Tag: garden

Garden

3 Ways to Improve Your Garden for Spring & Summer

JayneLeave a comment
3 Ways to Improve Your Garden for Spring & Summer

It’s that time of year! Spring is almost upon us, which means that longer days, warmer temperatures and outdoor gatherings galore are just around the corner.

Many homeowners leave their gardens to grow wild and unruly through the winter months, because—let’s face it—no one wants to go outside and tend the garden when it’s freezing cold!

If your garden looks like it could do with a little improvement before the warmer months roll in, here are three suggestions that you may appreciate.

Continue reading “3 Ways to Improve Your Garden for Spring & Summer” →
Garden · Home

4 Mistakes People Do When Designing Their Patio with Outdoor Furniture

JayneLeave a comment
4 Mistakes People Do When Designing Their Patio with Outdoor Furniture

Some people may think of their patio as an extra space outside of their home. That’s why they don’t bother putting that much thought into redesigning the space.

While it’s not entirely bad, don’t be one of those people and make the same mistakes that they do when designing an outdoor space.

Below are only some of those mistakes that you’d certainly want to avoid to make your patio renovation project a success!

Continue reading “4 Mistakes People Do When Designing Their Patio with Outdoor Furniture” →
Garden · Home

My Neighbour Has Japanese Knotweed – What Can I Do?

JayneLeave a comment

Japanese knotweedJapanese knotweed is an invasive plant species that grows rapidly and dies hard. While the law does not require you to take action if you find Japanese knotweed in your garden, you will get into trouble if you allow the plant to spread into the wild; for this reason, if you do have knotweed growing on your property, it’s a good idea to contact a qualified Japanese knotweed removal specialist who can get it under control.

But what if it’s your next-door neighbour who has a Japanese knotweed problem? We’d suggest referring them to Willow Park tree services experts who will know exactly how to solve the problem.

Well, ideally, your neighbour will act quickly and make sure the plant doesn’t spread onto your property. Unfortunately, not everyone is that proactive, so a certain amount of vigilance may be necessary on your part too.

Here are some tips to bear in mind if your neighbour has Japanese knotweed:

Start by talking to your neighbour. They may not be aware of the invasive weed that’s lurking in their garden—they may not even know what Japanese knotweed is, so be patient and politely suggest that they get in touch with a specialist contractor. It’s always better to resolve issues like this amicably if possible.

Remember, your neighbour is not breaking the law by having Japanese knotweed on their own property. UK law does not even require them to remove or treat the knotweed—only to prevent it from spreading elsewhere.

If your neighbour refuses to take action or acknowledge the issue, you should take the initiative and contact a qualified Japanese knotweed specialist yourself. They will be able to confirm the plant’s presence and can send your neighbour an official letter notifying them of their legal obligation to ensure that the knotweed does not encroach on your property.

Monitor the situation closely to see how it develops. Photographic evidence and regular reports from your knotweed expert will help you to demonstrate (if necessary) that your neighbour did not take sufficient action to prevent their Japanese knotweed from crossing the property boundary.

Japanese knotweed can have a significant impact on your property’s value and may even cause damage to the property itself, so it’s imperative to make sure you’re covered. A neighbour who has permitted Japanese knotweed to spread from their property to yours is legally liable, and you may be able to claim compensation—but only if you can prove what happened. This will be far easier if you have an expert witness to back you up (ideally a qualified professional who specialises in Japanese knotweed control and who has been monitoring the situation from the beginning).

Pets

Wireless vs Wired dog fence. Which is better?

Jayne6 Comments

Invisible dog fences are great for pet owners. They can let their dogs play in the grounds without worrying that they will hurt themselves or make a mess. Since the boundary is invisible, it causes no obstacle or hindrance to the rest of the household. However, pet owners are often confused while deciding to buy a dog containment system. They cannot figure out if they should buy a wired or a wireless system. Both have been evaluated and compared below.

Installation

A wired fence is labour-intensive in its installation. Since the wires are buried, mud and dirt need to be dug up. For concrete and gravel surfaces, hardware and manpower are required to cut through the surfaces before placing the wires. This can make the installation expensive. On the other hand, a wireless dog fence does not need any intensive installation. You just need to figure out a centre point to install the transmitter and figure out the boundary size.  

Coverage

Even a basic wired dog fence can help pet owners secure their dogs over tens of acres. The coverage gets higher as the pet containment system improves. However, a wireless dog fence only offers around a few hundred feet of coverage. It will not be possible to supervise dogs over a more extensive territory using this technology.

Wired contained systems can be laid in corners and edges as well as long as the wires are kept rounded. This ensures full coverage of the property. But wireless containment systems only offer coverage along the circumference of a circle and corners are left out.

Durability

The hardware of a wired containment system is weather-resistant. The wiring is buried which protects it from rain, hail and snow. The system remains functional even in bad weather. A wireless system, on the other hand, is susceptible to environmental conditions. The base unit has to be kept in a dry space indoors.

As far as the signals are concerned, a wired system rarely loses signals. If there’s a power breakdown or the wires have been corroded, then the functionality would be affected. But until that happens, it will keep working. On the other hand, a wireless system has sensitive signals that keep on fluctuating. Electronic appliances, nearby trees and harsh weather can disrupt the communication lines of the transmitter

Problem-solving

At times, a dog containment system malfunctions. If the wires have been dug into the ground, it will be difficult to trace the origin of the problem. You cannot dig everywhere the wire was placed. A replacement will require plenty of effort similarly. Meanwhile, a wireless system is portable, and it can be easily opened up to diagnose the problem. It will not exert the owner’s energies and won’t be expensive to repair.

In conclusion, a wired dog fence is operationally very much superior to a wireless dog fence. It is also more durable and transmits signals even in bad weather. However, the installation and repair of a wireless system is cheaper.