CRG Kitchens

If you want a bespoke kitchen fitted, then look no further than CRG Kitchens Ltd of Worcestershire.

Chris Grantham is a kitchen specialist. Based in Worcester he has been designing and fitting kitchens for the past 35 years, carrying out installation work for all the major kitchen retailers.

Over the last 10 years he has achieved a very high standard of customer satisfaction by carrying out the design, supply and fitting of kitchens himself, so you only have one point of contact throughout.

Total Project Management He is very passionate about the fact that the company do not mass produce their designs and that the service is bespoke and based entirely on the clients’ needs and vision.

Initially Chris will meet you with the aim of gaining as clear a picture of your ideal kitchen as possible by discussing it in detail and clearly listening to what you want. He is happy to offer suggestions as to how your objectives may be achieved and great attention will be paid to the layout of the room and how the space may best be used. The result will be a unique kitchen that reflects your style and personality and a kitchen that works for YOU. Whether your budget is £5000 or £50,000 the company will endeavour to meet your requirements in a way that does not merely fit “boxes” into a room.

Having perfected the art of supplying and fitting kitchens over many years, Chris has identified key areas where his service & products are superior to other companies, these include:

• Use of high density moisture resistant cabinets • Only using top quality British manufactured doors • Using top quality draw runners, hinges & accessories • Bespoke sizes for doors and cabinets • Excellent customer service & communication • Innovative kitchen design • 25 year guarantee on kitchen cabinets • Lifetime warranty on installation • One point of contact for the whole project • All other trades arranged to complete the whole project • 3D kitchen planning using the very best software available • Using the very best qualified tradesmen

Chris is absolutely committed to providing customers with a top quality job, often going the extra mile to achieve a finish and service better than they could imagine. Having completed a 4 year Apprenticeship in Joinery & Shop Fitting coupled with having a building construction background gives customers the confidence that they are going to receive the very best products, professional installation and a service second to none. As he fits and project manages each installation, he will oversee the other trades as well, whether you use his list of registered tradesmen or your own. As a local Tradesman Chris is proud & passionate about achieving the very best job for you and every testimonial on his website is contactable for verification. n

n Innovative Design n Competitive Pricing n 40 years Experience n Free 3D Cad design Service n Professionally operated by caring tradesmen n Please check our customer reviews on our website n Every Contract Fully Project Managed n Innovative Design n Competitive Pricing n 40 years Experience n Free 3D Cad design Service n Professionally operated by caring tradesmen n Please check our customer reviews on our website n Every Contract Fully Project Managed

Lifetime Guarantee on installation workLifetime Guarantee on installation work

Contact Chris direct on 07791661347 E: chris@crgkitchens.co.uk www.crgkitchens.co.uk

Made-to-Measure Curtains & Blinds Saphira by Romo

• Free consultation in your own home • Fitting service available • • Extensive range of fabrics and accessories • Opening Hours: Wednesday - Friday: 9.30am - 5.00pm Saturday: 10.00am - 4.00pm | Sunday - Tuesday : Closed

61 High Street, Pershore, WR10 1EU T: 01386 556 411 | M: 07527 047647 | E: veragilesinteriors@btconnect.com www.veragilesinteriors.co.uk

Worcestershire Now

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Unit 2 Aston Fields Trade Park, 18 Sherwood Road, Bromsgrove, B60 3DR Free No Obligation Quotation Call: 01527 877300 www.bromsgrovewindowdoor.co.uk

CONTINUED OVER THE PAGE Wet & Waterlogged Soil Our climate which is influenced by the Atlantic, throws a lot of weather at us and over the last few months has waterlogged most of our gardens. Many gardeners have seen their plants lying under water at the worst, or thoroughly sodden at the best. However, plants are resilient and will normally survive. If they do succumb, take an optimistic stance and see it as an opportunity to plant something else.

How to improve soil drainage You can improve your soil’s drainage by adding coarse grit and this is highly desirable on heavy, sticky soil - but counter productive on lighter soil.

However adding well-rotted, home-made garden compost on a yearly basis will helps to aerate any soil, thereby aiding drainage. If you haven’t got a compost heap, build one. The other thing is to lightly fork the soil surface, using a small hand fork, without treading on the soil. There are long-handled versions available at your local garden centre for bigger borders . This will break up the crust, and allow further rain to sink in better.

The other great way of draining soil is to create a woody canopy using shrubs and trees. If the soil is very wet throughout the year consider the European dogwoods and willows. The red-stemmed dogwood Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ and the green-stemmed Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’ will both grow in very damp conditions. These produce pencilthick stems that pop up every now again, so they are not suitable for the small garden. The technique is to cut out the old stems every April to encourage new, colourful growth, but do allow the plant to get established for two or three years first. The cream and green leaved ‘Elegantissima’ is pretty throughout the year and still has red stems, although not as bright as ‘Sibirica’. Willows are notoriously thirsty, but they can be pollarded back to the base every year - again, once established. The orange-stemmed Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Britzensis’ glows in winter light.

Heavy rain and its effect on the soil structure Heavy rain compacts and pans the soil surface. Keep off until it’s drier. Use a plank to stand on when digging and try to aerate the soil surface with a fork to prevent panning, but without setting foot on it. Excessive rainfall tends to wash out nutrients and you will need to feed your plants. Use a potashrich slow release fertilizer that’s excellent for roses, peonies and fruit trees, or you may prefer an easily applied powdered chicken/ animal manure. All feeds are best applied to damp soil on still days when your plants are dry. Yearly applications of garden compost will also feed your plants and then you will not need to purchase manufactured fertilizers which take a great deal of fossil fuel to produce. It will also save plant material from being transported by fossil fuel and either composted under heat for green waste, or put into landfill.

Which plants will suffer in wet conditions? Alpine plants need very sharp drainage during winter because they’ve evolved on bare mountainsides where snow and frost desiccate the ground.

These plants will struggle and many will die in very wet winters. If you love alpines, consider making a sunny scree slope, using rocks and gravel so the water can escape. Or plant on a slope, or create your own slope, to aid drainage. You could also invest in an alpine bulb frame, or glasshouse to keep your treasures dry. Bulbous plants may also suffer, although those with large bulbs will cope far better than smaller bulbs. Fungal diseases are more of a problem, usually showing themselves as brown leaf tips or leaf margins. Also look out for botryitis, grey mould. If you see either of these remove the bulbs and examine them. Throw any infected bulbs away, or move them to a quarantine area and watch them carefully. Silver-leaved Mediterranean plants (sages, thymes, dianthus etc) may also suffer in wet conditions. These short-lived plants should be regularly propagated because older, leggier plants are more vulnerable. Cut all leggy Mediterranean plants back in late March: this will rejuvenate them. n

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Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!

It’s been an odd winter but as spring (hopefully) arrives, check out your flowers for a zooming bee

KEEP UP TO DATE Worcestershire Wildlife Trust @WorcsWT t worcestershirewildlifetrust G worcswildlifetrust.co.uk w

At this time of year a few of us have a competition to see who can spot the first hairy-footed flower bee of the year. Yes, you read that right, hairy-footed flower bee. The numbers involved in this competition grow each spring because who can resist the challenge of looking for something with such an odd name?

To be more accurate, they really should be called feather-legged flower bees because their long hair extends all the way up the middle legs of the male bees; they use them to stroke the female when mating. Males emerge a little before the females so that they’re full of energy when the females emerge. The males are relatively easy to spot with their bright gingery bodies and striking yellow/white faces. In contrast, females are black bundles of hair with orangey-red hind legs. Both are distinctive - zooming around your garden, feeding from lungwort (their favourite), comfrey, rosemary or borage flowers. They really do zoom and are rarely stationary – it’s one way of telling them from the more bumbling bumblebees but it means that getting a really good look or capturing a photograph can be challenging.

Hairy-footed flower bees are just one of more than 200 species of solitary bee in the UK.

Unlike bumblebees or honeybees that work together for a colony, solitary bees construct individual nests in which to lay their eggs and then provision these eggs with food (pollen) for when they hatch. Female hairy-footed flower bees laid eggs between March

and May last year. When these hatched, they ate their fill of pollen before pupating and emerging as adults before the onset of winter. If they’ve not yet emerged, they’re sitting in their sealed cells waiting for the right moment. Their cells are pitcher-shaped and, in Worcestershire at least, they’ll most likely be in a wall with soft mortar joints; they don’t do any harm to the structure, they just exploit a hole.

Hairy-footed flower bees are often the first bees to emerge in Worcestershire but they’re quickly followed by ashy mining bees and tawny mining bees as well as marmalade hoverflies, seven spot ladybirds and a whole host of other insects. What else will you spot if you choose to join us in our race to see the first hairy-footed flower bees of the season?

As your garden and the natural world awakes for spring, don’t forget to get out there with your camera. Our annual photography competition is open for entries until Monday 6th April so whether you’re heading out snapping signs of spring or rustling through last year’s photos to find your best shots, why not visit our website www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/ photo-competition for details on how to enter. We’re looking for photos that make us say ‘wow’, that really capture the best of Worcestershire’s wildlife and wild places. Winning images feature in our 2021 calendar, sales of which raise money for our conservation work across our beautiful county. n