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A lovely customer testimonial that I wanted to share with you all on my Blog Page.  I have been working with Mrs Freedman for over 5 years and in that time I have worked with her to transform her garden into her vision of how it should look - perfect  all year round. 

Thank you from us to Mrs Freedman for her lovely words below.

John

I have been using Grass Roots Garden Services for a good 5 years and have been extremely satisfied with them.  John Pugh, the owner is very reliable and will go the extra mile - he even has had to take me to A&E one day when I fell and was pouring blood from my eyebrow!

My garden is a long thin one and he has made the different parts so interesting - the patio has a pergola with honey suckle and a vine on it as well as pots, then a little lower he has made a pond and herbaceous border and at the bottom I have my own little "orchard" with apple and pear trees as well as a variety of shrubs.  He keeps the place looking good and I feel so glad that I no longer have to do the hard work, just enjoy it - I know my knees certainly do!!

I would have no hesitation in recommending John to anyone, and as a bonus he will do some decorating too! 

Preparation for the new year

Now that Spring is upon us and the rain is beginning to fade its time to pop out and have a look at your garden .

March is the time for bulbs -  look everywhere in Swansea and Daffodils and Crocus are popping their heads up from the soil.

Sometimes a garden overwintered can look tired, we have gardens all around the Swansea locality which now need attention after the very wet Winter.

Having a trustworthy professional gardener to look at your grounds is certainly the right decision to make .

My horticultural qualifications ensure that I can clearly identify a variety of plants from ground cover plants  to evergreen shrubs.  

My job is to keep your garden looking its best - and having been in business in the sector for over 14 years you can be sure I know what I am talking about. 

So have a look out that window and view your garden -  make a work list and give us a call!

I am happy work with you on your check list and will make your requirements our top priority. 

We can accommodate you on a weekly,  fortnightly or even a monthly visits.   We tend to all gardens from the smallest town garden through to large grounds.  

When you book us for regular work you have our commitment for the whole year - from early Spring through to Winter leaf collection. 

Just let us know what you need and we can be there for you.

So   - call us now - you won't be disappointed.

Mole services Swansea

We have all seen these wee beasties on the telly ...wow do they look huge on your flat screen television - but in fact they are tiny creatures, yes they look cute but unfortunately they cause a great deal of damage to grounds and lawns. Moles are highly territorial and generally live alone in an extensive tunnel system which can cover an area of up to 4 acres. The problem with a mole infestation is they burrow through the soil and create mole hills and tunnels. Mole hills are created as the animals extend and repair their tunnels, which act as traps to catch their main prey, earthworms. One mole can produce a considerable number of hills, particularly where food is in short supply. The problem with these mole hills is what is in the soil - including stones and cross contamination etc. Mole runs may disturb roots of plants and adversely affect plant growth - killing plants as they go. Mole hills can create a lot of damage to your ride on or pedestrian mower - not something that anyone wants to happen!

OK - in an ideal world they should be left alone - and indeed a percentage of time if there is an area where the moles will not be an issue and the damage can be tolerated, then I tend to leave them be.

However, unfortunately the customer doesn't want damage to their expensive machines and to be honest the mole damage is not a very pretty sight on lawns . Where control measures can be justified, there are two methods of removing the moles - trapping and gassing.

Traps are deemed to be most effective to catch the moles - patience and determination are key here. Traps are spring operated - there are two main types - scissor or pincer and the half barrel trap.

Tablets can also be used - these are placed into the mole run and the tablets chemical reaction then creates toxic gas that spreads in the mole run. The tablets can be a little difficult to manage and can have a low percentage success rate due to a number of influencing environmental factors.

So if you need a Lantra trained mole catcher give Grass Roots a call

Autumn is nearly here!

Time to put on the mud boots and get stuck into some good autumn tidying, making sure gardens are well and truly prepared for the autumn months

As the cool nights start to draw in, more and more dew can be found each morning and this has a tendency to cause rotting on plants.  If you’ve still got Dahlias on show as part of your front garden design make sure you deadhead them regular to prevent rot from spreading to new blooms. 

Now is the time to make cuttings from evergreen plants.  Taller plants such as Asters that flower into autumn will need stakes to help them stand up against the weight of all the autumn rain.

Look after your lawn!

Autumn moisture and the heat from the earth makes this the ideal time to sow lawns.  Rake some weed free top soil across any bare patches in your grass and sow with new lawn seed.

Summer Bedding

Summer bedding plants will flower from around May/June time all the way through until September.  Some varieties like Begonias and Osteopurmums - can carry on flowering right up until the first frosts.  Although some bedding plants can flower again the following year, they look their best in the first year and should be replaced the following season.

Begonias, Dahlias and Lobelia are the easiest summer bedding plants to look after.  If you're a little more hands-on and don't mind dead-heading, Petunias are quite easy too.  

When the weather gets very warm, you may need to water bedding plants up to twice a day.  First thing in the morning or early evening are the best times to water - you don't want your plants to be wet in the bright sunshine as this will damage flowers and foliage.  Geraniums and Begonias need less water, so are a better choice for time-conscious gardeners.

What A Year ! 

Well looking out the window you know that Summer is truly over  - and wasn't it  terrific .

It was a pleasure basking in the sun these summer months, it made a lovely change to wearing water proofs in June and July as I have been the past couple of years.

Well from the  beginning of the year through to September,  Grass Roots has had a fantastic year, many new customers have joined us, our existing customers have continue to support us - and and our commercial contracts have been renewed.

Autumn of Your Years 

We all think we are ageless and indestructible and can carry on doing things even when we have been told we shouldn't.  Sometimes it  comes to a point where a little help is needed.  We want to relax and enjoy our free time - not spend it working hard.

You remember the times your garden was immaculate and the grass was lush and green and the borders were weed free.  

Have those jobs you love to do gotten on top of you?  You might need a little help to keep your garden looking its best.

Well Grass Roots can help you out.

Why us you ask ? 

Well we are a garden maintenance business that was established in 2000 - we have full insurance and are trained to a recognized horticultural standard.   Don't want trades men trampling over your prized perennials -  well this is what one customer said about us

 " I was wary of hiring a gardener, afraid I'd get someone who wouldn't know their hardy geraniums from their creeping buttercups, or, even worse, a blunderer who'd trample my prize plants into the mud. So I kept putting it off, trying to do everything myself, making myself more ill, and feeling guilty and sad about all the stuff that needed doing. In the end I decided to see if the gardeners guild could point me towards anyone in the local area, and that is how I found Grass Roots Swansea"

We arrange a time that is convenient for you and we always ring to follow up appointments, and rain or shine (hopefully shine! ) we are there for you . 

We carry out maintenance visits when we are needed - we cater for every size garden, we can visit every week,  every fortnight or even on a monthly basis.

As well as garden maintenance  - we also are  trained City and Guilds painter and decorator - we paint fences and sheds - nothing fazes us at all ! 

So why don't you give us a call  - we would be happy to come around and give you a free quote.

Stardate 1999 - warp factor set for 14 Years Sulu !

Stardate 1999 - mission??

Stardate 1999 - mission?? - a fourteen year mission to travel around the area fighting weeds, mowing grass, and completing quality hedge work for our customers gardens. Key Destination - Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot.

Warp factor nine Spock - Here we go.

1999 - That was that year and I finally decided to trade in my lovely bright red Sporty Vauxhall Astra for a white (not so cool) Vauxhall Combo van which had a leaking fiberglass roof and a rusty petrol tank. Oh those were the days!! It was built like the old classic Starship Enterprise - it hit light speeds on the Pontardawe bypass, had lights flashing all over the place, rattled and shook like a very drunk Borg Cube and battled large Klingon type enemies on the motorway (oh OK then - just other white van drivers) My universal translator (advertising) was on the good ole Yellow Pages. The expert Tribbles at Yellow Pages decided to place my very first Ad as stating I was an expert in laying patios - this had at least 15 customers calling a day - with me having to explain this was an error (in print for 12 whole months) and that I did not lay stone paths, patios or drives! ...oh well kept me busy with phone calls at least - my phone bill was another matter though.......

Anyway - so where did I boldly go you may ask? Well 14 years has been a quite an experience - some great times - some times like I have fallen into a Worm Hole - (I canne take not more rain Captain!!). We have worked with some excellent tradesmen and have had some fantastic customers, some of which are still clients after all this time - so we must be doing something right. Come rain or shine we are there to look after your gardens. We have gained NVQs and trained with Lantra - We have boldly gone where no gardeners have gone before - we have explored strange new gardens - and found new life forms - oh all right the just - frogs and Japanese Knotweed!

So here's to fighting back Ferengi and Shapeshiftters (as well as the weeds, lawns and hedges) - we are still going strong . So here to the next fourteen years - MAKE IT SO NUMBER ONE!