Grass-ias

We all want the perfect lawn in our gardens. A lovely, flat, weed-free, green space for playing and lounging on. But it isn’t very easy to achieve with all the weeds flying about and our wet weather and heavy soils. But, to help you get closer to that dream, I have collated my top tips for a lovely lawn this summer..

Lulu loves lounging on a lovely lawn!

Lulu loves lounging on a lovely lawn!

Scarify your lawn

You can add a moss killer to your lawn but you don’t need to. Just use your muscles and a good garden rake to get the moss out of your lawn. I used my Twigz rake which was perfect for the job (£8.99*)

You need good muscles to rake up your moss

You need good muscles to rake up your moss

You can put the moss into your compost bin. My Twigz wheelbarrow is incredibly sturdy and perfect for this job (£49.99*)

Collect your moss and put it on your compost bin

Collect your moss and put it on your compost bin

Weed Your Lawn

Lawn weeds can be a real pain. You can buy weedkiller to put on the lawn or you can use old fashioned muscle and dig up the offenders! Regular weeding is key so they don’t take over and leave no space for the grass to grow.

Tackle those weeds using a trowel and some muscles

Tackle those weeds using a trowel and some muscles

Aerate your soil

If you have a heavy soil and a compacted lawn it makes it hard for the grass to grow well and thatch starts to build up. You can buy special tools to aerate your lawn or you can just use a garden fork to create the holes.

Tilda is an expert at aerating lawns!

Tilda is an expert at aerating lawns!

Add a top dressing

You can add sand if you have clay soil or just a lawn improver to your lawn which will go into the holes you have made and improve the soil making the grass grow better. Use a brush like the Twigz garden broom (£8.99*) to spread the lawn improver around. You can add some grass seed to bare areas while you do this and some fertiliser too to give your grass a wee helping hand.

Brush your top dressing into the holes 

Brush your top dressing into the holes

Cut your grass

It’s always tempting to cut your grass very short to make it nice and neat but it’s not good for your lawn. Raise the level of your lawnmower and just give it a gentle trim or it will look bare and weeds will thrive instead of the grass. Little and often is the secret. How cute is this Flying Bee Lawnmower from Bigjigs? I love using it on my lawn and Tilda loves the bee which flies off into the air. (£32.99*)

Don't set your lawn mower too low when you cut your grass

Don’t set your lawn mower too low when you cut your grass

Grass-ias! If all that seems like a bit too much hard work and you would rather just lie back and enjoy your garden while others did the work for you then contact us to arrange a quote for us to do your lawn treatments and grass cutting for you!

Lulu xx

*Prices correct at time of publication

Sow Sow Yummy!

The sun is shining (or at least it was when I wrote this, it is probably snowing now knowing Scotland!) so it’s the perfect time to sow vegetables in the garden. Don’t know what to do? Well, lucky I am here to show you how and to tell you about some wonderful tools I used along the way…

Soon you could have a barrow full of amazing leeks just like mine!

Soon you could have a barrow full of amazing leeks just like mine!

WEED YOUR VEG PATCH

It’s important that you have a weed free veg patch and that you have good quality soil. Add some new compost or fertiliser if you need to.

Weed your veg beds before you start sowing your seeds

Weed your veg beds before you start sowing your seeds

PREPARE YOUR BED

Once you are weed free, take a few minutes to make sure your veg beds are nice and flat and even. It’s a bit like making your bed in the morning, you have to make it nice and neat and ready for bedtime! I used my Twigz rake, perfect for this job. Maybe not so much in your real bed though!

Rake out your veg beds and make the nice and even

Rake out your veg beds and make the nice and even

MAKE A DRILL

Not the tool kind silly! It’s a little line in the soil where you can sow your seeds into. Use a cane to help make sure your row is nice and straight.

Make a row to sow your seeds into

Make a row to sow your seeds into

SOW YOUR SEEDS

Carefully pour some seeds into your hand and sprinkle them into your row, making sure they are evenly sown. Gently cover them over and water them in. If you are sowing seed potatoes or onion sets, gently push them into the soil to the depth stated on the instructions.

This ickle onion will grow nice & big, just like me!

This ickle onion will grow nice & big, just like me!


KNOW YOUR ONIONS

It’s important to remember what you have planted where – you don’t want to be making chips out of your shallots – so make sure you carefully write your vegetable names on a plant marker. I like to draw a picture too – here’s my rocket!!

Zoom zoom, a rocket!

Zoom zoom, a rocket!

Now you just need to sit back and watch your seedlings pop up. You will need to “thin them” which means removing some of the smaller seedlings and give some bigger ones space to grow. Keep your seedlings water and weed free and before you know it you will be picking fresh veg straight from your garden.

TOOLS

Good tools are the back bone of any good gardener and I have found some wonderful ones to use in my garden. To do all of the above I used:

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

I thoroughly recommend the Twigz range of gardening tools for kids. They are great quality and can even last the rigours of a professional like me! They are a little pricier than some alternatives but the quality and durability makes it worth it. They get a big green thumbs up from me!

For more seed sowing inspiration read my other blog Sowing The Seeds of Love.

Love Lulu xx

*Price correct at time of publication

Perfect Potatoes with Twigz

Our lovely friends at Twigz have supplied us with some awesome gardening equipment which I have used ALL year. One of my favourite things to grow is potatoes. Here I tell you a little about what I have grown, how my Twigz tools have helped and also a crafty project if you have a left over potato…

Me getting stuck into the tattie harvesting with some help from Twigz

Me getting stuck into the tattie harvesting with some help from Twigz

Way back in March, I told you about 10 Easy Peasy Veg to Grow this year. Did you manage to grow any? One of the things I grew was potatoes, Maris Peer potatoes to be precise. They are really easy peasy to grow. You need to:

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

And how did my tools last the test of time. Well, as a feisty toddler, I certainly put them through their paces this spring, summer and autumn. They have been well used from planting and harvesting veg, weeding the flower beds and generally just being a great helper to M&D. There isn’t the slightest bit of wear on the tools, none have broken and they still look great. I would definitely recommend them to any budding (excuse the pun!) gardener out there.
Our trug full of lovely perfect potatoes

Our trug full of lovely perfect potatoes

So there you have it, easy peasy potatoes in one year. They store really well through winter too, just keep them in a hessian bag in a cool, dark spot. (The hessian bag is perfect for the sack race come Spring time too!)

If you don’t eat every single potato (which it is hard to resist, believe me!) then I like to do some potato stamping. Here’s what to do…

Potato Stamping

Potato stamping fun

Potato stamping fun

You will need:
1. Choose a medium or large potato.
2. Ask a grown up to cut it in half and to carve a pretty pattern into the cut edges.
3. Dip the pattern in paint.
4. Make a pretty picture!
We cut some cool shapes

We cut some cool shapes

 

Happy stamping!
Lulu xx

Product Review: Twigz

As you all know I have very green fingers (and not just when I have been painting!) I love trying out the latest plants, products and books on the market and telling you what’s worth buying. Recently I have been trying out a range of garden tools aimed at cool kids like me. Here’s what I think of them…

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

I was sent a colourful range of products as you can see from the pic I took above in my own sunny garden. There are certain requirement for children’s gardening tools – here’s what I look for:

So do Twigz meet these standards? Here’s my thoughts on the various items I have been trialling for the last month or so…

Metal Bucket

I love this bucket. First of all, it’s a gorgeous green colour (like my fingers). It also comes in other funky colours. It’s made from a really robust metal and is the perfect size for littlies like me to carry veg or fill with weeds. It’s also not easy to knock over (I have tried!) Price is around £5.49.

Watering Can

One of my favourite jobs in the garden is watering. I love watering the greenhouse, the pots and especially my feet!This watering can is really sturdy and made from metal. It has two handles making it really easy to carry when it is full. It has a rosette which can screw off if you wish and it holds 1.5 litres of water, a perfect amount for mini gardeners. And it comes in 4 funky colours – I have awesome orange!

Hand Tools

A good selection of hand tools is essential for any experienced gardener like myself. The clever people at Twigz have developed a set of 3 which includes a hand fork, a trowel (or spoon as I like to call it!) and hand rake. As with all the Twigz products they come in lovely, bright colours. They are also made from durable one piece plastic so they aren’t going to break anytime soon.
Price is around £7.99 for a set of 3.

Mini Greenhouse

In your pack you get a tray, a lid and 30 little coir pots to plant in. It comes in lovely orange and is perfect for growing seedlings on your window sill. I have grown lots of lovely vegetables and flowers in mine. Price is around £6.49.

Gardening Gloves

I was also sent a pair of gardening gloves. I can’t really comment on these yet as my hands are so teeny they are too big for me. They look good quality and I will certainly get lots of wear from them when I am bigger. Gloves are around £3.49.
So, I can conclusively say that Twigz garden equipment is brilliant and well worth the investment. I will be using mine for many years to come (if I can stop Mummy from stealing it that is!)
Happy gardening!
Lulu xx