< Previous20 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY NORTHERN LOG CABINS Q&A Q&A Your dream log cabin Providing everything you need to create your dream log cabin, Northern Log Cabins has the experience, knowledge and expertise to help you through the whole process from beginning to end. Can you tell us a little about Northern Log Cabins and what you do? We are a small family run company based in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire. We are suppliers and installers of bespoke log cabins and timber buildings. Although we are based in Lincolnshire we work nationwide. We offer a range of packages from supply only, to full turn key, including, foundations, electrical and plumbing work if required. What kinds of cabins do you make? Our cabins can be used for pretty much anything, we offer everything including Residential Log Homes, Summerhouses, Saunas, BBQ Huts, Mobile Compliant Cabins, Glamping Pods and so much more. We have recently created some larger cabins as Farm shops and Shooting Lodges in North Yorkshire. What is inspiring more and more people to look at Log Cabins, Summerhouses or Residential Annexes? People always like that extra bit of space; Northern Log Cabins can work with you to find the most appropriate cabin for your garden. Log Cabins create a great space to relax in any garden and their presence really stands out and completes the look of any spare space in any garden. Timber buildings are a much more sustainable, eco-friendly and cost- effective alternative to many other materials, so when it comes to looking for an extra bit of living space, a log home is the perfect solution. We can manufacture residential builds to comply with full UK LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 21 NORTHERN LOG CABINS Q&A building regulations or even the caravan act. Do you work from set designs, or can you accommodate a person’s dream cabin? Northern Log Cabins have designed, supplied and installed hundreds of cabins across the UK and Europe. We have a huge portfolio of designs that you can use to design your own unique build or simply use the design as it is. This includes summerhouses, saunas, garages, residential homes and much more. Where should people start if they’re considering a log cabin? Visit our website www.northernlogcabins.com to find out more information. We have a two bedroom lodge available to view by appointment only at our site in Market Rasen. We also have a range of summerhouses and garden rooms at Earnshaws Fencing Centres in Brigg and Midgley, as well as a selection of buildings at Yorkshire Garden Buildings in Brough. To find out more about Northern Log Cabins visit www.northernlogcabins.com, email josh@northernlogcabins.com or call 01673260110at temperatures of 840 degrees Celsius until the desired effect is achieved. This is where the glass pieces can change colour and melt together to create an artwork that is inimitable. Finally, the piece can be mounted and framed, or fired in the kiln again to be slumped into a bowl or over a curve to create a more three dimensional work. Matt also has a background in restoration, particularly the masters, and has worked on pieces by Canaletto, Rembrandt, and more over the course of his career. This background in art and art history has given his work a depth that few others achieve. 22 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY ARTISTIC LINCOLNSHIRE M atthew Sorrell is a self-taught glass artist, creating truly unique pieces of art. His skills are highly varied and this shows in the variety of pieces that he creates, from coasters to 20-inch platters to sculptures and wall art. Each piece is impossible to replicate due to the nature of working with glass at such high temperatures. Glass gives new meaning to the term ‘original’! The creation of kiln glass art is a very long and slow process. Each piece is created from carefully cutting and placing shapes of glass onto a flat glass surface, along with ‘frit,’ ‘confetti,’ and coloured powders for texture and depth of colour. The piece is then fired This month we look at the one-of-a-kind glass art of Matthew Sorrell. glasswork Glorious If you’d like to see Matt’s work for yourself, head down to Lincoln’s Little Red GalleryLINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 23 THE LITTLE RED GALLERY Love art? Then we’d love to meet you, please call in for a cup of tea and a chat. The Little Red Gallery are feeling ‘Love’ with a fantastic range of pieces and perfect gift ideas.24 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY Ed Fuller from Fullers Landscaping explains how you can attract more pollinators to your garden. help create a welcoming garden for bees. PUSSY WILLOW - These early blooming ornamentals aren’t just a beautiful sight in the garden, but also an important food source to the hungry bees. As the colony of bees emerges in early spring, pussy willows will make sure they have enough to eat even when other nectar sources are scarce. Bumblebees, chocolate mining bees and Clarke’s mining bees are all fans of the pussy willow. MAHONIA - Mahonia offers plenty of nectar and pollen to the bees. These tough flowering shrubs come in many different forms, some of which are scented. It’s a winter flowering plant and especially useful if you have winter active bumblebees in your garden. The clusters of yellow flowers are typically followed by purple berries, a food source for birds. LAVENDER - Bees love lavenders. Ideal © stock.adobe.com/kosolovskyy B ees and other pollinators are very important for your garden. Other than creating an atmosphere buzzing with life, bees are crucial to achieving a healthy garden. Bees pollinate vegetables, fruit trees and ornamental plants, ultimately enhancing your garden’s productivity. Busy bees are constantly at work to make sure we get a big harvest each season. 90% of wild plants and 75% of food crops rely on animal pollination, and bees pollinate three-quarters of the UK’s wild- flowers. Unfortunately, 20,000 species of bees currently face extinction. As important as bees are to us, bees also rely on our gardens for food and shelter. Certain plants are especially attractive to bees, providing them with pollen, nectar, and a nesting habitat. Here are some examples of flowering plants that can Perfect for pollinators * Keep weeds under control. * Mow your lawn (lowering the blades gradually). * Dig in a layer of compost into your beds. * Deadhead daffodils but leave the foliage intact, allowing it to die back naturally so they will bloom again next year. * Sow hardy annuals and herb seeds. * Feed hungry shrubs and roses. * Keep bird baths and bird feeders topped up to encourage birds to your garden. * Plant out perennials in groups of three, five or seven. * Protect fruit blossom from late frosts. * Divide bamboos and waterlilies. LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 25 FULLERS Call 01522 868717 or 07867 510544 landscapinglincolnshire@gmail.com www.landscapinglincolnshire.com GARDEN ADVICE Specialised Service in Garden Design and Landscaping Backed by a highly-skilled and experienced team, we’ve built our reputation on an ability to provide our clients with professional, tailored garden design and construction services. Around the garden for growing in garden beds and pots, lavenders should be at the top of your list if you want to attract more bees to your garden. Grow lavender in light, airy soil that has good drainage. They won’t grow well in heavy soil that has the tendency to stay wet for long periods. APPLE TREES – Apples, and especially crab apples, give spring flowers and bees are an important pollinators for these. Besides attracting bees to your garden, you’ll see an increase in apple production when assisted by bees. HONEYSUCKLE - Honeysuckle is a prolific bloomer and an important source of nectar and pollen to the bees. Blooming in autumn, honeysuckle is regularly visited by Garden bumblebees and Carder bumblebees. When we look at planting in gardens that we design, we ensure that the right plants are chosen for each area, but we also consider the wildlife impact. We ensure that we use plants that will attract a variety of wildlife. If you do not have a large garden, or do not want to create new beds, or change your existing ones, then pots can be used to attract bees and other pollinators. Now that spring is well underway hopefully you will start to see more bees in your garden. © stock.adobe.com/Joewilson/Wirestock Creators © stock.adobe.com/SkyLine26 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY GARDENS T he use of wildflowers in gardens is increasingly popular, blooming out of designated patches and borders. This is even incorporating plants traditionally considered to be weeds, like dandelions, which are now being recognised for their key role in providing food for pollinators. It comes in hand with a trend towards more naturalistic gardens, with less desire for formal and highly manicured layouts, meadowscaping, and campaigns including no-mow May, encouraging people to stop mowing for the month to create a wildlife-boosting habitat. Providing visual delight through a beautiful mix of colours and textures, wildflowers generally require minimal resources and are drought tolerant when they become established. Easy to take care of and low maintenance, this thus makes wildflowers ideal across the spectrum of gardening abilities. To create a wildflower meadow in your garden, which can be as big or small as you like — from converting a lawn to using a few containers — you will need a sunny spot, essential for most wildflowers, and some simple soil preparation. Seeds will of course also be required, which can be found at local garden centres, but ensure to choose a mix that will suit your garden’s soil type and location. There is a wealth of seed mixes available, with varying combinations of flowers and grasses, but the main choice to make is between an annual or perennial mix — though some mixes combine the two! The former offers quick and easy growth from seeds, and flower within a few months. They then scatter their seeds and die and new plants can grow from the fallen seeds. The latter tend to take longer to establish, with more prep necessary, taking a couple of years to flower well, however will continue to come back year after year. Considering simpler to grow annual wildflowers, the best time to sow your seeds is in early to mid-spring (March or April) or early autumn (September). To start, fork over your chosen area of soil to loosen it and remove any weeds or big stones before raking the soil level. You can then scatter your seeds up and down the area, followed by another scattering side to side. For a more even scatter, and to show clearly where you have sown, try mixing seeds with some dry sand. Furthermore, for greater precision one can sow at the recommended rate per square meter: 2g per square meter for a pure wildflower mix, and 5g per square meter for a wildflower and grass mix. Once the seeds have been scattered the back of a rake can be used to press the seeds into the soil to allow good germination, then water the area gently if no rain is expected. Seedlings will appear © stock.adobe.com/Elenathewise Take a walk on the wild side A gardening trend continuing to grow in popularity, Lincolnshire Today helps you establish your own wildflower meadow. 28 Á A gardening trend continuing to grow in popularity, Lincolnshire Today helps you establish your own wildflower meadow. Take a walk on the wild side EXCELLENT PLANT SELECTION WITH 5-YEAR HARDY PLANT GUARANTEE •RESTAURANTS WITH A LARGE SELECTION OF HOME-COOKED MEALS •A WIDE RANGE OF GIFTS•FREE PARKING•GARDENING EXPERTS SINCE 1780 ESTABLISHED IN 1780 CLEETHORPES Humberston Road, Cleethorpes, N E Lincs DN36 4RW Tel: 01472 313600 LINCOLN Newark Road, South Hykeham, Lincoln LN6 9NT Tel: 01522 880033 SLEAFORD London Road, Silk Willoughby, Sleaford NG34 8NY Tel: 01529 304970 Making your ideas grow Visit www.pennells.co.uk for more information! •FREE EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR THAT THE WHOLE FAMILY WILL ENJOY28 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY GARDENS within a couple of weeks, with some plants flowering within a couple of months — depending on the type. To continue caring for your seedlings, if the weather is dry water finely once a week, and if you want to make sure only the wildflowers you have sown grow in your meadow, weed regularly to eliminate competing plants that may take over. To ensure annual wildflower areas continue to grace your garden, let spent plants drop all their seeds before removing them. To establish a perennial wildflower meadow, preparation should begin months in advance of sowing seeds. One must reduce the fertility of the soil, to prevent wildflowers being overwhelmed by grasses, by removing the top layer of soil or sowing plants to eat up some of the nutrients and removing them before they set seed. The soil then needs to be weeded, before being forked over, treading the area to firm it, and left to settle. Any further weeds can then be hoed off and the soil raked. Once seeds are scattered, similar aftercare to annual wildflowers applies, with watering in dry weather, until plants are well-rooted, and removing unwanted weeds. A perennial wildflower meadow, though, will need close attention to mowing/cutting, with new perennial meadows requiring regular mowing to encourage strong root growth and established ones to be cut at specific times of the year. Other options to start your wildflower meadow are to lay wildflower-rich turf, use plug plants, or simply leave part of your lawn unmown to allow any present wildflowers to grow. Incorporating wildflowers into your garden can be done in a plethora of ways, like replacing your lawn, or a section of it, with a mini meadow, or creating wildflower borders. Alternatively, positioning wildflowers around ponds, under trees, and beside winding paths can provide a pretty, peaceful addition to your outdoor space. Whether planted in a large or small area, wildflowers offer myriad opportunities to bring a more natural feel to your garden and attract pollinating insects and other wildlife. © stock.adobe.com/M.Dörr & M.Frommherz © stock.adobe.com/MaryHerronPhoto 01526 861737 Billinghay, Lincolnshire LN4 4EW www.andrewdams.co.uk sales@andrewdams.co.uk Sheds & Summer Houses Family run business in Lincolnshire, manufacturing, selling and installing the best quality timber sheds, summer houses and Elite Greenhouses and more! Large display site based in Billinghay with bespoke buildings also available. Family business est. 1983 Follow us for regular updates…Next >