John Cushnie BBC gardening expert had some surprising, radical and controversial advice to give to the Rotary Club of Comber at their meeting in Balloo House this week.
In a very humorous talk he argued his case so well that the members were inspired to consider that
as they get older they should be thinking of making their garden more easily managed. Doing so will also make it more attractive to any potential purchaser if the time comes to sell the house.
Do you have to use two types of machinery to cut the grass? He asked. A mower and perhaps a strimmer to cut close to vertical objects such as walls and poles. Have you too much grass? Whether you reduce the amount to be cut or eliminate the lawn is a big decision and needs careful thought. A well maintained lawn is undoubtedly an asset but if it requires a lot of time it may eventually fall into decline.
There are lots of small changes which can be made to make life easier. He warned about planting bulbs in the lawn as an unsightly area will be left for weeks after the flowers die down as the green leaves must not be cut too soon.
Don’t plant trees and shrubs which will need pruning, buy low growing shrubs. Don’t leave bare ground to let weeds grow but cover it with horticultural plastic with mulch or pebbles over the plastic.
These were some of the startling pieces of advice which were all in the theme of making gardening more pleasant thus giving more time to enjoy it.
John said “Adam and Eve started off with a fine garden and still managed to make a mess of things so don’t worry if you make mistakes. It could be worse, there could be serpents!”
If you would like to become involved in the activities of Comber Rotary Club you can find out more “About us” by visiting http://www.comberrotary.org/
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Submitted by phillip on Wed, 2008-01-23 19:06.
