Staying Warm and Stylish in the Garden

If you're sitting out in your garden anytime before the height of summer, you'll face the probelm that English weather isn't always conducive to your efforts. Indeed, even when it is a fine day, a cold breeze might be killing any attempt to use your outside space. But should we be held to ransom by the temperamental weather? At Alfresia we are clear that the answer should be no. However, to fight the conditions you will need some equipment.

Patio heaters are a must for every outdoor living space. They can bring the comfort of indoor living to your patio or garden and choosing the right heater allows you and your family to enjoy more time together outdoors all year round. However, to modern families, fittings and furniture must not only be functional but stylish too - what could be worse than a beautifully designed patio ruined by an ugly patio heater?

 

Our Living Flame Patio Heater ticks both these boxes. The heater is a powerful 9.5kW floor standing model and has a heat radius of 15-20 feet. This means it puts out a great deal of heat in a large area - perfect for keeping you warm on chilly winter evenings. The Living Flame Patio Heater also looks spectacular when lit, as the flames shoot up a glass tube like Apollo's arrow. The glass tube is further enclosed by stainless steel grids - you can see the flame, but young children or pets cannot touch the tube. Thus any health and saftey worries are assuaged.  The body of the heater features a space for the gas bottle to be stored - one of the panels can be removed and the gas placed inside. The design is thoroughly modern, featuring sleek lines and an unusual shape, so it is no surprise that this particularly model is ordered by the trendiest bars and restaurants in London and Manchester.

 

So if you want to stay both warm and stylish in your garden this spring, the only solution is the Living Flame Patio Heater can be supplied in either stainless steel or black. Alfresia is also a stockist of garden furniture.

Make The Most Of A Day Inside

The weather this week hasn't been great. It might not be great for a while. But how on earth are you meant to relax and enjoy the outdoors when, if you go outside, you get soaked by rain, frozen by the cold or swept over by the wind? It may sound like I'm exaggerating, but it was like something out of Wuthering Heights outside our office yesterday.

The answer to this quandary is simple: invest in some high quality, comfortable conservatory furniture now. A lot of the ranges on websites like Alfresia are currently reduced, and there are many online conservatory furniture sales. This means it is be a smart time to invest.

Conservatory furniture is a great way to enjoy the view of your garden, without being subjected to whatever the conditions are outside. In winter and early spring you can watch your garden start to come back to life without getting bitten by the wind. In later months, you can cool off in your conservatory, with a healthy breeze blowing through the windows.

Conservatory furniture comes in numerous styles and materials. This means that there is a suite to suit all tastes.

If you're going for a modern and stylish look, you could try the Tuscany Designer Resin Wicker Suite. The VIRO Resin is all weather meaning that you can leave the suite inside in the winter and then, in the summer months, you can take it outside and leave it there - you enjoy the best of both worlds. Even better, the resin wicker is available in traditional brown or stylish black and there are 4 different colour choices for the cushions! The suite price is down to 50%, and there are only a few left in stock!

More traditional looking, the Penang Cane and Sea Grass suite is great value for money - the cushions are reflex foam, making them comfy and durable and the chairs are constructed of the highest quality cane. The seats offer something to relax on in your conservatory. 

Whatever you choose, conservatory furniture is the only way to use your conservatory! If you invest now, you'll save greatly in the long run as the prices will be greater in the summer.

Alfresia is an online retailer of garden furniture and patio furniture.

Win a Gardeco Vulcan Brazier Fire Basket & BBQ Grill from Alfresia

In our Facebook 'Race to 3000' competition, Alfresia is offering the chance for you to win this fantastic fire basket from Gardeco.

This Brazier Fire Basket and BBQ Grill from Gardeco, the leading UK supplier of fire baskets and chimeneas, will add practicality and warmth to your garden and offer many years of service.

A brazier fire basket not only adds heat and warmth to your garden or patio (perfect now the cold days and nights are upon us!) but it also offers a practical solution to dealing with fallen leaves, logs and other garden waste. You could even incinerate unwanted personal documents in a safe and stable manner.

This 40cm x 56cm model is also supplied complete with a steel grill plate so you can use the basket as a BBQ, perfect for use throughout the summer months, and beyond if required.

This brazier has a sturdy round base which collects fallen ash and debris and helps to reduce the likelihood of the basket tipping over.This eye catching basket is as attractive as it is practical and being constructed from steel will ensure years of practical use.

It requires simple home assembly and is delivered with full instructions.

 To stand a chance of winning this fantastic fire basket, all you have to do is be among the first 3000 people to 'like' Facebook page. When the counter hits 3000, one winner will be randomly selected. The quicker we reach 3000, the sooner a winner will be announced, so share our link on your Facebook page, so all your friends can find out about us too!

Alfresia sells a wide range of chimeneas, braziers and fire baskets online. We also supply garden furniture.

Let Alfresia help you with your gardening queries

Need to know when to weed your lawn? What the dimensions and details of a certain barbecue are? Or you'd like some advice on which patio heater to choose? Send an email to us about what articles you'd like to see, and we'll do our best to answer you on the blog.

Email alfresiauk@gmail.com - we would love to hear from you!

Taking Care of Your Lawn in January

We've talked before about how its difficult to do any task that seems to beautify your garden in an English January. That is not to say that you cannot engage in constructive care for your garden. In January there is a few key tips to note.

Brush over any part of the lawn surface that has become covered with worm casts, using a besom or broom. Earth worms are of tremendous benefit to your garden - they are a vital part of soil and garden health. However, the casts that they can make on your lawn can be infuriating. You don't want to smear the casts into the lawn as this can cause slipperiness and, if they layer is too thick, it provides a perfect seedbed for weeds. Instead, brush them on a dry day. This means that it will be easier to distribute the fine soil evenly but thinly over the lawn.


Whenever possible, avoid walking on or working from the lawn when it is frosted or the ground is frozen. This is probably the cardinal rule of winter lawn care. If you break it, you can do a very great amount of damage in a very short amount of time and you may even encourage infections such as snow mould. If you absolutely have to cross the lawn, at least wait until the frost has cleared and the ground has thawed. If you are going to be working for an extended amount of time, lay down some planks or boards to distribute your weight evenly.

If the surface is not frozen, it may be worth carrying out a bit of temporary aeration using a garden fork. The purpose of this is to the movement and flow of air within the soil and relieve soil compaction. It will also aid irrigation. Do not attempt it if the soil is wet - this will only worsen the problem. Simply take your garden fork and plant holes at regular intervals. The ideal depth is 4 to 8 inches.

Lawn Mowing

On Alfresia, we've recently extended our range of Lawnmowers to include new and exciting products, designed to make sure that keeping your lawn looking good has never been easier. A good mowing is the  central way to keep your lawn looking pristine, however there are a few other ways in which you can help the lawn. 

The secret of a good lawn is to mow little and often; your objective is to cut only the top of the grass each time you mow it. Overall, this  will make mowing much easier and helps to keep the grass green and healthy.

Whenever the lawn is actively growing, it is suitable to mow. However you will find that from early spring until late autumn will be the most prolific growing months. To garner the best results only use your lawnmower when the grass is dry and remove any foreign objects from the lawn that may cause damage to the mower. If you want stripes on your lawn choose a mower with a rear roller.

Another procedure that will help protect the lawn is to feed it with a good lawn fertiliser. This has two effects: not only does it make the grass greener, but it makes it grow thicker and increases its strength, vigour and health so it is more robust and better equipped to compete with weeds, moss and weather-related stresses. In spring, the best results are achieved by using a granular feed that supplies a regular amount of nutrients over several weeks.

Alfresia is a supplier of garden furniture and lawnmowers.

Sowing in January: Broad Beans

January is traditionally too cold for anything to be sown. However, in warmer areas, you can sometimes sow broad beans. These are the earliest beans to crop. If your soil is too damp (through rain or snow) then they will not grow, so ensure the soil is relatively dry.

Broad beans will require a sunny position, but soil type is less relevant. They are normal sown in double rows, 9 inches apart, and with the seeds the same distance apart in each row. Dwarf varieties of the vegetable won't need support, but taller varieties will. Use cane or posts with string to give this support.

The worst pest that will afflict your broad beans is blackfly. To deter them, remove the  top 3 inches of the shoot when the plan is in fire.

Harvest the beans when the pods have swelled. They can be used immediately or frozen and used later. The green broad beans freeze better than the white ones.

Broad bean, feta and basil mash

For this dish, peeling the broad beans probably is essential - unless they are really tiny and fresh. The mash can be served as a side dish, but to keep it simple just eat it spread on toast (bruschetta, if you want to be classy about it).

400g shelled broad beans
150g feta cheese
50g basil leaves
500ml olive oil

Pop the broad beans from the pods and cook in boiling water until just tender. Cool in cold water, then peel them by squeezing between your fingers. Place the beans in a food processor with the feta, a generous handful of basil and a generous splash of olive oil. Blend the mixture in short bursts to get a rough mash. Season with salt and pepper, though the former might be unnecessary with the feta. Use at room temperature.

Alfresia is an online retailer of garden furniture and patio furniture.