| Here are five top tips from celebrity gardener, Charlie Dimmock, who is working with Ronseal to promote Urban Gardens Week, about how to make the most of your urban space regardless of its size, and maximize its eco potential. |
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1 Grow your own
It’s a misconception that you need a huge garden in order to cultivate your own veg. With some clever planning, you can create a growing space in even the smallest of gardens or balconies. One way is to define a clear area where you can do this – wooden boards embedded into the soil can be a great way in a back yard, making sure you’ve got enough room to reach each corner of the planting area. Alternatively, you can grow vegetables and flowers together in a flower border, raised bed or container which is not only a great space saving solution but will look really pretty too. Look for timber containers to give a natural look and protect with a good quality wood stain or preserver [such as Ronseal Multi Purpose Wood Preserver].
2 Cut noise pollution
If you’re near a really busy road, then creating some sort of screening between the noise source and your home can be an effective way to reduce sound levels. Solid walls tend to rebound noise so try planting thick hedging or erect a fence and line with hedgerows, which will help to absorb the noise and to keep out dust and pollution. Staining the fencing with a natural coloured wood stain [such as Ronseal’s Woodland Trust Colours, which offers a wide selection of shades from Willow green to Honeysuckle and an array of blues] will keep your garden looking beautiful and more natural.
3 Reduce visual pollution
Very small lawns are difficult to maintain and keep looking attractive, as the small surface area tends to mean they get worn and tired looking very easily. They can also suffer from a lack of sunlight. A great way to get around this problem and to achieve a polished contemporary look is to deck the area instead. If you’re lucky enough to have a south facing spot use the elevation to create a sun trap and use as a space for entertaining. Just make sure you build the deck wide enough to fit garden furniture and leave enough space for you and your guests to manoeuvre around. Splintered, weathered decking will quickly become an eyesore so it’s important to protect it with a hard wearing decking stain [such as Ronseal High Traffic Decking Stain, which has been specifically designed for high footfall areas.]
4 Create a wildlife sanctuary
Feed the bees and the butterflies... Plant flowers, trees and plants that are high in pollen and nectar as they will produce seeds and fruit which are a great source of food for wildlife such as bees, moths or butterflies. A good starting point is to look at shrubs and climbers such as hebe, honeysuckle, lavender or ivy and flowering plants such as bluebells, violets or foxglove. If you’re stuck for space, or don’t have a soiled area, then all you need to do is buy a planter, which lets you grow plants with a minimum amount of mess.
And don’t forget the birds! Bird tables and feeders are great way to attract avian life into your garden and can be a critical source of food for birds in the winter months. Fill with pre-made seed mixes and protect the wood from splintering and rotting by using a water-based wood preserver. Alternatively, turn it into a focal point by coating it with a coloured woodstain [such as Ronseal’s Woodland Trust Colours range, which are inspired by the UK woodland]. And even if you’ve not got any suitable outdoor space at all, then you can get mini bird feeders that stick onto the outside of windows with suckers, so there’s really no excuse!
5 Reduce your carbon footprint
It’s important to care for exterior wood in your garden, and protect from weather damage, otherwise it will soon look unsightly. But this is no excuse to forget about the environment. Protect timber furniture, fences and sheds with woodcare products that are low in petro chemicals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Ronseal’s Eco range for example, is far kinder to the environment and the Eco formulations are also extremely high performance ensuring the results last longer. Not only that but 25p from every purchase goes to the Woodland Trust to help protect native UK woodland too.
Planting trees is an important step in tackling climate change as during their lifetime they absorb a large amount of carbon. Although most urban gardens are limited in space, which can prevent you from planting larger trees such as oaks and beeches due to the eventual size of their roots, but there are alternatives. Rowan, Hawthorn and Silver Birch are all examples of small native trees that cultivate well. And a couple of well place hazel trees can provide you with an endless supply of pea sticks and bean poles, not to mention the nuts (if you can keep the squirrels away). All of these species are hardy, they grow in most conditions, don’t take up a huge amount of room and have small leaves which only cast a dappled light shade, allowing grass and other plants to grow underneath.
If you’re eager to learn more, email ronseal@lucre.co.uk for more great hints, tips and advice.