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Beautiful, weatherproof, durable
Moucharabiya Garden Screen – starting from £85.00
INTRODUCING SCREEN WITH ENVY BEAUTIFUL, WEATHERPROOF, DURABLE GARDEN SCREENING AND FENCES
Combining a desire for beautiful outdoor spaces with adequate privacy, British design brand Screen with Envy brings to the market modern outdoor screens, fences and garden accessories that reflect the latest interior design trends. Like many Londoners, founder Sophie Birkert found she and her family frustrated with both the lack of privacy her small outdoor area provided, and the availability of stylish yet affordable garden screening when searching for a solution. Identifying a considerable gap in the market, Sophie began designing and offering her own, and as such, Screen with Envy was born.
Providing affordable and wellmade garden screens, fences and accessories, Screen with Envy’s portfolio offers a selection of unique and unusual designs. From outdoor screens inspired by traditional Arabic architecture to trellises adorned with botanical prints and floral patterns, gardens are quickly and easily transformed into a style oasis.
Verdure Garden Screen – starting from £85.00
Birkert meticulously tested a number of different materials, eventually settling on wood composite. This meant the look and feel of wood is achieved, with the durability of plastic, enabling the range to be entirely weatherproof and zero maintenance – perfect for busy homeowners. Whatsmore, made to measure and bespoke designs are also available upon request, allowing additional flexibility when desired. All screens are also suitable for indoor use.
This year, more than ever, our gardens have been our own personal havens – keeping us in touch with nature and giving us space to relax, exercise, spend time with our family and nurture our favourite plants. We make the garden an enjoyable place for the people at home, but what about our pets? Wood Green, The Animals Charity shares advice for creating a pet-friendly garden, whether you have dogs, cats or small pets like rabbits and guinea pigs.
DOGS
Dogs love gardens – and most of all, they like to be in the garden with you! Your outdoor space, however big or small, can be used for a variety of games and activities.
Grassy areas are ideal for scattering food, retrieving toys and games of tug. Try to avoid gravel, as the stones are hard on paws and can get very hot in summer. Hiding a dog’s favourite toy or treats around the garden such as behind pots, under bushes and in long grass will help dogs to use their nose and brain.
For adult dogs, setting up low jumps in the garden can be great fun – and it’s easy with just two plant pots with a broom over them. Can you teach your dog to retrieve a toy over a jump?
For dogs who love digging, adding a sandpit gives them space to have fun without destroying the flowerbed. Make sure you stay with them and teach them the rules.
Practise training – such as sit, stay, leave and recall – in your garden. The outdoor sights, scents and sounds can be a distraction, but will help to achieve the same good behaviour whilst out in public.
Some plants can be poisonous to dogs, so particular care needs to be taken when puppies and young dogs are exploring their environment as they are inclined to taste and chew nearly everything they come across. For further details on toxic plants, please visit Wood Green’s website.
CATS
Providing outdoor access will allow your cat to express their natural behaviours. These simple tips will help you to create a wonderful environment for them to enjoy all year round.
Place pots or shrubs directly outside the door or cat flap. Cats like to have a bolthole nearby so if they see or hear something that worries them, they can run for cover.
Cats generally feel safer when surveying their territory from up high. Provide your cat with logs, posts and perching platforms, or trees with open growth, to offer climbing and scratching opportunities. Your cat will use these to condition their claws, exercise and mark their territory.
Cats love to sunbathe, so make sure they have some sunspots to relax in. By also giving them places to hide, your cat will have the option to seek shelter from the rain or midday sun.
Consider your choice of plants. Catnip, catmint and cat grass will keep cats entertained, as well as
plants like Buddleia that attract butterflies and other insects that cats can watch and chase.
To encourage your cat to toilet outside, create a designated area with loose non-toxic sand. Ideally, it should be partially sheltered to make it appealing to use in all weathers.
If you typically prefer to keep your cat indoors, could you build an enclosed garden or ‘catio’? Cats love being outside so this will allow them to express their natural behaviours, whilst offering you peace of mind. Stepby-step guidance is available on Wood Green’s website.
SMALL ANIMALS
Many small pets live outdoors, so owners will already have petproofed their garden. Did you know you can also grow a number of things to feed them with, or use garden materials to create feeders and toys?
10% of rabbits’ and guinea pigs’ diets should be made up of plants like herbs, fruits and vegetables, along with 85% being made up of hay or grass. Many can be grown at home – but not all of them are recommended. Full feeding
guides are available on Wood Green’s website.
For example, blackberry bramble leaves are superb for keeping small pets’ digestive systems healthy. For guinea pigs, pick and scatter the leaves. Rabbits enjoy a whole strip of bramble, including the thorns.
To provide enrichment for small pet runs, consider tunnels, cardboard boxes, trays filled with soil or play sand, and/or large willow or apple tree logs. Old plastic plant pots can also be reused, and stuffed with hay and freshly picked forage, for rabbits and guinea pigs to browse.
If you’d like to offer a spacious and enriched environment for small pets that also looks nice, you could build your own into the available landscape – such as upcycling a shed, or building rabbit mounds and burrows.
For further advice about creating a pet-friendly garden, or for free advice and support about any other aspect of pet care, please go to woodgreen.org.uk.
In the past year Wood Green, The Animals Charity has helped around 7,000 pets in need, from urgent veterinary treatment and rehabilitation through to behavioural training and support for pet owners on all aspects of pet care. This wouldn’t be possible without kind donations from members of the public. You can donate to this worthy cause by visiting woodgreen.org.uk.
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