Garden & Landscaping
472 sources in the library on garden & landscaping, 40 on this page cited in a published note. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 4 of 12.
- fair RN-A32CVZ cited
Association of Fencing Industries
The home page of the UK fencing trade association, which represents fencing manufacturers, suppliers and contractors and offers a find-a-member search for local contractors.
- fair RN-HNBY4G cited
British Blind and Shutter Association
The home page of the British Blind and Shutter Association, the UK trade association for blinds, awnings and shutters, with a finder for accredited awning specialists. It confirms the BBSA is the relevant trade body.
- fair RN-6FHL77 cited
Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation
A national highway agency's explainer on noise barriers: typical reductions of 5 to 10 dB, why height and length matter, and how gaps reduce performance.
- fair RN-YJANFE cited
NAPIT, published in Professional Electrician
Technical article by NAPIT, a government-authorised electrical competent person scheme, giving the rule of thumb that marker tape sits about 150 mm below finished ground level over buried SWA.
Cited in How to Run Armoured Cable Shed.
- fair RN-W1O4ON cited
NAPIT, published in Professional Electrician
NAPIT technical article summarising BS 7671 Appendix 4: for a DNO supply, voltage drop is limited to 3% (6.9 V) on lighting circuits and 5% (11.5 V) on other circuits, using the Appendix 4 mV/A/m tables.
Cited in How to Run Armoured Cable Shed.
- fair RN-BF36MR cited
Royal Horticultural Society
The RHS guide to controlling bamboo in gardens. It explains that running bamboos spread by rhizomes into neighbouring properties and can, in extreme cases, damage hard surfaces and buildings.
Cited in Trellis, Screening & Garden Privacy.
- fair RN-AM1NEZ cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice on box tree caterpillar, recommending a different hedge plant where control is impractical and noting no substitute matches box entirely.
Cited in Planting Borders & Hedging.
- fair RN-Q0YQF0 cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice page on choosing pond plants; its section on submerged plants (oxygenators) says they produce oxygen and provide cover, and lists hornwort and water milfoils among widely available choices.
Cited in Garden Water Features & Ponds.
- fair RN-MCE0UL cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice comparing watering methods: drip lines deliver water slowly to the root zone and are water efficient, while sprinklers use a lot of water and lose much of it to evaporation and runoff.
Cited in Garden Irrigation Systems.
- fair RN-GD093W cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice on heating and insulating greenhouses. It recommends bubblewrap insulation and says the extra plastic layer cuts about ten percent of the light, usually a worthwhile trade-off.
Cited in Greenhouses: Types, Glazing & Cost.
- fair RN-0CYRBM cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice on hardening off tender plants. It says hardening off takes two to three weeks and that the last frost is usually late spring in southern England, later in the north and Scotland.
Cited in How to Get Your Garden Ready For Spring.
- fair RN-JEHZQJ cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice on renovating overgrown hedges; it names beech, box, hawthorn, holly, hornbeam, Lonicera nitida and yew as taking a cut of up to 50% in one go, and says most conifers other than yew do not re-shoot from old wood.
Cited in Hedge Trimming Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- fair RN-BELY0G cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice page on creating a lawn edge; its equipment list gives a garden hose, rope or string for marking out curved edges.
Cited in How to Edge Lawn.
- fair RN-QT0V7Z cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS method and timings for a turf lawn. Turf is best laid in mid-autumn and can go down any time from mid-autumn to early spring when the soil is neither waterlogged nor frozen; mid-spring to early autumn should be avoided because the turf struggles to root in heat and needs constant watering. Preparation is the whole job: dig or rotovate to 20 to 25cm depth, work in well-rotted organic matter, fork out perennial weed roots such as couch grass and bindweed, level, and let the ground settle for several weeks before laying. Turf should be laid within 24 hours of delivery; if laying is delayed more than a couple of days, unroll it flat so the grass gets light and water it if dry, or it will yellow and die. Lay with joints staggered like brickwork, butted tight with no gaps, working from boards so the new turf is not trodden. Brush a lawn dressing into the joints. In dry weather water every 5 to 10 days in mid to late summer and about every fortnight at other times, wetting right through the turf so roots grow down. First mow about three weeks after laying, blades set high, once a tug on the grass shows it has rooted; keep off it until then.
Cited in Artificial Grass vs Turf: Cost & Pros/Cons, Lawn Care & Maintenance, Laying a New Lawn: Turf vs Seed.
- fair RN-A2XY9G cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice page on maintaining lawn edges; it recommends redefining edges with a half-moon tool about once a year, with winter a suitable time if the soil is not wet.
Cited in How to Edge Lawn.
- fair RN-7CJAW0 cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice on siting and building a new pond; it gives the minimum surface area for keeping fish.
Cited in How to Build Pond.
- fair RN-O7WJG0 cited
Royal Horticultural Society
The RHS guide to building raised beds. It says creosote-impregnated railway sleepers may no longer be used in the garden because of the risk from frequent skin contact.
Cited in How To Maximise Small Garden Space.
- fair RN-FI85SF cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice page on mowing lawns; it gives the UK mowing season as March to October, which replaces the note's unsourced April to October growing season.
Cited in How to Edge Lawn.
- fair RN-R5XQNO cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice on planting hedges, confirming bare-root plants are cheaper than container plants and sold only while dormant in winter and early spring.
Cited in Planting Borders & Hedging.
- fair RN-H8DR72 cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS guide to trimming garden hedges; it gives the UK main nesting season as early March to early August, which is why late winter and autumn are the safe windows.
Cited in Hedge Trimming Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- fair RN-161G9R cited
Royal Horticultural Society
The RHS monthly pond jobs for October. It recommends netting ponds to stop autumn leaves falling in and removing dying foliage from pond plants.
Cited in How to Maintain Pond.
- fair RN-BF38VA cited
Royal Horticultural Society
The authority for the autumn lawn renovation sequence and the quantities a scarification note needs. September and October are the window for scarifying, aerating, top dressing and feeding. Scarify with a spring-tined rake worked vigorously in two directions to lift thatch, or hire powered equipment for larger areas. Aerate by spiking with a garden fork as deep as possible, ideally the full depth of the tines, spacing each set of holes 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) apart, and repeat every two to three years for a standard lawn; use hollow tines on clay or waterlogged soil every three to four years. Apply top dressing at 2 to 3kg per square metre (4 to 7lb per 10 square feet), mixed as 3 parts sandy loam, 6 parts sharp sand and 1 part well-rotted compost or soil improver. Use a fertiliser formulated for autumn to encourage root development, usually about a handful per square metre, applied before rainfall. Biological control of leatherjackets goes on in early autumn.
Cited in How to Scarify Lawn, Lawn Care & Maintenance.
- fair RN-U8E387 cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice guide on spring and summer lawn care. It sets a high-nitrogen feed in mid-spring, usually late March to April, with a second application only if the lawn still looks poor and not beyond August.
Cited in Lawn Care & Maintenance.
- fair RN-4RCKRZ cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS pruning guide for Leyland cypress hedges; it says an established leylandii hedge needs trimming up to three times in the growing season.
Cited in Hedge Trimming Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- fair RN-3IGS1I cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice on moss in lawns; it says iron sulphate should not be used to control moss unless it is in an HSE-approved mosskiller, and that dead moss turns black and must be raked out.
Cited in How to Scarify Lawn.
- fair RN-1CB0FI cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS guide to moss in lawns; it lists acidic soil among the common causes of excess moss.
Cited in How to Scarify Lawn.
- fair RN-DLC5SV cited
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society on mowing. It settles the mistake this sentence warns about: cutting too low scalps the lawn and leaves bare patches, which happens most easily on soft ground, on fast turns, and where the surface is uneven. It also says the cutting height should be changed through the year rather than left alone. The page does not give a height in millimetres, so the 25 to 40 mm range here is ordinary summer practice rather than an RHS figure.
Cited in Artificial Grass vs Turf: Cost & Pros/Cons, How to Get Your Garden Ready For Spring, How to Scarify Lawn, Lawn Care & Maintenance.
- fair RN-HFR7AT cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS guidance on mulching, the cheapest single intervention in a planted garden and the one most often done at the wrong depth. Apply a minimum of 5cm (2in) and ideally 7.5cm (3in): thinner and weeds come through, thicker over a wet soil and it can starve roots of air. Best timing is mid to late spring and autumn, when the soil is moist and warm, and at any time for new plantings. Keep the material off the stems: mulch in direct contact with the stems of trees or specimen shrubs can soften the stem and leave it vulnerable to disease, which is the failure behind the common 'mulch volcano' around a new tree. Biodegradable options that also feed the soil include garden compost, wood chippings, processed conifer bark, leaf mould, well-rotted manure, straw (traditionally for strawberries) and seaweed. Non-biodegradable options, used for surface and weed suppression rather than fertility, include slate, shingle, pebbles, gravel, stone chippings and decorative aggregates. Read with the RHS soil types page and BS 3882 where topsoil is being imported.
Cited in How to Get Your Garden Ready For Spring, How To Maximise Small Garden Space.
- fair RN-USGVS6 cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice page listing types of organic matter; it describes mushroom compost as inexpensive but possibly alkaline, best for acid soils and vegetable crops.
Cited in Raised Beds & Planters: Build & Cost.
- fair RN-J8F6QT cited
Royal Horticultural Society
The RHS advice guide to pond maintenance. It recommends cutting back vigorous plant growth so that about half the pond surface stays clear, which implies roughly half covered.
Cited in How to Maintain Pond.
- fair RN-YDWVU9 cited
Royal Horticultural Society
The source for the grass seed rate a turf versus seed note should quote. Spring and autumn are the ideal times to repair a lawn, when the weather is damp and cool. Grass seed is scattered at the rate advised on the packet, usually about 15 to 25g per square metre (half to three quarters of an ounce per square yard). When lifting damaged turf, slice underneath it to a depth of about 5cm (2in). Water gently with a watering can fitted with a fine rose so the seed is not dislodged, and keep newly sown grass and newly laid turf watered regularly until well rooted, because both are vulnerable to drying out.
Cited in How to Scarify Lawn.
- fair RN-KEW155 cited
Royal Horticultural Society
The RHS general guide to pruning roses. It gives late winter, February or March, as the usual pruning time and the rule of cutting to an outward-facing bud.
Cited in How to Get Your Garden Ready For Spring.
- fair RN-MS68WP cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS method for a seeded lawn, the cheaper alternative to turf. Best sowing windows are early autumn and mid-spring; germination follows in seven to ten days. The sowing rate is on the packet and varies with the mixture, so it should be weighed out per square metre rather than scattered by eye. Three mixture types: general-purpose, a hard-wearing blend for heavy foot traffic; luxury or fine, dense and soft but slower growing and less tolerant of wear; and shady, formulated for light to medium shade. Soil preparation is the same discipline as for turf: dig or rotovate to about 20cm (8in) where the soil is compacted, clear perennial weeds, level and let it settle. After sowing, water every few days if needed, and protect with horticultural fleece weighted at the edges to keep birds off and hold moisture in. First cut when the seedlings are 5 to 7.5cm (2 to 3in) tall, taking off only about a third of the height. Keep heavy use off for roughly eight months - so from June onwards for an autumn sowing, or late autumn for a spring sowing.
Cited in Lawn Care & Maintenance, Laying a New Lawn: Turf vs Seed.
- fair RN-78V9YR cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS pest profile for vine weevil. It covers biological control with nematodes, their working temperature ranges and the best time of year to apply them.
Cited in How to Get Your Garden Ready For Spring.
- fair RN-ZPRTL0 cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS watering advice: early morning is the best time to water because less is lost to evaporation and plants can use the water through the day.
Cited in Garden Irrigation Systems.
- fair RN-BUFLXD cited
Royal Horticultural Society
RHS guidance on timing the planting out of tender and half-hardy plants. It sets a night-time minimum of 7°C and notes that late spring frosts still occur.
Cited in How to Get Your Garden Ready For Spring.
- fair RN-VK8WT3 cited
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
RoSPA's garden safety advice, and the source to cite for the water safety line every pond or hot tub note should carry. On water it says to cover or fence off ponds, hot tubs and water butts, warns that young children can drown in very small amounts of water, and advises emptying paddling pools immediately after use and storing them away because rainfall can refill them. On chemicals it says to store products in their original labelled containers, out of sight and reach of children in locked cupboards, and to choose less toxic alternatives, and it names yew berries, laburnum pods and foxgloves as plants that are attractive to young children but highly poisonous. On falls it says to keep paths, steps, patios and decking clear, level and in good repair, to install handrails for steps and slopes, and to provide adequate evening lighting, which is the safety argument behind a garden lighting or steps note. On machinery it says to inspect tools for damage before use, keep bladed tools sharpened and stored out of children's reach, and use appropriate protective equipment.
- fair RN-0QYTTB cited
Thames Water
Thames Water's temporary use ban FAQs: approved drip or trickle irrigation may continue if fitted with a timer and pressure-reducing valve, not hand-held, delivering water directly to the soil without spraying.
Cited in Garden Irrigation Systems.
- fair RN-QXBHRF cited
West Yorkshire Police
A police force's public advice on anti-climb paint: start it at a reasonably high level so passers-by are not marked, and post warning signs wherever it is used.
Cited in Security Fence Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide.
- fair RN-Z11BO8 cited
Wood Protection Association
The Wood Protection Association's installation guidance for treated fence posts. It warns against a concrete boot that keeps the foot of the post wet and recommends gravel at the bottom of the hole for drainage.
Cited in Fencing Cost & Types: A UK Guide.