Garden trends 2013 and Zen garden

Here is my prediction for the garden trends of 2013, the last couple of years people have been trying to become more self sufficient with the rise in price for fresh produce due to the worlds banks being overzealous with our money causing the global economy to flat line, not helped by useless politicians claiming expenses for everything and cutting funding for everything but their own paychecks.
So back to my hypothesis, I can't see the economy improving in the next year, so the general publics cabbages patches will continue increase in numbers, and why shouldn't it? Growing your own fruit and veg is a great thing to do, it utilizes your outdoor space, its practical, you control what goes into your food, unlike certain supermarkets *cough cough Tesco*
Another trend that has been popular in the past few years is Japanese gardens, where people want to use there garden as a place to unwind and relax amongst maple trees, wind chimes, whites stones and pebbles, etc. I think that this style of garden will fail to increase in popularity this year, but not necessarily be forgotten.
I think the main trend for this year, flower wise, will belong to climbing plants and hanging baskets, or innovative ways to grow and add colour vertically. Unless this is done correctly, I can see a lot of people needing to get roof repairs, as the most popular climber is ivy and unless it is looked after and kept under control, it can cause leak in your ceiling and your wallet/purse.
One type of garden that has always been overlooked, and is a personal favourite of mine, is the Zen garden. It could be one of the most simplistic designs and the easiest to create, all you need to do is take a square of your garden, dig out a shallow base, maybe 1/2-1 inch deep, lay down weed control membrane over the chosen area (double up if you like), build a frame using 2×1 or 3×1 but it depends on the depth so that there is an approx. 1 inch lip to stop sand escaping, treat the wood with creosote or exterior wood paint, screw the ends together to make the square frame, fill the frame with sand, add in a few rocks and you've got your very own small Zen garden to relax by and doodle away in the sand.
If you are a business professional, you could even make a tiny one to keep on your desk at work to help with the day to day stresses of business. Below are a few examples of Zen gardens.

Thank you for your continued support and interest in my blog, please have a look at my website; www.hogservices.moonfruit.com
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Ben

HOG services: The Beginning

Hi, I'm back after a busy couple of weeks of business meetings, marketing and a few jobs. This installment I will explain how I came up the idea of starting my own gardening and handyman business. I have always loved being outdoors since the day before forever, I was always out playing all kinds of sports in my school days and I continue to play American Football for the North East's premier team, Gateshead Senators, who's history spans exactly 2 and a half decades this year.
Anyway, lets get back on topic, I have always enjoyed helping others, which is obvious given my previous jobs, I started my work life delivering living aids for elderly and disabled people throughout the North East for a company called Liveasy, formerly B.C.A. Direct, from that job I moved back to health and fitness and got qualified as a personal trainer and immediately got a position to work in Fitness First Newcastle, but that was short lived due to the cost of paying Fitness First £100 per week just to use there facilities with no guarantee of clients and due to my deteriorating mental health as a result of stress and personal troubles.
Following several months of treatment and counselling I struggled to get back to work, until the opportunity of revamping my friend's grandmother's garden came up, which worked as great therapy and helped me to start and grow my business idea (no pun intended, just a happy accident). The next move was to get my business plan drawn up, once i had done this, I asked at the Jobcentre to be put onto the New Enterprise Allowance scheme, where you work with an agency, in my case Project North East, and they help you build and/or improve your business plan, build you cash flow forecast and survival budget. Once these are finished, you get signed off and become self employed while receiving a small weekly payment to help get you set up for 26 weeks.
I am now 2 weeks into the NEA and have a few jobs which will hopefully help gain more through word of mouth and as the spring hits, I should hit the ground running. A few special thanks have to go to my family, especially my grandad who encouraged me to help out in his shed and allotment as therapy and then since moving into my own place has helped with supplying the materials for boarding out the loft and the walk in wardrobe that I built. So that's how HOG started in a nutshell, you can find one of my adverts in The Foresters' Fund For Children, Friend for Life Handbook, as HOG is an official sponsor, please have a look at their website www.fffc.org.uk to see all the great work they do.
If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
You can email me at; daddydback21@gmail.com
Leave a comment on here or on the website; www.hogservices.moonfruit.com
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Direct message and/or follow us on Twitter; @HOGservices

Thank you for reading once again, please check back soon for new entries.

Ben

Landscape design: different styles

Hi all, glad to see you back again. So landscape design then, where to start, well it can be split into two main types, hardscape and softscape. What's this, you say, well the clue is in the names, hardscape consists of stone, flagstone and rock, while trees, soil, flowerbeds, vegetable gardens, grass and shrubs comprise the softscape.

So lets dive a little deeper into the description of hardscape, it involves lots of different styles ranging from basic stones and pebbles in the borders to full flagstone patterns. Hardscaping is usually employed in the early stages of landscaping, as it will generally set the shape of the area, it is also commonly used to lower the maintenance required, for example not having to cut the grass or weed the flower bed. Hardscaping also protects the soil by curbing the loosening and erosion effects the elements have on it.

Now for a more informative look at softscaping, it is the living animated part of landscaping, which can be experimented with prior to implementing the subtlest of ideas and changes in a landscaping area. Softscaping can utilize evergreen plants, shrubs and trees for a permanent show of colour, you can also go with a temporary look with seasonal plants which lend their vivid colours and character to landscapes, or have the best of both worlds and use both. The main points to consider when using these elements are, planning and arrangement, to achieve an aesthetically pleasing softscape.

The two attached pictures are of landscaping that I have produced for clients.
The first contains hardscaping that integrates a tree stump and a tree into the design with softscaping surrounding the pebbled area and also being incorporated into planters on the hardscape.
The second photo is of a Japanese style garden that consists of softscape contained within the hardscape.

That is all for this entry, thanks for taking the time to read my posts, all your views are greatly appreciated and any feedback is very welcome, I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please like 'HOG services' on Facebook, follow us on twitter @HOGservices and check out the website www.hogservices.moonfruit.com