Christmas Gifts in Gardener's World

Lila Das Gupta rightly acknowledges that the stylish gardener is one who looks for beauty in all things, whether it's a pot brush or a plant label. With that in mind she has collected a host of beautiful, practical gardening gifts for this month's issue of Gardener's World. We're pleased to see a few of our very own items made the cut, including our Aged Ceramic Plant Labels, indispensable Tool Oil and chic little Oak Pot Tamper.

Farewell summer

Rustic tealight stakes (item 9 above) available from Garden Boutique

Garden Boutique is looking forward to the new planting season and the crisp foliage and vibrant colours that autumn brings. But there's still time to bid summer adieu in style, especially if September stays so dry.

This photoshoot from Gardens Illustrated evokes a relaxed outdoorsy atmosphere of barbeques under a canopy of trees while tealights twinkle in the dusk.

Garden Beauty

A very glamorous-looking Alice spilled the secrets of all-weather beauty in the September issue of Tatler. Experienced gardeners know all too well the wear-and-tear caused by constant digging, pruning, bending, stooping, sun-exposure and mucking about in the soil all day. Alice has developed some trusty remedies which work wonders for tired hands, feet and complexions:

• A handmade softening foot scrub of lemon thyme, rosemary, sea salt and olive oil
• Hand-picked camomile buds make refreshing eye pads when brewed with hot water and then chilled overnight
  
• Foxgloves. They're brilliant.
• If all else fails a lick of Mac Cream Colour base in Flaming Fuschia will brighten your day
  

WISHLIST FABULOUS GARDEN GOODIES FOR SUMMER

The Guardian Weekend on the 21st March 2009 has recommended our townhouse bird feeder.

Modern birds about town need a bijou bolthole. Townhouse bird feeder, £29.95, from Garden Boutique, 012102247390 (gardenboutique.co.uk)

ALL ABOUT WINDOW BOXES IN GARDENERS' WORLD

Gardeners' World, March issue is everything you need to know about window box

from ideas, know how, tips, and window box for all seasons -- all in this issue of Gardeners' WorldGarden Boutique is recommended as one of the window box suppliers wide range of;
brush steel, zinc, bronze, ceramic and granite window boxes and troughs, plus brackets, holders and wirework balconettes.

TIME FOR TEA IN DAILY MAIL

Saturday Daily Mail on 7th March 2009 has featured our Ornate Moroccan TableThis fabulous Ornate Moroccan table from Garden Boutique is entirely handmade from wrought iron base with a hand engraved silver table top, fold flat for easy storage.

The perfect piece accessory for the Moorish inspired garden!

GARDEN LOVERS IN MIDLANDS HOMES & INTERIORS

In Home style section this issue, Krysia Rozanska visits local shops offering fresh, new ideas for both Valentine's day and the home.
For Garden Lovers
The Garden Boutique in Birmingham's Custard Factory is the base talented garden designer, Alice Bowe. Apart from inspiration for your garden, the online shop has accessories, tools and gifts for your garden.

This simple, hanging tea light holder made from cut glass creates beautiful refractions whether it is hung or placed in an alcove. The tapered neck protects the tea light from being blown out bu the wind. Why not use it as a vase and cut a posy of snowdrops for your loved one?
One of the Editor's wish list this issue is our gorgeous shaker heart birdfeeder

INSPIRED IDEAS IN DAILY EXPRESS

This Saturday (7th February) Daily Express has featured some ideas from your garden
Essential oil
It's time to start thinking about getting your gardening tools back in tip-top condition for the spring. So rather that buy new ones, apply Burgon & Ball's professional No.1 White Oil to your garden tools (£4.95 for 125ml, Garden Boutique, 0121 224 7390, www.gardenboutique.co.uk) and they'll soon be looking as good as new.

GARDENBERS' WORLD BEST BUYS FEATURED OUR CUTE KNEELING PAD

Once again that our cute daisy-patterned kneeling pad has been recommended as best buys in a leading garden magazine.
Daisy-patterned foam garden kneeling pad (L40cm x W25cm) £3(£5 p&p), Garden Boutique

Urns and Garden Pots are decoration in their own right

Homes & Gardens love our garden Urns...

Our Cretan Ribbed Pot is recommended in this months issue of Homes and Gardens Magazine:

"These curvaceous urns, like the ones in Bevis Bawa's garden in Sri Lanka, are stunning decorative objects in their own right..."

Our Cretan ribbed pot is made from unglazed terracotta. Standing 90cm tall with a diameter of 75cm, the pot swells out from a narrow base, making the ideal sculptural accent for any garden.

The terracotta pot is made in Crete, where it is fired in traditional wood kilns. The result is a frost hardy pot, that will look timeless in a garden border. (Please allow 2 weeks for delivery)

This Ribbed Terracotta pot from Garden Boutique costs £480

Quirky Birdfeeder recommended in Yours Magazine this month

"This Townhouse bird feeder will have the most stylish birds in town flocking to your garden"

Yours Magazine Jan 2009

Our townhouse bird feeder is designed in the same style as swedish city architecture
and is available in white or terracotta.

£29.95 from Garden Boutique

This bird feeder is made from weather proof larch, with felt roofing and 4 windows for access to birdfood (which is cleverly kept dry by the townhouse birdfeeder).

A hanging attachment is supplied

The townhouse birdfeeder measures 15 x 15 x 33cm and makes an original gift for a garden lover

GARDEN ILLUSTRATED IS FEATURING OUR RAIN CHAIN IN JANUARY ISSUE

BBC Gardners' World head gardener and authour Alys Flowles choose products for the eco-conscious.

A copper ring rainchain makes an attractive water feature in place of a plastic downpipe, £119.95, Garden Boutique, 0121 224 7390, www.gardenboutique.co.uk

GARDENERS WORLD CHRISTMAS GIFTS GUIDE

50 Gifts for Gardeners in December issue is including aged ceramic tom pot from Garden Boutique
Pots of class-- Add a touch of faded grandeur with antique-style, glazed long toms. Plant with cyclamens or white tulip bulbs for spring.
What: Aged ceramic long tom pot
From: Garden Boutique, 0121 224 7390, www.gardenboutique.co.uk
Price: £5.95 per pot plus £5 p&p per order

TULIP MANIA - species tulips for every garden situation

Species tulips may be smaller than hybrids, but they are also tougher - and create a stunning show year after year.


Tulips are often considered ephemeral in the garden, and it's true that many hybird tulips decline in vigour after the first year. Species tulips, however, are reliable year upon year, often naturalising and setting seed to produce drifts of flowers that actually improve over the years.

Species tulips tend to be smaller and less showy than their hybird counterparts but they are equally heart stopping. The flowering season begins on early March just as the garden is waking up from winter, but there are varieties that bloom in succession all the way through until the end of May. From the creamy drifts to Tulipa turkestaica to be the lipstick-red of Tulipa fosteriana, it really is worth making room form these little beauties in your garden.

As a general rule, good drainage is essential for all tulips. Although they love to be watered during their growing season, most species tulips prefer dry soil over the summer months. Rock gardens have typically been the best place to grow species tulips because they emulate their natural habitat in the wild, but they are not the only situation in which these diminutive gems will flourish.



Pots and containers
Tulipa greigii starts flowering in March. The dwarf flowering habit and large decorative leaves make for stunning displays in window boxes and containers. Try combining Tulipa greigii 'Red Riding Hood' with winter pansies and trailing ivy for a late-winter show stopper. Try also T. humilis 'Persian Pearl' and T. kauffmanniana 'Heart's Delight'

Clay soil
Tulipa acuminta is an usual and exotic-looking tulip with needle like pointed petals of red and yellow. It is a surpise hit in clay soil, flowering in May, and is excellent for cut-flower arrangements.
Low-growing and early-flowering, Tulipa humilis is equally happy in a rock garden, a raised bed, sunny border or a pot. It has delicate, blade-like leaves, and is available in a wide range of colours.
Tulipa turkestanica is one of the easiest species tulips to grow, and deserving of a place in almost every garden. The elegant creamy-white flowers have a rich yello centre, and really brighten up the winter garden. These tulips will spread gradually and reliably to form dense patches of small starry flowers.

Woodland edge/semi-shade
Tulipa sprengeri is the exception to the rule: flowering in late May and early June, it actually prefers slightly moist soil - and even a bit of shade. try including it in woodland-edge planting schemes, or use it to underplant deciduous trees and shrubs. Don't be put off by its price: Tulipa sprengeri sets seed widely and will soon become an established accent in the garden.

All rounders
With its sturdy stems, broad leaves and huge bright red flower which can be 15cm across when fully open - Tulipa fosteriana is one of the most popular species tulips. it adapts to a wide variety of soils and situation, relishes neglect and reliable each year.

GORGEOUS MIRROR SCONCE IN HOUSE BEAUTIFUL, DECEMBER 2008

Home shopping for style for every budget is featured Rustic mirror sconce £15.50 from Garden Boutique for decorative touch in your living room.

COMPOST ACCELERATOR IN DAILY MAIL

Daily Mail is recommended Bokashi bran from Garden Boutique on Saturday, November 8, 2008

Compost accelerator
SPEED up composting with a mixture of active bran and molasses. Inoculated with friendly Ems (effective micro-organisms, such as bacteria, yeast and fungi), you will soon see your kitchen waste rotting quicker without bad smells.

£6.95 for 1kg from Garden Boutique (0121 2247390, www.gardenboutique.co.uk)

click here to buy

EMEL HAS RECOMMENDED TEA LIGHT GLASS TOP HOLDER

This November issue Emel has recommended tea light glass top holder in Garden notes sectionCandle in the wind
An original way of subtly illuminating your garden in these dark and cold months is with this little black cast iron tea light holder, designed to be hung from and wall in the garden, including gazebos.
£7.99 from Garden Boutique
www.gardenboutique.co.uk

click here to buy

THE LINE OF BEAUTY

(publish on 25th October 2008)

Whether it's working on large country estates or her balcony pots, this garden designer's love of art translates into painting with plants.
At the age of 21, study fine art at university, I had little idea that I would end up becoming a garden designer and writer. Sculpture drawing, painting - wrestling with colour and form as art and as essay - that was all I wanted to do.

I grew up taking gardens for granted. We always had beautiful gardens at home, and my grandparents owned a gorgeous one in Surrey; it was overflowing with camellias, cherry blossom and love-in-a-mist. Looking back, I suppose a love affair with landscape dragged around "yet another garden". I used to moan and grumble and feign illness. Inevitably, as I got older, I started dragged my family out instead.

I'm not sure when it clicked. I tend to say it happened in my second year at Oxford, when I was making a seres of drawings for a show at the Botanical Garden, but, in truth, there was no epiphany, just a gradual realisation that the themes I was exploring - colour, form, space, time-were equally applicable to the garden. I have always been rather private about my artwork, but the two disciplines - painting and garden design - fit together better than I ever imagined.

Writing is an important part of the creative design process for me. Putting things into words helps me to process the myriad ideas and requirements involved in any garden or planting design. It helps me to come up with new concepts. As an art student, I used to fill my sketchbooks with as many words as images, and that hasn't changed over the years.

I'm still saving up for my acres in the country so, at the moment, I garden where my project take me. Perhaps one day I will become a tenant for the National Trust and help it to restore a massive historic garden, but for the moment, I lovingly tend to begged, borrowed and pilfered pockets of land.

At my family home in Nottingham, I garden on serious clay, We have improved the soil beyond recognition by double digging and adding plenty of local mushroom compost. This is where I try out new plant introductions and experiment with planting combinations - you could say "painting with plants", I love the contrast of crisp hedges, old walls and topiary against the blowsy forms of cottage or prairie planting, and we are lucky to have old brick walls in the garden. The main borders combine traditional herbaceous perennials with swaths of ornamental grasses and plenty of roses. I have inherited my mother's love of old-fashion roses, so I squeeze in as many as I can. I am particularly interested in designing planting with the relaxed painterly look of a traditional herbaceous border without the intensive maintenance and this is where I try out my ideas to see what really works.

At my grandparents' house in Surrey, I garden on the Bagshot Sands. The garden is prone to summer drought but can support a wider range of tender plants that thrive in the Midlands. It is a great garden in which to experiment with drought and flood tolerant perennials and to lean about planting that look after itself. Interestingly, hostas seem to be happiest in this sandy, free-draining soil because the leaves don;t get so lush - so they don't get eaten.

At my Birmingham flat, I get to experiment with vegetable container gardening. The large glass windows create a sun trap, so I can start off my seeding inside. The balcony is a compact 5m x 2m, but I am self-sufficient in fresh cut-and -come-again lettuce, pak choi, chicory and herbs. I am having a lot of success with sugar snap, peas tumbling tomatoes, blueberries, redcurrant, purple sprouting broccoli and leeks. I am trying to grow mushroom, too, but the mushroom logs are not playing ball.

It's amazing how productive a small space can be - and there is still room for sunflowers and other ornamentals. My boyfriend Jule's ban on "girlie planting" has given me the chance to experiment with a more dramatic colour scheme that I get to employ in some of the larger country estates I work on. Black terrazzo, bright red furniture and bright red flowers set off the lush green vegetables and deep purple foliage. The only "girlie" exception to this rules is the gorgeous Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain' which I managed to sneak in because Jules is a Prince fan.

In many ways, this varied approach to gardening is a real stroke of luck. It enables me to experiment with a broad rage of habitats. Every year when the plant catalogues arrive, I drool over them like a child in a sweet shop and order newly introduced plants to try. My gardens are a test bed for my work: it would be reckless for me to recommend plants I haven't grown myself, so all the garden spaces I commandeer are in a constant state of flaux - with me constantly tweaking and re-planting to see what works, and what doesn't.

This year, we have been attacked by slugs in their thousand and I have taken the opportunity to experiment with aromatic substitutes for some of my favourite border perennials. As a result, I have discovered a new favourite in Teucrium hircanicum, which has, this year, replaced Salvia nemorosa 'Schwellenburg' in the Nottingham borders. I am becoming almost evangelical in my product from the rooibos tea industry, called Fine Naturals, that is brilliant at deterring slugs.

The most thrilling part of designing gardens and planting schemes is when I get o come back a year or two later and see how they have matured. There is noting more satisfying than t see the concepts and ideas that I spent so long playing around with in my own gardens bear fruit - but realised on a much lager scale.

THE RICH LIST BY ALICE BOWE IN THE TIMES ON 30 AUGUST 2008

A carpet of green manure such as clover or alfalfa can save a fortune on compost and the good news is, there’s one for every soil type

Autumn is on the way, and it’s good time to think about making new beds. More dauntingly, you may have just taken on a whole new garden or an allotment. As you dream longingly of friable loam, your spade invariably hits builders’ rubble free-draining sand or compacted clay. While there is little choice except to dig out builders’ rubble, there are more options when it comes to the task of enriching the soil. Recycled green waste, animal manure and spent mushroom compost are popular additions, but before you start despairing at the cost of lorryloads of compost, don’t forget the cheapskate’s alternative; green manure.

Green manures or cover crops are inexpensive way to improve both the structure and nutrient content of your soil. Cultivated primarily to add organic matter to the earth, a green manures crop is usually grown from a specific period (say six weeks, or over winter), and then chopped down and incorporated into the soil. They are a great option when preparing new land for use – forming a green carpet that stops weeds colonising and prevents nutrients from being washed away. Some varieties, such as lupins, fodder radish or alfalfa, even help to give the soil structure because their fibrous tap roots break up the subsoil.

Traditionally, green manures have been use on arable land or allotments, but they are equally useful in gardens. All you need is a packet of seeds, a spade, and patience while they do the hard work for you.

Green manures consist of legumes and non-legumes. Legumes are popular for their ability to fix nitrogen: once the green manure has been dick into the soil, this nitrogen becomes available for future plantings. Non-legumes planting, however, often produce more organic matter. They have a better root system and so are better suited to surviving extreme weather conditions and poor soils. There is a green manures for every ailment in clay; lupins improve the substructure of the soil; while the best choice for dry soil is alfalfa.

Fast-growing, leafy green manures are often recommended for gardens because they provide the most nutrients when dug into the soil Just remember, if you are preparing soil to grow vegetables, your green manures should not be closely related to the plants that are to follow. For example, don’t use legumes such as field beans of you are planning to grown runner beans or garden peas afterwards. This reduces the likelihood of disease.

Although many green manures can be sown all year round, it is ideal to sow them in the autumn to overwinter, as vegetable plots are generally empty and people are spending less time in their gardens. Try sowing fast-growing fodder radish or mustard in early September so that it can be incorporated in late October. Alternatively, cut down and chop up the green manures in late October and leave it on the surface as a mulch.

Italian ryegrass and Hungarian grazing rye can also be sown in September because they are very hardy. Leave them growing all winter before being dug n during spring to release nutrients as they are rot. If you are growing your green manure on clay soil, however, it’s best to dig it in during autumn, Alfalfa is another good choice for an overwintering green manure. This nitrogen fixer should be dug in during the spring.

Before sowing your green manure, the site should be roughly dug over and weeded. The should needs to be firmed by lightly treading it down, and then your seeds can be sown in rows about 6in apart, or broadcast and ranked in.

All green manures should be dug in while the stems are still soft so that the plant can break down easily. It is a good idea to chop up the green manure and allow it t lie on top of the soil for a few days. It should then be dug in to a depth of about 6in. Your soil should be ready for planting only a couple of weeks after incorporation.

Green manures are often overlooked by gardeners looking for a quick fix, but used wisely, they can play an important and cost-effective role in the establishment and maintenance of a garden.

A MANURE FOR ALL SEASONS

OVERWINTERING
Hungarian grazing rye; One of the best green manures for winter use. Sow in August/September, or as late as October in the South. A good cover crop to prevent nutrient-leaching. Dig in during the spring.

Field beans; Very hardy, with deep nitrogen-fixing roots. Suitable for overwintering.

Fodder radish; Deep tap root brings up nutrients from the subsoil, and produces plenty of organic matter. Over winter it will gradually die down, making it easy to incorporate into the ground in spring.

UNDERSOWING AND INTERCROPPING
White Clover; Low-growing for ground cover and intercropping between rows of vegetables. Use as a living mulch or long term green manure.

Trefoil; Shade-tolerant and low-growing, so great for undersowing. Sow between March and August and it will stand through the winter into the following season. It does not like acid soil but will tolerant some shade and is suitable for undersowing, for example between rows of sweetcorn. When the corn is cut down, the trefoil will grow to protect the ground over winter.

MULCHING AND WEED CONTROL
Crimson clover; A vigorous, quick-growing clover with wonderful red flowers which bees love. Sow in April – September. Not normally winter-hardy because it dislikes waterlogged and heavy soils.

LONG-TERM GREEN MANURESAlfalfa; Rich in calcium and the major elements almost a complete natural fertiliser. It is very deep-rooting – improving substructure and bringing trace elements to the surface. Sow April – July. Can be turned under in the autumn or left to stand through the winter.


SUPPLIERS
The Organic Gardening Catalogue:0845 1301304 www.organiccatalogue.com;
Hurrells Specialist Seeds: www.hmseeds.co.uk
Edwin Tucker & Sons: www.tuckers-seeds.co.uk

Source: THE TIMES

GRANITE WINDOW BOX IS FEATURED IN GARDEN NEWS

Check out window boxes buyers' guide from Garden News on Tuesday 16th September 2008.

Top window boxes for home gardening

Window boxes ; Do you want to enjoy a great garden but haven't hot the space? create an eye-catching display from your window ledge with these containers that you can easily put up yourself

Granite window-box; Lightweight smooth planter made from crushed granite. The granite has been bound with polyester rater than the usual concrete to make it both light and durable. Frost proof if drained properly.
Size: 60cm x 20cm wide x 20cm high (23.5 x 8x8in)
Price: 29.95
From: Garden Boutique
www.gardenboutique.co.uk
tel: 0121 224 7390

Verdict: Sleek and stylish, beautiful in a city garden.

We also have Zinc window box, Bronze window box and Window box brackets.