Green Haven Garden Maintenance

Well it finally feels like Spring is on its way, the bulbs are bursting through, perennials are coming back to life and even the grass is starting to look green again! We will be starting our regular grass cutting in the 2nd week of April but now's the time to be thinking about that last minute tidy.

We are honoured to be asked to care for such a variety of beautiful gardens, unfortunately however we are now fully booked for maintenance work for this season. We may still be able to squeeze in one or two more grass cuts if they can be tagged onto an existing round.

That's another area finished off in our own garden, the anchor was kindly given to us by a customer, the bench is one we've had for a few years and it sits well with the white marble cobbles. The compost is all produced using our soft green waste such as grass cuttings & leaves etc.

Happy with that one, it catches the evening sun perfectly, so it's just the ideal place to relax with a nice cold beer after a hard days work. Happy days

While we've been waiting for the season to start up again we've been pushing on with a few projects in our own garden.

I've been meaning to get this one done ever since we put in a new kitchen window and removed an old timber shed. The bird bath was given to us by a friend a few years back and we've finally found its forever home, the Belfast sinks came from our previous property and are being filled with herbs.

I used some broken slates and ridge tiles, from when we re-roofed part of our house and some stone from demolition of a gable wall, never throw away good stone. After digging out what little top soil there was I laid a sand cement base & then formed a perimeter of stone followed by a helix of cut red clay ridge tile. The slate then had to be cut to 4" squares before bedding in sand cement and then when it was set I brushed in a dry mix grout of sand and cement with varying amounts of dye to create a dark to light pattern, which will become more apparent once it's cured properly.

Another corner tidied up & my stone heap is slowly going down. I'm quite pleased with this one, it's really improved the view & we'll get a few more low growing alpines in to give a bit of summer colour.

Now's the time to give those beds & paths a good tidy before the Spring season really starts. Message us for a free, no obligation quote & we'll take the hard work out of getting your garden ready for you to enjoy through the Summer

A pair of raised beds constructed using 100x200 treated timber sleepers. The existing concrete base was broken up and then they were filled with our own compost. The best size for these is 2.4mx1.2m & they can be accessed right round to tend the veggies.

Well, that's the tree decorated. Wishing all our customers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Another fence repaired following storm Arwen. This one lost two bays when it was flattened & snapped two posts. We dismantled the boards and rails, concreted in three new treated 100*100 posts& then reassembled.

Let's talk about waste.
As licensed waste carriers we have a responsibility to dispose of all of our garden waste correctly & obviously nothing comes for free. We currently compost 80% of our waste including grass clippings, leaves & other soft green waste as well as any left over wood chips. But perennial weeds, like docks, dandelions & nettles, as well as brushwood & briars etc have to be stored, then loaded up & taken to Ellon where it is weighed before disposal & we are charged £79.16/ton.

While we haven't charged for an odd bag of waste before for maintenance work we are now having to look again at this as the cost & time it takes to process waste is beginning to take it's toll. Our rate for waste disposal is currently £3.00 per large sack or £20 for a trailer load, there is still no charge for compostable waste.

And what happens to the compost? Well that's for our garden & this winter we're planning on constructing new raised beds for our fruit & vegetable garden. No jokes please about old folks & raised beds, we're looking to the future & it's going to be easier in the long run.😊

Last week we took delivery of the first of our new Weibang mowers. Really impressed with the finished cut & the cuttings are very fine which is ideal for our composters. Only trouble is, with a 7 speed gearbox I'm gonna have to invest in a new pair of running shoes to keep up with it!

A Stonemarket paved circle laid on a sub-base with the existing brick edging re-used to retain the granite chuckies. The only thing with this one was the delay in getting the materials delivered due to the Suez canal being closed & the sandstone paving is an Indian product

We had a trip out yesterday to Loch Hills plant center near Ellon to see what everyone was talking about. Blown away with the quality of the plants, never saw a fancy coffee shop or a range of French cookware just good quality plants at great prices. We picked up a few alpines for the wall tops & some fucias to bring on for summer bedding, really tempted by the hydrangea petiolaris but the place I want to put one isn't quite ready yet. Honestly it's definitely worth a trip out if you appreciate good knowledgeable plant growers who care about what they sell

Green Haven Garden Maintenance updated their info in the about section.

If you find it difficult to tend and care for the grave of your loved ones because of distance or disability etc. then we can offer a personalised grave care service to bring you comfort and peace of mind.

Our visits to loved one's graves can coincide with birthdays, anniversaries & special days for your own comfort & reassurance however we are of course unable to operate on Sundays. As part of our grave tending service works we can tidy around the grave, give the headstone a light clean down, plant spring bulbs & provide flowers or Christmas wreaths depending on your requirements. A before & after photo will be included with our invoice & we carry full public liability insurance for your peace of mind.

Send us a message with your requirements & we will respond as quickly as possible

Our Blue Light card offer has proved so popular that we are extending it through to the end of April to say thank you to our emergency services. We are offering a 25% discount off our normal hourly labour rate for all grass cutting & garden maintenance work on production of a valid Blue Light card. Send us a message & we'll try to fit you in as soon as possible.

With spring just started to show itself a customer wanted an old lawn removed, a tree stump from an old cherry removed & a new lawn laid.

First job was a tree stump grinder hired from KPH hire at Kintore & then a deep rotavate before adding sharp sand to help drainage. Once it was graded & compacted we added a fertilizer to the final tilth before laying the turf supplied by Donvalley. As we were tidying away it started to rain, absolute perfect timing. Happy days!

We finished building this garden wall last week using stone on site that was left over from some building works. I'm glad I found my back brace again as some of those stones are big beasties, the top is infilled with soil ready for planting.

Like everyone else we can't wait for the nurseries & garden centres to re-open to buy in some alpine plants for the wall top. While there are always other options like mail order (tiny wee plugs) or DIY stores (pot luck with some of those) we can always look at splitting & multiplying those available in other areas to propogate some more. With a bit of care & attention it's easy to increase your plant stock & it always feels good to get something for nothing!

Spring is almost here & it's time to think about grass cutting & tidying up that plot. We are a husband & wife team based near Cruden Bay & are also in Cove once a fortnight. If we can help then please don't hesitate to contact us.

We currently have a special offer for Blue Light Cardholders to say thank you for all your hard work through these difficult times & this offer will run until 31st March 2021. Show your Blue Light Card & receive a 25% discount on our normal hourly rate, please check the Blue light card web page or app for details.

This applies to grass cutting, maintenance & landscaping work within a 25 mile radius of Cruden Bay, however we are also in Cove once a fortnight.

Spring is just around the corner so it's time to start planning ahead.

Paved area hand dug to reduce the slope, consolidated hardcore on membrane & slabs laid on a mortar bed & pointed. Some existing granite stones that were on site were reclaimed, bedded & pointed on edge to retain the soil ready for planting.

An old & poor lawn stripped & removed, soil rotavated, hand dug path formed with membrane, mot1 hardcore & path edging laid before finishing off with compacted bound gravel. Really pleased with the finished result & although it took a bit longer than planned due to the weather it was worth the extra effort

Kerb edging is Stonemarket charcoal pavekerb from MKM Aberdeen
Self-binding gravel is Breedon Golden Amber Gravel by Breedon Aggregates

We would like to wish all our customers, past, present & future a Merry Christmas & a Happy & Prosporous New Year.

It's time to cut back the ivy! Sorry about the lighting but that's short Autumn days for you

Another end of season clear up & tidy. Trees & shrubs pruned, borders tidied & a final cut for the grass. A lot of ivy to cut back on this one, I loath ivy it can do so much damage if not managed regularly.

Don't know if this is the last cut of the year for this one but borders tidied, shrubs clipped, front garden tidied& lawns mowed all for £30. Customers were happy & we were pleased with the job as well. Give us a text or message if we can help

Another end of tenancy clean up carried out in Aberdeen this week. No lawns to mow but plenty of briars, thistles & nettles to contend with

Green Haven Garden Maintenance updated their business hours.

This morning we had the great pleasure of delivering a 'Mud Kitchen' to a very happy young customer who, despite the weather, was delighted with the new addition to their garden.

Our hand made Mud kitchens are made to order & take about a week to manufacture, they are available in various colour options & this one was distressed grey with black boarding. Chrome tap, two wooden hob rings & two stainless steel bowls as standard all for £110 & can be delivered locally. Message us with your requirements & we'll get back to you as soon as possible

Garden wall with larch pole trellis & soil in the top planted with alpines.