Hampshire Fire Service in compost advice as compost causes blaze

At 12.10 hours on Saturday 26 May, a neighbour alerted Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service to a fire at a private residence in Rother Road in Cove, near Farnborough.

A total of eight fire appliances and supporting vehicles were in attendance. Four fire appliances from Rushmoor Fire Station were initially mobilised to the scene. Also in attendance were one fire appliance from Fleet, the special equipment unit, aerial ladder platform, two fire appliances and command support from Basingstoke, one fire appliance from Yateley, one fire appliance from Hartley Wintney, the multi-role vehicle from Havant and the incident command unit from Service Headquarters in Eastleigh.

Volunteers on call with the Red Cross in Hampshire also leapt into action to assist at this incident. Mobilised by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Fire and Emergency Support Service (FESS) team provide emotional and practical support to the family.

The fire affected three two story terraced private dwellings measuring 30 metres by 12 metres. The fire started at the rear of one of the properties and caused 100% smoke damage and 50% damage by fire to the property, 50% smoke damage and 50% fire damage to the adjoining property and 10% fire damage to the roof of the third property.

Group Manager Martin Walters who was officer in charge of the incident said: “Crews worked extremely hard in hot arduous conditions to tackle the fire from within the confined roof space, whilst the aerial ladder platform was utilised from outside of the building. Due to their actions the fire was contained to the end two properties and within two hours the fire was extinguished by firefighters using 18 breathing apparatus, four jets and three hose reels.”

Crews regularly re-inspected the scene and at 2125 hours used one hose reel to cool down structural areas within the roof spaces.

Station Manager Paul Robson from Rushmoor Fire Station said: “The grass cuttings contained in the bin had heated up during the recent hot weather conditions to such an extent that it self-combusted and caught alight. To avoid similar incidents of this kind I urge residents to regularly check the storage of grass cuttings, compost or any similar natural materials to ensure that they do not overheat. Storage facilities of this kind should be located away from buildings, fencing and decking areas to reduce the risk of fire spread should a fire occur.”

Live in harmony with your pet & garden

How to live in harmony with your pet and your garden; let your pet enjoy your lawn and garden as much as you do.

Dog Rocks will dispel every pet owner’s fear of allowing their dog or bitch to roam free in their garden.
Dog Rocks will help to stop pet urine killing lawn, box hedge and shrubs in one quick cock of the leg or delicate squat. With Dog Rocks, your dog can SAVE your lawn & you can let your pet enjoy your garden as much as you do!

Dog Rocks are the only 100% natural, safe, hassle free & non medicinal way to rid your lawn of urine burn patches, they are a prevention AND cure & with regular use you will have a perfectly green lawn, urine burn patch free, allowing your whole family, pets included, enjoy your lawn all year round.

Grass burns from dog urine are a source of frustration for dog owners who take pride in a beautiful lawn. Brown or yellow spots of dead grass are unsightly but Dog Rocks offer a natural, simple, hassle free & non medicinal way to prevent grass burns from dog and bitch urine.

While nitrogen is an essential component in healthy soil, an high concentrations of it can cause grass to turn yellow or brown. Urine is naturally high in nitrogen and alone can cause grass burns. However, lawn fertilizer also contains nitrogen. An excess of either or a combination of urine and fertilizer may result in an overdose of nitrogen, thus "burning" the grass. It may seem like female dog urine causes more trouble to the lawn than male dog urine. This is simply because most females tend to squat and urinate in one place, while many males lift the leg and "mark" upright objects in multiple locations. The composition of a dog's urine does not vary that much between male and female dogs, especially when spayed or neutered.

Placed in your dog’s water bowl and changed every 2 months, Dog Rocks will eliminate these unsightly marks without any need for medication. Dog Rocks have been used for around 12 years with huge success worldwide & are safe for all household pets; there is no change to the pH balance of the dog’s urine. Dog Rocks are endorsed by vets and sold to pet owners worldwide.

“Dog Rocks have worked wonders on my lawn, thank you!” Cherry, Dorset. UK
“Amazed at the difference in our lawn” Anne Lawrence, Devon, UK.
“Quite brilliant, my lawn had suffered for years until I started using Dog Rocks”
Philippa Katz, Vermont, USA.

Each pack is of Dog Rocks is accompanied by an instruction leaflet and diary reminder sticker. There are 12 units per display box.

- Wash the Dog Rocks thoroughly under running water to remove any dust.
- Place your entire pack of Dog Rocks in your dog’s water bowl, if you have more than one water bowl, you will need another whole pack of Dog Rocks, and each water supply should have one entire pack of Dog Rocks in it.
- Replace your Dog Rocks every 2 months and for best results, refresh the water at night every two to three days and top up at night in between.
- Dog Rocks are not uniform size and differ from pack to pack in content because they are entirely natural. The weight of each pack is however the same and therefore the efficacy is consistent.
Dog Rocks SSP $16.99/E14.99/£12.49 per pack - each pack lasts 2 months.

Dog Rocks are available through all major wholesalers in the vet, pet and garden centre markets. To consumers Dog Rocks are available through vet practices, pet and garden centre retailers as well as online. Some of our European customers include Pets At Home, Kennelgate Stores, Jollyes, Pampurred Pets, Pets City, Pet Supermarket, Pets Corner, Wyevale Garden Centres, Dobbies, Hillier Garden Centres, Nottcutts Garden Centres and Poplar Nurseries.

For more information go to: http://www.dogrocksus.com or http://www.dogrocks.co.uk

Anglian Home Improvements in Hampton Court Palace Flower Show sponsorship with TV gardener David Domoney

Following the award-winning success of their collaboration at last year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, Anglian Home Improvements has announced that it is again teaming up with TV garden expert David Domoney for this year’s gardening show.

The window, door and conservatory specialist is sponsoring the magazine-style Grapevine Theatre, hosted by Domoney offering a fun and interactive destination for garden-loving visitors to the event. At the centre of the show, the Grapevine Theatre will offer an opportunity to relax and be entertained, picking up some great gardening tips whilst keeping an eye on everything else that’s going on around the show.

Green-fingered celebrity guests John Craven, Bill Oddie, Adam Henson and Toby Buckland will join Domoney in the Grapevine Theatre marquee to chat about their love of gardening and much more. Roving reporters will capture all the action from the show, beaming it back to the screen at the Grapevine Theatre marquee where top garden design experts will be on hand every day to provide ideas on gardening and outside living.

Melanie McDonald, Head of Marketing and Communications at Anglian Home Improvements, explains the reasons for the company’s continuing involvement with the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

“Gardening is a favourite hobby of many of Anglian Home Improvements’ customers. It makes perfect sense that homeowners who invest in maintaining their property with good quality home improvements will also take a keen interest in the look of the outside space and garden.”

“For many years, Anglian Home Improvements has supported horticulture shows by sponsoring a garden design or exhibiting products like our conservatories that ‘bring the outside in’. Following last year’s success of working with David Domoney on the Naked Garden, we are delighted to continue our association and feel that the Grapevine Theatre gives us an excellent platform to showcase our products in the dedicated display areas, tying in with some of David’s top gardening tips such as landscaping around conservatories, the best plants to grow in conservatories and creating kerb appeal at the front of your home with window boxes and hanging baskets.”

Anglian Home Improvements and David Domoney won a silver award at last year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show for their Naked Garden, featuring plants from around the world that can grow without soil to produce flowers, foliage, fruit and vegetables. Inspired by Anglian glazing technology, which is hidden in the natural transparency of glass so ‘invisible’ to the homeowner’s eye, the garden exposed plants in a series of cleverly constructed glass containers and transparent materials to show the beauty of ‘naked’ plants and expose what is conventionally left undiscovered.

For a chance to win tickets to the event, contact Anglian Home Improvements via Twitter, Google+, Pinterest or Facebook using the hashtag #HCGrapevine, explaining why you would like to attend the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. The competition closes at 6 pm on Thursday 28 June and winners will be notified by 6 pm on Friday 29 June. Competition terms and conditions can be found on the Anglian Home Improvements website, http://www.anglianhome.co.uk/hampton-court-flower-show.

Following an Exclusive Preview Evening on Monday 2 July with fireworks and live music in the Grapevine Theatre, the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show officially opens on Tuesday 3 July and runs until Sunday 8 July. Details about the event including ticket information can be found at www.rhs.org.uk. For further information about Anglian Home Improvements, please visit www.anglianhome.co.uk

New Garden Sofa Range From Luxurypatiofurniture.co.uk Luxury Garden Furniture

Luxury Garden Sofa Range Out Now

Luxury garden furniture can make all the difference in transforming your outdoor living space into a space you can actually relax in.
www.luxurypatiofurniture.co.uk have just launched their 2012 range of garden sofas, and all outdoor sofas come with free uk mainland delivery in just a few days.

A weather-proof garden sofa, as well as various other types of all-weather rattan garden furniture, can be purchased from Luxurypatiofurniture.co.uk at superb prices. As well as garden sofas, this company also specialises in rattan daybed sets, rattan sun loungers, and other contemporary garden furniture.

With the British summertime shaping up to be the usual bouts of intense sunshine and rainy showers, you may be wondering whether to invest in some rattan garden furniture or not. After all, if you have to spend most of the time moving it inside to keep it dry and safe from the changing weather conditions; you may decide that you’d be better off without it. If you were purchasing traditional rattan garden that might be the case.

However with a weather-proof outdoor sofa you can indulge in some peaceful time enjoying your garden in the fine weather, and you won’t have to worry about what happens to your new purchase when it starts to rain (which knowing the UK it eventually will!).

Weather-proof garden sofa sets are specific items of PU rattan luxury garden furniture, and as their name suggests they are able to withstand all the different weather conditions that we typically experience throughout the year. Surprisingly, there are varying types of weather-proof outdoor garden sofas, ranging from those that require minimal maintenance to those that can only withstand milder weather conditions.

To ensure that your new sofa, rattan sun lounger or rattan daybed for your garden is as fuss-free a purchase as possible, you will need to choose one that is 100% weather proof and made from a strong and sustainable mixture of synthetic rattan materials, instead of one that is made from a mix of rattan and PU.

In addition to being weather-proof and suitable for year-round use, these particular items of luxury garden furniture are also very easy to care for and maintain. They often require nothing more than quick surface cleaning, and unlike the more traditional types of outdoor sofa made with natural materials they don’t need to be primed with protective varnishes or covers before you use them outside.

These easy-to-care-for sofas are also completely family and pet friendly, too, so every member of the family no matter how young will be able to safely enjoy their comfort and luxury.

In addition to being totally weather-proof and virtually maintenance free, contemporary garden furniture purchased from such luxury patio furniture specialists will also come with extensive guarantees and warranties just in case.
For more details please check out the Luxury Patio Furniture Blog.

'Fabulous perennials – join the garden party’

It’s summer and the BBQ invites start coming thick and fast. But have you been invited to a Royal Garden Party this year? If you have, lucky you, however, if you’re like me and have never been invited then why not take your cue from Royalty and host your very own garden party. Every summer, the Queen hosts at least three parties at Buckingham Palace, as well as one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Over 8,000 people from all walks of life attend each of these parties.

Now I know that most of us can’t compete with the Queen – My garden could probably hold 18 guests rather than 8,000. When it comes to invitees, it will probably be the same familiar faces that normally come to my plain old BBQs. So let’s all inject some excitement this year with the wow factor of fabulous perennials that flower in the garden year after year. This month we have a trio of garden lovelies that never fail to impress!

Our first pick is Astilbe commonly known as False Goat's Beard or False Spirea. Astilbes are very easy to grow and will reward you year after year with a reliable show of ornamental plume-like flowers in delicate hues of white, pink and red. The blooms are held high on erect stalks above clouds of foliage. Bonus benefits are the length of time they bloom and the fact that they are generally pest free. They grow well in shady areas and add interest and texture wherever they are planted. Plants to seek out are Astilbe ‘Fanal’ which produces dense panicles of dark crimson flowers or the intriguing Astilbe ‘Perkeo’ which produces pyramidal spires of pink flowers.

Next on the guest list is Astrantia, not a particularly common plant in UK gardens although it should be! Its unusual looks are characterised by densely packed flowers on oval bracts. This flower/bract configuration give the plant a star like quality – which seems to have influenced the name: Astrantia is said to originate from Astron, the Greek word for star. Look out for Astrantia ‘Sunningdale Variegated’, with its wonderful foliage or the pretty Astrantia major which produces green, pink or sometimes deep purple-red flowers.

Our last guest is by no means the least… Geum is a versatile garden plant that loves the sun but can also thrive in partial shade. The flowers are most common in flame shades of fiery red, burnt orange and molten amber. The dark green foliage is covered in stiff hairs and the plants are very effective as bedding plants or when used in borders. Geum chiloense ‘Fire Opal’ is a stunning plant, producing reddish-orange flowers on purple stems. For rock gardens consider Geum montanum with its deep yellow flowers produced on short stems.

Any garden party will be enhanced with these wonderful plants as part of the backdrop. Who cares if the guests aren’t the high and mighty of the land, as long as you enjoy their company? Have fun!

Seasonal highlights June
Gardening is for everyone and in June it couldn’t be easier to interest the most reluctant participants. Get children started this summer with their own pots or mini-garden. Some retailers are promoting special ‘children’s’ seeds and plants this year and many now invite school parties in to do hand-on activities. If you have elderly neighbours or relatives, try to give them a helping hand with their gardens – it could rekindle an interest for them.

The longest day falls towards the end of this month and carried enormous significance for our forebears as a key point in the year. Even in the south of England the long evenings are a delight, giving extra energy and zest to life, but the further north you go the days just get longer. In the far north of Shetland there is very little night at all at this time of year and the animal kingdom is active virtually around the clock.