Cleve West writes Independent Review on Garden advice software

RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold winning garden designer Cleve West has written a review in the Independent Newspaper.  Saturday 25th October 2008

Cleve has written a review about the Complete Garden plant advice and pruning guide encyclopaedia CD-ROM.

Being featured in a National Newspaper and written by such a respected Garden Designer will be a big boost in raising the interactive, visual plant database CD-ROM profile.

Cleve West Independent review http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st…ow-969471.html

The only information missing from his glowing review are the contact details where to buy the Complete Gardens CD-ROM and that the software is both PC & MAC compatible.

Many people will be unaware that such a product exists, so Cleve’s review will be a great help.

A CD-ROM is disc that you insert in to your computer. The CD-ROM allows the user to request information that appears within seconds by a simple a click of a button.

A CD-ROM can hold thousands of images plus data and illustrations which is easily accessable.

In addition you can add your own notes and print them with images plus make plant lists of plants you have and plant you want and the unique calendar lists reminds you which plants will be in flower and remind you which of your plants that need pruning and how.

The CD-ROM is designed to help you find plants for every area of your garden and season.

With this simple yet basic knowledge, the CD-ROM can help garden enthusiasts whatever level of experience find the right plants for the right time and place in order to create a garden with seasonal colour and interest.

I’ve now made an online version, please see www.rightplants4me.co.uk where I can add new plants, images and time lapses.

Pruning apple trees and other pruning advice

How to prune your apple trees

Pruning apple trees can be confusing, but not with www.rightplants4me.co.uk.

One of the pruning apple tree illustrations from the Complete Gardens CD-ROM.

Each garden plant on the interactive website is accompanied illustrated pruning advice and written explanation to help you.

There are over 20 pruning ilustrations for pruning apple trees alone. The website is the what, when and how to prune resource.

Find the right plants to suit your garden conditions and your garden design needs

The interactive plant database website is not only a pruning advice resource. The website also helps you plan an attractive garden with seasonal colour by suggesting the right plants for your garden conditions.

Interactive means that you can select to see plants and advice to answer your questions quickly and easily.

For example you might be looking for plants  to line your path that won’t grow too tall. Simply select a height, the month you want it to be in leaf or flower, a colour, and if the areas is in shade, partial shade or full sun. Click search and the plants to suit your requirements are displayed within seconds.

To be creative you can then find other plants to match your colour scheme and to ensure seasonal change and interest.

In-depth plant care advice accompanies each plant

Each plant is accompanied with photographs to help with identification plus in-depth planting tips, pests and diseases, and garden styles to inspire your creative ideas.

http://www.rightplants4me.co.uk

What’s making holes in the leaves? Leafcutter bee

If you wonder what is cutting circular holes around the margins of your leaves, then it’s likely to be the solitary leaf-cutter bee.

The longer cuts are used for wrapped around the chamber. The female will then provision the chamber and lay an egg. The circular cuts are used to seal off the chamber. The egg hatches into a grub.

The grub eats the pollen, pupates and later emerges as a bee.

The female leafcutter bees select leaves that are bendable and not too heavy to carry.

Leaf cutter bee damage to leaves

Bees are vital for pollination. You can buy leafcutter bee houses to attract the bees to your garden. The leaf-cutter bees are solitary and unlike honey bees do not swarm like honey bees so they are little or no danger to humans or pets.

Bees are vital for pollination.

Leaf-cutter bee house

You can buy leafcutter bee houses to attract the bees to your garden.

 Leafcutter bee house. Leaf cutter bees like hollow tubes and bamboo are ideal. They also excavate tunnels in flower pots where light gritty compost is used.  

Leaf-cutter bee chambers

Here I’ve cut open a bamboo cane to reveal the leaf-cutter bee nest chambers. Row of leaf-cutter bee chambers lined with cut leaves. The male will be nearest the exit

The female has used the circular cuts to seal off the ends of the chamber, whereas the longer cuts are wrapped around the sides. The adult bee will provision the chamber with pollen and lay an egg. The larva feeds of the pollen.

The female larva are the first to be layed and are deepest in the line. This means that if the nest is predated by a woodpecker, the feamles have a better chance of avoiding being eaten. The male larva is nearst the exit and will be the first to be eaten.

Leaf-cutter bee larva inside chamber, eating the pollen provided by the bee

Although this larva will probably die, I carefully replaced the bamboo and sealed it with wax to keep the chambers intact and dry.

Leaf-cutterbee damage to a rose

Leaf damage on rose by leaf cutter bees

Narcissus grub eating daffodil bulb. Garden pest identification

 

Narcissus grub larva. 10mm long

Narcissus grub eating daffodil

If you’re digging the garden or planting bulbs, it’s worth checking on your daffodil bulbs for the Narcissus grubs.

Narcissus grub eating a daffodil bulb

These pests eat the inside of your daffodil bulbs.

Discard the bulb as they probably won’t recover.

Narcissus bulbs. healthy and narcissus grub infected

It is easy to see which bulbs are healthy and which ones are infected. At the base of an infected bulb will be black and unhealthy looking

Limited Edition. Garden plant advice software for your garden and design – discount

Limited Edition. Multi list 3,500 garden plant advice encyclopaedia CD-ROM. PC compatible

Complete Gardens CD-ROM Ltd have produced a British made, MAC & PC compatible multi list, interactive plant advice encyclopaedia CD-ROM.

However, the manufacturers left off the MAC compatible database and so they had to burn a new batch.

This means that we have stock of a perfectly working PC only version of our multi list 3,500 garden plant encyclopaedia CD-ROM.

BUT, we can’t sell this in shops as the cover says PC & MAC compatible.

This means we can sell this PC only version at a discount directly to customers.

Instead of the normal rrp £49.95 we can offer this Limited Edition PC version for only £30.00

We are not selling this on the www.complete-gardens.co.uk web site.

To order your copy, please contact the Director, Neil Bromhall on 01865 512561 or email neil@complete-gardens.co.uk

For information about the Complete Gardens interactive plant database CD-ROMs, please see the Garden Software section.