Arthur’s Gardening Blog

Log edging comes in various forms and is used to ‘finish’ and dress a section of garden. Fixed straight board log edging is used for long straight runs and flexible edging rolls suitable for curved areas. Both types come in a variety of forms.

Log roll, as the names suggests, is a flexible form of edging. It takes the form of half round or full round logs, held together with steel wire. Log roll is particularly suitable for curved boards or irregularly shaped garden areas, log roll is supplied in an easy-to-carry roll.

Log board is supplied in rigid shorter lengths and provides a straight edge where a long run is required. They can also be used for small retaining work. All our log boards have integral spikes which mean they can be driven directly into the ground.

Have you ever thought how much more a garden gate can be than a ….well…garden gate?! In a garden setting we use gates for so many different reasons. Let’s take a look at some of them.

A gate can be used as a portal – the way in or out of an area. A garden gate used for this purpose should be functional and practical. The gate should be easy to open and close and, if necessary, lockable. There are many garden gates on the market that would fit the bill; decorative metal garden gates, galvanised garden gates and timber/wooden gates. All these types of garden gates come in varying heights and widths. It is worth remarking that when purchasing your gate you need to consider the width of your gap as well as the size of the gate you require. Be aware – your garden gate may not come with any gate fixings; this aspect of gate purchase is worth checking. Gate fixings can be bought separately and there are a number of choices available to you depending on the ‘look’ you want to create. As a final check you should make sure the fixings you have chosen fit the gate style you have decided upon.

Apart from using gates as portals, they can be used as part of your garden design. Garden gates can entice you from one part of the garden to another, from one garden room to another. Gates draw your eye to them and make you wonder what is beyond. A secret garden?A vegetable garden?A walled garden?A greenhouse? Gates take you by the hand and lead you towards them. This is particularly the case if the gate is solid and you don’t know what is beyond. If you have chosen a decorative metal gate as part of your garden design your eye will be drawn through the gate to what lies beyond – perhaps the rolling fields or simply a different garden space from the one you are leaving.

Don’t think of a gate as simply a gate – think of it as a piece of garden furniture and take time to consider your options.

Although a rather small town, being only about 2 square miles, Green Tree is making its name in Allegheny County for its parks and recreational facilities.

Recently there has been a further addition to the park; the fourth gazebo is now complete and situated behind the baseball backstop within Green Tree park. Also refurbished were tennis and basketball courts at Wilson Park.

The most recent garden building is the largest of the four gazebos and has been painted in the district’s signature colours of cream and beige.

“The way it’s constructed makes it quite a beautiful thing” said Councilman Art Tintori, who expects the most recent gazebo to be used for innumerable activities. It was used for the first time last month for the town’s Oktoberfest celebration.

“The thought was to use it as a bandstand but you could have any kind of event you wanted,” Mr. Tintori said.

The most recently erected gazebo cost $15,000 and was presented by two local organisations; the Schafer Foundation of Green Tree and the Rotary Club of Green Tree.

Borough manager Dave Montz said, “Officials have formed great partnerships to install recreation areas and upgrade them. This is really the council’s commitment to ensuring the borough’s recreational facilities are updated,” he said.

Mr. Tintori echoed his remarks. “It’s a public-private partnership that supports what we’re doing. It’s great.”

A park in Milton Keynes has been allocated a sum of £4.6m from the lottery fund. This welcome sum is to help restore garden buildings where the World War II code breaking activity took place.

Bletchley Park Trust will be using the money to renovate the code-breaking huts; however in order to finish the project the Trust has a further £1.7m to raise.

The derelict garden buildings are at risk of collapsing very soon if they are not restored shortly. It’s a race against the clock to save these snippets of WWII history.

Museum operations director Kelsey Griffin said:

“[The code-breaking huts] are certainly not going to last through one or two more bad winters, they are really no more robust than a garden shed. At the moment visitors can’t go in them because they risk falling through the floors.”

The code breaking work which was so essential to the war effort was performed right in the park, in these buildings which now need so much attention. Bletchley Park made massive advances in technology, including cryptography.

In order to receive the £4.6m lottery fund allocation, the park will first have to raise the £1.7m needed to complete the project.

Bletchley Park has therefore started a fundraising campaign called ‘Action this day’. This is a phrase coined by Winston Churchill following a letter from the code-breakers stating their desperation for resources. Upon receiving this letter Churchill ordered: “Action this day! Make sure they have all they want on extreme priority and report to me that this had been done.”

Bletchley Park has so far seen numerous donations from technology organisations and Stephen Fry, television personality, has also lent his support.

The summer house at the Colby Woodland Garden near Amroth has been hiding a beautiful secret; locked up for many years the gazebo has now been opened to the public.

On show inside the garden building is the work of muralist Lincoln Taber. Taber trained in Florence before moving to the UK where he then decorated the inside of the gazebo.

Up until now visitors could only peer through the windows; however the gazebo will now be open to the public daily.

Inside the gazebo, the walls are decorated with clematis, painted beneath are wine glasses and a bottle of champagne. This is thought to reflect what Taber imagined the gazebo should be used for – dinner parties.

Higher up inside the gazebo, the American artist also painted fake windows where a heron can be seen flying past. The ceiling, showing the signs of the zodiac, represents the eight people involved in the project.

The gazebo also sports a fake door with a view of a path down the garden, the real doors open into the actual garden.

Taber was born in California but travelled all over Europe. On a trip to Spain he met Salvador Dali and trained in Florence with Nerina Simi, thereafter he worked with Annigoni. Taber finally settled in England in 1967.

Steve Whitehead, head gardener said: “It is the perfect place to sit and relax and now there’s the added attraction of being able to gaze at the interior of the gazebo.”