Landscape Juice

Permable concrete that drinks 4,000 litres a minute

Topmix Permeable concrete is a a super-absorbent surface covering that allows water to seep through it rather than sitting on top in an attempt to combat flooding. The video below shows 4,000 litres of water (880 gallons) being poured onto the surface of a car park only to disappear into the sub-layers, almost instantly. Read more →

Will this winter be colder than usual?

El Niño continues to build in the tropical pacific but the Met Office is saying that it is still too early to speculate whether the winter of 2015/2016 will be 'bitterly cold'. The Met Office does concede, however, that there's a slightly higher risk of colder temperature toward the end of the winter during El Niño years. Writing on their blog, the Met Office say: Other factors also have an influence, such as sea surface temperature in the North Atlantic, the Sun’s output, and changes in winds high in the atmosphere above the Equator known as the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation. These... Read more →

Severe weather warning issued for Monday 28 October

The Met Office say that Monday brings a risk that a significant storm could develop close to the UK which has the potential to bring some exceptionally strong winds to parts of the country. Currently the storm is most likely to impact the southern half of the UK, with the potential for gusts of more than 80mph - especially on exposed coasts in the south. Winds of this strength could bring down trees or cause structural damage, potentially causing transport disruption or power cuts. Eddy Carroll, Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, said: "This storm doesn't exist at the moment,... Read more →

Predicting rain for planning landscaping and maintenance schedules

Have you ever watch Formula One on TV and seen the real-time weather simulation showing rain approaching the circuit? Well there's now a smartphone app available that could become a useful tool for landscape and garden maintenance managers and crews that does exactly the same. WeatherSphere's RadarCast let's you see weather patterns develop in real time. RadarCast's hi-definition animated real-time weather app indicates to and notifies the user when its about to rain. Also, see when it's about to snow, see the direction of hurricane'e and tornadoes (not a great problem in UK;-0) and plot journeys accordingly. I can see... Read more →

Help your gardener during hot conditions

Isn't it nice to get a prolonged spell of hot weather? After what seems a long run of cool wet summers it's so nice to enjoy the garden without blooms being battered by wind and rain. I don't think I've seen roses looking this good since about 2005. The current heatwave, however, does come with its downside. For some people the intense heat makes it difficult to be outside for too long. Spare a thought and consider landscapers and professional gardeners, who have to earn their living, whatever the weather. Normally we are sympathising with outdoor workers because they have... Read more →

Weather for the Wimbledon tennis finals

(click to enlarge image: weather forecast for the men's tennis final at Wimbledon) As landscapers and gardeners we plan their working and leisure lives around the weather (or the forecast). There's nothing more stressful than continually upset schedules due to inclement weather. Professional gardeners don't need me to tell them how poor weather can impact their income and lives generally. However, gardeners (and tennis fans) might be asking what the forecast is for different reasons this weekend - What will the weather be like for the Wimbledon tennis finals this weekend? The good news it will be hot and sunny... Read more →

William Hill offer 5/1 on there being a hosepipe ban in 2013

Happy to year to you. I'm sitting at my desk looking out into a light mist but with bright blue sky evident above. It's rather weird because we've just endured a warm festive period with light southerly to south-westerly winds bringing in a very comfortable 14-17°C. We've not even had a hint of frost and even this week is still forecast at 9-15°C through the day with a minimum night temperature of 3°C. Even as I approach the ninth anniversary since selling my landscaping businesses I still get flashbacks to the days when we'd turn in for work when all... Read more →

Will we have a white Christmas?

How many of you are wishing for snow to fall over Christmas? I have to say I quite like snow and I do wish for some every year; especially at Christmas. But for the garden industry a heavy and prolonged snowfall can mean a great deal of difficulty in terms of loss of vital cash flow and delayed or cancelled work. Combined with the harsh financial climate, many will be wishing it won't snow or at least that it's brief. This Met Office infographic (below) log white Christmases over the last fifty years. It seems we've had more snow lying... Read more →

Buy a snow blower and be ready for winter

I don't do many plugs for products on Landscape Juice but I do feel this one is justified. It's still very mild with no hint of cold air, let alone snow. But this could change at any time and you should think about getting ready. It wasn't many years ago that snow blowing equipment was big heavy duty machines only available to specialist large contracting firms. Well that's not the case now, take a look at this range of snow clearing machines. For the domestic household, this small electric Stiga snow blower will only set you back £89.00 and if... Read more →

Wakehurst Place remembers the great storm of 1987

Wakehurst Place, the Sussex country estate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, will mark the 25th anniversary of the 1987 hurricane next month to highlight how the gardens were restored in the aftermath of the great storm. Wakehurst’s botanical gardens and surrounding woodland lost more than 20,000 trees when winds of more than 75mph tore across southern England in the early hours of 16 October 1987. Centuries old trees fell like matchsticks at the 500 acre estate at Ardingly, near Haywards Heath. It took five years to completely clear the damage. A quarter of a century on, the anniversary will... Read more →