Spring back into the garden…

4th April 2022

You don’t have to be green fingered pro to get out in the garden and start prepping it for spring. The months between March and April make the perfect time to begin spring gardening.

These spring gardening items will help revive your outdoor space for the warmer months ahead.

Lighting

Philips Hue Smart lighting for large gardens

A large garden has many perks but, given its size, it often lacks lighting and ends up having large swaths of darkness. Try these lighting tricks to illuminate your larger outdoor space:

Break up the darkness

Rather than looking out of the window to see a dark expanse, separate the garden’s large area with light. Placing spotlights along the back fence and washing it in light is a great way to show off the depth of a sizeable garden and light up otherwise dark areas. Add a spotlight aimed up a tree toward the centre of the garden to help break up the darkness between the back porch and the fence. Illuminate your entrances too with the Philips Hue Lucca wall light.

Keep safety in mind

If your garden has stairs, water or other potentially dangerous obstacles, lighting them can help minimise the risk of injury while walking. Place path lighting along your most-used routes to guide you from your porch to the shed, or a seating area to the back door. Path lights are meant to be on display, so choose lights that bring a touch of your home’s inside decor outside.

Tip: Smart outdoor pathway lights, such as the Philips Hue Calla outdoor bollard, allow you to light up your most-used routes — and give your garden some serious personality, too. Choose from 16 million colours in the Hue app to paint your outside space with light.

Philips Hue Smart outdoor lights for small gardens

Strategically placing smart lighting in a smaller garden helps open up the space, separate certain areas from others and gives you the feeling of a more expansive area. Use these lighting tips for your smaller garden:

Create depth

Using light to create depth in a small garden is key to giving the illusion of a bigger space. If you have a tree, use spotlights to create an effect called moonlighting: place the spots high up in the branches and point them toward the ground. This washes the tree — and the ground below it — in light to pull the eye up and create the feeling of a larger area.

Use light in unexpected places

Having a small outdoor space doesn’t have to mean that you stick to minimal lighting. A strip light is an easy, subtle way to add light in otherwise untouched areas. Place an Philips Hue outdoor lightstrip along the edge of a flowerbed to create a fun, surprising burst of colour — one of 16 million, to be exact — and help your small space feel bigger.

Tip: Use the Hue app to set outdoor scenes for different situations. Set fun, bright scenes, such as Soho, to complement a festive outdoor get-together or bring the lights down to the soft, warm glow of Savanna Sunset to enjoy a relaxing after-work cocktail with your spouse.

Garden Tools

Webb WEV20HT Cordless Hedge Trimmer

Featuring a new design, the Webb WEV20HT Cordless Hedge Trimmer comes equipped with generous 50cm dual action blades for a sharp finish and clean cut. Lightweight and compact, it is ideally suited to smaller gardens and lighter trimming jobs, with a runtime of up to 45 minutes (2Ah).

Recently updated to form part of the new Cordless range, the WEV20PHT Long Reach Hedge Trimmer is a lightweight, versatile long-reach hedge trimmer designed for tall hedges due to its extendable shaft with articulating cutter-head. For jobs closer to the ground, the Webb WEV20LT Cordless Line Trimmer is designed to put the finishing touches to a lawn with 25cm (10”) cutting width, using an auto-feed head and adjustable telescopic shaft. The line trimmer can be used to trim or edge your lawns and pathways with its rotating head and has up to 35 minutes runtime (2 Ah).

See > https://webbgardenpower.co.uk/product/25cm-10-20v-cordless-linetrimmer-with-battery-charger/

PowerGear™X Telescopic Tree Pruner UPX86

Fiskars tree pruners are multi-use tools that allow access to tree crowns and dense bushes, enabling the gardener to trim overhead without needing a ladder, or at ground level without bending or kneeling.

See > https://www.fiskars.com/en-gb/gardening/products/tree-pruners/powergearx-telescopic-tree-pruner-up

Branch Saw for Tree Pruners UPX86 and UPX82

High quality hollow grinded blade for quick and clean cuts. Caution: Sharp blade. Contact may result in injury.

See > https://www.fiskars.com/en-gb/gardening/products/tree-pruners/branch-saw-for-tree-pruners

Seeds & Bulbs

Liatris Spicata

Liatris Spicata also known as Blazing Star is purple and is bee friendly.

See > https://www.hillier.co.uk/online-shop/seeds-bulbs/flower-bulbs/liatris-spicata/

Iris Burgemeister

Pink and purple flowers.

See > https://www.hillier.co.uk/online-shop/seeds-bulbs/flower-bulbs/iris-burgemeister/

Dahlia Crème de Cassis

Pale lilac with a purple edge and centre. Excellent cut flowers.

See > https://www.hillier.co.uk/online-shop/seeds-bulbs/flower-bulbs/dahlia-creme-de-cassis/

Verbena bonariensis

Tall heads of bright, eye -catching rosy lavender, adding a tranquil tropical feel to borders.

See > https://www.hillier.co.uk/online-shop/seeds-bulbs/flower-seeds/verbena-bonariensis/

Dahlia Rocco

Purple pompon blooms.

See > https://www.hillier.co.uk/online-shop/seeds-bulbs/flower-bulbs/dahlia-rocco/

Animal Boxes

Alboran Insect Hotel

This beautifully designed insect hotel is ideal as a shelter for insects. Solitary bees, among other things, like to use an insect hotel. After collecting enough pollen into the bamboo tubes they will then lay their eggs and cover with more pollen. When the eggs hatch, the pollen forms food for the young bee and works its way out to fly out.

Bees, as pollinators of plants, are essential for our food supply. Help the bees by hanging this insect hotel. Give it a sunny spot, preferably close to many flowering plants. Check out our website for our extensive collection of plants that attract bees.

National Trust Vail Larch 32mm Nest Box

Designed by our team of Ornithologists for the Love of Nature, the National Trust range not only provides a well designed outdoor focal point, but also helps your garden come to life.

The National Trust Vail Larch 32mm Nest Box is a lovely elegantly desgined nest box and will make a wonderful addition to any garden or outdoor space. With a classic nest box design, it has a green sloping edged roof and is optimized with the addition of a nest box plate to protect nestlings from predators such as woodpeckers. The 32mm hole size will be suitable for a variety of Tits and smaller birds.

The nest box can be opened at the side for cleaning after the breeding season. This is generally around October when you can be sure that no more birds are breeding inside A clean nest box will also attract birds who want to use it as a shelter during colder winter months.

See > https://www.vivara.co.uk/national-trust-vail-larch-32mm-nest-box

Protect your hands

Town and co Premium All-Purpose gloves

These premium multi-purpose gloves are extremely comfortable, have a tailored fit with an elasticated wrist and provide excellent protection with extra padding on the palms and knuckles. Protection and comfort perfectly combined.

See > https://www.townandco.com/products/gloves/womens-gloves/premium-all-purpose/

Town and co Lux-Fit womens glove Pink gloves

Combing ultimate protection across new stylish patterns. Our NEW deluxe fit women’s gloves are designed to make the hardest of tasks that bit easier.

Faux leather with extra padding across palms and the knuckles, pushing extra safeguarding material on the thumb and forefinger to withstand any job in hand.

The naturally stretchy shape allows free movement, with an elasticated hook and eye fasten to provide extra comfort and maximum wrist flexibility.

See > https://www.townandco.com/products/gloves/womens-gloves/lux-fit-womens-glove-pink/

For the kids

Fiskars MyFirstFiskars Trowel & Cultivator

Kids will love digging, planting and playing in the dirt with Fiskars MyFirstFiskars Trowel & cultivator set, which includes two real, high-quality tools designed just for them. MyFirstFiskars gardening tools are designed to fit small hands and big imaginations, because childhood should be filled with squishy bugs, twisty mud tunnels and fantastic everyday adventures. The trowel and cultivator are sturdy, lightweight, and just the right size and weight for small hands, with no small parts for safety. Both tools feature a long handle that allows for multiple grips, as well as squishy, soft grips that are comfortable to hold. The cultivator also has sturdy tines for cultivating, loosening and aerating soil. Made with durable, fiber-reinforced materials, each tool also features an extra-large hang hole for easy storage, and fun, bright colors chosen by real kids that make them easy to spot and difficult to lose—no matter where their adventures lead!

See > https://www.fiskars.com/en-gb/gardening/products/kids-tools/myfirstfiskar

Watering cans

Haws The Fazeley Flow Graphite – One Pint

Meet the perfect small watering can for keeping your interior jungle in tip-top condition.

Its elegantly curved non-drip spout delivers pinpoint watering accuracy, helping avoid splashes around your potted plants.

Available in hand-polished copper, or galvanised steel in a choice of colours, it comes beautifully boxed and makes the perfect present.

We think every home should have one.

See > https://haws.co.uk/collections/indoor-watering-cans/products/the-fazeley-flow-graphite-one-pint

Haws The Smethwick Spritzer Brass – Half Pint

This splendid plant mister delivers a fine spray to your tropical houseplants and brings a touch of gleaming elegance to your space.

Ideal for tending to your terrariums, orchids and succulents, it gently tops up their humidity while keeping their leaves dust-free.

A beautiful object, it’s available in a choice of handsome metallic finishes, making the perfect present for any design-savvy plant lover.

Untreated metal products, such as this one, will develop a patina with age. If your product starts to develop mottled surface spots, and you don’t like them, a quick polish will restore its original shine. We recommend Peek Metal Polish for use with all of our brass and copper products.

See > https://haws.co.uk/collections/plant-misters/products/the-smethwick-spritzer-brass-half-pint