Ideas4Landscaping is a comprehensive collection of 7250 landscaping designs, ideas and themes and about 300 pages of gardening landscape guides

I've just bought the entire package and this is my honest review of the product. I will be covering what I like and dislike.

Helen Whitfield

What Is Ideas4Landscaping?

The product offers step by step blueprints and pictures of over 7250 different landscaping designs. The creator, Helen Whitfield offers a simple, efficient and user-friendly online gallery for landscaping inspiration to design your dream landscape. Inside this massive database, you'll find 1'000s of landscaping pictures in 60+ categories consisting of:

• Backyards
• Front Yards
• Gardens
• Patios
• Decks
• Walkways
• Lawns
• And Many More...

This massive collection of photos, ideas, and simple step-by-step details is designed to help homeowners make some progress with their plan to liven up their home with the perfect landscaping.

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The Pros:

Below are some of the points I was really impressed with.

- A Huge Range of Designs To Choose From

This is a complete landscaping resource with detailed diagrams, complete with color pictures and examples on many types of landscaping designs. It is everything you'll need to get started in creating the perfect outdoor living experience for you and your family with gardens, pools ,decks, pathways ,sheds, gazebos, hedges, driveways, waterfalls, ponds, patios and walkways

There are multiple designs available for each types of landscape, so you have some variety to choose from.

- Suitable For Beginners or Pros

All the designs are suitable for beginners and professionals. I'm somewhat new to landscaping but I found most of the projects can be completed in 1 weekend.

- Great bonuses included

The bonuses you get with this product are great. The bonus videos on landscaping is great for beginners who want an easy to follow video guide. There are also some great value books added in, including an organic vegetable farming guide which I've found very useful.

- Full Color Pictures

I appreciated the amount of full color pictures and diagrams that are included. I’m a very visual person, so it is easier for me to follow a picture or diagram instead of reading paragraphs.

- Money Back Policy

The 60 day money back guarantee is always appreciated. I like seeing a merchant who stands behind their product 100%. It puts the consumer at ease, knowing that they aren’t going to lose a cent if they choose to not use the system.

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What I Didn't Like:

It is cool that I get instant download access but it also takes away the joy of a printed collection. The designs are all in a downloadable online gallery, which is great if your main purpose is to stop using paper and save the trees.

However, you do have the option of printing everything out.  That way, you don’t have to go online to view it.

Do You Recommend It?

Yes!

Ideas4Landscaping is is a great collection anyway you look at it. It is suitable for beginners as well as seasoned landscapers alike. It offer great value for money considering the one-time price you pay for such an extensive system.

Ideas4Landscaping gets 2 thumbs up from me!

P.S IMPORTANT NOTE: I've just been told, Ideas4Landscaping is currently running a huge promotion - Helen have slashed that price down to around £29.87…for now.

I’m told the price is going back up within a matter of days. So if you're interested, now is the time to buy Ideas4Landscaping:

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The Best Place to Go for Your Vegetable Seeds

The Which? magazine recently carried out a survey of vegetable seed suppliers.  Dobies came top by a significant margin.

It seeds were not only good value for money in terms of quantity supplied, but they also had excellent germination rates.  Something like 84% of seeds produced healthy plants.

Furthermore, this retailer offers nearly fifty vegetables that have made it onto the Which Best Buy varieties.

To view Dobies seed catalogue CLICK HERE

NEW PLANT

Most new plants are not worth our time and effort growing, but every once in a while, something comes along a bit special: Escallonia 'Golden Carpet' is certainly one such

It give you bright yellow/golden foliage all summer on a pleasant compact little bush about 40cm wide x 60cm high.

A bonus is small red flowers from June to August.  Whilst these are small, they contrast pleasantly wit the bright foliage.

It will do well in part shade or full sun.  In full sun, it will not scorch as do many yellow leaved plants.

It is available from Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants.

Encourage wildlife to your garden

Increasing the biodiversity of your plot doesn't have to be hard, or compromise the way your garden looks.

Here are a few small changes you could make to the way you manage your garden that can bring major benefits for the creatures that call it home.

Choosing the right flowers

Flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies and other insects that perform the vital task of fertilisation – seed and fruit production would drop dramatically without them.  Avoid too many highly bred cultivars with big and blowsy or double flowers, most of which contain little or no pollen or nectar.

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Gardening calendar: plant fruit trees and get raking

Get raking: you can use your autumn leaves for compost Photo: Alamy

Sarah Raven shares her top tips for the garden this week, including making an autumn wreath
Girl raking leaves

By Sarah Raven
7:00AM GMT 29 Oct 2014

1 Divide and multiply
Divide perennials that flower before midsummer’s day, such as oriental poppies, peonies and lupins, as well as spring-flowering hellebores, pulmonarias and Solomon’s seal. Dig up, divide and replant straight away. Perennials that flower after midsummer are best divided in the spring. That’s a good general rule.

2 Mulch ado
After a good summer, the soil is warmer than usual. It’s moist too, so now is a good time to mulch wherever there’s bare soil. Spread home-made compost, leaf mould or green waste from your local council a good inch and a half deep. It helps to condition soil, retain moisture and suppress weeds.


3 Be fruitful
Plant a fruit tree – an apple or pear. Dig a hole twice the size of the root ball and break up the base, adding plenty of organic matter (leaf mould or manure). Plant the tree to the same level as it was previously. As with roses, this ensures the graft is below soil level.


4 Pot luck
If you have no more space for a fruit tree in the ground, plant one in a pot. Use a 37-litre filled with John Innes No 3, mixed with about a third of tree or shrub compost and some Osmocote (or other slow-release fertiliser), with plenty of crocks in the bottom.


5 White Christmas
For pots of paperwhite narcissus at Christmas, plant bulbs now. These only take five weeks to flower. Plant just below the surface, about 1in (2.5cm) apart, in a soil-based compost lightened with grit, with crocks in the base (or use bulb fibre). Store at below 10C and bring in when buds form.


MORE (original Article)

A great little tip for growing fresh lettuce

A great little tip for growing fresh lettuce.  Instead of buying plantlets from DIY stores and garden centres, keep your eyes out for plastic trays of mini-lettuces in supermarkets.  I've bought these in Sainsbury's, but I assume other supermarkets do something similar.

They are designed for consumption as a salad, but it is easy to divide them up and re-put them on in a good compost.  You can get about fifteen plants from a tray.  The good news is that  a tray brought this way only cost a pound or two.

One tray, which I bought sometime in April, saw my family through to the end of September in fresh lettuce, all for about £1.50!  

If you try it this time of year, I suspect that they will need to be planted under glass.

Storing Potatoes

We should have all dug up the last of our main crop potatoes by now.

They will last best if stored somewhere cool and dark.

Storing in the fridge is a bad idea.  It can discolour the flesh and cause a deterioration in the flavour.

Always remove any that are damaged or diseased, and check regularly, at least once a fortnight, and remove any showing signs of rot.

One can store them in anything that allows a bit of air circulation: cardboard boxes, paper sacks, hessian sacks, wire trays, etc.

A good source of hessian sacks is www.henandhammock.co.uk (Tel: 0184-421-7060)

Its time to cut down all the grotty looking perennials

Its time to cut down all the grotty looking perennials in your garden.  If they are still contributing something, foliage or attractive deed heads, by all means leave them until later, but if they are a mess, just cut them back to the base.  All the resulting rubbish is good for the compost heap.

It is an ideal opportunity to propagate by division.  Many perennials, once they are cut back, can be lifted, divided into two or three plants and replanted for next year.  It is good fun, buying one plant and two years later finding you have nine.

When Autumn Leaves Start to Fall ..

What should we do about all the autumn leaves that nature dumps on our garden?  Well apart from paths, patios and lawns, how about thanking mother nature for this gift.

If you leave the leaves where they fall, the worms will soon drag them under, and even the toughest will be gone by next spring.  Indeed, what harm have dead leaves ever done to you?

The leaves on paths, patios and lawns can be safely added to the compost heap, plus any you can pinch from the adjacent streets.

More autumn leaves means more microbes and more good little soil beasties.  And everything in your garden depends on the health of this soil community.

The very last thing you should be doing is burning your leaves or throwing them away - they are far too valuable to be doing that

What's On ...West Dean Gardens

 RHS Harlow Carr

A taste of Autumn
Harrogate: 4-5 Oct, RHS Harlow Carr.  A celebration of the autumn harvest.  Tasting, displays and experts on hand to help you.  rhs.org.uk/hardlowcarr

West Dean Gardens

Grow! Cook! Eat!
West Sussex: 4-5 Oct, West Dean Gardens.  Talks, cookery demos, food market and live folk music.  Adults £8.50 (£10.70 on the gate) and children £1.00.  westdean.org.uk

Royal Botanical Gardens

Apple Festival
Edinburgh: 4-5 Oct, Royal Botanical Gardens.  Displays of Scottish apples, taste unusual varieties, plus get you own identified by an expert (hopefully!).  FREE entry. rbge.org.uk

National Botanical Garden of Wales

Wales Fungus Day
Carmarthenshire: 12 Oct. National Botanical Garden of Wales.  Wild mushroom 'cook up', expert mushroom advice (how not to kill yourself) and a fungi exhibition.  gardenofwales.org.uk

The Apple Display

Apple Festival
Kent: 18-19 Oct, Brogdale Collections.  More than 200 varieties of apples (that should keep the doctor away) and pears to try; plus live music and local ciders.  Adults £7.50 and children £3.60.  applefestivalkent.co.uk

It's Maybe Worth a Try (Lobelia)

Last year I dug up my Lobelias some time in October and put them in a tray with the intention of moving them into the shed.  This was by way of an experiment to see if it was possible to overwinter Lobelia.  I'd never tried this before.  Like most gardeners I'd always bought them as bedding plants in the spring.

However, I completely forgot all about them and they remained outside all winter.  The trays had no drainage holes, so the Lobelias spent the winter in two inches of water!  I was amazed when come the spring they had all survived the winter outside in what I can only describe a bog-plant conditions.  I promptly planted them out and they were away in no time and did splendidly.

Whether this was a fluke (last winter was mild) or whether I have discovered a useful way to overwinter Lobelia remains to be seen, but I'll certainly try it again this winter.

Giving a Rose as a Gift 2

I recently blogged on giving a rose as a gift, and shortlisted five modern roses that were ideal for this purpose.  However, I forgot to include a rose that has been around for some years, Absolutely Fabulous, which won the coveted Rose of the Year award in 2010.

This is one of the healthiest roses around and has lovely scented flowers from June to September.  The blooms are beautifully scented and borne on strong stems.

Caring for Hanging Baskets from Late August Onwards

When you first set up an hanging basket, hopefully earlier in the year, it would have been prudent to add a teaspoonful of slow-release feed granules.  This will have kept the plants healthy for several months.

But slow-release granules don't last for ever and come this time of year you will need to start topping up once a week with ideally a tomato feed.

Two best buys are: J Arthur Bower's Tomato Plant Food and Westland Gro-sure Tomato Food. 

About container-grown fruit and veg

There is a whole range of crops suitable for growing in pots. For the greatest choice of plants, grow from seed, but if you don't mind too much about the variety, buy ready grown plants or plug plants from garden centres or mail-order suppliers.

It's best to try compact plants such as sweet peppers, chilli peppers, aubergine and tumbling varieties of tomatoes, rather than tall growing vegetables such as Brussels sprouts that demand lots of water and can be blown down easily

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How to combat the rise in the mosquito population

Mosquito Larvae

There is some evidence of a rise in the mosquito population.  This is being blamed by researchers on the growing popularity of water butts: mosquitoes  lay their eggs on the surface of stagnant water.

The mosquito larvae look like little hairy worms that hang upside down from the surface of the water.  When disturbed they wiggle down to escape.  However, as they are air breathing they cannot stay down indefinitely.

This is one nuisance that it should be easy to combat: if you put a lid on the butt or cover it with fine mess, the mosquitoes cannot reach the water surface to lay their eggs.  I also believe that if you pour a cupful of cheap oil on top of the water, the larvae will not be able to breath and will consequently quickly die.

Giving a Rose as a Gift

Many of us like to give a rose as a gift, especially for special occasions like a special birthday or a wedding anniversary.  Unfortunately, because we lack access to good advice, we often end up giving roses that are not too special and end up be dead or discarded after a few years.

The following is a list of five roses that will delight the recipient for many many years.  They are five roses that were awarded a BEST BUY accolade by an independent gardening test laboratory.

The first one is "Celebration Time" and is good for small gardens.  You can see from the image on the right just how abundant the flowers are.  Bees also love them and it flowers from July to September. It was also black-spot free for almost the entire summer.  height 75cm x spread 80cm.  Available from Eastcroft Roses.

Next up is "Let's Celebrate" which is long flowering.  This is a personal favourite: it has a gentle perfume, is covered in blooms which start deep-pink and fade gentle to a light girly pink  It is also largely blackspot free.  It flowers from July to September and grows to 100cm height x 110 cm spread.  It is available from Fryer's Roses

"Many Happy Returns" is next on the list.  Its pink flowers go well with its grey/green foliage.  It is an ideal patio pot rose.  It is exceptionally long flowering: June to September, but only grow to 65cm height x 90cm spread.  This one does suffer from some small amount of blackspot late summer.  On the plus side it had a gentle perfume and attracted bees.  It is available from Peter Beales Roses.

Next up is "Mum in a Million".  This one has a lovely scent and flowers from June to August.  Again this one does have a little blackspot towards the end of the season.  It grows to 85cm height x 85cm spread.  A real bonus is that it has a delicious perfume.  It is also available from Peter Beales Roses

Finally "Champagne Moment".  This one has a shorter flowering period but looks fantastic while it last.  No blackspot but did have a spot of mildew.  100cm height x 80cm spread.  It is available from David Austin Roses.

Runner Beans

When the weather is hot and dry, runner beans can struggle to set their flowers.  Water well twice a week and mulching will also help.  Don't use pesticides during the day, as the last thing you want to do is kill the pollinating insects.

Next year, try a French bean/runner bean cross.  An independent gardening laboratory suggest that "Moonlight" has less problems when it comes to setting.

Trim Evergreen Hedges.

Yew, privet, Lonicero nitida and box all benefit from a trim in early summer to keep them in shape.

Use shears on smaller hedges and hedge trimmers on larger hedges.

If you don't own an electric edge trimmer but are contemplating buying on, I can tell you that an independent test laboratory recommend the following five machines:

Black & Decker 1850L
Black & Decker GTC3655L
Bosch AHS  52 ACCU
Bosch AHS 54-20Li
Bosch AHS 52 Li

Another Stunning Plant Combination

The Alstomeria 'Friendship' was selected as a BEST BUY Alstomeria by Which?.  These are a brilliant source of sparkling colour (grows to 100 x 50cm - it is available from Viv Marsh Postal Plants).

Pair it with the deep salmon pink evergreen perennial, Diascia personata (grows to 60-90 x 45cm - it is available from Hopleys).

Another great companion is Ferula communis.  This is a tall fennell with long-lasting cascades of acid yellow flowers and mounds of lacy light-green leaves (size: 250-400 c 50-100cm - available from Beth Chatto Gardens).

Try also Digitalis purpurea f.albiflora.  Some maintain that there is nothing more beautiful than these wild foxgloves.  These are usually biennial (size 250 x 50cm - available from Crocus).

Finally: Clematis x durandii.  This is an unusual clematis; it doesn't clime but wanders aimlessly through adjacent plants.  It doesn't get clematis wilt and flowers for months.  It is described as a non-climbing sub-shrub (grows to 150 x 150mm - available from Burncoose Nurseries).

All these plant like sun or partial shade and need well drained soil.  Although the Digitalis doesn't like the soil too dry.

One rose I would like as a present is "Absolutely Fabulous"

People often give roses as presents.  Unfortunately, lacking the necessary knowledge, what they give are frequently second class citizens of the rose world.

One rose I would like as a present is "Absolutely Fabulous".  Voted Rose of the Year in 2010 it bears gorgeous scented flower non-stop from June to September.  It has strong stems and is also extremely healthy.  Indeed, everything about this plant is attractive.

Garden Pond Designs, Layouts, Questions Answered

The correct landscape design and the right materials are imperative, but what is also crucial is the placement of each stone and planting to produce the desired effect. The art of creating beautiful water falls landscapes involves the ability to artistically place the natural boulders and plantings in such a way that it looks as if Nature had done the work instead of a human. Garden Pond designs may vary from small bird bath types to large garden ponds. The information on this page will make it easy for you to install a pond in your garden. Even the birds will think they are in paradise. Garden Pond Design Aspects The sound of running water relaxes the mind It's a good idea to have some form of water running into your pond Running water blends in with the noise of traffic, it's like music to the ears and it calms the soul. A garden pond will create a peaceful welcoming atmosphere. Before you begin, decide on what type of garden pond design you want Integrate the pond design into your over all garden design. The pond design must fit in harmoniously with the rest of the garden design.

The size and location of your pond is not just dependent on the design principles. An often overlooked item is the natural flow of water on the garden site To look natural, you need to adapt your design to this. In a very formal garden design this aspect becomes less important. Remember that you must not fight against nature. If you are thinking of having a river or a waterfall into your pond, Remember, this simple rule: Downhill. This also means taking the natural slope of your garden into account. Different types of ponds influence the garden pond design. The size, purpose and durability required often determine the type of construction. There are different types of ponds: Concrete Ponds made with an inside plastic liner Pre formed ponds: Include fish in your garden pond design. Provide adequate shelter for the fish against birds. One way of doing this is by placing some broken pots in the pond. Their curved surfaces make an excellent hideaway. You must never be able to see the source of the water comes. For example, a large leaf plant could be placed in the area where the river comes from. The start of the river may also be hidden in some other way, for example a large pot or by another focal point. Provide this through plants close to the pond, and water plants that spread across the surface of the water.

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Parsley

Whilst most gardeners will at one time or another planted parsley for use as a herb, few look upon it as a vastly under used foliage plant with serious ornamental potential.

It provides a soft, billowy, bright-green contrast in pots, for example, with things like bright-red pelargonium - a plant frequently mis-describes as geraniums, for reasons that have never been clear to me because geraniums are a completely different plant.

You can often purchase fresh parsley plant from your local supermarket that are every bit as good as what you will buy from garden centres and usually much cheaper.

Superb New Honysuckle

Lonicera periclymenum 'Fragrant Cloud'

Lonicera periclymenum 'Fragrant Cloud' is a stunning new introduction which is well worth owning.

It is a strong, very fragrant honeysuckle with purple and white flowers and light green foliage.

The new leaves have a wonderful blue/green colour, and the scent has been described as "heady and delicious" by an independent laboratory.

This plant survived the severe winter of 2012/2013 and reached a height of 2m in two years.

It will flourish in full sun or partial shade.  It peak flowering period is July to August, but it will produce a decent display of berries once the flowers have faded.

It is available from Thorncroft Clematis.

Rudbeckias

Toto

Which variety will give you colour all year round?  An independent gardening laboratory recently tested Rudbeckias, and 'Toto', and early flowering Rubeckia, came out as a clear winner.

It started flowing early, and flowered for fifteen weeks from June to October.  It has a height and spread of around 40cm as is ideal for the front of a border.

It remained covered in the trial in lots of small flowers for the whole of the summer.  It quickly formed a sturdy short plant, with no problems with either pests or diseases.

The seeds are available from Nicky's Nursery.  I suggest that you put a note in your diary around the  end of next March to order some.

Other varieties that did well: 'Tiger's Eye' - also Nicky's Nursery; 'Irish Spring' - Mr Fothergill's; 'Cappuccino' - Dobies.  These flowered for a couple of weeks less than Toto but were all a little taller.

Tiger Eye

Irish Spring

Cappuccino

Another Spledid Plant Combination for Full Sun.

Crocosmia 'Lucifer' is a stunning Crocosmia with apple green foliage and bright-red flowers.  It will grow practically anywhere seeds readily.  The flowers are attractive even before they open.  It reaches a height of about 1 meter.

Pair it with Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'.  This is an exceptionally long flowering Helenium, starting in early July and continuing to the end of September.  It needs to be deadheading but do this carefully.  It grows to a height of around 90cm.

Add Sedum 'Matrona'.  This is bigger and stockier than most Sedums and flowers from August through Autumn.  It will reach a height of 80cm.

Pair this with Sedum Herbstfreude Group.  This is a Sedum that looks good almost all the year round.  It should be grown in front of the Crocosmia.  It reaches a height of 60cm.

Finally a purple geranium at the front.  I would suggest Geranium 'Nimbus' - the foliage contrast beautifully with the crocosmia.  This will grow to a height of approximately 40cm.

All these plants require moist well drained soil, but the sedums will tolerate drier conditions.

Organic Pest Control Comes Out on Top

An organic spray has topped a recent trial by an independent laboratory for aphid control.   It is Bayer Natria Bug Control and is available from Homebase.  It cost £4.99 for a 1 litre dispenser.

The same laboratory found that slug control containing ferric phosphate were as effective as ones containing metaldehyde.  This is excellent news as it means we can care for our gardens and not need to use dangerous chemicals.

A Delightful Plant Combination for a Sunny Position

An independent research centre rated 'Fascination' as a Best Buy veronicastrum.  This is a hardy perennial that can reach the height of a woman.  it attracts bees and insects and can also be used as a cut flower.  And the icing on the cake is that its seedheads look good in winter too.

Try it with Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' (left).  This is a tall grass that grows to a similar height as the veronicastrum and that flourishes in poor dry soil.

Artemisia lactiflora 'Jim Russell' (right) would sit lovely in front of the veronicastrum as it grows around 18" shorter.  This has delightful sprays of fluffy white flowers from July to September

Plant Silphium Perfoliatum behind the veronicastrum and the grass as this hardy perennial can grow to the height of your average suburban room.  This will also bloom from July to September.

Finally, plant the lovely Filipendula rubra 'venusta' at the front and among the veronicastrum.  The Filipendula is a hardy perennial that only grows to about the height of a desk.

Apart from the grass that will start to fall over if the roots are too wet, all these plant need a reasonable amount of water.  The Artemisia  will also benefit from feeding.

You Can't Beat Peat for Compost

The two best buy composes as determined by independent laboratory test are:

Best for raising young plants: J Arthur Bower’s Traditional All-Purpose Compost (When buying, don’t confuse it with J Arthur Bower’s Multipurpose or Multipurpose with added John Innes as both did badly in the trials - just make sure the word "Multipurpose" isn't on the packet.

Best for containers was: Verve Grow Your Own Growing Bag.  This cost as little as 7p per litre and is available from B&Q.

Both these composts contain peat, but don't beat yourself up over it.  In spite of the crap pumped out by the Christophobic worshippers of Gaia, the earth goddess, the planet is actually laying down peat much faster than man could possibly consume it.