Garden

Gardens

Based in the Hope Valley, Derbyshire

The complete garden service 07940 186923 / 01433 620147

heatheratgreengardens@yahoo.com

Wooden Windows

Sliding, Sash & Mock Sash Specialist

Bay windows restored & double glazed Portfolio of over 300 windows FREE QUOTES A PLEASURE C.H.Joinery

Renovation and restoration, Garden design, Planting, Pruning, Plant supply, One off Garden tidies, Hedges tackled, Garden maintenance, Help and advice, difficult areas made beautiful.

20 YEARS EXPERIENCE, FdSc Garden Design, RHS Diploma

HARDWOOD LOGS

Naturally seasoned and Kiln-dried hard wood logs available for both delivery and collection ** Bulk Bag deliveries now also available **

VISIT OUR SHOP FOR:

- A range of small net bags of kiln dried logs - Log Baskets and stove accessories - Derbyshire made candles and lanterns, and other unique products - Christmas Trees for sale from 1st December 2022

Tel: 01629 534 475

Holly Grange Farm, Lea Moor Road, Nr Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 5RA

sales@hardwoodlogsltd.co.uk www.hardwoodlogsltd.co.uk

Gardener’s Calendar Terracotta pots are not always winter hardy so if you’re not sure, wrap in bubble wrap to stop

them cracking.

Also you don’t want plants in containers sitting in water as it will rot the roots so remove any saucers from under the pots and raise off the ground if possible. You can buy little “feet” to do the job, or bricks, stones or wood will work just as well. Even in winter, containers planted with the likes of winter pansies can dry out. But don’t water if it looks like freezing. Bubble wrap is also handy for helping to insulate greenhouses. It’s a good time now for pruning fruit trees such as apples and pears as the trees are less likely to bleed and weaken now the sap has retreated down their trunks. The idea is to take out any damaged branches and cut away those which are crossing and rubbing against each other. Ideally you’re looking for a goblet shape so there is good ventilation in the middle of the tree. Shorten growth from this year by a third and go back to a bud facing the direction you want the branch to grow. But don’t prune cherries or plums – leave them for the summer. And if you’re tempted in this mood of chopping and lopping, to cut back flowering cherry or forsythia, which suddenly look very leggy around now, be aware that you’ll be removing next year’s blossom branches. They really need to be pruned after flowering...Top Tip:

Clear debris, moss and algae from drives, flagstones and patios. Not only can it become slippery, it also breeds fungus and pests.

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

As Autumn draws in the spiders emerge…..

Very few British spiders will bite you, and of those which do, most don’t draw blood. With one possible exception, they are not effectively venomous. The exception I write of is the ‘False Widow’, a species spreading since its arrival into southwest England from the Canary Islands back in the 1800s. This can bite and for some people, it does produce a very nasty toxic shock. Other species are perfectly harmless, and even the big ones such as the ‘Cardinal Spider’ (the really big leggy House Spider) is probably more afraid of you than you should be of it. However, it is very large, and those long legs make it look intimidating. The big, fat-bodied ‘Garden Spiders’ which live in circular orb-webs are totally benign, though I recall a local Junior School being closed because parents thought these big spiders were False Widows. This said, I have had False Widows reported from a local allotment garden where someone had suffered a bad reaction to a bite from a big dark-bodied spider in his shed.

However, not everyone likes spiders and yet with autumn creeping in, there is no getting away from them. Once we are into November, then bushes, hedgerows, and even windows are well covered in spiders’ webs of various shapes and sizes. Not all spiders make webs and some such as Wolf Spiders actively run down their prey. However, of those species which are web-makers there are two main types. These are the ‘blanket’ or ‘sheet webs’, and, as mentioned earlier, the orb webs. Sheet webs are constructed by spiders called the ‘Linyphiidae’ and there are 280 British species from tiny ‘Money Spiders’ said to bring good luck if you find one on you. These spiders hang around under their webs waiting for dinner to just drop in. Some small Linyphids make sheet webs in depressions on the ground, on low vegetation, or on tree bark. Autumn fog or dew highlights these shimmering webs across hedges, herbaceous plants, and on trees or shrubs.

The second big spider group is made up of the ‘orb-web’ spiders, the spider family ‘Araneidae’, and this includes the most common orb (i.e., circular) web builders. These inhabit gardens, hedgerows, fields, and woodlands. They are spiders with eight similar eyes, and eight legs with hairs or spines, and with which incidentally they ‘hear’. The webs are particularly distinctive because they are characteristically constructed to form a framework of non-sticky silk to which the spider adds a final spiral of droplet-covered sticky silk. These webs are natural works of art and engineering and begin with the spider floating a line on air currents to a nearby surface. This first line secured, another dropped from the centre makes ‘Y’ shape, and scaffolding follows. Radii of non-sticky silk are secreted before the final spiral of sticky ‘capture silk’ is in place. These little beasties have specially designed extra claws on each foot to help them manipulate silk whilst they spin and to move across the non-sticky parts of their webs. You often see the big-bodied females with their large spherical abdomens sat at the centre of their web. They are generally much larger than the males. The most handsome of these is the Garden Spider and I used to collect handfuls of these on my way to Junior School where I presented them to our class mistress for the nature table. I’m not sure she was impressed!

Stunning Contemporary Garden Rooms

Garden Bar • Home Gym • Offi ce Space • Family Room • Cinema Room Entertaining Space • Hot Tub and Swim Spa Enclosure • Sun Room

0115 932 8888 | www.cabinmaster.co.uk

Show Site: 251 Toton Lane, Stapleford, Nottingham NG9 7JA

BBQ Cabins & Garden Bars

20 years in business • Manufactured in the UK • High quality central BBQ grill Delivered and installed by our trained fi tters • 10 years guarantee • All year round use

ACTIV-STEP FOOTSCAN SERVICE AT ROCK FALL

We’re particularly fortunate at Voice Magazines to get invited to many different events and places but when we were invited to review a foot scanner at Rock Fall by the Managing Director, we were a little surprised! However, I can report that that it was actually one of the most informative, interesting and unexpectedly fun things we have undertaken as a team.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the Factory Shop Manager, Amanda. We received a lovely warm welcome, which continued when we were handed over to the knowledgeable and highly entertaining Dave, who led the demonstration.

The first part of the presentation was really thought provoking, when asked “Do you suffer from back, hip or knee pain? Everyone one of us answered ‘yes’ to one or all of the above and we were surprised to find out that this could be due to our feet.

We were then each invited to stand on the Activ-Step Foot Scanner machine, which assesses the shape, movement and pressure of your specific feet, to be able to identify the pronation and supination of your feet whilst moving.

The foot scanner is so clever and it truly is revealing to identify what kind of foot support you need to alleviate some of these issues. Once you have completed your assessment, you are pointed to 1 of the 3 insoles which best suit your particular feet and when you test the samples, you can really feel the difference in foot support. This particular technology was originally identified as specifically relevant for tradespeople and people who spend all day on their feet, but the reality is that there is no-one that this isn’t relevant to, who currently, or has in the past, suffered from any back, hip or knee pain. And the best news is, currently Rock Fall have an offer on the insoles, which currently rrp at £32, but you can have the assessment and purchase these insoles for £25 when you purchase a new pair of shoes.

Team Voice can unanimously endorse this gem of a shop on the industrial estate in Somercotes. They provide such a warm welcome, have a great range of products and are highly knowledgeable about such an important subject that few people probably have any experience of. So, if you have any issues with your back, hips or knees – support a local business and help improve your walk – you won’t be disappointed.

HOME IMPROVEMENTS DERBYSHIRE’S LARGEST STOCKIST OF OUTDOOR FOOTWEAR DERBYSHIRE’S LARGEST STOCKIST OF OUTDOOR FOOTWEAR DERBYSHIRES LARGEST STOCKIST OF OUTDOOR FOOTWEAR DERBYSHIRE’S LARGEST STOCKIST OF OUTDOOR FOOTWEAR DERBYSHIRE’S LARGEST STOCKIST OF OUTDOOR FOOTWEAR DERBYSHIRES LARGEST STOCKIST OF OUTDOOR FOOTWEAR DERBYSHIRE’S LARGEST STOCKIST OF OUTDOOR FOOTWEAR DERBYSHIRE’S LARGEST STOCKIST OF OUTDOOR FOOTWEAR DERBYSHIRE LARGES STOCKIST O OUTDOO FOOTWEA

T: 01773T: 01773 600078600078 To advertise please call the Voice Team on 01629 364 015shop@rockfall.com T: 01773 600078 Mon-Fri 8:00-16:00 shop@rockfall.com Mon-Fri 8:00-16:00 Sat: 8:00-14:00 shop@rockfall.com Mon-Fri 8:00-16:00 Sat: 8:00-14:00 S t 8 00 14 00

FACTORY SHOPFACTORY FACTORY SHOP Rock Fall UK Wimsey Way Rock F Wimse Rock FallAlfreton UKA Tr,Est. 35Wimsey WaySomercotesTr,Est. Some DE5 Alfreton5 4LS DE5

Tr,Est. Somercotes