GARDENING

UP THE GARDEN PATH

By Julie Haylock, Sandhurst Garden Design

As summer slowly slips into autumn there are still plenty of plants to bring colour into your garden and lift your spirits.

Jewel coloured plants make the border look vibrant and the light at this time of year seems to make plants shine. From pink to purple and blue to the hot colours of orange, yellow and red, there are plenty to choose from to give your border an autumnal boast. If you favour shades of pink and you like Dahlia’s, then look out for Dahlia ‘Karma Fuchsiana’ one of the cactus varieties with its quill like petals. Team it up with the magenta flowers of Salvia ‘Love and Wishes’ and the soft grass Pennistum ‘Cassian’s Choice’ with its bottlebrush like heads and it will make for a stunning display. If you prefer blues and purples, then consider Agastache ‘Black Adder’ with its lilac-blue spires of flowers. This plant is a bee-pleaser, and as soon as they discover it in your border, the plant will be smothered! Use Penstemon ‘Sour Grapes’ and the ever reliable Aster ‘Veilchenkonigin for a combination that will give you a lovely display until the first frosts. Perhaps you associate this time of year with red, orange and yellow planting combinations? A great duo is the yellow Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ and Helenium ‘Waltraut’ and when planted with Achillea ‘Cloth of Gold’ will provide a blaze of colour that radiates a warm glow. Heleniums with their velvet like petals, flower from midsummer until late autumn, their common name is Sneezeweed as the flower used to be dried to make snuff! It prefers to be in a sunny position and happy in a most soils. They look great planted with Crocosmia, Verbena Bonarienis, bronze fennel, Agastache and my ‘go to plant’ Salvia Caradonna. In fact, the first show garden we did at Taunton Flower Show we used just this combination and it looked stunning if I say so myself! Rudbeckia flower from midsummer to late autumn and the classic ‘Goldsturm’ with its yellow petals and black conical centre grows to 60cm tall and makes for an eye-catching display. They like to be in a sunny spot or dappled shade and to keep them looking good remove faded blooms. I hope that the planting combinations I have suggested has whet your appetite and will have your rushing to your local garden centre to plant yourself a gorgeous autumn display! In early August Andrew and I visited Bennett’s Water Garden in Weymouth home of the National Water Lily Collection and well worth a visit if you have not been. Neatly mown paths wind around the lily-filled pools in this 8 acre garden, complete with its own Japanese Claude Monet style bridge that makes for a great photo opportunity. The many varieties of water lilies looked stunning with dragonflies bobbing from lily pad to lily pad; the crystal clear water is home to fish and amphibians, including the rare great crested newt making it a valuable wildlife haven. Finally, on the garden design front, it has been another very busy month. Our latest project in Bridgwater, designed and planted by Sandhurst Garden Design and built by Silverbirch Landscapes, was completed and with very happy clients, Check out the photographs of the garden, including at night time on my website www. sandhurstgardendesign.co.uk and see the trees and planting illuminated! Until next time Julie

Sandhurst Garden Design

Julie Haylock

Garden Designer

20 Sandhurst Road, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 2LG

Tel: 07899 710168

Email: haylock2 lg@btinternet.com

www.sandhurstgardendesign.co.uk

Contact Julie for garden and border design, planting plans, plant selection advice and garden styling

BBC Gardeners’ World Live Gold Medal Award Taunton Flower Show Gold Medal Award and The Western Daily Press Cup for Best Show Garden

Garden Landscape & Construction Services

www.sherbornegardenangels.co.uk 01935 310302

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SUNROOMS FOR EVERY PURPOSE

By Liv Sabat

The company I work for has recently undergone some serious rebranding; they went from being called Luksus Outdoor Living to being called SunroomsUK. This means I felt it appropriate to talk about how sunrooms can be used for just about any purpose you can think of, from a dining room to an outdoor gym, it’s all covered by this article.

Let’s look at the more general/obvious uses first, shall we? Obviously, there’s the dining room. A sunroom can be used as the most amazing dining room extension to ANY home or restaurant, providing the ultimate sense of al fresco dining. Then there’s the living room, which encompasses the family room and reading room purposes. An entertainment space is also an obvious one, whether that be a TV room, a games room, or even a hobby room; they perfectly accommodate all of these uses. Now let’s delve into the less obvious uses of a sunroom. Firstly, we have a gym. Maintaining your health is one of the most important things in life, people that have space in their house for a gym are the lucky ones because they can do it all from home! Secondly, we have an office. A sunroom is probably the best way, I can personally think of, to shut yourself off from your bustling home environment and get some work done. Thirdly, we have a balcony cover. Now, I already know what you’re thinking “I don’t have a balcony!” and that’s fine, because neither do I, but for

those who do I can think of no better way to enjoy that kind of space. Finally, we have the ‘whatever you want’ room. As the name suggests you can use this room for absolutely anything you want, meaning the possibilities are endless. This room could be a hot tub cover, a snooker room, a room housing your football table, a playroom, or just a lounging space. Now, having talked about all these uses it’s important to remember that sunrooms aren’t limited to only these. When I looked up sunrooms, I saw people using them as carports and swimming pool covers, which I think is just amazing. I recommend doing your research first and going with the best option that suits you or your business. When you think carefully about it you do eventually come to realise that having one of these rooms is invaluable when it comes to improving everyone’s quality of life; they keep you healthy, fit, stable, and happy. Make sure you all keep staying safe out there!

Liv

GARDENING

Gardening

PLANNING FOR A SPECTACULAR SPRING

By Mike Burks, Managing Director of The Gardens Group The next few weeks are In September, the range and when they germinate and grow gardening’s traditional planting quality of shrubs is at its best leaves. After the winter, they season. This was far more and so it’s an ideal time for continue to grow and flower in significant in earlier years than getting the framework of a the Spring during their second it is now, but it’s still the best new border planted or to fill in year. They are such a rewarding time. The reason for its lesser any gaps. Watering will still be plant, but when most people significance in recent years is required in the early stages, but are appreciating how nice they that gardening has succumbed then nature will take over as the are its really not the time to to the demands of the modern autumn progresses. For best plant them. The best way of world, where most things results, add a good quantity getting them is either to grow that we undertake have to of multi compost or tree and your own from seed or to get give quick results and instant shrub planting compost, them in the old-fashioned way gratification. The importance and a couple of spoonfuls of as bare rooted bundles wrapped of gardening at this time of Rootgrow. Rootgrow contains in newspaper. This may not be year is planning ahead, so naturally occurring mycorrhizal possible anymore for fish and as to make the garden more fungi, which grow as a slime chips, but it’s still the best way successful next year. connecting plants’ roots to the with wallflowers! Planting in the autumn has the benefit of the soil being warm and usually moist. This means that plants will have the chance to grow roots and start to get soil, allowing better moisture collection by the plant. It’s like an extended root system and also protects the plants against some soil-borne diseases. Many bulbs are available in the autumn including, of course, daffodils, narcissi, hyacinths, tulips, crocus, bluebells, snowdrops and the like. Planted established before the winter. A leap of gardening faith takes now, they will give lots of colour This protects them from the place in the autumn with the in the early spring, quite often vagaries of the winter weather, planting of bedding plants, such before the rest of the garden has but it also means that in the as Wallflowers, Sweet Williams to come to life. This promise is spring they are more able to and Cherianthus. These are so important in providing cheer look after themselves in terms of biennials and so are grown after a number of long dark finding their own moisture. from seed in their first year, months.

CASTLE GARDENS New Road, Sherborne DT9 5NR Tel: 01935 814633 BRIMSMORE GARDENS Tintinhull Road, Yeovil BA21 3NU Tel: 01935 411000 POUNDBURY GARDENS Peverell Avenue, Poundbury DT1 3RT Tel: 01305 257250 www.thegardensgroup.co.uk

There’s plenty to enjoy now though, too; for more immediate impact, it’s the perfect time to refresh your tubs and baskets. Autumn and winter flowering pansies and Violas, Primroses and Polyanthus, as well as some spring flowering antirrhinums, hardy and semi hardy cyclamen, will provide a real boost of colour, complementing the autumn foliage colours and the wonderful fruit and berries that are the highlight of the next few months.

So plan ahead, but give yourself a treat for the next few weeks too!

Trading Standards, the gold standard

The hallmarking of gold and silver dates back to 1300 when King Edward I introduced it to protect standards and to prevent craftsmen committing fraud when making jewellery. The first stamp was a leopard’s head which symbolised the King’s mark of authentication. The word ‘hallmark’ didn’t come into use until the 15th century when craftsmen took their artefacts to Goldsmiths’ Hall in London to be assayed. Today there are four assay offices in operation, in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Sheffield.

Hallmarking techniques and regulations have been fine-tuned since those early days. The current legislation that governs hallmarking has been effective since the creation of the 1973 Hallmarking Act which is enforced by trading standards officers.

If a jeweller makes items of silver, gold, platinum or palladium and wants to sell them they are obliged to get them assayed which guarantees they are good quality. The hallmark is then applied so it can legally be put onto the market.

A 2019 report confirmed that up to a third of precious metal products supplied online do not bare a hallmark and could new varieties of autumn and therefore be fake. Jewellery fraud has consistently been an issue in the precious metal industry where counterfeit items can be made and sold to the unsuspecting customer at a high price. Fake jewellery affects the reputation of legitimate businesses and hurts the industry as a whole and without hallmarking enforcement many customers and legitimate businesses are exposed to fraud.

If you believe you may have purchased counterfeit jewellery report it to Dorset Council Trading Standards by visiting the Citizens Advice Consumer Service at: https://www. citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer or by calling their new free phone number 0808 223 1133.

RABBITS HAVE PANDEMICS TOO

By Peter Luscombe BVSc GPCert(Derm) MRCVS

As the world has adjusted to COVID-19 and struggled to control the spread of infection and find a way forward by developing a vaccine I could not help but to consider parallels we have seen over the years in our pets. We have managed what were common diseases across the world ultimately controlling them by using vaccines. Vaccinations have proved an effective and safe way and many once-common fatal diseases are now rarely seen in veterinary practice.

Currently, the most troubling infectious diseases in our pets are found in rabbits. Rabbits are the third most popular pet in the United Kingdom but the levels of vaccination uptake relatively low. Additionally, we have a population of wild rabbits giving a disease risk, especially in rural areas.

Myxomatosis is a common disease in wild rabbis, caused by a virus spread by biting insects including fleas and leads to severe skin and respiratory signs. Myxomatosis first broke out in the UK in 1953. It is widespread throughout the UK and has a higher seasonal prevalence in late summer, autumn and early winter. We see myxomatosis in pet rabbits sporadically, with cases becoming severely debilitated over many days. Occasionally rabbits may survive with prolonged nursing but usually are euthanased to avoid further suffering.

Viral Haemorrhagic disease is another fatal rabbit disease. First discovered in China in the 1980s, it arrived in the UK in 1992. A policy of isolation of affected premises to prevent the spread of disease was briefly introduced (a “Rabbit lockdown”) and I had clients around Yeovil who had official restrictions placed on their rabbits. This was stopped when the disease became established in wild rabbits and a vaccine was developed. The virus is transmitted through direct contact or on items such as bedding, hay and clothing. It can be transmitted via insects and birds may also play a part in the spread of the virus. Rabbits that contract the virus may show signs such as respiratory distress, fever, reduced appetite, lethargy, convulsions and bleeding from the nose before dying. Usually the disease progression is so rapid the pet rabbits are found dead before such signs are noticed.

In recent years a new strain of this virus (VHD2) has spread across Europe, first identified in the UK in 2014 it has been responsible for the deaths of rabbits across the country. VHD2 sadly often results in sudden death so consequently the real incidence is unknown, especially as most cases are suspected rather than confirmed with tests. This summer I have heard more reports of unexpected deaths, often in multiple rabbits, and I am seeing noticeably fewer wild rabbits in the fields near my home, making me believe this disease is increasing locally.

Quarantine, isolation and regular disinfection of hutches and utensils might help, but the most effective way to prevent these diseases is to vaccinate rabbits as young as possible and give annual boosters to maintain their protection from these devastating diseases.

Please contact your vets for more advice on vaccinations.

142 Preston Road, Yeovil Somerset BA20 2EE

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

By Mark Salter, Financial Planner

How much money do you really need for the rest of your life? The fact is the majority of people have no idea where they are heading financially. They may have assets, investments, and/or high levels of income, but most people have no idea what it all means, or what sort of financial future awaits them.

On the one hand they don’t want to retire too early, only to discover that their money runs out. On the other hand they don’t want to retire too late and end up working when they could have been playing! Then again, because of taxes due on death, they don’t want to die with too much money…. But they’re afraid to spend it or give it away! What we all need to know is: “how much money do I really need for the rest of my life?”

Having an insight into how much money you actually need can be enlightening. It can put you in control. Knowing how much is enough will give you the freedom to live your life smarter. After all, life is not a rehearsal; it needs to be lived to the full.

The NUMBER is the amount of money you need for the rest of your life – not just to survive but to live it to the full. It’s different for each of us, of course. So what’s your personal NUMBER? Is it a million? 2 million? A lot more? A lot less? How much do you really need? You can probably have a lot more fun at 55 than you can at 85. So the earlier you can understand your NUMBER the better. Without knowing your NUMBER, how can you plan? How can you decide what’s best? The great thing about discovering your NUMBER is that when you’ve found it you can then start to build it, nurture it, protect it – and most importantly – enjoy it. Real financial planning – some call it Lifestyle Financial Planning – is the key to knowing your NUMBER. Real financial planners don’t flog financial products, they help people to identify where they are now, to identify where they want to be in the future and to identify what needs to happen to make that future come alive.

Do you know your NUMBER?

PHONE LINE, BROADBAND If, like me, Finally, even if you’re not & INTERNET you are a bit of a going to change providers for whatever reason, call them and

By Jimmy Flynn, Milborne Port Computers “rate tart”, then at ask for a better deal! All of my recent clients who were still the end of on old ADSL (slow) broadband

So, this is how it works! If you Firstly, if you change your every contract who called to upgrade to FTTC live in a big city then you can telephone provider you can period I take (superfast) broadband, found have separate phone and ultrakeep the same number and full advantage of the best that their new package was in fast broadband (FTTP) service you no longer have to jump introductory offer going at the fact cheaper than the old, and delivered to your house (like through any hoops to do it … time and change providers. included a new router as well

Virgin Fibre) … as we live in the just phone the new provider My number stays the same, … no-brainer! rural West Country, we can’t, so I won’t say any more about it! You get your telephone service down a pair of copper wires from the local exchange and you can decide who provides this (BT, TalkTalk, Sky etc), you pay them line rental and call charges. We also get our broadband down the same pair of your choice and say, “give me telephone”, or easier still, just do it on-line. The same is true of broadband services, no magic codes or numbers any more, just ask to be moved. The best deals are usually to be had when you bundle everything together under one roof when you pay line rental, and all I have to do is plug in a new router provided free of charge by my new provider. How many times do I go into a client’s house and see a 10-year-old router providing slow broadband simply because the client is too frightened to change, or still thinks that BT are the only choice. As always, if you need help with this or anything else, you know where to come. Coming Up Next Month … BYOD and the Consumerisation of IT of copper wires and the service broadband and calls to the is split (filtered) where it comes same provider. This is usually in to your property. Again, you for a 12 or 18-month contract can choose your broadband period and usually includes an provider. introductory special offer. At

The time was that we had a choice of BT or BT, but times have moved on and you have a choice of about 20 nowadays, but few of you the end of your contract if you do nothing then you’ll move on to their standard tariff, just like gas & electricity prices, so it’s best to shop around. make best use of that choice. 14 Follow us online: www.theconduitmagazine.co.uk /TheConduitMag @conduitmag

LASTING POWERS OF ATTORNEY AND WILLS PLANNING

By Deborah Escott-Watson, Battens Solicitors

The times that we are currently living in have shown that life can change completely overnight and the future can look uncertain. The best way of dealing with this uncertainty is to ensure that all your personal planning is in place. There are two pillars to this planning – the first is executing a Lasting Power of Attorney so that your family can help you if you become ill or mentally incapacitated and the second is making your Will to ensure your estate passes to those who you wish to benefit on your death. A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) allows you (the donor) to make a choice now, when you are fit and healthy, about who you would trust (the attorney) to make financial and personal decisions on your behalf if, in the future, you lose the mental capacity to make them for yourself. There are two types of LPA. One type is a Property and Financial Affairs LPA which allows the attorney, to make decisions about your finances and property. A Property and Finance LPA is very flexible in that it can be used whilst someone is incapacitated, but as soon as they have returned to health the attorney will step aside – it is not a permanent arrangement unless it needs to be. The other type is a Health and Welfare LPA which gives the attorney authority to make decisions for you in respect of giving or refusing consent to healthcare, staying at home and receiving support, or moving into care. A Health and Welfare LPA can only be used when a person has lost capacity. All LPAs have to be registered at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), before they can be used. If it appears that the attorney is abusing their position, then anyone can raise a concern with the OPG or Social Services, who will investigate. If you have an accident or become ill, it may be too late to make an LPA and then an application will have to be made to court to appoint somebody, called a Deputy, to look after you affairs. This person may not be your choice, and appointing a deputy through the court is also a longer and more expensive process. This can take at least three months and there are costs which include application fees, medical assessments, solicitor’s fees, deputy appointment, annual management fee and a security bond. Your will is used to appoint a person (your executor) who will deal with the administration of your estate after you have died. The Executor is responsible for valuing your estate, closing bank accounts, dealing with your house, paying any tax that is due as well any debts and making sure that the balance of the estate passes to your chosen beneficiaries. If there is no will, the Law of Intestacy sets out who can inherit your estate and how much they can inherit. This may not be what you want. Making sure your will is up to date will provide you with the comfort of knowing that your family is provided for how you want them to be even if times are uncertain.

Your solicitor will help you make a Lasting Power of Attorney and Will that give effect to your wishes. You can then rest assured knowing that your family will benefit from your planning. For more information, please contact Deborah Escott-Watson on 01935 811314 or email at deborah.escott-watson@battens.co.uk.

Battens Solicitors appoints new Private Client Solicitor

Battens Solicitors is pleased to announce the appointment of accomplished solicitor, Caroline Parker, joining the Private Client Team based in Battens’ Yeovil office.

Caroline completed her Law degree and LPC at the University of Plymouth. She decided to pursue a career in law whilst studying A level law at college. She thoroughly enjoyed the subject and decided that she wanted to take the necessary steps to qualify as a solicitor.

Caroline specialises in Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney and the Administration of Estates. “I am looking forward to working with Battens Solicitors and will endeavour to provide an excellent service to clients. I will ensure that I use all of the skills and experience that I have to help them through what can be a very stressful and emotional time”, explains Caroline.

Naomi Dyer, Head of Private Client at Battens Solicitors, said: “We are pleased to welcome Caroline to Battens Solicitors. She brings with her a wealth of experience which enriches our existing team and will help us meet the growing client demands.”