dog would throw itself against a patio Tim Evans said Ms Sandams became so concerned she texted the dog's owner saying it was "going to take the door out" with its "intense thrusting against it". 'Going to die' On the day of the attack, she let herself into the garden and could hear the dog "barking and being aggressive", but thought it was locked the dog escaped and attacked her as she lay on the ground, leaving her with six bite marks and 12 puncture wounds to her arm. Ms Sandams eventually managed to get up and escape through a gate. In an impact statement, she said she thought she was "going to die". 'Integral part of family' The court heard that Holroyd, a former highways worker, was left paralysed and a co-worker killed in 2016 when they were struck by a dangerous driver on the M6 near Smith, defending, said there had been no further incidents and a dog expert had concluded Rebel did not pose a threat if kept under control."The dog is an integral part of their family, notwithstanding what has happened," Mr Smith said. The judge told Holroyd: "You were badly injured in the course of your employment, helping the public. "The last thing you would want to do is cause harm to anybody else." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
