Down in the Garden

The 2011 Garden Wish List

2011-04-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

Last year in February I set out all the garden improvements that were going to be made and reported back in September with the results of my labours, or in some cases the non-result of my inactivity. This year I will offer a similar undertaking, mostly concerning last years unfinished jobs.

I will

1) Convert the bit of garden next to the summer house and behind the swing chair from last years rubbish dump to an area of aesthetically pleasing land, perhaps using some chiminea components as flower pots.
2) Grow more raspberries.
3) Cultivate the front lawn so that in summer it is green rather than yellow.
4) Repair the summer house and stain the new doors we put on last year.

That’s it, a short list I know but now the teak has gone and the rattan is here there’s no maintenance to be done and I can concentrate on what I enjoy best, BBQ’s, drinks outside in the warm evenings, playing football with the kids and general good outdoor living.

I will report back in September with what I hope is a 100% pass rate.

Plants & Furniture

2011-02-03T05:53:00.000-08:00

Looking out of the window today I see fine weather, bright sunshine in a blue sky and 10 degrees C, very respectable for this time of year. I also see problems and work, respectively at the front and back of the house.

The problem I allude to is what I think are two dying Clematis Armandi (see former blog) and if not dying then they certainly don’t seem to look very healthy. Now I know I write this blog about the goings on in my garden and if you read through them then you will see that I enjoy all different aspects of gardens and gardening but that does not mean that I have green fingers. I think the problem started with bindweed and Verdone weedkiller. Bindweed was growing heavily around the clematis so on a very still day I zapped it with the Verdone. It’s gone and whilst I didn’t think I got any on the clematis that seems like it’s going too. An optimistic neighbour of mine reckons that the clematis will survive, I’ll give it until the end of March and then if it remains more brown than green it’s going and a replacement will be planted.

The work I allude to is the annual ritual of trying to make the teak furniture look shiny and new. I bought the current set off of eBay about 3 and a half years ago (before I dealt in garden furniture myself) and frankly I don’t think it’s very good. No matter how much I treat it, it is more a grey in colour than ‘teak’ by the end of the season, and that’s before the winter, the duration of which it lives in the relative warmth and dry of the summer house. Now I am very excited about Garden Games & Leisure’s latest import, due to land in the UK in 2 weeks time. It is a fantastic range of extremely good looking and extremely high quality Rattan Wicker furniture, and it’s weatherproof. So the actual work I’ll be doing is either finding a home or disposing of the teak and setting up a shiny new set of my choice.

End Dec 2010

2010-12-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

If you looked out of my upstairs spare room window you would get a great overview of my garden (and some of the neighbours); you would also get, at the time of writing, a sense of the misery of winter in its dampest and greyest form – not the sparkling cold but sunny landscape in the distance, or even like a couple of weeks ago a fresh blanket of snow, this is fog and damp and grey with seriously impaired visibility. A day like today does, however, make the advent of a cold and sunny winter day all the more appealing as at least you can escape the cabin fever and get outside without the fear of turning the lawn into a mud-bath. Grass grows at 10 Degrees C and that certainly seems a long way off right now but with the harshest start to winter in living memory preceded by what can only be described as a half hearted attempt at summer any sign of the end of winter would be welcome – oh dear, it’s not even January yet!

2010-10-22T01:01:00.000-07:00

Climbers

I bought my house at what I reckon was a bargain price. This is just as well when you consider that the very week that we moved in was the same week that the Northern Rock collapse, the trigger that ushered in this age of economic woe, occurred.

And when I say a bargain price, I mean a good 25 or 30 grand cheaper than anything comparable in the area, and I think I know why.

It’s all very well being in the perfect location at the very end of a quiet Cul de Sac with enough space for 5 cars at the front and having a spacious 4 bed detached house with the potential to extend, but when it comes to selling you have to get people through the door.

If you imagine a picture of the front of a square red brick house with a red garage door and not a lot else then I believe you are conjuring up an image of urban banality, not the stuff that dreams are made of. This I believe was the vendors and their agents mistake as when we saw the details we didn’t think ‘wow, we’ve got to see that’ but more ‘we are in the area anyway so let’s cross it off our list of enquiries’.

Having made the trip we found everything we were looking for, it was perfect and, at that price, a bargain. Once we were in and the urgent stuff was done I then considered the front exterior of the house and looked around our pretty neighbourhood and noticed that none of the other properties suffered from the same look of domestic blandness and so considered why. All the other properties had at least one of three redeeming features, they were either constructed from a much more aesthetically pleasing grey brick, they were rendered of half rendered or they had a leafy covering of some climbing plant to soften their features.

It wasn’t the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make. I was unwilling to demolish the property and start again with a different coloured brick and therefore weighed up the other two. So it was dropping a few grand and future hours of painting on rendering or going down the garden centre to sample their different Clematis, Wisteria, Virginia Creeper and suchlike.

Our criteria was based on the following; it must be evergreen, non-venomous, not Ivy and must grow rapidly to at least 10 metres. We found a couple of half dead Clematis Armandii so got 2 for the price of one. The picture you see below is after one full years growth, it certainly is a rapid climber.

In next doors flowerbed is a massive and very mature Wisteria. I ascertained that rather than the view of my plain red bricked side wall they would prefer to see their Wisteria trained over the fence and up a couple of trellises. The picture below is the growth from April to October.

Now the project is well under way I can be proud that I have achieved two things. Firstly, and by necessity, I have overcome my fear of ladders, or rather climbing ladders, and secondly, in years to come I could offer our estate agent of choice a picture that may initially sell the house.

2010-09-26T03:46:00.000-07:00

Garden Plan 2010 Results

Back in February I set out a plan of all the improvements we wanted to do in our garden with the promise that I’d report back in September to let you know how I got on. Well I have the results and whilst 5 out of 9 is not good there is the addition of the BBQ Corner (see last blog) that might be taken into account so in reality the score should read a slightly less dismal 6 out of 10.

Here’s what happened

1) The redundant bit of land next to the summer house is no longer redundant. It is now a dumping ground and definitely not what we had in mind. Something for next year I think – nil point (French)

2) Three raspberry canes were planted. The first shoot that came through was mistaken for a stinging nettle and pulled out, then re-inserted in the earth with the mutterings of ‘why didn’t they say they looked like stinging nettles’. It didn’t grow very much and was soon overtaken by its neighbour however very oddly it remains the only one to actually bear any fruit. One of the others failed and the other is, as I said, tall but fruitless and we look forward to a better crop next year – one point (English)

3) There isn’t, wasn’t nor ever had been a clematis growing along the fence by the climbing frame – a very definite nil point.

4) The creosote was purchased along with the spray gun round about late March. Then it rained and by the time the sun came out, one of the fence panels had become so weakened by the children that live behind, in their efforts to communicate with ours, that our neighbour and us decided to replace all the panels for the strong feather edged variety - all fences are jointly owned where we live. The new ones were pre-treated giving me an easy but slightly expensive one point.

5) The 2 extra bits of wood delivered with the climbing frame have not evolved into a balance beam and remain as 2 bits of wood – nil point.

6) The sandpit has been assembled but is re-born as a ball pool as we already have a Hexagonal Sandpit – one point.

7) There can be no proof that power hosing took place as the shine has now gone so you’ll just have to take my word for it – one point.

8) Red cushions for the chairs and red throws for the summerhouse furniture were purchased as planned – one point.

9) The garage door remains red, not a nice red but a light and sun-bleached red and desperately needs doing next year – nil point.

I hope next summer is better on the garden projects front, i'll be back with the Summer 2011 plan in February.

BBQ Corner

2010-08-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've always preferred using Charcoal BBQ's over gas. Probably something to do with the preparation time, the need to allow the coals to heat up properly permits me a guilt free glass of wine or two as there is nothing else I can be doing but watching carefully over the coals, ensuring safety and judging the perfect time to start cooking.

This year however I also set up one of our very own SilverSteel Stainless Steel Gas barbecues more because of the rotisserie function and also because for the England Algeria game (less said the better) we were catering for 22 people and I thought we could do with the extra cooking space.

Baring in mind we already have a small charcoal Tripod BBQ and a much larger Outback Charcoal BBQ the space needed for these and the the even bigger SilverSteel BBQ led to a bit of a problem.

By our garage, at the back of it, we had a pretty dysfunctional patio area that never gets the sun and leads to a concrete shed base that we use for herbs and vegetables. Along the left hand side of the said dysfunctional patio area was a log roll border with pebbles and an old disused stone frog water feature, or more accurately speaking, a waste of space. The right hand said of this bit of patio leads to the garden and the functional patio area. The allotted space for the massive SilverSteel was always in front of the log roll.

So to work and it only took an hour to get the pebbles and log roll up and smooth over the earth that was left behind. Another hour and a half or and we had the 6 white paving slabs and border gravel that we needed to make the area look nice. The SilverSteel is now 2 foot nearer the fence and because it is so high the left hand shelf of the Outback slots under the right hand shelf of the SilverSteel.

What we are left with is a BBQ corner with the benefit of charcoal and gas and I don't think we could have catered for 22 hungry people effectively unless we had both on the go because for all the virtues of charcoal the gas gave me instant searing and adjustable heat, so when at half time, and some were in need of a pick me up sausage but the coal started to fail, we had something to be happy about.

5 Top Tips for Barbecuers

2010-07-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

Nothing quite beats a good barbecue in the Summer. Whilst cooking on a barbecue is usually straightforward, the finer points of the event can make all the difference and ensure you'll become a top host in the eyes of your guests.

Make use of the five tips below to get the most from your barbecue this year:

Flies can be a real nuisance at a barbecue. For a simple yet effective way to keep flies at bay, light Citronella candles and place them near to where you are eating. The smell acts as a natural fly and mosquito repellent, while filling the air with an attractive scent.
The British summer is renowned for being unpredictable, so set up your barbecue and eating area accordingly. Have to hand windbreaks or umbrellas for windy days, and suitable lighting and heating for night time do's (or poor Summer days). Patio heaters are widely available, or go for something more attractive and natural such as a Chiminea.
Try toasting on a barbecue, it's not as difficult as it sounds! Put on a few slices of bread only when the barbecue is giving off low heat. Place on top a few slices of tomato, cheese and onion for a tasty treat. Perfect as a light barbecue meal or vegetarian alternative.
A must have accessory for your barbecue is a basic spray bottle filled with water. It's all too easy for a barbecue to get carried away when fat and grease begin to cook, so spraying small amounts of water can dampen the flames and prevent food from becoming unevenly cooked or burnt.
Lastly, don't let your dad (typically the self-styled barbecue expert) do the cooking unless you enjoy your meat extra well done i.e. burnt to a crisp!

Photo credit, chew-the-fat.com

Some Fun Outdoor Activities

2010-06-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

There's a never ending number of activities you can do with your kids outdoors to keep them happy. For those without nearby parks, the garden makes the perfect place to have fun, even in small gardens without a lot of space, you just need to make sure that the activity is enjoyable and interesting enough. A garden allows kids to appreciate the nature around them, enjoy the fresh air and have fun at the same time. Below we've listed just a few of the activities you could enjoy with your kids in the garden.

TREASURE HUNT WITH YOUR KIDS

Kids always love adventure. It follows that kids would love an adventure hunt out in the garden. Setting up a treasure hunt is easy and can be played with virtually any items, most kids will enjoy searching for sweets and chocolate most, but anything that interests them will do. Make sure to hide them well as kids are particularly good at finding things! Treasure hunt is best enjoyed with a group of kids, such as a birthday party.

GARDEN SANDPITS

Just about any child enjoys playing in the sand at the beach, but for many who live inland getting to the beach regularly may not be so easy. The answer to this problem is to bring the beach to your garden, or a small part of it at least. All you need to purchase is a sandpit, some sand and you're ready to go. Pick up a plastic bucket and spade and your kids will think they are at the seaside!

MAKE A DEN

Kids have vivid imaginations, and nothing comes close to stimulating them as much as an outdoors den. Throw a sheet over a table, between two chairs or similar and your kids have a cool place of their own to play, but do make sure that wherever you choose is safe. The fun is amplified when friends or siblings join in.

GIANT GARDEN GAMES

It may be hard to imagine for modern generations that games consoles were not always around to entertain, and that some fantastic, mega fun games can be played outdoors - no plug sockets required! Just take a look at the range of garden games available on our website, where you'll find classic garden board games, fun activities and much more. These games have been specially chosen to be fun for the whole family. Even without the kids they can still be a lot of fun!

PLAY HIDE AND SEEK

Last but not least is the classic game of hide and seek. No doubt this classic game has remained popular throughout many years as it's only requirement is having a handful of good places in which to hide - which just about anywhere will have. Some precautions need to be observed, such as making sure kids know the boundary limits and to not go near places where machinery or dangerous chemicals may be. Make sure that you keep harmful chemicals and equipment away from places where your children may possibly hide.

So there we have it, five of many fun activities that can be enjoyed outdoors with the kids and family. Hopefully these pointers have inspired you to do more with your outdoor space this year. We're sure you'll think of a few more fun ideas yourself! Have fun and enjoy the nice weather this Summer.

It's Time to Buy New Patio Furniture!

2010-05-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

It's Time to Buy New Patio Furniture!

Warm weather is here. Do you know what that means? It is time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather in your fantastic backyard. Part of that enjoyment should include relaxing on your patio or deck. If you don't have any furniture to sit on, you need to go shopping. You need a website that not only sells furniture, but also sells grills, outdoor games, fire pits and basketball equipment.

You have a fantastic deck, but you need a grill and a place to sit and enjoy a meal out there. Visit the website where you can buy a grill and furniture, its one stop shopping. It is time for a beautiful table and 4 chairs so you can eat that burger sitting down. Styles are endless so buy what meets your needs.

Choose from propane or charcoal grills. Don’t forget the accessories, such as a brush to clean the grill or a three piece tool set. You need the right tools to cook outside, so why not get them at the same time?

Don’t buy cheap plastic tables and chairs when you can buy wood. Teak furniture is very beautiful. It holds up well in all types of elements. You can buy a teak table and 4 chairs, or other styles with 6 chairs. If you want to add some punches of color to the outdoor furniture, add some brightly colored cushions.

If you just want some lounge chairs for your deck, there are a few options. Get a sun lounger with wheels and you can move it anyplace in your yard. If you want to sit up and read a book, then the steamer chair would be a great addition.

Don’t forget outdoor lighting to add beauty to your outdoor spaces. Extend your time outside with solar powered lighting for your pathway or tabletop. Exterior lighting is decorative as well as a safety feature, you don’t want to trip and fall.

If you want the kids to burn off some energy, get them a trampoline from the same company. They will love it. You can buy something each member of your family will find useful, comfortable and beautiful.

Buy your outdoor furniture and other accessories from an established company that offers excellent products, along with friendly and helpful customer service. If a problem occurs with a product you purchase, we will gladly take care of it.

The 2010 Summer Garden Plan

2010-02-23T07:33:00.000-08:00

Like so many people I’ve had enough of Winter. Don’t get me wrong, I love snow & Christmas but we’ve done that now and the allure of the garden and sunshine and everything else that goes with it is now becoming ever increasingly appealing.

Every year, like many people, we try and make a few improvements to the garden and the outside of the house in general (see some of the other blog posts). Today we formulated our plan.

Get the redundant bit of land next to the summer house and behind the swing chair at least looking nice if not serving a purpose.
Grow raspberries.
Get a clematis going along the fence nearest the climbing frame.
Treat all the visible fence panels as they are getting a bit ropey.
Make a balance beam from the 2 extra bits of wood delivered with the climbing frame.
Assemble the sand-pit that came with the climbing frame.
Power-hose the patio & side passage.
Get the summer house furniture and the teak chairs all matching with bright red cushion covers, maybe with a parasol for the table.
Paint the garage door blue.

Now that I’ve put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard anyway, let’s see how far we get. Below are pics of all the areas that we are looking to improve and I’ll blog back at the beginning of September, hopefully with photographic evidence that summer 2010 wasn’t all World Cup, Wimbledon, barbecues & backgammon.

Give the garage door a re-painting of blue

A wooden sandpit, as it currently is

The perfect area to grow raspberries

Needs a hoseing down

Start a Clematis growing along the fencing

The fence could do with a treatment

Frozen Parsnips Anyone?

2010-01-08T01:36:00.000-08:00

There’s not much going on down in the garden at this time of year, everything has been battened down, the teak is in the summerhouse and the garage is full to bursting with garden toys and BBQ bits and loads of other stuff that we take for granted when our gardens are fully operational. Also, at the time of writing, the garden is frozen solid and we’re expecting a load of snow..

There is, however, one garden project that is ongoing, and is indeed being enhanced by the very cold weather we are having. It could be an attempt to enter the Guinness Book Of Records for the worlds largest snowman, but it’s not. It could be an experiment to see the effects of constant freezing and thawing on a whole range of garden furniture and toys, but it’s not. So what is it I can hear everyone exclaiming..

It is of course Adam’s Parsnip Project (does it sound familiar) and I’m very excited as by the time they’re ready for harvesting in March it is these re-occurring freeze and thaws that each time they happen will make the parsnips even tastier and are fully responsible for their unique sweet and nutty flavour. The rule here is the more times they freeze, the better the parsnip.

So even whilst the garden is a frozen wasteland of unused accessories that in the summer months I couldn’t live without, I still get a bit of pleasure venturing out to the garden on occasion and checking that all is well with the parsnips.

Have a look at Gardening Patch as further reading for all you parsnip enthusiasts out there.

Monster Climbing Frame

2009-11-25T08:18:00.000-08:00

My house is cluttered up with far too many toys, many more than one 2 year old needs which is the cumulative result of two Birthdays and three Christmases with lots of grandparents and aunties etc. all being more than generous. With Birthday number three approaching and Christmas number four just a bit more than a month after that we were starting to fret about the colossal amount of toys and games and other bits and pieces that we definitely could live without taking residence in our residence and eating up the last piece of carpet we have.

It had to be stopped - but how? Simple, get any one of our family members who would take pity on our plight and see if they would club together for a monster Birthday/Christmas present thus negating the necessity to collate even more household child entertainment devices. And one more feature to our plan – the said combined offering to be an outside item.

Our garden is wedge shaped and is wider than it is long; it has a lot of bits and pieces (unsurprisingly) and we have always had one end of the garden for the swings, slide, trampoline, sandpit etc. and the other end of the garden for things like a summerhouse, bbq, furniture etc., a adult/child divide with a fair amount of lawn in the middle.

There is a reason lots of parents lovingly refer to their little ones as ‘monkeys’, it is not because of unfortunate facial hair conditions but more for their love of climbing…anything. It is this trait that our particular monkey has been exhibiting for some time leading to the simple answer to the above mentioned simple problem: the monster present had to be a climbing frame.

As you might notice I have a few very good climbing frames to choose from on the site and if you have got the space the Carisbrooke climbing frame is absolutely one of the best you can go for. Once the old swings were taken down, or more accurately, dug out, the trampoline found a nice home in the very corner of the kids end of the wedge and construction began. I learnt that there is a reason why we offer an assembly service for this particular model and that £400 is a very reasonable price to pay; the job was enormous, the Carisbrooke is massive, a monster climbing frame that wouldn’t look out of place in any park, with so many fun features any child is guaranteed to love it.

The end result – we have one very happy 3 year old, mainly because of his new monster climbing frame and also because each and every one of the afore mentioned family members still produced a space eating delight for him to unwrap on his big day.

A Garden Feature Featuring a Garden Water Feature (and a Palm Tree)

2009-08-28T03:04:00.000-07:00

I am particularly proud of our latest home improvement born on a bored Sunday afternoon in July looking at the redundant bit of space in a corner of our garden next to the summer house. It’s one of those areas of the garden that never seem to get the sun and suffers from bad drainage evidenced by the boggy appearance of mud and moss.

But what to do with it - a wedge shaped bit of land 80cm at the back of the isosceles to 165cm at the front, an upside down ‘V’ shape if you can imagine. We decided fairly swiftly on a stainless steel water feature from the selection of five we had in the garage – ex demos’ from an exhibition stand I had set up in the past. Our choice was between the Angel, Cautley, Orgate, Backstone or Aspley. After a short time we eliminated the spheres in favour of the tubes and ended up choosing the Orgate water feature as we liked the angled face where the water comes out.

Loosely, we decided on a tall plant at the back, water feature in front, a couple of plants, the whole area covered in plum slate and sectioned off with log roll. Simples!

So off to B&Q we went. They are doing a good deal at the moment on log roll, 3 for the price of 2, we got the small 15cm height, 3 rolls at a cost of £11.98. Foolishly thinking it would be enough we bought 125 litres of compost for £6.98. On to the Factory Shop where we knew they were doing a deal on plum slate, 3 bags for £12, and weed proof mesh & securing pegs for £6.97. Sorted – apart from the tall and short plants, but we thought we would sort that out later.

We got back home where it promptly started to rain, and whilst I am keen, I’m not mad. The next day we were at her parents house for a BBQ when I commented on a palm tree they had in a pot and casually said that it was what we could do with for our project. Fortuitously they had other designs for that part of their garden so there we were, all raw materials purchased or beggared and Tuesday was construction day.

The next day it rained all day. On to Wednesday and armed with a spade we made a start. First thing, dig a hole for the water feature, but only half the depth of the bucket as we were going to build the area up with earth, compost, and due to an unfortunate incident involving our cat in our Sons sandpit, sand. So far so good, it was to be fair one of the finest holes I had ever dug.

Then to mark out the boundaries with a 1 inch trench in which we would hammer down the log roll. That done we set out the log roll and raked the peat over the entire area. It was then that we realised 2 important things, 1) the log roll would not be high enough at the back, and 2) we would need more compost. So off to B&Q once again and bought another 3 for the price of 2 log roll, but this time the 45cm height at £29.98, and got a good deal on 280 litres of peat for £8, half price as the bags were a bit ripped.

Back home and the back two thirds of the log roll replaced with its taller cousin, water feature bucket down and all the peat & sand added and it started to take shape as it evolved into a three tiered masterpiece. But there was something I had forgotten, a nagging doubt remained; oh yes, the hole for the palm tree. No problem, step 1) clear the peat from the back third; step 2) dig another fine hole. The hole for the palm was only one third the depth of the roots as there was to be a further 40cm of compost built up around it. The palm went in, the peat was replaced and I was happy, in fact I was grinning all the way to B&Q where I purchased another 280 litres of bag damaged compost for an even better value £5.00.

Back I came, up tools and the 3 levels really started to take shape, the back sectioned off with 45cm log roll, the rest with the shorter variety. Weed proof mesh down and pegged and the water feature went in. Then the slate went down and we realised we had massively underestimated our requirement. Back to the Factory Shop and another £12 lighter and three bags of plum slate heavier. Once it was down it looked great, just missing a few plants and one more problem to solve in that the water feature jutted out at the front as it was placed level on a slope. No problem.

Bored with B&Q, Homebase had all Lillies, Celosia, Grasses, Hemerocassis Varsity & white chip stones that we needed, all for a reasonable £18.95. Once they were down it was finished, we just couldn’t wait until night fall to see the true effect of the 9 multi-colour rotating LED’s on the water feature reflecting on the steel & illuminating the water as it cascaded down the tubes – and it did look lovely. Unfortunately the rest of the patch was in darkness and not seeing the light made us see the light, which was of course that we needed some lights.

Straight on to the world wide web, 4 x solar lights for £10 and 2 x 50w Par 38 spotlights for £20 and I realised that we must start doing a line in outdoor lighting on the Garden Games & Leisure website. Anyway, that may be to come but in the meantime we have transformed the dullest, drabbest area of the garden into absolutely the nicest most tranquil area you could want and have also noticed that now it is raised up it does get the sunshine for a few hours a day. Happy days.

BBQ Summer - What a Washout!

2009-08-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

The Met Office have recently done a bit of a U-Turn and have now seen fit to revise their 'Odds on for a BBQ Summer' statement they made in April. Other untruths from the Met reported by BBC News were that 'we are heading for a long period of BBQ weather this year' but on to July and all is not quite as reported what with the case of 100 children being evacuated from a water-logged Camp Site in the Lake District and general gloom on most seafront promenades up and down the country.

Ewan McCullum, chief meteorologist at the Met Office went public in April and said 'We are seeing a signal for a warmer than average summer which again means that we could have good hot spells and perhaps get the BBQ out', but in the last couple of days he has added 'The phrase we used was Odds on for a BBQ Summer, we were talking about a 65% chance, that meant there is a 35% chance that July would turn out the way it did, but as I say we still have August to come'. Never mind Ewan, I'm sure August will be lovely!

Summer Holiday's in the UK

2009-07-27T05:52:00.000-07:00

We are now into the 6 week school summer holidays and more and more families elect to either stay at home or holiday somewhere in the UK. This may be something to do with a) the economy, b) the poor exchange rate, c) swine flu, but it's got to be good news for the UK in general.

We have noticed a massive increase in our sales of Garden Games which suggests that the beach in Spain is being swapped for the garden in England, our best sellers to date being the Mega High Tower and Seaside Soaker.

You can have a look at the complete range of fun items for the garden in our Garden Games Category.

Britain Is Too Hot For BBQs

2009-07-01T03:29:00.000-07:00

Madness, if the weather isn’t a perpetual perfect temperature and balance of wet and dry and the thermometer dares to stray a couple of degrees above or below the accepted norms then we have heatwaves, ice ages, floods, droughts and a general breakdown in all public and some private services. 33 degrees C today, which I’ll admit is hot and ‘officials raise the threat level from amber to red, some measures including putting social services and hospitals on alert for a wave of casualties from the scorching weather…’ and we are all advised to stay in.

Thing is, whatever we Brits consider as extreme weather is just the norm for half the world, our hottest ever day of 38.1C (100.6F) in Gravesend, Kent in 2003 might be considered chilly in parts of Africa, America, Australia, Asia & some parts of Europe (go to Seville, then you’ll know what hot is). Likewise, or maybe not when you consider -27.2 degrees C is actually very cold and is the lowest ever temperature in Britain, but definitely likewise when the plummet below -1C has us hoarding food and petrol because of the inevitable supply chain problems that this ‘freak’ weather is bound to cause – it is a wonder how Scandinavians survive their winters.

Make the most of the (quite possibly short lived) fine weather, take some time out in the garden with friends or family - play some garden games or even put up a basketball net!

Xtreme Air Trampolines Selling Out!

2009-06-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

About 4 years ago trampolines were the latest "craze" and in a 12 month period it is estimated that 65% of all households in the UK with a child between the age of 5 & 14 bought a circular garden trampoline. The 14' and 10' Xtreme Air trampolines were always there at the top end of the market and probably about the best quality trampoline available due to the extra thick padding, strong frame and long springs which gave them more bounce than the average trampoline.

The craze is now over and new trampoline sales are about 3% of what they used to be (because most people have them now) so we are discontinuing the Xtreme Air Trampolines. There are 30 x 10' models left and only one 14' model, all discounted heavily for a quick sale. Have a look here... and remember there are still plenty of the Xtreme Air Basketball Sets left.

Garden Games Update

2009-06-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

Some of our regular visitors will have realised that our front page has changed. It's out with the SilverSteel Stainless Steel Gas BBQ and in with the Lattice Cast Iron Chimineas. The reason for this is simple, we have sold out of SilverSteel Stainless Steel Gas BBQ's and unfortunatley can't get any more in until early 2010, however the substitute in it's place isn't just a random offering. The Lattice Cast Iron Chimineas have been the websites number 1 best seller since going live back in March and just like the SilverSteel Stainless Steel Gas BBQ it's an extreamly well made, high quality item at the value for money prices that our customers expect.

May Offers

2009-05-01T04:46:00.000-07:00

Recent news from the BBC suggests a hot and dry Summer at last!

To make the most of this good news, throughout May 2009 we have several promotions that will offer you substantial savings on selected outdoor products and free gifts to go with your purchase.

Offer 1 - Free Standard Delivery on all Cast Iron Pizza Ovens - these items weigh 115 kilos, free delivery on this product will save you £39.95 for most UK deliveries and significantly more if you live in any of those hard to reach areas that normally attract addittional postage.

Offer 2 - Free BBQ Grill Brush if you purchase any BBQ. Additionally if your BBQ costs £99.99 or more we will also throw in a free 3 Piece BBQ Tool Set. We will upgrade the tool set to the Stainless Steel version for all Silversteel barbecue purchases.

Offer 3 - Free Standard Delivery on selected Stainless Steel Water Features saving you up to £19.95 for most UK addresses. Models included in this promotion are the Angel, Backstone, Cautley, Colwith & Hardraw.

Offer 4 - Free Basketballs with any Xtreme Air Basketball Set - this will include both a Dunlop Mini & Dunlop Standard Basketball.

Offer 5 - 20% off all Chimineas excluding any clearance items. This includes the cost of the product AND the postage and will lead to a substantial saving.

For any further clarification on any of these promotions please call us on 01702 545466. To claim your discount at source you will have to telephone your order through. All web sales will be charged at the non-offer rate and the savings will be refunded back within 1 working day.

Stainless Steel Facts

2009-04-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

Today we have for you a quick lesson on stainless steel types. There are many different grades of stainless steel for a wide variety of uses, the two grades commonly used for consumer goods are 430 Stainless Steel & 304 Stainless Steel.

Grade 304 is better quality, particularly for outdoor use as due to its nickel content (about 8%) it cannot rust. Our SilverSteel BBQ’s are made from 304 Stainless Steel.

Grade 430 contains iron and can rust. However, highly polished 430 Stainless Steel is still quite weather resistant and takes a long time to rust if the surface is left unscratched. It is much cheaper than Grade 304 as it doesn’t use any nickel. It is also magnetic due to the iron content. There is a miss-conception that Stainless Steel can’t be magnetic, Grade 430 is Stainless Steel and is magnetic.

Stainless Steel products available here include our SilverSteel BBQ and some of our range of Alan Titchmarsh Water Features.

Handy Hint: The best way to keep an outdoor Stainless Steel item nice and shiny is to occasionally clean it with either olive oil or baby oil. This gets rid of all marks and prevents water marking.

Hope you enjoyed our quick nugget of information.

Get Set for Easter with Garden Games & Leisure

2009-04-09T02:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first of many posts from your friends at Garden Games & Leisure!

Today's post is all about Easter, which begins with Good Friday on 10th April, and for many this long weekend presents the first opportunity to get the garden ship-shape for Summer. Recently, we have received a lot of interest in our Xtreme Air basketball products which can act as a good diversion away from the stack of Easter Eggs! For an easy way to get fit and have fun outdoors this Summer, be sure to check out our range of Basketball Sets & Trampolines.

For those slightly less energetic but still prepared to work up a sweat digging and perfecting their flowerbeds it’s the perfect time to put in a tranquil and relaxing Water Feature, we’ve got a fantastic new range including Stainless Steel Tubes and Sphere water features, Textured Glass in an array of designs and some very interesting and pretty Resin Models with Pigs & Frogs providing the theme.

To make the most of the (few!) warm and sunny Summer days you might consider cooking and eating outside to make the most of the good weather. BBQs are a great way to socialise with friends while enjoying great tasting food outdoors. Here at Garden Games we stock everything you need to make a great event. Our range of Teak & All Weather Furniture suits the unpredictable nature of the great British weather. Outdoor cooking requires a BBQ of course, and so we have a range of barbecues to suit all requirements and tastes, from a range of small Fire Pits for low volume cooking to monstrous Gas Barbecues for larger gatherings - we believe we cater to all.

Don't forget to take a look at our BBQ recipes if you are stuck for exciting ideas.