Duo fruit tree

Mix the concrete

Now it’s time to make up the concrete mix that will be the glue that sticks your new pavers to the sub-base. Depending on the size of your patio you can make up the mix a large tub or wheelbarrow or hire a concret mixer (£20.40/day, hss.com). You’ll need a m of three parts grit sand and one part cemen For each m2 of patio you’ll need 83kg of grit sand, also known as sharp concreting sand, and 28kg of general-purpose cement. So for a 3 x 3m patio you’ll need 30 x 25kg bags of sand and 10 x 25kg bags of cement.

Prepare the mix in small amounts so it doesn’t dry out. Use a spade to put the sand and cement into your container, and stir in enough water to create a doughy consistency. Check the mix is thick enough by moulding some into a ball (do wear waterproof gloves) – when you let go the ball should retain its shape without oozing water or falling apart.

Walsall 85L Galvanised Builders Wheelbarrow, £60 argos.co.uk

Blue Circle General Purpose Cement, £5.15/ 25kg wickes.co.uk

Sharp Concreting Sand Handy Bag, £4.76/25kg jewson.co.uk Get ready to make your mix

Lay the pav

You can now start laying your new p following your design. The first slab lay down is the most important one known as the key slab. This needs to corner slab at the highest end of the next to the house wall. If this is your at paving, then start by laying just this one slab. As you get more confident, you can lay a few slabs at a time, if you like.

Vitrex No Mallet, £5.99

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Joint Crosses for Patio slabs, £21.33/100 amazon.co.uk Just add patience!

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Spirit Level, L1800mm, £19.99 screwfix.com

1 Use the spade to tip some of your concrete mix over the sub-base, enough for just one paver. This needs to be 4-5cm thick. Use the trowel to shape and smooth out the mix so that it’s flat for the paver to lay on. 2 Dampen the underside of the slab by spraying with water from a hand mister, so it doesn’t dry out the concrete mix. Then lower the slab on top of the concrete mix – if the pavers are large, ask a friend to help you.

3 Gently tap down the surface with a rubber mallet to fix the paver in place. If you find this tricky, then your concrete mix is probably a bit dry – add a touch more water to the next batch and it’ll be far easier. 4 Use a spirit level to check the paver is level in all directions, and at the same height as its neighbours, remembering that you want a slight gradient away from the house. Tap with the rubber mallet to adjust if necessary. 5 Repeat the process, leaving a pointing gap between each slab if required. The easiest way to ensure these are even is to use tile spacers. Continue until all the slabs are laid, using a spirit level to check the levels as you go, and making sure the slabs line up with each other. Leave to dry for at least 24 hours.

HOW TO CUT SLABS

If your new design involves staggered paving or a pattern of different-sized slabs, you’ll need to cut them to get a straight patio edge.

✽ SANDSTONE AND SLATE SLABS WITH A HAND-CUT EDGE Mark out the measurements onto the slab with a pencil and use a hammer and breaker chisel (Draper 1700W 18.5kg Breaker Hex Chisel Flat 30 x 410mm, £10.98, toolstation. com) to cut a shallow channel down the pencil markings. Split the paver by striking the part you want to cut off with a rubber mallet. ✽ PORCELAIN, GRANITE AND SAWN SANDSTONE SLABS Mark out the measurements onto both sides of the slab with a pencil then fix to a workbench using C clamps. Cut along the lines using a circular power saw (Evolution Electric Multi-Lateral Circular Saw 220-240V, £49.99, screwfix.com) with a diamond-tipped blade (Evolution Masonry/ Stone Diamond Turbo Blade, £19.99, screwfix.com) to around 1cm deep. Turn the slab over and repeat the cuts then use a rubber mallet to carefully separate the parts.

Fill in the gaps

The final step is to fill in the pointing gaps between the slabs. There are several ways to do this but we think the easiest and quickest method is to use a pre-mixed patio jointing product. These are available at most DIY superstores but if you’re after something a bit different, you’ll find a good range of coloured sweep-in grouts at londonstone.co.uk.

All you need to do is wet the slabs and joints with a hose on a gentle setting then let the water drain away. Pour the mix onto the pavers and work it into the gaps using a soft broom or hand brush. Firm it down with a pointing trowel, top up with a little more mix and firm down again. Sweep away the excess on the slabs and then leave to set, which should take around 12 hours. The kit for a pro finish

Sika FastFix Self-Setting Paving Jointing Compound, £39.98/14kg, which will cover 20m2 Bentleyscrewfix.com Wooden Soft Broom with Metal Handle, £7 wickes.co.uk

Tuck Pointer with Wooden Handle 1/2inch, £2.10 toolstop.co.uk

Duo FRUI TREE

These clever plants grow two varieties on one trunk for DOUBLE THE JOY and they’re very happy to live in a patio pot!

F E AT U R E: G EO F F H O D G E. R EC I P E S : H O L LY C A M M A R ATA- H A L L . P H OTOS : S H U T T E R S TO C K , V I S I O N S. S TO C K F O O D ow! Some clever growers have

Wfused two varieties of fruit onto one trunk, known as grafting, so you can enjoy more homegrown joy in the smallest of spaces. You could have a red and a green apple growing on the same tree, or a dessert and a cooking variety, or early and late fruiting – clever huh? Duos are available for all the main tree fruits: apples, pears, plums and cherries.

Here at Modern Gardens, we’re huge fans of popping out of the back door and picking the freshest fruit for a patio snack. It’s just so much tastier than many supermarkets’ produce, which can be picked before it’s fully mature and flavourful to stop in-transit bruising and give the longest shelf-life. But the problem with many homegrown fruit trees is that you need to grow two (or sometimes three) different varieties of the same fruit type to ensure pollination happens and fruit grows, which we don’t all have room for. But duo fruit trees solve that issue.

For a good crop of fruit, your tree will need a container that’s around 60cm in diameter. Choose a pot that’s quite heavy to prevent it from being blown over in strong winds which could damage the tree. Use John Innes No. 3 compost as this will help hold on to moisture and nutrients better than a multipurpose one, and it’s heavier, too, helping to keep the container stable in windy conditions.

If have space, duo trees can be planted in the ground. As they’re grafted onto semi-dwarfing trunks and roots, known as rootstock, they won’t get any bigger than 2.1-2.4m high and wide. Growing one in a container restricts the rate of growth, so it’ll be smaller, so you’ve definitely got room to squeeze one in! ✽ Family fruit trees grow three varieties on one trunk, but they’re trickier to grow than duos.

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‘Golden De licious’

OUR FAVOURITES TO TRY

✽ Apple ‘Elstar’ and ‘James Grieve’, two versatile apples with different cropping times. £29.99/3L pot yougarden.com ✽ Plums ‘Opal’ and ‘Reine Claude d’Oullins’, for delicious purple and yellow fruit. £35.99/5L pot suttons.co.uk ✽ Conference’ and ‘Concorde’ are two mouthwatering pears. £29.99/3L pot yougarden.com ✽ Cherry ‘Napoleon Bigarreau’ has large yellow fruit and ‘Variks Black’, sweet and dark-skinned. £26/bareroot suttons.co.uk

Perfect for small gardens

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