The Louth Cottage Gardener

14/06/2026

Infinitely quicker than a brush for feather edge fences.

This is a cheap Wagner plug in sprayer.

Depending on the fence/wood treatment you may need to water it down a bit (or get sprayable treatment). But this was 2 and a half fence panels done in less than 15 mins…

13/06/2026

Busy time of year.

You know No Mow May?

I think for this garden it had been No Mow 2026… 😉

I think I essentially have a hay bale in the back of the van…

Anyway, this property is up for sale with viewings today and the owner suddenly realised this last week that the grass might be a little long…. 😬

À smidge…. 😉

06/06/2026

The The Garden Shop at KRN is here.

The glasshouses on the A16 between fotherby and Utterby.

They also do deals for gardeners and businesses buying larger amounts.

06/06/2026

We need the rain 😬.

And it gave me an opportunity to finally have a look round The Garden Shop at KRN this week.

I worked at KRN a couple of seasons whilst a student….20 odd years ago… 😬🤯

I’m just really pleased there is another proper PLANTS NURSERY locally…as opposed to a modern ‘garden centre’ brimming with tatt with the plants in the back corner… 😉

A variety of nice plants. Some good offers on good quality bedding plants (pack bedding is cheaper still) and I’m trying the compost, which KRN can recommend because they use it. I’ll be back 😊

03/06/2026

Facebook throwing this up as a memory.

June 3 2021 Magnus Moorhouse here laying reclaimed bricks, for Clive Rhodes on Eve Street in Louth. We've done all sorts of jobs in Clive's garden, from paving to trellis work and pergolas...to this.

Where has that 5 years gone?

I remember there was a wild honeybee colony on the Wall in front of Magnus and the bees were fighting on the floor as we worked... I would guess another colony nearby trying to rob them...

30/05/2026

This time of year lots of cutting back, grass cutting, strimming and hedges are in full flow…

If we could find a constructive use for sticky weed/cleavers we’d have cracked it… 😉

Some customers have subtle ways of incentivising faster strimming… 🥤 😉

09/05/2026

08/05/2026

Problems with hedges.

Two hedges here, both established as bare roots.

I think a classic example of keeping the base of plants clear from grass…aside from it looking neater it’s easier to maintain and (similarly to fruit trees) the grass competes for water and nutrients.

Note the yew hedge is browning, it needs water…the beech hedge has just been overwhelmed with few plants getting established…

You can use a mulch to suppress weeds and maintain moisture. I’m really wanting to try using a mulch mat…but customers tend to view it as an ‘extra cost’ never mind it makes maintenance quicker and easier and the hedge will grow better…

The idea of the mat is you roll it out, plant the hedge through it and mulch on top…

It lets moisture through but suppresses weeds.

Habitat Aid have them here with some description https://www.habitataid.co.uk/products/weed-suppression-wool?srsltid=AfmBOorg_8VZ1oevOi9fh54Fp3IU8Q8uKOJD234KBa-wTs4kg-_r2qHK.

28/04/2026

Tree stumps.

You can dig them out, or lever them out. I really rate this post hole digger from Screwfix, it’s heavy, but it has a bladed head (for chopping roots) and as a cast steel bar it is good as a lever. And it is good for its original purpose for digging post holes.

Other option is a stump grinder which is rentable from Foxhall tool hire in Louth.

In my experience, if you can dig it out it’s better.

16/04/2026

Wild Garlic Pesto

There’s no shortage of Wild Garlic out at the moment. It’s a pain to dig up…try eating it 😉

Wouldn’t it be great if all ‘weeds’ were edible? 😉

Dandelions are great on salads…

Wild garlic is very aromatic, a milder flavour, but very nice here mixed in to pasta.