Soil Types
Winter Flowering Heather
Laying a Patio
3D Garden Design

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Soil Types

  • Sandy
  • Loam
  • Clay

The easiest way to find which structure group your soil is in, is by testing it in an old coffee jar - take the label off as you will need to see through it.

Let's assume that you soil looks the same in all parts of the garden, and seems to be roughly the same sort of texture to the full depth of a garden spade. Take a couple of typical spoonfuls; break it up as much as you can, then fill half the jar. Fill the jar with water to within a cm of the top and give it a really good shake. Keep shaking until all of the soil has 'dissolved' and you just have a murky-looking liquid. Leave the jar somewhere to let the contents settle; this will take a few hours.

After a few hours, you should now have several layers of 'soil' types in your jar. At the bottom will be the stone/sand layer, then a 'silt/clay layer, followed by an organic layer. Right at the top the will be a settling of clay. From largest to smallest, the particles are... stones, sand, silt, clay.

etc etc etc

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Winter Flowering Heathers

  • White
    Erica carnea Springwood White - vigorous and trailing
    Erica carnea White Perfection - Pure white, bright green foliage
    Erica darleyensis White Glow - compact and full of flowers.
    Erica carnea Silberschmelze - Light foliage in spring, deep green and bronze in autumn

  • Pink
    Erica x darleyensis Darleydale - Shell pink - darkening with age.
    Erica carnea December Red - Pink, turning darker with age.
    Erica carnea Eileen Porter - Magenta pink
    Erica carnea Springwood Pink - A good spreader, like it's white cousin.

  • Red
    Erica carnea Vivelli - Bronze foliage with deep magenta flowers.
    Erica x darleyensis Kramers Red (Rote) - Bronze foliage Magenta flowers.

    (There are many deep pinks)

  • Foliage Effect
    Erica carnea Foxhollow - Bronze tipped yellow - turning red tips in winter.
    Erica carnea Altadena - Yellow, tipped pink then bronze.
    Erica carnea Ann Sparkes - Dark gold, bronze tips.
    Erica carnea Golden Starlet - Lime green foliage turns yellow in summer.
    Erica carnea Leslie Sparkes - Pink and gold tips in spring.
    Erica x darleyensis Ghost Hills - Light green, tipped cream in spring

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Laying a Patio

The two most common construction faults which spoil patios are:

  • uneven surfaces
  • poor foundation preparation

FOUNDATIONS
If the area where the patio is to go has a hard well-compacted soil base, then huge quantities of hardcore are not necessary. This type of compacted soil base is found in areas that have been well walked upon over years, or have been subject to several passes by heavy machinery. If you can dig your heel into the surface, then it will need bolstering up with a layer of MOT type 1 sub-base, compacted into the surface with a hired plate compactor.

Where the area has been used as a flower bed, or otherwise cultivated during the last few years, then it will certainly need to be prepared. A compacted base of hardcore rubble, followed by a blinding of gravel or MOT type 1 sub-base material is then laid and compacted. This can be as little as 50mm deep.

etc etc etc

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3D Garden Design

At Bloomers, we can design your garden from the comfort of your living room, using the very latest in 3D garden design software. Our experts will take accurate dimensions of your garden and will help you design your garden piece by piece, resulting in your very own virtual haven.
This versatile technology gives you an insight into what your garden would look like before a spade had been picked up. This no obligation facility is free of charge leaving you with the piece of mind that you will not be pressuried into signing a contract. Most of our customers enjoy using this facility as they feel they have a real part to play in an expert design. To give you an idea of how a garden is displayed, click on the image

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