APRIL SHOWERS

April may have had its fair share of inevitable showers, but we were lucky enough to have sunny spells and over the bank holiday weekend and got a real sense of that ‘summer feeling’. In true British style during the first hint of warm weather we witnessed picnics in the park, the smell of BBQs, the sound of grass being cut and I’m sure we all know someone who got...

April may have had its fair share of inevitable showers, but we were lucky enough to have sunny spells and over the bank holiday weekend and got a real sense of that ‘summer feeling’. In true British style during the first hint of warm weather we witnessed picnics in the park, the smell of BBQs, the sound of grass being cut and I’m sure we all know someone who got that little bit too sunburnt and ended up a scorching shade of red!

However, you prepare for summer, whether by stock piling sunscreen or getting your summer clothes out be sure to pay attention to the garden. After all its where most people will want to spend their free time once the warm weather returns.

April is a busy month for Elmtree, with our Grounds Maintenance team working hard now that the grass is growing quicker but if you are maintaining your own gardens then here are some quick tips that we also shared on Facebook to keep your grass looking great!

1) Start your lawn mowing with a high cut preferably on dry grass if possible.

2) Mow frequently

3) Never remove more than one third of the grass length on any one occasion

4) Each run up the lawn with the lawn mower should slightly overlap the previous one; put a mark on each side of the mower as your ‘overlap marker’

5) If you want ‘straight stripes’ on a large lawn or a lawn without a straight edge begin by mowing a straight line down the middle of the lawn. Now mow on either side of it

6) Don’t worry about cutting ALL the grass at the edges of the lawn; if you do a final cut all around the perimeter of the lawn once or twice you’ll get all the end bits and add a ‘professional’ frame to your lawn mowing

7) If the grass is damp or long slow down your speed (not the blade speed!!!)

8) Mow slopes and shady areas one setting higher than the rest of the lawn

9) If your grass is still looking a bit tired from winter then it can benefit from a granular or liquid Spring feed. This will have a high nitrogen content that will green your lawn up.

Over the next few weeks you will want to ensure you get the most out of your garden, so as May arrives play close attention to the lawn mowing regime as well as concentrating on planting summer bedding plants and pots. Despite the weather getting warmer watch out for late frosts by protecting tender plants.

Now is a great time to mulch beds and borders in order to supress weeds and of course keep up with watering of thirsty vegetables and plants. Remember to try and recycle water where possible. It is also the time to earth up potatoes and plant any still remaining.

Don’t forget to check plant leaves for pests too and treat if needed and insure you check for nesting birds before clipping any hedges.

With these tips you will be sure to be on track with gardening duties in order to see the best results in later months.

As for what’s been going on for Elmtree here is a quick recap of what we have been up to during April.

At the beginning of the month we had a fantastic night celebrating the Bristol Young Hero Awards and seeing the amazing achievements of all nominees. A huge congratulations to Catherine Rowe @infoYouthmoves who won The Environmental Hero Award that we sponsored.

We also extend our thanks to the Wild Place Project for a memorable preview of the sculpture trail. We had a great time discovering the individually designed bears and seeing our sponsored bear ‘Woody’ in his new home! All 20 bears are now positioned throughout the Wild Place Project as part of the new Bear Wood Bear Trail opening this Spring. To find out more about the bear trail at Wild Place Project visit www.wildplace.org.uk/bearwood

You may remember the competition for local school children to win passes for the Wild Place Project than we ran in conjunction with St Peters Primary school in Pilning last month. We were excited to be invited along to help judge the competition and attend the end of week assembly to hand out the prizes. Elmtree are keen to help get local children interested in wildlife and conservation and thought that donating family passes was the perfect way to help raise awareness and bring excitement about the bears that are coming to the Wild Place Project this year.

We were also pleased to be sponsoring Thornbury Town’s final home game of the season. Getting involved in the community around us is so important and it’s a real privilege.

Lastly for this month’s round up, our team have now completed the sales and marketing projects at two sites. Blackberry Hill for our client Galliford Try, marketed as Linden Homes and also at the latest development to be built by Kier Living as part of the Hengrove Park, Bristol regeneration scheme. ‘Urban Quarter’ which will provide 261 homes in the area.

All in all, a great month. We are very much looking forward to seeing what May ‘may’ bring!!!