Ask the Gardening Experts

November 16th, 2011

Tiffany DaneffIf you live within driving distance of Ashbourne, Graham and his wife Jennie have organised an Ask the Gardening Experts charity event in aid of the Derbyshire branch of the British Red Cross.
 
 Martin Fish, the director of Harrogate Shows, Bunny Guinness the BBC Gardeners’ Question Time panellist   and Sunday Telegraph garden writer, Tiffany Daneff, SAGA magazine’s gardening editor and Anne Liverman, a garden designer and horticulturalist from Ashbourne, will form the panel.  It takes place at Fairways Garden Centre at Clifton Bunny Guinessnear Ashbourne on Thursday 24 November at 7.00pm.

Tickets are available from agadsby@redcross.org.uk
 
Martin also writes seasonal gardening tips for Wilkinson Sword, he is also a skilled and knowledgeable gardener and his advice will bMartin Fishe very valuable.

Perfect timing to launch chainsaw sharpening kit

October 25th, 2011

Oregon

The timing of the launch of a simple clip-on sharpening system for chainsaws could not be better as the cost of domestic heating fuel is set for another price hike and sales of wood burning stoves are likely to increase dramatically.

Anyone who has used a chainsaw – electric or petrol – knows that simply touching a stone, metal or even soil can blunt the chain, making it impossible to continue sawing.   The new PowerSharp system from OREGON will resharpen the PowerSharp chain in a matter of seconds.  The chain stays on the saw, and you are back at work, cutting logs, in no time at all.

The purpose-designed PowerSharp chain and sharpening stone, retailing from under £25, are the heart of the system and are replaced, like a normal chain, when worn out.  The secondary components, the guide bar and bar-mounted sharpener that are specially designed to work together, are for many users a one-off purchase and also start under £25.  The average price of a load of logs for burning in the UK ranges up to £100.

PowerSharp is suitable for the majority of 12, 14 and 16-inch petrol and electric chainsaws in the UK including Stihl and Husqvarna.  They are available throughout the country from Blount (UK) Ltd’s dealer network. Kits are also available in the United States and throughout Europe.  Check it out on www.powersharp.co.uk.

Blount Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of cutting chains, guide bars and chain drive sprockets for chainsaws.  It is also a leading manufacturer and supplier of outdoor equipment parts. The OREGON brand continues to be the choice of the trade in more than 100 countries.

No More Down Time for Spruce Landscapes

October 25th, 2011

Oregon

PowerSharp®, the revolutionary chain saw sharpening kit from OREGON® has significantly reduced down-time for Norwich-based garden designers, Spruce Landscapes.

With the new clip-on PowerSharp® kit, Spruce Landscapes have be able to resharpen their PowerSharp® chain in a matter of seconds, enabling them and the saw to be back at work in no time at all.

“PowerSharp® is an amazing product; the speed at which the device sharpens the chain is remarkable.  As a business, it enables us to provide more customer satisfaction by completing the job in hand effectively and without any unnecessary delays,” said Trevor Spruce from Spruce Landscapes.

“I employ a team of five and they have all been impressed with the results of PowerSharp®.”

The purpose-designed PowerSharp® chain, retailing from under £25, is the heart of the system and is replaced, like a normal chain, when worn out.  The secondary components, a guide bar and bar-mounted sharpener are for many users a one-off purchase and also start from under £25.

The complete kit is stocked by more than 200 PowerSharp® UK stockists.  To the end of December they are running a special campaign offering £5 back for your used chainsaw chain when you buy a full PowerSharp® system.

PowerSharp® is suitable for the majority of 12, 14 and 16-inch petrol and electric chain saws in the UK including Stihl and Husqvarna.  Kits are also available in the United States and throughout Europe.

Read user testimonials and locate your nearest PowerSharp® stockist at www.powersharp.co.uk

 

 

 

1.5 Million x £125 Buys a lot of Garden Storage Space

October 25th, 2011

KeterThis summer the world’s largest garden storage business is scheduled to clock-up its 1.5 millionth sale in Britain of an iconic resin product. With a typical consumer price of around £125, that’s a lot of money for storing anything from garden furniture and tools to lawnmowers and dustbins.

Keter’s Store It Out has become the quintessential patio storage facility. The company, based in Halesowen in the West Midlands, believes that Britain’s commitment to a greener environment has also played a key part in driving its appeal.

Steve Hazelwood, Keter’s UK managing director, explains: “Most households now have at least two mobile bins for different forms of separated waste. The Store It Out is ideal for sheltering them and their contents from wind, rain and unwanted pests.  It also keeps the bins out of unsightly public view.”

Keter designers have evolved the product from the simple plastic box that was launched in 1996 to today’s model with wood-grained texture and colouring, plus panelled roofing.  New for 2011 is a split-lid version with a roof that flips back to give far easier access to contents, and is also tall enough to store the aforementioned mobile bins.

Take it easy in the garden with Keter

October 25th, 2011

KeterThe Easy Go multipurpose cart from Keter is the modern solution to moving things around the garden with ease.

The lightweight, heavy-duty resin work wagon has a 55 litres or 60kg capacity but weighs just 2.54kg.  It is ideal for transporting compost, grass cuttings, aggregates, logs or even plants effortlessly.  Easy Go can also be used as a mobile water butt, handy for watering plants or even washing the car.

Its two rugged wheels will cope with most terrain and it can also be positioned on the ground so that leaves or debris can be swept directly in.  This innovative product won’t rust, dent, stain or peel.

It is available from Homebase, Argos and other high street outlets priced from around £19.99.

Carbon Gold: GLEE 2011

September 21st, 2011

Carbon GoldCarbon Gold’s objective from this year’s Glee has been to develop nationwide distribution for its biochar based composts and soil conditioner and the end result is that the campaign is well on track.

Operations head Simon Manley said: “We had an extremely good show with many of the major garden centre groups expressing significant interest in our range.  I think this is the result of two years hard work and the fact that we are supporting the market in 2012 with a £0.5 million  promotional package.   Stand visitors have been extremely supportive with firm commitments from several leading groups.  We are on target to achieve full national distribution over the next 12-months.”

Neudorff: GLEE 2011

September 21st, 2011

NeudorffThis was the first ever GLEE for the German company Neudorff who are going to launch a range of 25 environmentally sustainable garden products for the 2012 season to be sold in UK garden centres by Nottingham based Doff Portland.

Neudorff managing director, Hans-Martin Lohmann, felt that Glee “exceeded all of our expectations.”

“We made excellent contact with garden centres and received a very positive feed back about the product range and marketing support we have in place.   It is very clear that our environmentally sustainable message is one that the garden trade, the media and consumers want to listen to.”

Doff Portland: GLEE 2011

September 21st, 2011

Doff Portland

Doff Portland launched a range of new quality and value products targeted at garden centres, and sales & marketing director, Peter Woolley, had received a ‘very positive’ reaction to them from buyers.

“There is little real innovation in the sector and buyers were impressed with our approach both technically and with the marketing stance we are taking.

The current national economic climate plays extremely well to our quality and value positioning. It gives the garden centres a fresh opportunity to appeal to their cash conscious customers.  It has been a very positive Glee.”

WOLF-Garten: GLEE 2011

September 21st, 2011

WOLF-Garten and Wilkinson SwordThe Wilkinson Sword and WOLF-Garten brands both had new product launches and Nick Hills, lawn & garden and tools divisional manager at E P Barrus, was very satisfied with the quantity and quality of sales leads from the show.

Both brands appeal to various sectors of the retail market including the high street, catalogues, online and garden centres.  Although the show seemed quieter than in previous years, we have received some excellent leads, many from potential new customers.    I don’t know if some of them have advanced information about the coming winter, but the level of interest in snow clearing products was significant!

Peatless ‘peat’ – it’s the Holy Grail for gardeners and government

September 17th, 2011

Carbon Gold

The Holy Grail for gardeners and government is to find a viable alternative to peat that offers the horticultural benefits but does not demand the unsustainable harvesting of this precious resource.  Carbon Gold has achieved that goal with its GroChar formulation for All Purpose Compost and Seed Compost.  They are based on peatlesspeat.

Their breakthrough has been to develop a commercially successful method of converting woody biomass into biochar.  The process locks into the biochar the CO2 that would otherwise be released to atmosphere if burns or left to decay.

To learn more visit www.carbongold.com