Mark McNee

Tag: Garden Construction

  • Creating a low maintenance garden

    Over many years of designing and creating gardens the most frequent request I have received is for a “low maintenance” garden. I have never been asked for a high maintenance one! This is usually followed something along the lines of “so we want most of it just lawn”. The real problem is that people muddle…

  • How to build a sleeper retaining wall

    Retaining walls are never cheap or easy but building one from timber railway sleepers is probably as cheap and easy as you are likely to find. As the sleepers are simply screwed together their construction is well within the abilities of most people without any specialist building experience. Equipment: Spade Sledge hammer Tape measure Pick…

  • Tackling an over grown garden

    The first stage is to have a really good look around your garden and decide what you like, dislike or simply don’t understand. Look where gets the sun and when, are you over looked and to what extent; most gardens will be overlooked by some bedroom windows but in practice people spend little time looking…

  • Dealing with woody garden rubbish

    After cutting back overgrown trees and shrubs you will find that you will be left with a surprisingly large amount of woody rubbish which you need to do something with. There a several ways of dealing with this waste: take it to the tip, put it in a skip, re-use it or grind it up to make…

  • Clearing the weeds from a bare piece of earth

    If your find yourself faced with a piece if ground containing nothing but weeds the first thing you are going to have to do is to clear it. There are a number of ways to tackle this problem all with their advantages and disadvantages. Your first thought may well be to dig them out with…

  • How to plant a bare root tree

    The important thing to realise is that you will kill a tree before you get it in the ground or after you’ve planted it, to actually kill a tree when planting it is very difficult.   Equipment:   Tree Spade Outdoor clothes Tree stake Tree tie 25 mm nail or screw Planting compost Hammer or…

  • How to make a new lawn

    Once we have decided to create a lawn one important question has to be tackled – are you going to do it by sowing grass seed or by turfing and each has its pros and cons. Sowing: Cheaper More tolerant of drying out Needs better preparation Can only be done when frost is not a…

  • How to design a drive

    How to design a drive

    With drives, probably more than any other thing in gardens, the most important thing is it actually functions as it is intended. No matter how nice it may look, if it does work as a drive it is a waste of money. As ever there has to be some compromises, for example: you may what…

  • Garden Myths: Number 14

    It’s a dwarf conifer! Gardens are littered with 6 metre high conifers with a small group of rocks around its base. Invariably this is the last resting place of a garden rockery with a dwarf conifer planted in it. For some reason people have no problem with seeing an oak seeding will grow into a…

  • Garden Myths: Number 13

    Lawns are less work than borders. No, but they take less thought on the part of the reluctant garden. Just think about the time you spend following the lawn mower up and down the garden every year. Now compare this to how much time you spend looking after an established border of similar area. Initially…