I think I might have cursed us...

There's me saying what a month November was and WHAM - the weather has gone mental!

It's about the one thing we can do nothing about. This week has been a disaster.

Normally we work through rain showers and the like - it really is not much fun but all our gear is designed to work in all weathers and we just get togged up in the waterproofs and get on with it.

This week has been a bit different - cold strong winds blowing in freezing rain - it makes hedge cutting to dangerous and even things like weeding is impossible as the ground is water logged. I had even planned for a vine removal from a house - not on your Nelly in this wind.

The boys are really fed up as Christmas is only a few weeks away and we are not working, therefore not earning....so we have managed a few jobs - a bit of hedge cutting, a small garden clearance, a few maintenance contracts and yes I even final cut some grass today (when will it end!)

One good thing about having time in the office is that my paperwork is right up to date, I have carted off a few broken and in need of repair bit of equipment off to Kalehurst Garden Machines and of course this week spent some quality time with the puppy.

Our house used to be calm and the dogs no trouble - now this puppy, which I am sure has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), seems to be everywhere at the same time!

I bought her a toy pheasant from the pet shop and it seems to stop her chewing up everything else in the house (she ate a load of quotes I had prepared yesterday!) but now constantly wants to give it to me - its wet and smelly and I don't really want it Jazz!

Picture: A moment of peace - No I didn't shoot her (yet!)

PS we had to change her name too as she didn't take any notice of Casey - its now Jasmine, or Jazz or Jazzie for short - she is already responding to it - probably because I say it more than anything else at the moment - usually followed by NO!

This has GOT to be the final cut....

I can't believe we are still doing final cuts on grass in December!

I have been telling customers that this will be the last mowing visit for about a month now - but still it keeps growing!

I was hoping to service and moth-ball the mowing equipment back in November but we are still cutting. The poor machines have had a really tough season and luckily have lasted the course without any real problems, just a few wear and tear stuff like strimmer handles getting broken off and drive belts getting shredded etc but no large mechanical failures.

On the other hand, we did have an unusual one a few weeks ago with the hedge cutter. We were doing "the Hedge from Hell" for one of our letting agent customers in Kintbury which had not been properly cut back for quite a few years. The Council was starting to complain as the hedge had gone 18" over he pavement, making it a bit of an issue.

Basically, we were commissioned to reduce the size by at least 18" on the face as well as about 18" on the top. Instead of a nice hedge, this was a pyrocanthus, a very hard wood bush with nasty thorns which make you go septic if you get impaled. We decided that chipping the waste would be the best course of action to remove the huge quantities created.

As we started, I could see this job going a bit pair shaped as the shear toughness of the stems was proving quite and challenge even for our mega Stihl 30" heavy duty cutter, let alone our Husky commercial one. Chipping was also proving to be a challenge as the branches were so tangled together it was impossible to get them in the chipper without chainsawing them into chunks!

I sent one of the guys to trim the top of one of the hedges with the Husky, when after a few minutes he came back looking very sheepish. I asked him what the problem was and he said I should come and see....well I don't know what had happened but instead of a flat 24" blade, he had managed to bend it like a banana. Somehow, the teeth had got caught under each other and bent the bar! I took it to Kalehurst Garden Machinery and they had never seen the like of it!

Eventually we got the hedge finished and the customer was delighted - even though it cost me dearly in repairs!

Commercial Clearance

As many of you know, we also get involved in lots of commercial work as well as normal domestic and home gardens.

We got a call a few weeks ago to come and price a job in Newbury - basically it consisted of 3 phases:

1. Cut hedges and clear access to a public footpath
2. Clear the garden area at the rear of the property
3. Provide ongoing garden and grounds maintenance

No job is guaranteed, but this one was right up our alley - it really is perfect for us and we love em. We are also highly competitive and at the end of the day the customer will not only go with the right outfit, the prices must be right too.

One of the other factors was that we do go the extra mile - I suggested the main hedge job was done over a weekend to minimise disruption in the car park and also reduce the noise of the chipper etc which was required for some of the larger branches.

As you can see from the picture, it really needed it. Also, working on Saturday brought us a very curious audience - we even had the chap who planted the trees and hedges 20 years ago stop and say hello!

The next phase was the rear garden. At some point in time somebody had cut the grass - I think it was Fred Flintstone by the look of the old machine!

It really was a bit of an exploratory venture into the bushes as they were so overgrown you could not actually see if it was a hedge or shrubs. It was basically hold your breath, get the hedge cutter going and jump in! We did discover some really nice shrubs which obviously need some pruning etc. The pictures show the before and after - there was also a set of steps leading from the Board Room window which could not be used - well now you can!


Some of the staff had never been to the back of the garden and they were really surprised once we had finished - we had some great comments.

The Maintenance Contract is about to start and we look forward to keeping this all up together.


Enjoy the pictures!


Rear Garden - Before and After

Steps from the Board Room

Mega House Clearance!

I had a call from one of our commercial customers which went along the lines of:

"We have 3 cottages we need you to take a look at - I think they might be a bit overgrown, but I am sure you can sort them for us".

So I popped over to take a look.......Well I have a Landrover and I struggled to get into the gate way as the grass was so tall!

Normally, this would be a case of just getting a tractor and paddock swipe and off we go, however access was a total problem as the 3 cottages all had small access and low trees etc making this a real problem.

After walking around the site - hoping not to be captured by some tribe that might be lurking - I came up with a solution to this problem - our awesome Etesia Mower with the windrow attachment and our trusty strimmers!

I was advised that the Etesia would not cope with grass so long, however with limited options we just got on with it. Luckily we had a good break in the weather and so the sun had dried out the grass otherwise I would have thought twice. So Ric D was set off on the Etesia, Pete was dispatched to the hedges (again so overgrown you cant believe it) and I set off with the strimmer to uncover paths and cut the roadside banks and boundaries.

After 5 days, we did manage to get this job completed - and the transformation is simply amazing - the pictures, whilst good, do not show the real difference but they will give you some idea.

We have just gone back and undertaken the first maintenance visit and I have to say that it is really looking great with the new green grass growth coming through - now we will be on a fortnightly visit to maintain the hard work.

Picture 1 - The Orchard - What no trees!




Picture 2 - Spot the Patio (and Path)!!




Picture 3 - An English Country Garden - well it is now!



The only casualty was a damaged drive belt on the Etesia which under the circumstances was pretty much expected - a truly great machine all round.

Grass & Hedge Cutting in full swing

As well as loads of grass cutting being tackled, we are also flat out on hedges too.

You know when your grass is long when you have to hire a tractor and a paddock swipe to get in the gate! We did two jobs last week where we were confronted with jungles - one was Yogi's owners who needed the front paddock cutting down to size as well as strimming off Yogi's run - the other was a new customer who wanted a first cut.

We hired a tractor and swipe from A4 Hire in Hungerford as Paul and his team are very helpful and priced right and set off to do the jobs. Yogi's house was pretty easy really, but then the other one made up for it. When a 40hp tractor in low range first gear still can't get through the grass you know you are in trouble.

We did manage to finish it and then cleared 2 huge trailer loads of hay off the garden.

As for hedges, one of the best tools I have bought has been the chipper. I devastates all manner of vegetation and reduces the mass to a more manageable level as well as making clearing up much quicker - also it produces really good compost material or wood chips for the garden.

My chipper is a Jobeau, acquired from Neil and Kalehurst Garden Machines in Hermatige (see picture). This machine caters for the mid range chipper market and really does a brilliant job - maximum capacity is about 4" of Leylandii or Willow but in bang for buck terms, really kicks arse against the more costly chippers out in the market.

We have put most stuff through it and I have had no problems to speak of - the blades are a little difficult to change but this only needs to be done about every 30 - 40 hours of use - unless the guys put stones in it!

Before we bought it, Neil said "Bring in a few branches etc and we will show you it working". Rather foolish thing to say when you are half way through a tree clearance job - so we turned up at the shop with trailer loaded up to the brim.

After the shock, Neil wheeled out the chipper and we all set to work chipping the trailer load. I was impressed to say the least and ordered one the next day (Neil said I would!). Since then, its been pretty much in constant use - a good investment.

Gardens have gone mental

Picture: Small hedge planted at a nursery school in Reading to add colour and clean up a mud patch

With the brilliant weather over the last 6 weeks, it is inevitable that the rain must come - and didn't it!

In the winter, we expect bad weather and plan jobs where it doesn't matter if it rains, you just get on with it - but in the summer it's a nightmare. You cannot cut grass in heavy rain. You cannot re-point patios or treat decking.

I have had more rain - offs this last week than all over the winter. We have part finished jobs waiting for sunshine and grass is growing like wild fire - as I look out of my window, my grass will take the best part of the morning to sort.

Anyway, we have been very busy - we have actually been planting hedges and fencing as well as the normal grass cutting etc. Hedges also have gone a bit mental and we have done a few trims too - one particularly bad one over at Peasemore which was just a jungle - now tamed of course.

As to other jobs coming up, we are flat out on turfing and this rain has been good for that so I cant really complain - but I so hate wearing waterproofs when its so humid - its like having your own personal sauna all day.

Bit short on pictures as I keep forgetting to take the camera - note to self - put camera in the car!

Interestingly, at the job pictured above, we found a whole colony of Stag Beetles in a rotten tree trunk - I have not seen one since I was a kid - we left them well alone as it was a pleasure to see them. Funnily, my helper ran a mile as he thought things like that were in horror movies only!