Your friendly landscaping and landscape maintenance
 company in south dublin


Fully Insured - Contact: 089 4790 305 or 01 5155 333

landscape and garden design

"People ignore design that ignores people" ~ Frank Chimero. Good design begins not with us, but with you the client. The space must work for you..

Read more

landscape construction ~ before and after gallery

From neglected to cultivated. From abandoned, to cherished. We all at times, can let our gardens slip into a state of disrepair. The long winter..

Read more

Landscape gardeners dublin south | Paving and Masonry | Garden design

May | Gardening advice and tips

Q. George, in Mount Merrion.

"Quick question, do you have any advice on flowers for a grave?"

Firstly, when selecting your flowers, keep in mind that there are other graves around / beside you. Go for something that will give you good value and that will flower for a long time.

Often you will find that it is seasonal plants that look good at a particular time of year. E.G. Springs low growing bulbs, and Spring Annuals. For Summer, you can get some very good bedding plants like 'geraniums'. Its best to pick according to the season. Although this does involve more work, the result is a beautiful well kept grave, and one that changes with the seasons.

Q. Derick, Waterloo, Dublin South.

"I want to set some lavender, but don't know what variety as there seems to be a lot"

I would recommend 'hidcote'. Its a wonderful variety of lavender, with strong colouration and scent.

Q. Sinead, County Kildare.

"I want to plant ivy in order to cover a small shed. But I am worried that it might take over the garden. Any advice?"

Ivy can be slow to get established but then takes off. Go for one called 'Gold Heart'. As the name suggests, it has a golden centre and has smaller leaves. Its pretty easy to trim back if needed, so this could be the one that you are looking for.

Q. Becky, in Cabinteely.

"What would you think is the best type of Rose for this time of year?"

There is a huge variety. If your looking for any member of the Rose family, I recommend a visit to Hughes Roses in Garristown Co. Dublin. They have some stunning roses available and can give you some expert advice.

A really nice one in my opinion is 'rhapsody in blue'. Its a stunning Rose, with a lovely dark blue / purple colour and fantastic scent. Another thing with Roses is they can last all Summer long (make sure to dead head them!), so they really are a great addition to any garden.

Q. Pam, in Dundrum.

"I really like the look of heather - Is there any type that I can set in my back garden?"

Yes - Heather is an excellent plant. There are many types available, and the great thing is you can get ones that grow at specific times of the year. So you can have a succession of heather flowering at different times throughout the year.

You can get ones that grow to be small and compact, to ones that grow larger (but still relatively small). Also, they come in a range of colours - Mauve, Purple, White etc. You can even get a variety called 'Calluna' which has little bells on the flower. Heather is a really good addition to any garden.

Q. Carina, in Monkstown.

"I want to get a flower / plant for my aunt who lives in a nursing home. The thing is, I cant get one that is too scented"
Good on you for been so thoughtful. There is a lovely plant called 'begonia rex'. It has fantastic leaves of a deep purple / pink colour with a dark centre. It looks wonderful and does not have any scent. It is also very tolerant, so it can handle going dry / wet without causing shock. I'm sure your Aunt will love it.

Q. Maureen, Greystones Wicklow.

"My husband sprays the weeds in our driveway - is it not better to dig them up instead? I am concerned about using spray as we have children who play out the front"

Ideally digging them up would be better alright. But this is often not feasible. By all means use spray as required, but make sure to apply the spray on a DRY day with NO WIND! You don't want surface water carrying the weed killer onto neighbouring plants / footpaths, or indeed the wind doing the same.

It cant often be a good idea to firstly power wash in between the joints of your driveway, before applying a light spray. This has the effect of removing the small bits of soil that the weeds grow out from, and should prolong the time required between weeding / spraying (it also tends to remove the weed physically).

But just spraying weed killer by itself will be the finest. IF you were to power wash first, make sure you let the driveway dry out COMPLETELY before applying spray.

back to tips for mid mayNext. Advice for June

Q. Danny, in Lusk

"I am struggling to grow clematis in my garden. I'm growing it to hide a fence. Any ideas?"

There are many different types to choose from. I would go with 'clematis montana', as it has that extra bit of vigour when growing. It is a Spring flowering type, and it doesn't get clematis wilt (caused by a fungus).

Another type to look for is 'clematis viticella'. Either variety like a sunny spot to grow in. Top Tip: Although the flowering part of clematis likes the sun, the bottom section near its roots likes to be kept cool. A good ides is to shade this area of the plant. You could use a sleeper, or very low wall / rockery etc - or even a small plant in front will shade the base - whatever works.

 

Q. Donna, Wicklow.

"I have a butterfly bush and was wondering was it too late in the year to cut it back a bit?"

'Butterfly bush' or Buddleia as its often called. Cut away. You can go at it and will come back. In winter its often cut back to around knee height, at this time, you can cut it just above this height. So go for it :)

 

Q. Sara, Wicklow

"Have recently moved into a new house and the garden is very overgrown. How do I remove nettles from the grass?"

Firstly, nettles are usually a very good sign. They use lots of different nutrients to develop, so this is a great sign for the condition of your soil. In relation to getting rid of them, you can get RoundUp. You can get it in a pack where it has a sponge, and you paint or dab it on. MAKE SURE to wear gloves etc. This is an excellent way of doing it, as it wont effect the surrounding vegetation. The RoundUp is absorbed by the leaves and is brought back into the nettle.

 

Q. Brian, Stepaside

"We have had our 30 foot Leylandii taken out recently. What can we replace it with? "

A better alternative to Leylandii is 'Thuja'. It has all the benefits but without the hassle. Its an every green plant, that looks similar, but its MUCH more manageable than Leylandii, grows pretty quickly initially, and is a lot easier to trim and contain. There are a lot of different types out there that you can choose from. I recommend Thuja over Leylandii every time.

 

Q. Harold, Rathfarmham

"I have a umbrella plant, its fairly old, but recently the leaves have started to drop off. I really want to save it, help!"

I assume this is an indoor umbrella 'Schefflera' plant. Usually when you hear of leaves dropping off, this indicates that if got a shock of some sort. It could be that when you watered it, the water used was too cold, or maybe a pet interfered with it.

Keep it in a warm spot, but out of direct sunlight. Very often, if you simply re-pot the plant to a bigger container, this can have a very positive effect. It may be that its roots are now restricted for space and it needs re-potting. Also, you can get organic spray that you simply spray on its leaves, and the plant will absorb nutrients directly this way.

 

Q. Sinead, Dun Laoghaire

"I want to get rid of dandelions in my garden. Any advice?"

Again, I would use RoundUp. You can get it in a pack and you paint / dab it on leaf itself. This is the best way to deal with them, even though it might be somewhat time consuming - but worth it in the long run.

ladybug.back.use

ladybug.next

Hurray hurray for the 1st of May!

 

Events in May

Rare and Special Plant Fair

Airfield, Overend Way, Dundrum, Dublin 14

With over thirty nurseries at this expo, this is a fantastic fair open to the gardening public. As the name suggests, the idea is to bring to bring rare and difficult to source plants, all under one roof for you to purchase. It is also an opportunity for you to visit a garden of exemplary note, one that you may not otherwise be able to visit.

Usually runs in early May (this year for example, its held on May 10th 2015), it is a must for both the serious and curious gardener or horticulturist. For more, vist the Rare and Special Plant Fair website.

 

Q. Ava, in Churchtown

"What are the best types of scented plants for to set in my garden?"

Here are a few that I would recommend for any garden.

  • Philadelphus (Mock orange). Its a twiggy plant in winder, but when it comes into flower in the summer, woe! It has a fantastic scent and brings a wonderful aroma to your garden. Look out for one called 'Sweet Clare'.
  • 'Richard Grey' lavender. Has a lovely dark flower and silver foliage. Just needs lots of sunshine and good drainage.
  • 'Night scented stock'; this is one of the favourites. It is a great time to plant this. Simply pick a sheltered spot, sprinkle the seeds in loose soil and you will have a wonderful scent come August.
  • 'Sweet Pea'. You can buy the plants if you have missed out on sowing the seed, and they will flower again in summer. Keep in mind, they have to be cut to keep them going.

And finally, another favourite.

  • 'Graham Thomas' Honeysuckle. Buy in now and plant it. Graham Thomas is a selected version of the wild honeysuckle, its a creeper which can grow its way through other shrubs, and it emits a fabulous scent. Also, it will encourage the bees to take a visit to your garden, which is always only a good thing.

 

Q. William, in Kildare.

"Is now a good time to dig and re-seed my garden? And should I use a rotavator?"

It can depend on your soil, but a rotavator is a great thing to use, especially if your planning on growing a vegetable garden. If the ground is very stoney, this can be hard on the rotavator, so make sure to take it easy as you go, and to pick up and discard the stones that are brought up.

If your doing a lawn, make sure to then rake the soil and level it.

 

Q. Caoimhe, in Greystones Wicklow.

"Is mulching your beds every year required? If so, should I add it once or twice a year?"

It depends on the plants. Some can be greedy! If its a greedy plant do it twice a year.. The mulch does two things. One; it keeps the moisture in (great in a dry summer / plants that need to be kept moist), two; it feeds the plant.

 

Q. Hannah, in Booterstown Dublin.

"Help! How do I combat slugs? My garden is riddled with them!"

Ah - the age old question! There is Nematodes for slugs. You make them up in a watering can, they are a living organism and will only effect the slugs and will do you no harm. You can get ones that specifically and solely target slugs. They are perfectly harmless to children, pets, and other wildlife, and pose no threat to food crops. In fact there are millions of them living quite happily in your garden right now. You can get them at any good garden centre and should help. Read more about Nematodes here.

Also, use the old beer can buried in the garden trick. The slugs will be drawn to it and end up drowning - but this will be an on going battle till the end of time alas!

 

Q. Derick, in Naas Kildare.

"Whats the best low maintenance hedge? Around 4 to 5 feet high?"

Keep in mind, it is you who will predominantly dictate the height. There is a wonderful rose called 'wild edric' that lends itself well for hedgerows.

Now, its an informal hedge - blooms from June to October, and gives a lovely sent to the garden. Grows to about 6 feet and has really nice double pink flowers. Its a very good alternative to your standard hedging.

 

Q. Harry, in Offaly.

"I have golden acres trees growing on each side of the avenue, but one side has grown larger than the other. Why would this be?"

If could be from one side having competition with other plants etc for nutrients, or it maybe that the soil on one side is not draining as well. I would check the soil. You could then use a slow release feed or an organic mulch.

 

Q. Clare.G in Rathfarnham.

"I have a apartment balcony, I built a flower-box the length of it and set wild grass so that I would have something all year round. What would you recommend that would give full flowers? I also want to run a climber around the rails, what would you suggest?"

Go with the seasons if you can. There is always something beautiful in season. In August, you can get the bulbs for next spring, and you can pot them and be ready for next year. In relation to the climber, you could get a thorn-less rose. Be careful how you train it. But it will give off a fantastic scent which will waft in through the windows of your apartment. Another one that you could mix with this is Clematis. Also, you can get lovely miniature holly plants that look well all year, and produce the classic red berry come autumn / winter. Go with the seasons and mix it up.

 

back to tips for Aprilladybug.next

From design to build, conception to reality.

Paved the way. Covering all aspects of garden design, landscaping, paving and masonry. Bringing your vision, to life.

ladybug on leaf.frontpage.102

 

Gardening tips & advice

 

Get in touch
 

Go to top

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries