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Discover the difference between a wildflower/formal style lawn and which would be right for you. Wildflower lawns verses formal lawns How easy are they? As a landscape gardener it often puzzles me when people ask for low maintenance gardens, in which they want huge expanses of grass with few beds and borders. It can take some convincing to make them think that actually the reverse would be much less work for them. Or me come to that. Lets think seriously about how much time is spent on keeping a formal lawn looking good. Then think about how much time is spent on a wild flower lawn. On a formal lawn the grass will require mowing at least once a week during the summer months. What about extra lawn care tasks during the Spring and Autumn? Aerating Scarifying Top dressing and seasonal Weed and feed routines. This all adds up to many hours of your life spent looking after a formal lawn. And what do you get in return? Stripes, an endless battle with moss, broadleaved weeds and pests, an ever increasing burden on your wallet and unnatural levels of fertiliser in the soil. Take a deep breath So lets look at the amount of work required to maintain a wild flower lawn or meadow. How often will it require mowing for example? Usually only once or twice a year. This involves a cut, followed by removal of the cut material. This can be done a day or two after mowing to allow seeds to drop back into the soil. What seasonal management does it need? See above. No pest or weed control. No additional chemical or granular fertilisers. No aerating. No scarifying. No top dressing. This adds up to a lot less of your time and money being spent on managing the same area of your garden. And what do you get in return? A long season of colour. Interest from the variety of flowers. An increase in insect life and other wildlife coming to visit the garden. Less stress. More time to relax. A fatter wallet. Fewer machines cluttering the shed. A more natural healthy soil. Less pollution in the atmosphere. An overwhelming sense of wellbeing and superiority when you sit in your garden listening to the neighbours wrestling with their mowers and strimmers.

Scything is an excellent, economical and environmentally friendly way to manage your lawns or meadows. Training courses available. Scything Scything is an excellent, economical and environmentally friendly way to manage your lawns or meadows. Scything is rapidly becoming more popular as a way to maintain lawns and meadows. Conservation charities and gardening groups, as well as individuals, are all getting on board with this traditional tool. With their light weight and ease of use, many people find scythes are an ideal substitute for powered machines. To find out if I'm all legit & can be trusted Benefits Of Scythes Cheaper to buy than strimmers/brushcutters and mowers. Costs nothing to use each time you mow. You aren't using fuel or electricity. No other ongoing costs, like fuel, oil, grease, plastic cord. You can maintain a scythe yourself, so there are no servicing costs. No atmospheric pollution from petrol fumes. No noise pollution from engines. No environmental pollution from bits of plastic cord being spread across the landscape. No need for ear, eye or face protection. You can get away without gloves or steel capped boots if you want. More pleasant to work as a team. Safe mowing distance between scythes is 3 meters. Safe mowing distance between strimmer operators 15 meters. Regular scything is a great cardio exercise and core strength builder. Many of the people I have trained are on my mailing list the North East Cereal Killers . A volunteer group who help each other out with mowing large areas (usually in return for tea and cake) You might like to join also and get involved.

Some pictures of groups of people learning to use Austrian scythes. A gallery of past scythe courses Just a few pictures from training courses I've ran over the years. From National Trust properties & Wildlife Trust reserves across the country to local community groups and garden associations. A formidable collection. Learning to peen the blades. Peening workshop. A rack of scythes. Gentlemen testing scythes. Scything in Slaidburn. Competitions at the Scottish scythe festival. New scythers mowing in Yorkshire.

Highlighting the pros and cons between strimmers and scythes for those wanting to budget for their grassland management. Scythe V Strimmer If you're wondering about the advantages of a scythe over a strimmer then perhaps this page will help you make the right decision for your grass management plans. If your work is in conservation, land management, community groups or as a small holder, then it's well worth taking the time to seriously consider which tool will be best for you. Scythe V Strimmer Cost Servicing costs Spare parts Fuel Full kit £226 None. Can be done in house by trained staff & vols. Optional. Additions to kit if required. None Cost Annual Servicing costs Spare parts Fuel FS 361 PETROL CLEARING SAW £1039 Plus PPE and harness £120 per machine by professional mechanics. Approx £30 per cord spool approx £3.50 Per tank full 0.75lt per hour approximately. Plus oil and grease Pollution Noise. None Environmental. None Atmospheric. None Noise. 100 dB(A) 2) Environmental. Littering of plastic cord. Atmospheric. Unregulated emissions. Engagement & Safety As an engagement tool within conservation the scythe wins hands down. Visitors are naturally drawn to watching a scythe in action. Due to it’s silent operation users can engage with visitors while mowing. Teams can chat with each other while working. The prescribed safe mowing distance between scythers is 3 meters. No PPE is required, so awareness of others and wildlife is greatly increased. The lack of vibration means no risk of inducing finger or hand related issues. The mowers fitness levels are the only limiting factor in scythe mowing. As an engagement tool within conservation the strimmer is a repellent. Visitors are naturally annoyed by strimmers and will avoid close contact at all costs. The noise from strimmers makes it impossible to engage with visitors. Strimmer operators can not chat with colleagues. The prescribed safe mowing distance between strimmer operators is 15 meters PPE and harnesses are uncomfortable and reduce awareness of others and wildlife. Vibration from the machine can induce carpel tunnel syndrome, vibration white finger and Raynauds, reducing the time allowed to safely operate strimmers.

Learn the easiest ways to keep your pond clear and clean with this simple set of instructions. How to maintain Pond plants. Essentially pond plants are herbaceous perennials and require only one cut in a season. This is usually done in Autumn, once they have all finished flowering. October to November are the best months for this. Some prolific seeders like Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris, can be cut as soon as they have finished flowering. Usually April to May. This reduces the amount of seed they produce. They often send up a second show of flowers after being cut. They are very decorative plants but can be a bit of a thug around a smaller pond, overpowering smaller more delicate plants like Ragged Robin Silene flos cucculi. By the end of the year many of the plants in a pond will have spread an incredible amount. They are prolific growers. Marginals are best cut to ground level around the pond edge. I use a scythe for this. working around the pond edge anti clockwise so that the cut vegetation is drawn away from the water by the scythe. Emergent and deep water plants can also be trimmed (carefully) using a scythe or shears to as close to their base as possible. In large ponds, where amphibians breed, it is best to only clear one third of the vegetation each year. As many amphibians (Adult male frogs and un metamorphosed juveniles) will hibernate in the mud at the bottom of ponds it is best practice to avoid too much disturbance. Make sure as much of the cut vegetation as possible is removed and composted. As mentioned, many pond plants are fast growers and need to be kept in check, otherwise they can smother the other plants and take over the pond. Steer clear of exotic species if you can, as many have proved to be very invasive. Some, once available for sale, are now notifiable invasive plants, recognised as ecologically disastrous in UK waterways. Native pond plants to watch out for are Yellow Flag Iris, Marsh Marigold, Pendulous Sedge, Hornwort, Purple Loosestrife, Water Mint and Rush. In this video I demonstrate how to clear dense mats of overgrown pond plants. In this video you can see how thick some pond plants can become. Their stems and roots forming dense mats on the surface as well as deep into the water. With regular maintenance, as described above, this can be avoided. Regular work is easier and lighter to carry out. Rather than waiting several years and it becoming a hard heavy job. In this video I demonstrate how to clear vegetation using a scythe. Both in and around the pond. Careful use of the scythe allows for quick work around the pond edge. Once in the water I can use the scythe to snip water lilies and oxygenating plants at their base. Once everything is cut, I can rake it out and compost it. Pond plants compost incredibly well. Sludge from the pond bottom is very nutrient rich and makes excellent fertiliser.

Newt Identification Training. Among the many things I do, training people to identify our native amphibians and reptiles, is one. Those involved in conservation and ecology need to know how to identify the species they encounter, in order to help them manage habitats. Several of our native reptiles and amphibians are on the endangered species list. Learning how to identify different amphibian species, survey for them effectively and manage their habitats, is crucial in helping protect these vulnerable animals. This male great crested newt Triturus cristatus is from one of my own ponds in the garden. He was caught in a bottle trap which was placed in the pond overnight. Early the next morning, the traps were emptied and the newts counted and photographed. The two trainees were able to see the newts close up, in order to spot the differences between species and sexes. The belly markings of newts are unique to each animal, and a great way to help tell individuals apart. There are distinct characteristics between males and females of each species of newt. Knowing all of these key differences takes time to learn. These trainees are employed by a local wildlife trust and are training towards gaining a specific Natural England licence for great crested newts (GCN). In order to legally survey for any endangered animal, you must be licensed for the specific species. Any form of disturbance , even down to photography, needs to be covered by the licence. This leucitic female palmate newt Lissotriton helvetica , was from another of my garden ponds. These colour morphs occur naturally and can be quite common in some populations. They can cause confusion when trying to identify them, as the lack of pigment means none of the usual colours or markings are present. If you would like to learn how to identify our native amphibians and reptiles, look for them and help protect them, please contact me.

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Check out some of our previous projects. Projects of Old My own pond When it was first put in it was full of exotic plants. That's all changed. Stone edge disguising pond liner Nothing worse than a visible pond liner. Streams My own pond When it was first put in it was full of exotic plants. That's all changed. 1/41

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As mentioned on the formal lawns verses wildflowers page, this is an easy process carried out no more than twice in a year. Managing your wildflowers As mentioned on the formal lawns verses wildflowers page, this is an easy process carried out no more than twice in a year. As you will probably guess from other pages on this site my preferred method of mowing is with a scythe. Honestly, they're so much easier and eco friendly than people imagine. So simply mow the wildflower lawn and either immediately rake off the cuttings or leave for a few days to allow seeds to drop into the soil. Wondering if a scythe is a better option than a strimmer for managing your land? Check here for a comparison of the two. That's it! It really is as easy as that. I could end this page here, but I like to waffle on a bit, so there'll be more. You're wondering what to do with all the stuff you remove, aren't you? why not donate it to someone else who wants what you've got. They can spread it over a prepared area of their own garden. Allow the seeds to drop over a few days, then remove the vegetation. It's how many large scale meadows are created, with cuttings from an already established meadow. Failing that, perhaps some locals would like it to feed their pet guinea pigs or rabbits. I know some folk bale their wildflowers and sell the bales for a few quid. In other news, keeping the nutrient level low also means keeping the lawn free from too many Autumn leaves. Here's a quick video all about it.

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