October in the Garden - Lilybud Gardens by Design: Brighton Garden Designer

Friends and family have been asking if the so-called 'credit crunch' is having any impact locally in the world of garden design and landscaping. Well, so far, I've noticed a few subtle changes but nothing too major. Interestingly, not all the changes have been negative either.

On the down side, in the past few months, I have had 2 potential clients say they were planning to go ahead, but recently their jobs haven't looked so secure, so they're delaying until things look better. But arguably, a more positive trend is that people are being more resourceful, both in terms of what they spend their money on and how they recycle waste. The use of websites such as www.freecycle.org and our own recycling section on the Fiveways directory website is on the increase, meaning far less is going to land-fill. Some clients have sourced materials in this way too, meaning the overall cost of creating their new garden is reduced. Some folks have been motivated by forecasts of increasingly difficult financial times ahead to get on with making the garden the way they want it.

Plenty of people say they hardly go into their gardens because they're overwhelmed by what needs to be done. They have the best of intentions to do X, Y and Z but somehow it never gets done and meanwhile time ticks by and stuff out there keeps on growing. With fuel prices as they are and many of us having to cut back on spending, this is an excellent time to develop a hobby that can be virtually free and needn't involve getting in the car and clocking up the miles. I know from living in Fiveways for the past 10 years that many of us are lucky enough to live in roads that have a real community feel to them. Lots of you are friendly with your neighbours, so why not cultivate (pardon the pun) a new trend of free-cycling your plants? Many herbaceous perennials can and should be divided at this time of year, so rather than put what you don't need in the compost, why not see if a bit of neighbourly plant swapping might be a possibility? It's also the time of year that many plants can be propagated by taking cuttings. I won't go through the details here, as there are lots of websites and books that talk through in detail how to take cuttings of different things at different times of the year (suffice to say, it's generally very easy). I guess the idea I want to float is that new plants don't have to come from garden centres, but are freely available all around us. Another obvious source of free plants to share and swap, are seedlings that have self-seeded. Verbenas, euphorbias, foxgloves, verbascums, hollies. the list goes on and on.

So, how about a Fiveways Gardening Group? With the Fiveways Directory web site, I think it would be easy to arrange a regular get together, say in Blakers Park cafe. What a great way to make some new friends. As well as sharing plants, how about all those fruit trees that go un-picked? One of my clients recently asked her neighbours if she could pick some of their apples, and of course the answer was yes - they were delighted that they were going to good use. So, having first asked permission, happy scrumping!

Best wishes,

Lisa

For an initial consultation call Lisa on 01273 500407 or 07957 751218 or email her at info@lilybud.co.uk