Perform Simple Battery Checks Before Revving Up Lawnmowers, Advises CTEK

As summer falls upon the northern hemisphere, eager gardeners everywhere are turning to their lawnmowers to tackle their unruly yards. Experts at CTEK, an industry-leading manufacturer of smart battery chargers, are urging gardeners to undertake simple battery maintenance to ensure their machines are ready for their summer tasks.

Seasonal equipment like lawnmowers can be particularly susceptible to battery failure due to long months of dormancy. Before starting the machines for the first time, owners should examine battery terminals to make sure they are stable, tight, and free from dust and chemical residue. Charge levels should be determined to ascertain whether the battery needs further charging prior to use. Additionally, lawnmower users should always use chargers approved for outdoor use. This means that they have been safety tested to withstand the dampness and dust found commonly in outside environments.

When selecting a charger for their lawnmowers, consumers should be aware that advances in battery technology mean that the devices are more complicated than ever and that they should be paired with an equally advanced charger. Not all battery charging products are appropriate for smart battery maintenance because many utilise a generalised approach, charging all batteries in the same way with a steady level of unregulated current. This can shorten the lifespan of a battery by undercharging or overcharging it.

Jan-Ulf Soderberg, head of brand and marketing at CTEK, says: “It is vital that lawnmower owners make sure their chargers adhere to the correct voltage in order to avoid damaging their batteries. If a battery is charged at too high a voltage, it can overheat and dry out, which causes acid corrosion. If a battery charges at too low a voltage, it will eventually lose capacity, dying gradually.”

“We recommend that people use state-of-the-art technology that provides proper battery protection to ensure a longer lifespan. The best smart chargers keep both the user and the battery safe from harm. Lawnmower owners should choose a charger that is splash and dust resistant, fully automatic, non-sparking, reverse polarity protected, and short-circuit proof.”

For more information about CTEK and its range of smart battery chargers, please visit www.ctek.com.

BBC Gardeners’ World Live gives 3 Midlanders the chance to have a one to one meeting with local Gardening star David Domoney

Do you spend hours planning out your garden and feel like you never quite get it right? Are you planning your garden for the summer and are not sure what to do with that difficult corner that gets no sun? Or are you just planning a fabulous vegetable patch and want to know what plants will go nicely next to each other to make the most out of your space?

Now is your chance to discuss your ideas for your garden with David Domoney – The best three applications submitted will win the opportunity to have a private half hour meeting with RHS award winning designer David on site at BBC Gardeners’ World Live on Thursday 14 June or Sunday 17 June 2012.

To apply please visit www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com/regionaldesigners and upload your design. You will also be given the chance to explain in three hundred words why your plan for your garden should win and why you should be given the chance to meet David Domoney to discuss your design.

BBC Gardeners World Live runs from the 13–17 June at the NEC, Birmingham.

Deadline for entry 8 June 2012

Winners will be announced 11th June 2012. All winners must be available on Thursday 14th June or Sunday 17th June 2012

You can apply if you are from the following Midland's boundaries:

Derbyshire
Gloucestershire
Herefordshire
Leicestershire
Northamptonshire
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Rutland
Shropshire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
West Midlands
Worcestershire

Highlights include:

With stunning features, great nurseries and top experts, keen gardeners will find inspiration throughout the whole Show. Some of the Show’s most popular features will be back again this year including the live demonstrations in the BBC Gardeners’ World Theatre, the Grow Your Own Garden, the RHS Show Gardens, our famous Edible Patches, and the RHS Floral Marquee sponsored by Renault.

London College of Garden Design Forecasts Top 10 Design Trends at Chelsea 2012

The London College of Garden Design has forecast the top ten design trends that we’ll be seeing at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012. With input from some of the big design names here’s their top ten trends to look out for.

1. Technology hits Chelsea big time with QR codes that made a showing last year translated into giant planted walls and Ipad inspiration for rooftop living as shown in Pat Fox’s show garden.
2. British countryside planting evoking country lanes and grassy meadows – see The Caravan Club Garden by Jo Thompson.
3. Health and home is big with exhibitors showing how gardens add to our health such as the Herbert Smith Artisan Garden for Wateraid.
4. And home workspace gardening is back throughout the show – check out the Rooftop Workplace of Tomorrow
5. Edibles are still on the menu but this year it’s heirloom varieties that are big – see The Plankbridge Hutmakers Artisan Garden
6. Perspex is one of the ‘in’ materials and appears all over the show both in the new Fresh category with conceptual ideas as well as Artisan spaces.
7. We have water everywhere but this year there are lots of eco ideas for storing and recycling – great ideas for our drought laden gardens.
8. Classical topiary marries up with garden history but this year its Beech that will be the big draw on a number of show gardens.
9. Stone walls were big in 2011 and are once again with us in 2012, especially as low benches and space dividers.
10. Green oak is making a big comeback as designers reconnect with softer materials.

FACTFILE:
The London College of Garden Design aims to offer the best professional garden design courses available in the UK. Launched in 2008 by three of the UK’s leading garden professionals, the London College of Garden Design one-year Garden Design Diploma classes take place in the Orangery conference facilities at the world famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Find out more about the LCGD at www.lcgd.org.uk/

Siberia beckons for leading UK Garden Designer at Fisher Tomlin

Fisher Tomlin design

Renowned UK garden designer Andrew Fisher Tomlin is off to Russia in June to inspire Siberian garden designers with the potential for new home gardens. 

Andrew will be in Chelyabinsk as a guest of Malinki Village, a brand new development that is aiming to inspire its customers by providing a full garden design service and inspirational ideas.

Andrew said “We already have successful design partnerships across Europe and the Caribbean creating contemporary gardens for stunning new architect-designed homes.

"Malinki have picked this up and asked us to help them promote great gardens in their new development. We have had projects in Russia before but this is a different development where we’ll be bringing garden design to a whole new audience in a rapidly developing region.”

Fisher Tomlin design gardens in regions with more extreme climates than the UK. In some regions such as St Vincent in the Caribbean there can be many distinct climates that require local responses using indigenous plant material as well as sourcing of local hard materials. As Andrew says “It’s a regular challenge for us to use native species and local material. We are always learning which is why we have found that having a partner on the ground is so vital.”
 

www.fishertomlin.com

Swarm season starts: bees just doing what comes naturally - Don’t Panic!

Come spring-time, honey bee colonies start to build-up their numbers and if they run out of space in their hive, they swarm. The public should not be alarmed if they see or come across a swarm of honey bees. They are doing what honey bees do and are not remotely interested in humans. In fact before leaving their hive the bees fill up their stomachs with honey and are rather mellow; their sole intention is to find a new home to build-up a new colony.

With honey bee numbers under threat we can ill afford to lose swarms; beekeepers are anxious to collect them and give them a new home in one of their empty hives. Swarms left uncollected are unlikely to survive, which means lost honey production but even more importantly, fewer of these hard working insects to pollinate crops, including our favourite fruits and vegetables.

The public can help by contacting a beekeeper through the BBKA’s Swarm Watch Hotline by calling 07896 751205. More information is available on the BBKA website.

Despite greater awareness by the public of the huge contribution honey bees make to our food supplies through pollination, not to mention the honey they produce, a swarm of bees still has the propensity to scare. A recent survey of over 2,000 adults in the UK suggests that over a quarter, 28 per cent, of respondents would be ‘worried’ if they saw a swarm, and a further quarter would be ‘terrified’. And while a third said that they ‘would do nothing’, others confessed that they would ‘run like hell’ or ‘scream’.

 As long as the swarm is not provoked it will not do you any harm but it is important that they be collected by an experienced beekeeper. If left to their own devices they may choose to set up home in the nearest convenient spot which could be a chimney or other inaccessible place.

A further issue relating to swarms is that people mistake groups of other types of bees or wasps for honey bees. Around three quarters of calls to the British Beekeepers Association are actually about wasps’ nests, bumble bee sightings, or other flying insects and this confusion is quite an issue for the BBKA, a small charity run mainly by volunteers. People can check if what they have seen is a swarm of honey bees or not by going to its website: http://www.bbka.org.uk/help/do_you_have_a_swarm.php

If people really want to help beleaguered honey bees further and get a little involved themselves, they can join the Adopt a Beehive scheme, www.adoptabeehive.co.uk, which raises money for honey bee research and to help develop beekeeping skills.
Adopt project leader, Nicky Smith says: “The Swarm Watch Scheme can help save honey bee colonies. And the more well trained beekeepers we have and greater understanding the public has of honey bees, the better it is for these vital, hard-working and fascinating creatures”.

BBKA’s Key Facts About Swarms
Why do bees swarm?
• Honey bees swarm because they are looking for a new site to form a new colony. It is a natural and positive means of population increase
What is a swarm?
• Each swarm contains a queen bee and around 20,000 worker bees
• Wasps and bumble bees don't swarm, so if you see a swarm it will be made up of honey bees.
When do bees swarm?
• The swarming season is from April to July, but the peak is from early May to Mid June.
Keep calm and carry on!
• Swarms are not dangerous unless disturbed or aggravated (for example if sprayed with water). Left alone, swarms are harmless.
• Because they only rarely survive in the wild, honey bee swarms need to be captured by trained personnel/beekeepers and placed in beehives where they can form a new productive colony.
• Your local swarm coordinator http://www.bbka.org.uk/help/find_a_swarm_coordinator.php
• Alternatively, contact the local council or police station who can also offer advice.

Obviously, beekeeping is not for everyone. So the BBKA (British Beekeepers Association) has set up a scheme called Adopt A Beehive. Members of the public make an annual donation of £30 to the scheme which supports research and education into beekeeping and bee health. Supporters receive a welcome pack, a quarterly newsletter and regular updates from the regional beehive they have adopted. More information is available at www.adoptabeehive.co.uk.

With over 23,000 members and growing, the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) is the leading organisation supporting honey bees and beekeepers within the UK. It aims to promote and further the craft of beekeeping and to advance the education of the public in the importance of bees in the environment www.bbka.org.uk

About Adopt a Beehive:
Adopt A Beehive is the official fundraising scheme of the BBKA set up to raise money for research and support the honey bee www.adoptabeehive.co.uk

BBC Gardeners' World Live & BBC Good Food Show Summer

It's good to know that kids go free to BBC Gardeners' World Live and the BBC Good Food Show Summer on Family weekend. On Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th paying adults can bring up to two children under 18 into the Show for free. Plus children under 5 get free admission into the Show everyday.

The Shows are aiming to help parents encourage their children to get involved with cooking, gardening and show them Britain's great variety of food and above all to have fun!

Monty Don says: "BBC Gardeners' World Live is a great way to educate children on gardening and food, giving them the chance to see how it is grown and where it comes from. Both shows merge fantastically together to encourage children to enjoy growing their food and cooking it."   

Celebrity chef James Martin says: "BBC Good Food Show Summer is a fantastic way to teach children about healthy eating. They can learn how to grow their own food and then cook it up into something delicious. It's the perfect summer day out for all the family with activities all day long including: arts and crafts, entertainment and lots of wonderful food and gardening."

Highlights

Gardeners' Green

Visit the ever-popular Gardeners' Green area of the Show for family entertainment at the weekend, including special appearances from children's book "Garden Crafts for Children" author and Chelsea Flower Show award-winning garden designer; Dawn Isaac. Dawn gets kids involved with all sorts of arts and craft activity including vegetable and herb gardening, growing projects and simple crafts.

Plus Gardeners' Green gives families the chance to enjoy music from a live band and play garden games and activities provided by the centre of Ecology & Hydrology such as Ladybird top trumps.

Families also have the opportunity to visit Picnic Hill where they can eat their lunch outdoors whilst watching gardening experts like Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh give tips on the Grow Your Own Garden.

We also have the Guide Dogs from Leamington Spa back again this year. Each day they will have 2 slots at Gardeners' Green, where families are able to see how the amazing dogs are trained. 

Shopping

There are a host of children friendly goods on sale including goods from Little Pals who give children the opportunity to start their cooking from a young age with fantastic cupcake baking sets, cookie baking kits and great party sets which is great fun for kids. Kids Cooking Company has bright, fun character cookware for children as well as their own kid's recipe book, ideal for all budding little chefs. Both Little Pals and Kids Cooking Company also have a great range of gardening goodies for children to choose from tools, pots, watering cans and so much more.

Out in BBC Gardeners' World Live children can admire the delightful chickens, ducks and even rabbits from Feathers, who build animal runs. 

The great day out pavilion within the Countryfile Magazine Area is the perfect place to gain inspiration for fun family days out.

The Experts  

BBC Gardeners' World Live experts including; Monty Don; Alan Titchmarsh; Carol Klein; Joe Swift; Adam Pasco; David Domoney and James Alexander Sinclair will be giving fantastic live demonstrations, talks and master classes so all visitors can make the most out of their tips and take that advice back to their own gardens.

Plus, family foodie favourites will be appearing at the show including: James Martin; the Hairy Bikers; John Torode; Gregg Wallace; MasterChef Champion 2012 - Shelina Permalloo; Olly Smith; Michael Caines and local chef Glynn Purnell   

Parenting Room 

For parents with young children who need to be fed or changed, our parenting room is the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the show floor. Open from 11am daily and situated in Suite 27 in the Atrium, our Parenting Room has baby changing facilities, complimentary nappies, high chairs and bottle warming facilities

One ticket includes entry to both BBC Gardeners' World Live and The BBC Good Food Show Summer.

To book and for more information please visit www.BBCGardenersWorldLive.com

or www.BBCGoodFoodShow.com

That's Education: Primary School Wins Hartley Greenhouse in RHS Comp...

That's Education: Primary School Wins Hartley Greenhouse in RHS Comp...: Hook Lane Primary School, in Kent, has won a greenhouse from Hartley Botanic, worth £2500, for staging the most ‘inspiring’ Get Your Growi...

Workshop; gardening for wildlife with green roofs and floral meadows

Q Lawns' are hosting a wildlife gardening workshop on thursday 12th July 2012.

Starting with a light breakfast at Brandon House Hotel on the Norfolk/Suffolk Border, this promises to be an educational and entertaining day with talks, tours, photo opportunities and the chance to learn more about green roofing and wild flower meadows.

Check out their video

The event is open to journalists, garden writers, photographers and garden designers and is an excellent opportunity for networking and talk directly to the growers of Enviromat sedum matting and Meadowmat wild flower matting, ask any questions you like and find out about new product developments that are in the pipeline.

Also featured will be the NEW Enviroden curved roof and the Envirobutt water storage system.

The cost is just £20 and includes all refreshments and tours.

For more information and a booking form, please contact Angela Lambert on 01842 828266 or email to angelal@qlawns.co.uk