All gardeners know how good it feels at the start of a new gardening year,  especially for UK gardeners coming out of Winter.  To start off Season 3 of our LYG podcast, horticulturist John Stirland has some timely tips for jobs we can be doing including Winter pruning, transposing deciduous plants, and seed sowing, as well as answering member questions.
Just a heads-up, LYG Live is now broadcast on Sunday afternoons at 4 pm (UK time) so if you'd like the benefit of John's advice, you can join us live on our Facebook Group site, URL:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/574905686709417
It's easy to participate and become a member. If you're an established Facebook user, there's no need to wait for approval!

Thanks to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators:
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group:  https://bit.ly/3zvPicB

PROUD TO BE A FINALIST  IN THE GARDEN MEDIA GUILD AWARDS FOR PODCAST OF THE YEAR.

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It's always a pleasure to spend time with multi-award-winning garden designer and LYG member Professor David Stevens who rounds off series 2 of our podcast with some great tips on using colour to enhance your garden.  As ever with David, there's always much more for the gardener than the headline topic and you'll need your notebook as he talks about colour blending and specific plants. We also discuss some of the plants in David's own garden so below is a link to some photographs to lend context: https://www.facebook.com/groups/574905686709417/permalink/1207884166744896

Time for a wee seasonal break now but we'll be back with a new series of Loving Your Garden Podcasts in the New Year.  Have a wonderful festive break and see you in 2023!

Thanks to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators: 
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group:  https://bit.ly/3zvPicB 

PROUD TO BE A FINALIST  IN THE GARDEN MEDIA GUILD AWARDS FOR PODCAST OF THE YEAR.

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I had the pleasure of a tour around Bardney Manor in Lincolnshire recently courtesy of owner Samantha Wright and discovered a pile of lovely rich soil which she'd had delivered ready to start a very ambitious project - more of which later. Anyway, after further investigation, it transpired that the soil was in fact PlantGrow, a soil improver made up entirely of plant matter from a process of bio-digestion. 

A quick phone call to General Manager Daniel Suggitt and we had ourselves a podcast guest.  Given how peat-free is becoming quite the topic as the deadline for the shift away from peat looms over the horizon, it seems timely to start looking at the alternatives. John and I will be taking a closer look at the PlantGrow operation soon but Daniel gives us a good feel for the product and the story behind it.

As ever, we're grateful to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators: 
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group:  https://bit.ly/3zvPicB 

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If houseplants are your Achilles heel then this will be time well spent as we chat with Joe Bagley from ukhouseplants.com looking at position and light, potting, feeding, and general care tips as well as advice on specific plants including orchids.
Joe's website has become internationally recognised with more than three million hits from people seeking out his encyclopedic knowledge of houseplants and their care.
As we cover a lot of ground, you may find our chapters page helpful on this podcast.

As ever, we're grateful to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators: 
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group:  https://bit.ly/3zvPicB 

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How do you define a smaller garden? That's an interesting question that garden designer Michelle MacDonald herself asked in our wonderful conversation which covered all of the crucial aspects of designing or modifying a small garden, from planning to planting and maintaining.
We met Michelle at the Belvoir Castle Flower and Garden Show during that really hot spell in July where she won the best show garden award, courtesy of top designer David Stevens.  Her garden measured just a few square metres and was the perfect example of how you can create a little bit of magic in just a small space.

As we discuss photographs in the Live event, attached is a link to the relevant FB page for reference:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/574905686709417/permalink/1187639262102720


As ever, we're grateful to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators: 
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group:  https://bit.ly/3zvPicB 

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Autumn came hard and fast in the UK this year and all hopes of an Indian Summer have fizzled out under the rain so it's even more important to give some thought to some Winter colour. John Stirland has some more Winter plant suggestions while the ground is still in good shape for planting out. We look at Violas,  Ferns, Festuca Glauca, Hellebores, Winter Aconites, Galanthus Elwesii, Iris Unguicularis and Callicarpa bodinieri Profusion.

With thanks to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators: 
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group:  https://bit.ly/3zvPicB 

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Autumn seems to have come at us fast this year. It seems only five minutes since we were sweltering in 40 plus degrees but, here we are in October putting the garden furniture away or under cover and tidying up the garden ready for Winter. 
However, we need something to encourage us to open the curtains and look outside and John Stirland suggests some trees and shrubs that will put a bit of zing into your garden during those dark, Winter months.

With thanks to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators: 
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group:  https://bit.ly/3zvPicB 

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Designer David Stevens recalls his meetings with the late monarch in their regular exchanges at the Chelsea Flower Show and we discuss Autumn jobs including some useful tips on finding those plants we want to move in Winter...but can't remember where we put them! Also, why it's important to know where garden centre plants have come from at this time of year - see Chapters for details.

With thanks to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators: 
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group:  https://bit.ly/3zvPicB 

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Yes, now is the time! While the weather is still fair and you can paint in a T-shirt, September is a great month to be sorting out your garden woodwork: fences, benches, Summer houses, sheds, pergolas and other timber products that will thank you for giving it some protection from our cold, wet Winters.
Jason Fitzgerald from our sponsors Fitzgerald, Laing Decorators provides some timely advice as well as product recommendations for sprucing up your garden furniture including some priceless tips like making sure you treat the bottom (and tops) of your doors to stop them warping! 
We do discuss some products using a slide show, which doesn't work too well on an audio podcast so here are the details:
B&Q Good Home Colour It Shed & Fence
Cuprinol Ducksback
Dulux Weathershield Masonry Paint

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It's always a pleasure to meet and talk with David Stevens and one never leaves his company without a strong desire to quickly write down some of the gems he's reeled off about garden design. He has more RHS medals than I can count plus a host of other awards, recognising more than fifty years of excellence in horticultural design.
For this week's LYG Live, we thought it would be useful to have a case study for David and John Stirland to discuss and we're grateful to one of our new members Mirjam Tigchelaar from the Netherlands for allowing us to use photographs showing the evolution of her garden project. 
It's an opportunity for David to outline the main points to consider before embarking on a garden project of any size.  We cover planning, groundwork, garden buildings, water features, sculptures, lighting, containers, turf and, of course, planting. As ever, the key aspects are highlighted under our chapters tab for easy access.
NB: It would be useful to be able to see the photographs under discussion on our live broadcast (which is streamed on the LYG FB Page) so here's the link to Mirjam's post so you can see for yourself what we're discussing: https://bit.ly/3dtcGyQ
 
With thanks to our UK-based sponsors Fitzgerald Laing Decorators: 
for a free quote and advice on any project, here's their Facebook Group:  https://bit.ly/3zvPicB 

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