All Talk with Phil Argent: Recent Episodes
All Gardening
The All Talk discusses growing a business: how ideas come and go, how it feels, the ups and down, the risks and the journey
I also discuss lawns and gardening learnings from time to time. I’m Phil the founder All Gardening, I use dyslexic thinking skills, life learnings and experience to move things forward day to day.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Listen to today’s episode, read the blog posts or subscribe.
www.allgardening.co.uk
April is a time for tea and travelling on trains, we'll When it rains every day there is little to do in the gardens.
Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardeningTo learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening https://www.allgardening.co.uk/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeninglsInstagram https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
March we like to celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring, but this year it's been a wet, very wet March. I talk about March and some of the good and some of the not-so-good.Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardeningTo learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening https://www.allgardening.co.uk/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeninglsInstagram https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Well, a small get-together got me thinking. How do I know if what I'm working on is going to be a success?
Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.
Lawn about Lawn Plan
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/lawn-plan-complete
For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening
To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening https://www.allgardening.co.uk/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
2024 is the year to do the big Lawn Reset. I ramble on about how to get started.
And as I've said before, whilst growing grass might be simple, running a business that does it is not easy. So few do.Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.
Lawn about Lawn Plan
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/lawn-plan-complete
For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening
To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening https://www.allgardening.co.uk/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Ok, it’s raining a lot, the ground is very wet, and f you haven’t looked after your lawn your going to be growing a whole load in of moss.Let’s talk about how to manage it. And as I've said before, whilst growing grass might be simple, running a business that does it is not easy. So few do.Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.
Lawn about Lawn Plan https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/lawn-plan-complete
For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening
To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening https://www.allgardening.co.uk/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
I’m being useful for once. With a few tips on things to do this time f year on your lawn and garden.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
“You can’t hide passion”
Enzo Ferrari knew.
Ettore BUGATTI knew.
Henry Royce of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars knew.
They all started with the intent to produce the best.
That starts with an obsession with the goal.
Be the best.
To be the best it takes relentless focus.
Resilience to the ups and downs.
I’ve recently found a small group of clients committed to owning one of the finest lawns in the UK.
A small group of people who look forward to owning a piece of art, English garden art.
A fine English lawn.
I’m looking to find a few more.
Why art?
To grow the finest lawns in the UK it takes an understanding of art and science.
I look at everything with an eye for detail that seeks out perfection.
Growing the finest lawns is simple.
But, simple if different to easy.
So few do.
If owning one of the finest lawns in the UK is something you might want to know more about, the first step, a small one is intent.
DM me.
I’ll share with you an new service I’m working on, The Green Letter club.
The club opens on the first day of spring 2024.
100 members, never more.
I’m seeking those that think different, but, and most importantly see value in owning something that is simply the best.
And as I've said before, whilst growing grass might be simple, running a business that does it is not easy. So few do.
Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.
Lawn about Lawn Plan
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/lawn-plan-complete
For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening
To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Storm Elin came through the UK over the weekend.I was in my van.Let's say it was windy, and wet.But It was quite relaxing to listen too as well.So, for once I recorded the sounds from my van.And as I've said before, whilst growing grass might be simple, running a business that does it is not easy. So few do.Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.Lawn about Lawn Planhttps://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/lawn-plan-completeFor all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardeningTo learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardeninghttps://www.allgardening.co.uk/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
You may think that a guy who is growing a fine lawn business is fit (very), well the truth is I’m fitter than most, but not as fit as I could be…. This got me thinking about fitness habits and what options are out there. I also got to think about how they run their business model. When I started listening to a podcast called Acquired, I got an idea that would not only make me fit but also my lawn service Lawn Plan.It’s amazing what you can learn if you travel up and down the M1 as often as I do. My dyslexic and ADHD mind thrives on “sound bite learning” #SBL. I don’t read books, I’d go so far as saying I probably have read only a handful of books in the last 10 years, but listening to others talk about business, history, politics, and much more is how I do learn.I didn’t think Peloton was a business I should learn about, but learn I have and so much to focus on for Lawn Plan.Building a business can be fun, but you have to be super focused on getting so much right.And as I've said before, whilst growing grass might be simple, running a business that does it is not easy. So few do.Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.Lawn about Lawn Planhttps://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/lawn-plan-completeAll about Acquired https://www.acquired.fm/For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardeningTo learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardeninghttps://www.allgardening.co.uk/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
I wanted to book mark a significant change in thinking.
For so many years the period from September to January has been hard, for my mind. I always thought it was a school thing, to do with my ADHD and Dyslexic ways, I'd run off looking for new things, or was it I was looking for a way out.
Well 4 weeks ago, I was held onto, and given the chance to start doing the one thing I never thought I could do, which was focus on my lawn service Lawn Plan during a period when everyone said you can't get customers.
I focused hard on finding a solution to the seasonality of my cash flow and business.
And I started to think about how I go about pre-booking the 2024 season.
Building a business can be fun, but you have to be super focused on getting so much right.
And as I've said before, whilst growing grass might be simple, running a business that does it is not easy. So few do.
Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.
For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening
To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/
https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
The more I stay focused on Lawn Plan and doing One Thing Well, the more I'm digging into doing things better, I mean really better, and the more I'm trying to even out the business model.
Today I concluded 2 major breakthroughs:
- Grow Lights used on football pitches, grow grass all through winter, so why not do the same on a Lawn Plan reset.
- Even thought its the end of the 2023 season, the 2024 season is coming, and because I can only work on a select number of lawns, to help with the business model, I can offer a 20% discount for those organised enough to pre book there Lawn Plan service set for 2024.
Building a business can be fun, but you have to be super focused on getting so much right.
And as I've said before, whilst growing grass might be simple, running a business that does it is not easy. So few do.
Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.
For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening
To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/
https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
264: Thinking Time: How one entrepreneur builds ideas into action.I've been thinking, that's how things start...But how do entrepreneurs build ideas into actions, this is something I've been studying as I go along Growing All Gardening.In my case, which is how I'm going to explore this, I'm going to share some insights into the dynamics and fragility of it all. I've always found ideas are delicate, but most recently I've also come to learn I have to have supreme confidence, but for that to work to my advantage it has to be balanced by a few other factors that move around in terms of their priority.Here's the full list of the 6 things that are part of my ADHD/dyslexic mind that I use to open an idea, explore it, and then make it become something of action.THE THINKING 6.The order of the list changes every day.... not many have the ability to do that, but an ADHD mind does.Today's THINKING 6 list and order: Confidence Focus Value Uncertainty Doubt AnxietyIt's been a progressive day for Lawn Plan and Growing All Gardening.Learn more: https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/lawn-plan-completeJoin me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardeningTo learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening https://www.allgardening.co.uk/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Today I changed back the logo on the All Gardening website, a simple enough task, but a vital one.
You see I've started to settle on a real purpose for All Gardening, and it was a long way to go, but it's come from a heart felt place.
The All Gardening logo tells a story, an ALL story, it tells a story of doing everything, then one day doing just one thing.
Today and into the future I plan to grow the finest lawns in and around London and Yorkshire.
Deciding on that has been a journey I'll try and share in this podcast.
Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.
For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening
To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/
https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
I can't say it's been easy, but I've started to learn about my ADHD and Dyslexic mind and how it has limited my life. Let's start there.I also talk about how I can now harness my mind in order to identify the smallest yet most important changes to my business All Gardening.Lastly, I'll chat about the future and having a newfound sense of optimism that there is a confident future ahead.Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardeningTo learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening https://www.allgardening.co.uk/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
It's not easy to unpack what I've learnt.
But lets say I am trying to.
Today I share what I think I now understand about my mind, dyslexic and adhd.
I'd always thought differently about things, I'd try to hide things and suppress things.
But that was going to be life-limiting.
So it had to change.
Cheers
Phil
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
I've been busy.
I've been trying to be myself.
But that's not been easy.
To do that I need to learn new things.
And I have to believe I can keep going.
The progress is very good but I don't feel like that.
In this episode, I try to share with you what I've done, what I've learnt and what I'm coping with.
I share my 5 feelings that challenge my every waking moment.
My value
My confidence
My anxiety
My uncertainty
My doubt sensitivity (I think I made this one up?)
You can see more about All Gardening on the website:
www.allgardening.co.uk
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
I took a photo last week, it was of me walking on a lush lawn.
It made me think, "I'd like to have been waking barefoot".
Which made me settle my thinking on my marketing strategy.
Its simple, but not been easy to devise.
Home page header creative.
Take some idea into email.
Take the email and share on social.
Some will love it, and some will leave.
Those that stay know.
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There is a world of learning when you try and do something that looks easy, but isn’t.
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In 14 days.
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It’s such a simple ideal, but so hard to do. Only do the best work, for those that want the best. Phil Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, and ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Join our newsletter https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
You never know what can happen if you don’t stray Phil Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, and ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Join our newsletter https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
A trip to see Holland and Holland gave me a huge new insight.
https://hollandandholland.com/
The biggest learning was this, when you do one thing well, really well, I grow fine English lawns, Hollan and Holland make the finest guns, you can share the passion with anyone who will listen.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, and ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
There can be more than one way….
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The YearBook was a page talking about tea. It matters more than you’d realise.
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I’ve been part of great teams. Great teams connect to a vision.
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I’ve been learning.
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It’s just the next step in Growing All Gardening
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Some mornings I’m up early. Today was one of those.
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But that’s not all, there is something growing, perhaps in Australia….
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The rains will come, but not for a while.
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At the weekend I did something I never thought I'd do.
I went live on Facebook on the All Gardening Cafe.
1.45 mins I was chatting to anyone in the world who would stop and listen.
I walked.
I chatted.
And I didn't expect anything in return.
You see I thought it was time I started telling more people about All Gardening and specifically why to learn more about All Gardening.
Some people joined me.
A few.
But it wasn't about numbers.
It was about sharing.
Sharing a journey.
That journey is, the journey of Growing All Gardening worldwide.
What followed surprised me and lead me to a new idea, Going astray with Phil.
I walk the gardens of the world, and share what I see.
I had some more thoughts too.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
I went for a short walk today.
It was an end of day kinda walk, with Oban my dog.
I walked alongside the river Nidd, my local river.
It reminded me that it's not long now till Henley Royal Regatta.
Henley I've raced at a few times, coached crews to complete, and enjoyed many Friday club days and BBQ's.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Blue skies are a metaphor for how I hope things start to progress.
I've asked a couple of old friends to work with me to develop some T-shirts for the All Gardening Growabili-tee t shirt.
Ann and Graham from Annex Designs, https://www.annexdesign.co.uk/
I think it's going to be great.
I think I need to sell 40 per month to get things going.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
So it hasn't rained for 3 weeks.
Not good for any lawn or garden.
But knowing when a lawn needs watering requires a simple test.
Grab your screw driver!
I tell you more on todays podcast.
Here is today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Summer is the perfect time to explore the beauty of gardens around the world. Whether you're a passionate gardener seeking inspiration or simply looking to immerse yourself in nature's splendour, visiting gardens can be a rewarding and refreshing experience.
From exotic tropical paradises to meticulously manicured formal gardens, this blog will serve as your comprehensive guide to the most breathtaking gardens to visit this summer. So, grab your sunhat and let's embark on a horticultural adventure!
- Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands: Located in Lisse, the Netherlands, Keukenhof Gardens is a world-renowned floral park famous for its colourful displays of tulips. With over seven million bulbs planted annually, this garden offers an awe-inspiring spectacle of vibrant blooms. Stroll through the flower-filled pathways, admire the unique designs, and capture the perfect Instagram-worthy shot.
- Butchart Gardens, Canada: Nestled in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Butchart Gardens is a botanical wonderland that attracts millions of visitors each year. This historic garden boasts a stunning collection of plants and features various themed gardens, including the Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, and Sunken Garden. Experience the tranquil beauty, attend live concerts, and indulge in delicious afternoon tea.
- Claude Monet's Garden, France: Immerse yourself in the world of Impressionist art at Claude Monet's Garden in Giverny, France. The garden, which inspired many of Monet's famous paintings, showcases an exquisite blend of flowers, water lilies, and picturesque bridges. Take a leisurely walk across the Japanese bridge or sit by the lily pond, and witness firsthand the inspiration behind Monet's masterpieces.
- Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, South Africa: Set against the backdrop of Table Mountain in Cape Town, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is a botanical treasure trove. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is renowned for its diverse flora, including the breathtaking display of fynbos. Enjoy guided tours, pack a picnic, and attend one of the live music concerts hosted in this captivating garden.
- Gardens of Versailles, France: No garden list would be complete without mentioning the grandeur of the Gardens of Versailles. Located in the palace complex of Versailles near Paris, these iconic gardens are a testament to French landscaping artistry. Explore the perfectly manicured lawns, ornate fountains, and geometrically designed flower beds that once served as the playground of French royalty.
- Portland Japanese Garden, United States: Nestled within the bustling city of Portland, Oregon, the Portland Japanese Garden is a serene oasis that showcases the beauty of Japanese garden design. Discover the art of tranquility as you wander through the carefully crafted landscapes, featuring waterfalls, stone lanterns, and meticulously pruned trees. Don't miss the authentic tea house for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
- Alhambra Gardens, Spain: Step into a world of Moorish architecture and lush greenery at the Alhambra Gardens in Granada, Spain. These Islamic gardens boast intricate geometric designs, tranquil courtyards, and vibrant flowers that perfectly complement the stunning Alhambra palace. Explore the Generalife gardens and take in the breathtaking views of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Embarking on a journey to explore the world's most captivating gardens is a delight for any gardening enthusiast or nature lover. From the iconic tulip fields of the Netherlands to the serene elegance of Japanese gardens, these destinations offer a feast for the senses. Whether you're seeking inspiration for your own garden or simply wish to appreciate the beauty of nature, these gardens will leave an indelible impression. So, make the most of this summer by immersing yourself in the botanical wonders that await you.
Happy gardening and safe travels!
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
So I'm looking out the window of the office.
It faces south.
It's going to get hot. But not too hot.
But hot enough to start thinking about getting the BBQ on.
I love cucumber salad in summer.
It simple, and as many of you know from listening to my podcasts and reading my blogs I love simple.
Simple done well takes years and years to learn.
And I'd say cucumber salad is like every other simple.
Master the cut width, salting and dressings and you have magic.
Which got me thinking about a time I went to France to stay with Sasha Lichine at his place in Bordeaux.
It's a story of simple and excelent in the same moment.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
How we grow and what we grow and why we grow, is not obvious.
But does it need to be.
Starting and doing is the key.
Learning and loving.
Muddy hands, smiles of joy.
There is no done in the garden or with the lawn.
You're in it for good.
And thats ok.
A few years ago I was talking to one of my customers, Roger Lister, old chap with a big garden, fruit trees, veg patch, compost areas and the fine English lawn I helped him take care of.
I asked him if he ever sat down to just look at the work.
His work.
His efforts.
The results.
Whilst holding a mug of tea he said to me, "Phil, how can I ever look back at my work, when there is so much to be done"
"Looking back, Phil, it would be like I'd agreed something is complete"
"If it was Phil, what would I do"
Roger gardened his garden well into his late 80's.
I sent him an email not so long ago.
He replied "Phil, nice to hear from you. I'm 94 now, I don't do the garden anymore, but I do now look on in admiration as others do for me".
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Stop, look, you'll know.
Today Was like most days, I started by cutting lawns.
But whilst I was doing that I got thinking about the best things you can buy, I don't quite know why, but that's how my mind rolls when I'm cutting lawns.
I say this because yesterday I got thinking about what I really do, and what I want people to really understand that I do.
I got thinking about the best cars, how people understand them, the brands and the people behind them.
Like Ferrari, Enzo engineered an awesome product, he told people, he showed people, the cars became legendary, as did he.
I went to Redline cars today as I was passing to check out the Ferrari's.
All I had to do was look, to know.
The Ferrari like a fine English lawn is something you just know.
So, I changed one word on my website home page.
The one word, was CARE, I changed it the word FINE.
I do care, but I care more than just Lawn Care.
I grow fine English lawns.
Before I did Lawn Care.
If I'm going to do what I think I do then I thought it would be good to say it.
Intent is everything.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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I have a few days left to schedule in this week.
Things need to change.
So I started thinking.
Fine Lawns are to be found everywhere.
So I thought I'd go and find them.
Which got me thinking about a song.
London Calling by The Clash
Here's the words.
London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls
London calling, now don't look to us
Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust
London calling, see we ain't got no swing
Except for the ring of the truncheon thing.
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning
I live by the river.
London calling to the imitation zone
Forget it, brother, you can go it alone
London calling to the zombies of death
Quit holding out and draw another breath
London calling and I don't want to shout
But while we were talking, I saw you nodding out
London calling, see we ain't got no high
Except for that one with the yellowy eye.
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear era, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning
I, I live by the river.
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear era, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning
I, I live by the river.
Now get this.
London calling, yes, I was there, too
And you know what they said? Well, some of it was true
London calling at the top of the dial
And after all this, won't you give me a smile?
I never felt so much alike, alike, alike, alike
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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Here's today's podcastPhilFounder of All Gardening
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It's not often that I look at MY lawn and think its world class.
But today was one of those days.
I've been cutting it everyday for a week.
It's been fed with All Gardening Lawn Food.
Blimey its awesome.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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Brilliant minds work on brilliant things.
Last week I read an article from Richard Branson on AI and dyslexic thinkers.
Simply put, he said dyslexic brains, the most powerful brains, would know how to make the most of Ai and also perhaps make friends and understand how to harness with a relationship very very quickly would be Dyslexic brains.
We'll I've put my ADHD/ Dyslexic brain to work to see what we can do.
We spent a day together working on some new content for the All Gardening website.
There is a new section curated by AI and edited by me.
www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/lawn-care
We worked fast, it was fluid and in most cases I even learnt something I didn't know about lawns and there problems, I've only been working on lawns for 35,000 hours.....
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
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The season is rolling in.
Today it currently feels like 16c but it's actually 17c.
There is a cooling wind.
There is clear skies.
It feels warm.
Which is nice.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
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Well it finally came.
The first day.
The first editions.
The Yearbook 2 first orders went out in the post today.
It's a special day, a day that may seem small, but is really huge.
It took me 4 months to write the Yearbook 2.
It's now selling.
Every copy counts.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
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Hello Friends!
My Garden heroes!
Did you know I do a daily podcast?
I do it more as a daily journal than anything else.
BUT...Episode 250 of the Growing All Gardening podcast should have a guest.
It could be you.
I like people. I like chatty people. I want people with ideas. And most of all I like it when people make me think.
I'd like to find someone who would be up for coming on the podcast for a chat.
Would you like to?
OR
Do you know someone who we might all be interested in hearing from....
Need not be someone gardening related.
It needs someone who can tell a good story.
And in doing so inspire us
Help us think different.
And think grow!
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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I've been talking to a few clients today.
I've also been in need of suncream.
When the sun comes out and its scrong enough to resuire suncream I know one thing is on the cards.
Clients will be using there gardens and lawns.
There need to be perfect.
This year it's all turned from cold and wet to sun cream day in a matter of days.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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So yesterday if you're following my blogs I thought I'd put some shape around my email capture strategy, but I also released I hadn't told anyone who is currently on my email list that I have the Yearbook 2 for sale.
I wanted to buy emails.
But I hadn't thought about the 272 I already have.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
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Here's to the small.
Here's to the small businesses.
Help us get the word out.
And at the same give you a chance to win a £250 Gift Card to spend on our website or services.
Enter join our newsletter.
Good luck.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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Well it's been a rather non May time week.
Wet.
Cold.
Raining.
But, it's the weekend and we got stuff to do.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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It wasn't men't to be like this today, but it was.
Wet, very.
I mean the rain bucketed it down.
But it was warmish.
Which didn't make it so hard.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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10th May 2023, with the warmer temperatures it can now be seen just about everywhere in North Yorkshire that the grass is growing.
So, I think it's time to do a few leaflets in a few areas I'd like to look after some lawns. in and around Harrogate and the surrounding villages and towns.
I also thought it would be a timely opportunity to see if I can get the All Gardening Cafe Yearbook stocked in some of the local book shops.
And not forgetting, I've started to ask a few customers to give me a testimonial.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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It happens but once a year.
The spring bounce.
This is a moment in the year when the grass "bounces" out of the ground.
Bouncing happens when the ground temperatures steadies about 8-10 degrees, the days have temperatures that average over 16 degrees, oh and the sun is warm.
After the spring bounce is triggered there is a period of 6-8 weeks of steady growth until we hit late July, early August when the summer is at it's high.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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So 3 weeks ago I fully renovated a lawn.
A small lawn.
But a lawn that was 80% weeds and moss.
After I'd carried out some moss control, double scarified it I can tell you there was little left of it.
Then I over seeded at 30grms per meter.
Then I over dressed it with a duvet of Jacks Magic Compost.
Then I covered it over with germination sheet.
It was then left.
It was cold.
It wasn't growing.
Then it did.
Today the covers came off.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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I think moss has got a place.
But it's not in the lawns I look after.
Moss is a funny old friend, in some ways It's a good thing, it's a happily growing plant.
But where it becomes a bit of a villain is in how it grows, how it wins the battle of growth with the grass.
You see moss layers over the grass given time.
It gets deep, and eventually swamps the grass.
Game over grass.
So with all the lawns I look after, even the ones that look in fine condition I'm always keen to spray off the lawn with some moss control, just to keep the fight at bay.
Oh btw, if you feed the grass it tends to have much better chance of out growing the moss.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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I wear Slazenger golf shoes v100!
Here's my thinking.
I need a pair of shoes that have good grip on turf.
I need a pair of shoes that are water proof, especially with morning dew.
And I need a pair of shoes that are robust enough to be walked daily 6-7k.
So considering my golf has gone right off the boil I thought I'd put my golf shoes to better use and use them work work.
They are perfect. Just the job.
I'd recommend them for lawn and garden working.
Most people will have a pair, and most people will need to get started with cutting the lawn soon, so why not give your golf shoes a try.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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When is the best time of year to level a lawn?
I get asked this a lot.
Here's some thoughts on it, and how to go about it.
Cheers
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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So I woke up thinking differently today.
I thought rather than thinking about all the things that limit me, limit the success of the lawns I work on, limit growth, I'd think limitlessly.
If AI can think limitlessly why can't we.
Perhaps by embracing AI in lawn care services it can help make lawns perform better and offer the home owner something more.
I believe that limitless thinking is essential for personal growth and development.
When we limit ourselves to what we already know or believe, we miss out on opportunities for learning and improvement.
By embracing the possibility of new ideas and perspectives, we open ourselves up to new experiences and possibilities.
Limitless thinking allows us to break free from the constraints of our own thoughts and beliefs, and to explore the world with an open mind.
It is only by pushing past our limits that we can truly grow and achieve our full potential.
And there is so much to capture in that last line, growth comes when we thinking limitlessly.
Here's today's podcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast/220-limitless-thinking-and-ai
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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Well it has taken a few months but it's final finished.
Yesterday I sent the Year Book 2023 off to the printers.
I'm just doing 3 copies for now.
Just to see what they look like, and how other people receive it.
After i've check it all over I'll be doing a single print run.
How many to be printed? I don't know yet.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
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How can lawns and AI work together?
That's the question I asked Grammarly's AI content generator.
Here's the answer.
Lawns and AI can work together in several ways to make lawn care more efficient and effective. One way is through the use of smart irrigation systems that use AI algorithms to determine the optimal watering schedule based on weather patterns and soil moisture levels. This can help minimize water waste and reduce the risk of overwatering or underwatering.
Another way that lawns and AI can work together is through the use of smart lawnmowers that are equipped with sensors and cameras to navigate around obstacles and adjust their mowing patterns based on the shape and size of the lawn. This can help reduce the amount of time and effort required for lawn maintenance and ensure a more consistent and even cut.
Furthermore, AI-powered lawn care services can analyze data on soil quality, nutrient levels, and pest infestations to provide targeted recommendations for fertilization, weed control, and pest management. This can help homeowners achieve a healthier and greener lawn without the need for excessive chemicals or manual labor.
Overall, the integration of AI technology into lawn care can help homeowners save time, money, and resources while achieving a more beautiful and sustainable outdoor space.
Some quite interesting thinking in that.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
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Why am I doing a yearbook?
Well I thought that I should share with my customers how i see the world, how I see lawns and gardens.
Most importantly I want to share a moment.
Most importantly I want to share some best bits.
Most importantly I want to have something to help me remember the past, but look towards the future.
The Yearbook is nearly done, many months of work.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
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This cold weather is concerning for gardeners and grows, and lawn lovers.
There seems to be a weather system coming from the north of the UK bringing cool temps, and very cool overnight temps.
I even had frost on my windscreen this morning at 7am.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
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There are a few things you need for a perfect lawn.
Some nice grass.
A nice mower.
A fed lawn.
A cut lawn.
And an edged lawn.
We've been doing edging for a while using ever edge, check out our installation on the Ever Edge website.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
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So tomorrow is dad's funeral.
I'll be doing his eulogy.
For those that can't make it to the service, or funeral, here is the eulogy.
Hello Friends, and hello Dad.
Let me speak for your four wonderful children Nick, Phil, Chris and Marianne and your eight grandchildren Jessica, Billy, Maddie, Angus, Blake, Dexter, Ellie and Bodhi.
Dad, you and Mum were married for over 50 years, you set the bar high with consistent commitment, connection, love and unity, and above all you relentlessly shared your life with your friends and family.
Dad, you prefer singing than to be silent.
You said it was easier to get enthusiastic about singing because you'd always feel like you could do your bit.
Well, Dad, you've done your bit, so let me take over from here.
In order to prepare this speech, I re-read lots and lots of notes from Dad, and notes from his friends to get a general picture of how Dad was regarded.
A great family man with tireless commitment and unwavering dedication, a larger-than-life character seems to have been the words people most connected with him.
A great leader also rang a lot of bells. He was so very committed and dedicated to his clubs and groups.
On the other hand, as a family, we knew him as a fun and caring dad, an adventurer, and a bit of a silly fool if I'm be honest, which I think he would have thought a good summary of his best bits.
You might have experienced him as the dancing horse for the Morris men, a rather strange commitment but one he dedicated 100% of himself to.
I think his dancing was more a gentle hop, his horse's head perhaps just a mask to give him the chance to live in a wonderous imaginary world.
Most of all, we seem to all think Dad, Denis, Coco the Clown, and Den Den had an enormous capacity for giving.
And expecting nothing in return.
I hope giving, joyful and larger than life is how you will all remember him.
Not gone, silent, only to be found near the church altar resting in a box.
Pick your favourite moment of him and remember him that way.
The most giving, caring, big-hearted, larger-than-life character, and funny fool any of us would meet.
As a family, we've pondered how we will remember him, well Dad had a passion for song and often said he had an Irish leg and loved the Dubliners...
So I'm going to hand it over to them for the last words.
Feel free to join in.
I've been a wild rover for many's the year
And I've spent all me money on whiskey and beer
But now I'm returning with gold in great store
And I never will play the wild rover no more
And it's no, nay, never
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover
No never no more
Here's today's podcast
Phil
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
In 2006 I started to grow grass on my van.
I still do the same.
But it's not the grass you'd find on any of the lawns I work on.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
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Fresh seed.
So I've got some new grass seed in.
I'm doing a handful of lawn renovations.
It's nearly May.
The seed I use is from Green Velvet, it's fresh.
How do you know when your grass seed is fresh?
It will say it on the label, you can see on this label in the photo the date of bag seal 10/22.
Why is fresh grass seed important?
It will be more likely to germinate consitently.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
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To be the best you have to live the life.
Play the long game.
Don't change what works.
Only aim to learn.
Here's todays' podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Yesterday was a new beginning.
A new clients lawn.
A lawn that just needs to start again.
Today I gave it its last cut.
Today I gave it a first moss treatment.
Oh and here's today's mowing forecast.
From: Fri 14th Apr at 06:00 UTC
To:Sat 15th Apr at 06:00 UTC
Wind
Cyclonic, becoming south or southeast, 3 to 5, becoming variable 2 to 4 later.
Ground condition
Warming, by wet under foot, getting worst later.
Weather
Showers.
Sun
Good early, occasionally poor after noon.
Chance of mowing
Slight or moderate.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Yesterday for no real reason I got thinking about the shipping forecast.
You know the one on BBC Radio 4.
Which got me thinking the wether is so up in the air (love that saying) that perhaps I should start the "mowing forecast"
So here it is:
Mowing Forecast
Valid
From: Thu 13th Apr at 06:00 UTC
To: Fri 14th Apr at 06:00 UTC
North Yorkshire
Wind
Cyclonic 4 to 6, becoming southwest 3 to 5.
Ground condition
Warming, wet under foot.
Weather
Showers.
Visibility
Good, occasionally poor.
Pressure
990 falling slowly
Chance of mowing
Slight or moderate.
Here's today's podcast (and mowing forecast).
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Well I'd like to say the weather has got warmer, but it's got colder.
Chilly - at 3 degrees this morning.
3 degrees is not spring, that's winter weather.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Days get warmer, slowly.
Today the day started at 6am, the temperatures 6 degrees.
Hang on, it's 11th April.
It's now 12 noom, it's sunny and warmer, but not by much 10 degrees.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Hello friends, It's Phil.
I start each and every podcast with the same line, just 4 words, but they mean everything to me.
So yesterday I share some thoughts on the All Gardening Lawn Food Subscription page on the All Gardening website.
But today I mentioned the service to a new client that I'll be working for to renovate and level his lawn.
My client seemed very very keen to work alongside me, which is all part of the All Gardening Lawn Food Service.
Within the service there are 3 very significant elements, each I need some help shaping.
The first is I offer a 1-2-1 zoom session before any Lawn Food gets dispatched, I want to know more about your lawn and how you plan to look after it.
The second is the relationship doesn't stop after that first call, I give you access to my whatsapp number and you can share a video update on your lawn with me at any time.
The third element is I plan to aim to offer a bespoke lawn feed for your lawn, this means the first 2 elements need to happen often.
Now, I thought it would be a fun way to start building this by asking a few "lawn fanatics" to test the system.
To do that I've added a 15% discount off the subscription service, only when you subscribe, the discount is not for just a one off purchase.
If you'd like to be part of a small trial fanatic group then please use the discount code LAWNFANATIC (No spaces between the words).
Or use this link to get the discount code automatically apply at checkout.
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/discount/LAWN%2520FANATIC?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fall-gardening-lawn-food-subscription
Hope to chat to some of you soon.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Yesterday I showed my daughter the website page for the All Gardening Lawn Food Subscription.
"dad, it's not quite as good as it needs to be" was her comment.
At first I didn't really understand what I'd got wrong.
But then I looked.
So I've made a few small changes:
I've added a direct link from the home page.
I've added a new header image on the page.
I've changed the copy a bit.
And I've added the USP, which is you get me as your very own lawn care expert, virtually that is.
Here's today's podcast
Here's link to lawn food
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/all-gardening-lawn-food-subscription
Here's link to Lawn Plan Complete
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/lawn-plan-complete
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Today I thought I should start the day by eating something healthy.
So I had a bowl of fresh fruit, some water, and a boiled egg.
Followed by a small shot of coffee.
Which all got me thinking. I should do this more often.
Which I was doing the morning routine, I looked out on my lawn, which looks rather fine this time of year (it's early spring).
The thing I know is I fed my lawn a few weeks ago, I also gave it its first cut a few weeks ago.
My lawn is going to be in fine condition for May 1st, which was my target.
But I know lots and lots of lawns wont be healthy and wont have been fed.
But it doesn't have to be like that.
I've develop a lawn fertiliser subscription service, it gets despatch to you and your lawn every 10 weeks.
When you get your order, make sure you also eat well.
Don't let the lawn have all the best foods!
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Grow something in full view
Well my monthly newsletter now has 279 subscribers, worldwide.
For those of you who haven't found out how to subscribe, here's the link to today's "Notes from the Shed #3"
https://mailchi.mp/5030017e6fa9/notes-from-the-shed-no1-13540493
Hello friends.
At the start of this year I set my self a limit, I said I’d only work on 85 lawns, near home, that’s it.
I wanted to do one thing well, so I’d have to limit things.
Those 85 lawns will be Lawn Plan Complete customers. I’ll renovate the lawns, grow them out, cut and look after them for 12 months.
When I set this limit, only 85, for one service, I knew it would take time to find the customers.
85 customers, in 12 months, all within 10 miles of my base (HG2 - Harrogate).
I’ve got 81 slots left.
If you interested to learn more about the service, you can here.
Here’s why.
Over the last 18 years I’ve worked in and visited lots and lots of gardens and lawns, I’ve done face to face assessments and virtual assessments via zoom and Face time calls.
Which got me thinking maybe there is a service I can develop where I can be your lawn expert anytime and anywhere.
I’d like to develop this service alongside developing my Lawn Plan Complete service, 85 lawns will give me time to develop both.
Some of you might be wondering why you need a lawn and garden expert, well since the Covid19 years lots and lots of people have become more interested in the lawn and garden.
But getting hold of or knowing where to look for a lawn and garden expert advise is not easy.
So, the idea of having a lawn expert in your pocket so to speak, is aligned to the idea of a lawn and garden subscription service of some kind.
It’s early days but here’s the idea so far.
All Gardening Lawn Food - The page is in beta at the moment, just testing, you can’t buy.
But I’d like you to take a look and see what you think.
And if you’d like to send any feedback my email is phil@allgardening.co.uk
Side note - I’ve been doing a podcast about the idea, and ideas around it, over 200 episodes so far… but what’s in a number.
Well my podcast has now been listened to by 23,000 people, in 104 countries in over 400 cities, and it’s growing.
Until next time.
Cheers
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
So today it's still cool and it's been wet again, but, the over night temperatures are heading up, and that can only mean one thing.
Growth is on it way.
The trees are in bud, my acer in the garden is showing leaf now, and the lawns are just about set to grow, but only just.
I fed my lawn 3 weeks ago, probably a bit early, but that often do no hard (but can be a waste of money if its way too soon).
Because I've fed my lawn just its greening up lovely, and I can see new growth too, which is nice.
I wonder how spring will spring up here in Harrogate.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Here's my list:
- No one is listening, but if they are - I love that saying, when I started I thought who was listening mattered, but at the start no one was listening, I found comfort in that, it made it easier.
- 23'000 people have now listened to the podcast in 104 countries, over 400 cities. Which is amazing. I (me Phil), and All Gardening have a worldwide audience, the question I ponder is just what can I offer the world?
- People who click through to the website stick around to learn more, like 98.64% dig deeper into All Gardening.
- 37% of all my website traffic comes from people discovering the blog attached to the podcast or the other way round, I'm not sure they are both one and the same thing.
- People listen to me to drop off, when travelling on a train or plane, in bed, in the bath, which makes me think I'm a calm voice perhaps and a good companion.
- A lazy discipline, I don't feel I NEED to try hard to do the podcasts, after maybe 60-70 podcasts they are easy to do, I just try and make them better, have more depth of information.
- I have a structure to building each podcast, first I write about the days subject in the form of a short blog, I use a few key words but limit any SEO hacks in favour of system thinking (like today's is about the 200th podcast). I then I use Spotify for producers and do the podcast, Spotify helps to link all the podcast channels. I link the content from the blog to the podcasts which creates the discriptions and links (back to my website), I then use Headliner to auto generate a Youtube video.
- Growing All Gardening is more radio station than podcast. My podcasts are chatty, around the subject of gardens, lawns and business, but all to often i stray, but on most podcasts I eventually come back to home, which is kinda like a game in my mind.
- It's become part of my day, part of me, part of the identity of All Gardening. I'm proud of the "works" I've created.
- Building the content for each podcast gets easier every episode, I focus on what I'm doing to move my business forward, think about my customer ahead, and try to bring them closer to me through a daily story.
I guess the thing I've really learnt is doing the podcast sets my day.
I guess doing the podcast has created a story of me and All Gardening.
I guess the story is building a brand.
The brand I'm building is a personal, trustworthy, friendly, open, chatty, kinfolk, and an international brand.
I guess when I travel, If I tell people I'll be travelling somewhere, maybe they will come and meet me?
My past is rooted in the podcast.
I think being able to access the past is powerful.
After all AI is being trained by understanding the past.
One day perhaps someone will join me on the podcast, I don't know who or when, but I hope when it happens it will be a joy for me and the many who will have travelled with me and All Gardening.
I think businesses, and people who tell stories have better lives.
Stories give anything depth.
So to end today's blog and podcast, I say this, I know someone is listening, thank you.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
Can I offer a lawn care subscription to everyone?
No.
Can I offer a lawn care subscription to many?
Yes.
So, here's my thinking.
The median size garden in the UK is 188m2 (according to a survey carried out by Foxtons estate agents), so how big is the median lawn in the UK.
I don't know but after looking after and visiting many over the years I've got a good idea of what I think I'd estimate.
So, here's my thinking.
If I offer a lawn care subscription to the median size lawn owner, that might add up to quite a few lawns.
So, here's a link to my Lawn Food Subscription service.
Go take a look, and if you'd like to give it a go please sign up.
I've set things up so it's has 3 options for delivery, every 10 weeks, twice a year or once a year.
And you can cancel at anytime.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
After the year we had last year, every lawn will need a good feed.
And I've noticed that the All Gardening Website if getting more people coming to it for lawn care subscription.
We're trying to find a solution, you can probably help.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
One of the things I love most about our service Lawn Plan Complete is we start at the beginning.
We start by growing a new lawn from seed, not always but quite often.
Starting with seed gives us control over what we expect to see happen with the lawn.
We're not just renovating a lawn, which we do like to do, we're growing something completely new.
Seed takes time.
Seeding take patience.
One of the most important things to do, to not rush, to get right is the levels of the lawn.
They need to be consistent. Not perfect. No lawn is perfectly flat, it moves.
Even the best grass surfaces like football pitches are never perfect.
But when seeding getting it just right means your going to give the lawn the best start.
You see once the grass has germinated, and its now turf, the shallows aren't very easy to address.
My rule, take your time.
When your happy, then over seed.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening/message
If you look very closely at a "gathering" of Daffodils you might see variations of flower.
I learnt this over 18 years ago after my first visit to Jacques Amand bulb specialist in London.
For over 90 years, Jacques Amand has offered flowering bulbs of many varieties to discerning gardeners.
The company began as a flower shop in the Strand when Jean Jacques Amand arrived from the Netherlands in 1927. Since then the company has grown to become a major supplier of bulbs from well-established favorites to the rare and unusual, and is renowned for the diversity and quality of bulbs offered to customers in many countries.
When I first walked into meet John Amand the grandson of Jacques, I was struck by the smell. A waft of dry garlic.
But more importantly it seemed like the most optimistic place on earth.
I thought to myself.
I only wished the flowers from bulbs lasted longer.
They pass through so fast.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Leaving it doesn't work. Do this instead.
Let me start with this optimistic question: what does easy gardening look like?
Well, if we are being honest with ourselves, it isn't how you are currently doing it? You are working hard enough. But the results aren't there. So you get back on your hands and knees, and try even harder. And so it goes on. And on.
It's not a good loop.
I know. I have done it too.
Then, out of pure frustration, I started this idea, the 100 day experiment. I didn't think it would work. I started doing little garden related tasks every day.
I used a simple framework.
Work on the garden plan, the lawn plan, the trees plan, and repeat.
For just 10 mins a day.
Something special started.
I became excited at each and everyday.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
It's 21st March 2023, the lawn is starting to grow, just.
We can now see the damage from our dog, Oban.
The best way we have found to fix the damaged areas is to make sure the lawn is well fed, and we over seed the lawn each year with some new fescues grasses.
We've learnt that the rye grasses are tough and good for hard wearing, but the fescues recover better from dog wee damage.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
It's starts slowly. Grass growth.
The grass always does that.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
What can I say on a day like today.
Dad passed away yesterday.
He did good.
He'd read everything I wrote, and listened to every podcast I spoke.
He'd check in from time to time.
And he'd always sign off in the same way - "Love dad. Love Grandad"
Seemed too simple when he was here, but now he's gone that simple seems so powerful.
Here's today's podcast
Love Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Open.
The All Gardening Cafe will be OPEN.
Next Saturday I’ll be hosting an open Zoom call.
For 12 hours. 9 til 9.
It’s an opportunity for anyone to pop in and say hi. Share chat about gardens n stuff, and meet for the first time. Be people in the same room.
I’m lowering the barrier to entry.
Just a Zoom link and mutual trust.
The agenda is not set.
But you can guarantee good things will happen.
There maybe crickets.
Tumbleweeds.
Or there may be.
The unexpected.
The surprising.
I hope my friends will visit.
I know the ones who will.
So if you have time spare on Saturday.
At whatever point in your day.
Wherever in the world you are.
And you happen to be online.
Drop by. Say hi.
There’s an open channel.
It’s inclusive. It’s different.
And it will be an education.
It’s working title is…
open•
… to conversation.
… to opportunity.
… to new friends.
I will be.
Are you?
-
Just drop me a comment or DM and I’ll send you a link.
I'll also post the link in the event discussion next week.
Oh and there’s one rule.
Just a tiny one.
There’s no selling.
I just want to be open about that : )
-
open•
Saturday 25th March 2023
9am – 9pm GMT / UTC
Link to the All Gardening Cafe
https://www.facebook.com/groups/allgardeningcafe
Cheers for now
Phil
Founder of All Gardening and The All Gardening Cafe
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
"Constant gentle digging"
I thought about digging briefly yesterday.
It can sometimes be hard to start.
But there is reward in starting.
Digging the soil, turning over the beds, making small progress is all thats needed.
I like to think that the digging only needs doing once a season, after that it's small efforts.
Which got me thinking, perhaps just make small gentle efforts.
Rather than making a great deal about it, just do a little bit.
Then go back and do a bit more, repeat.
Why make it hard when constant gentle progress is all thats needed.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Yesterday I posted a short note to the All Gardening Cafe on Facebook.
It's a group that was set up a few years back.
To bring joy.
To bring connection.
To bring energy.
Yesterday it did just that.
You see the garden is there for you, it will wait for you, it will connect with you.
And when you connect with your garden, and share the connection with others something happens.
Energy comes.
The power to grow comes.
The power to reset comes.
There is a power in people that is bigger than being just one.
Join the dots, create power.
People Power.
People energy.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
It's official.
The snow has gone (more due thought).
But...
When the Harrogate council grass cutting teams hit the roads, you know it's the season.
Chatting to the lads, they think theer 2 weeks to early, but it's on all the same.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
It's 6.30am.
My son is up.
"dad, schools off".
He's been waiting for that email all night.
What does he do next?
It's 7am.
He's building a snow man with Oban our dog.
he's making pancakes, Angus love to cook.
It's 7.30am.
"dad, can we go sledging".
"sure" I answer.
Days like today don't happen very often, so make the most of them.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
If you had the chance to start with a blank garden canvas.
What would you do first.
Would you plant a tree?
Would you put in a patio?
Would you carve out an area for flowers?
Would you grow a fine lawn?
Or
Put in a shed.
Put in potatoes.
Grow tomatoes.
Or would you just grab a chair and sit in your garden.
Grab a brew, a glass of wine, a beer, and ponder.
Find your favourite spot perhaps.
You know that sunny warm spot.
You see to really know how to grow a garden, you must know what you want it to be.
To know what you want it to be, you must take time to understand what it is.
Or what it could be.
Or what it could give you.
Think slow, take the time, discover what it is to you.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Your garden is simple.
It grows.
Gets muddy.
Looks good.
Gets on with growing.
Your garden just needs time.
Sometimes not even your time.
It doesn't care if you don't turn up.
Whether you're too busy for it.
Or if you haven't cut the lawn for weeks.
Your garden will wait till you turn up.
And garden.
The best you can do.
Your garden is simple.
It will wait for you.
Here's today's podcast
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
Join our newsletter
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/newsletter
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
I have tried to grow plants in the past and they have died.
I have tried to grow a perfect lawn in the past, it's looked rough.
I have trusted people before, and they have let me down.
But..
I have tried to grow plants in the past and they have become beautiful.
I have tried to grow a perfect lawn in the past and it has become stunning.
I have trusted people before, and they have shone a beautiful path.
You'll only know if you're too optimistic by trying.
The journey is all the more exciting, not knowing.
Here's to the optimists!
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/trees/i-speak-for-the-trees
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Around 19 years ago I thought life was getting a bit complicated.
By my garden was simple.
I had a plan.
It was a plan I owned.
My Garden Plan.
I thought it might be a good idea to share my thinking on the "Garden Plan".
So I founded All Gardening.
My Garden Plan became a template for thinking and working on lawns, gardens and trees.
From Garden Plan came Lawn Plan, and Tree Plan.
Each Plan has developed and is delivered by experts.
The thing I think about most here is how each expert know when to hand over to the next.
A plan flows.
I've been into so many gardens where you'd just think off the bat "where do I start".
But to get started in any garden, you just need a starting point, focusing on one plan.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/trees/i-speak-for-the-trees
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It's one of the biggest questions I get asked, "where do I start".
Well after many years of working in gardens and on lawns I can hold heartily suggest 2 ways, which is either DIY do it yourself or DIFM do it for me (hire some expert help.
Once you've decided what you're going to do and what you're going to get hired help for we'd suggest you break down the garden into 4.
Stage 1: Lawn Plan: Get the lawn in order, this is 92% of most gardens and sets up the garden.
Stage 2: Garden Plan: Look at the garden beds and what plants you have. Then plan to infill or develop the beds.
Stage 3: Tree Plan: Trees, the trees you plant you may not see reach there full potentail, but the right tree in the right place will give you pride as you see it develop.
Stage 4: Online shopping, somethings like the gear you wear to garden in and other stuff you'll use is best found online.
This is how we at All Gardening work, we think that you can start at any point of the 4 stages, and we'll help you develop the stages you haven't quite got a focus on yet.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/trees/i-speak-for-the-trees
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
If you want a fine lawn, you're going to have to learn about moss.
Moss won't go away on its own.
Moss is not there because the garden "allows" it to be there.
There isn't one specific soil condition that leads to moss growth, moss can develop due to a number of challenges, including:
Excessive shade with poor sunlight for plant growth.
Damp soil, whether from poor drainage, regular rain, or run off from area water sources.
Soil that is low in nutrients or not regularly feed.
Compacted soils that does not allow for adequate air (oxegen).
The thing is some years like 2022 most recently will have cultivated some if not more of these conditions.
The best thing to do is take action.
Timely action can be as simple as a treatment with Ferrous sulphate & nitrogen, this will kill off the moss growth.
After that scarification.
Perhaps aeration.
Then regular treatments of Ferrous sulphate and a good lawn fertilser will work wonders.
Do any moss control when there is active moss and grass growth and consistent soil temperatures between 7 and 21 degrees.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
This is what happens when you go and look closely.
You'll noticed some good.
You'll noticed some bad.
You'll noticed some yellow.
You'll noticed a lot of green.
Some of the grass turns yellow because it is lacking in Iron, but most of the leaf that turns yellow in winter is just struggling a bit, but it's winter so grass will.
Our job over winter is to get the lawn through to spring in the best condition it can be.
As soon as it warms up, and the new growth comes through things will be back to there lush self very very quickly.
Before you know it you'll be needing to cut the lawn twice a week!
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
A gateway to the soul
Your garden is one small part of our planet earth.
But we're just custodians.
We're here for just a short time.
A moment.
Some 2,240,543,59 seconds if I'm to be exact.
You can make every second count.
Or you can waste it.
Your call.
But at the end of your life, there will be none left.
Time spent caring about our planet goes fast.
Time spent caring about what you don't have goes slow.
Our gardens give us hope.
Our gardens you can get lost in.
Our gardens give to others more than you'd think.
Think about the now.
Give now or you'll lose it all.
And do it.
Make each second count.
One day, your last, you will go to the time bank and think about what you could have done, but didn't.
Have no regrets.
Join us, and connect the gardens of our planet earth.
Every second counts.
Join us.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
Custodians of Your Garden
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
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There are some rules that need to remain ALWAYS rules.
I have a couple, but my most prized is...
Look after your new things and your new things will look after you.
Which brings me to growing grass from seed.
A lawn grown from seed can be the most beautiful thing.
For one reason, It's 100% yours.
If you get a lawn installed, all the hard work of growing the seed was someone else's work. They looked after your nice thing, then gave it to you.
But, if you grow your lawn from seed yourself (or with some very kind help from us), you'll have a totally different feeling about your lawn.
You'll love it.
You'll want to care for it.
You'll look at it differently.
You'll have a very nice thing.
And as an old friend of my once told me, "if you look after your nice things Phil, your nice things will look after you".
Seems so simple.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
A few days ago I asked the community on youtube what they would like me to share with them via my podcast and blog.
A few people come back with some ideas.
But not as many as I'd expect.
I guess it's hard to say what you want to know when you don't know what can be or should be done.
So perhaps I'd best start with something simple.
The best way.
There was a resounding vote for info on a Lawn Maintenance Schedule.
Knowing what to do when.
Knowing in what order.
Knowing what to look for when you do each part.
Keep in mind every lawn is different to some extent.
You can follow a best practices route, and see where that gets you.
Here's todays podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Bob Marley sings a song a which I think is about avoiding the ups and downs during the week. It's about sitting back and realising the beauty in every day.
Sun is shining, the weather is sweet, yeah
Make you wanna move your dancing feet now
To the rescue, here I am
Want you to know, y'all, can you understand?
Well today is a Thursday, the sun is shining and the weather is sweet.
Especially if you're doing spring time scarifications, like we are.
It's 7 degrees, it's sunny and the wind we've had for the last few days has now pasted through, making the lawns perfect for a cut, scarification and an early springtime lawn feed.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Today is a scarification day.
We're just ahead of the growing season, but things are in patches starting to grow.
Which is ideal for lawn scarification, early spring is the best time of year to scarify your lawn.
The one thing about a lawn that never stops surprises me is this, your lawn can only get better or worst, it can never stay the same.
Why?
Every year, every season is different.
How it grows will be different.
How it's cut will be different.
How the weather is will be different, obviously.
How it struggles in summer will be different (depending on hosepipe bans).
How moss and weeds build up in the lawn will be different.
So some years like this year there is a bit of work to do to pull the lawns back into order.
Last year (2022) it was a hot and very dry summer season, tricky for lawns, there was a hose pipe ban very early, and therefore lots and lots of lawns would have been cut a tad too short coming out of summer in to autumn and winter.
A short cut out of a hot season is a pure 100% action that will lead to moss and thatch.
So what the lawns now have in buckets is the build up of two challenges.
Moss. Lots and lots of fluffy moss, that's grown at a super fast rate, but is easy to deal with.
Thatch. Lots and lots of stressed and tired grass would have died off, it will be sitting there at the base of the grass, just waiting to STOP water getting to the grass roots and helping the moss get a grip on the proceedings.
So, it's time to get the lawns back.
Some may see scarification as damaging, it is if we're honest, but it's needed.
What's the option? Left moss and thatch leads to weaker and weaker grass growth, it leads to greater thatch development, and greater chance of moss build up. With that said thatch and moss are also great habitats for chafer grubs and over active worms, which could lead to extensive damage.
So take haste my friends... take action now.
The good news is f you do your scarification alongside a good moss killer and a good nigh nitrogen feed - AND more importantly at the right time of year, you'll have things all back in order before anyone really notices.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
The small things matter
I've been working on an old Hayter 48 pro.
It's a lovely machine. Must be 20 years old at a guess.
But it had a wobbly handle.
And you know when you try and move it around the lawn, the mower doesn't quite go where you'd want it to go.
So you have to make adjustments.
Thousands of minor adjustments.
There is one bolt.
Just one.
Yes just one that matters.
It's the bolt that connects the handle to the mower deck.
When it's tight you feel in control over the machine.
You know what direction it's going.
The mower has focus. Precision.
This is mowing, this is what it gives you.
Focus.
Precision.
And that my friends is the starting point of a beautiful lawn.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
So when do you cut the lawn?
You can cut it when you think it needs it.
You can cut it just as it needs it.
You can get us to cut it.
BUT
From what we know from 19 years of experience, you'll need your lawn cutting around the 15th March.
This is the (average) date when the UK lawn owners will start cutting there lawns.
The 15th March is a Wednesday.
I wonder if its going to be warm and sunny?
That would be nice.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
Founder of All Gardening
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Days off. Weekends.
Yesterday I met up with a new client, we connected on one subject, "where we live".
I said I lived outside, my outside is a huge place.
He said he lives indoors, he loves his place.
Day to day I work on lawn and in gardens.
But I see that each and every garden is connected.
One big space.
Today I'm off to walk, with Angus my son and Oban our dog.
Ingleborough is 723m high, not too high.
We're going to take a few things:
- Some good walking boots.
- A back pack, waterproof one.
- A dry bag to put in the rucksack.
- Bacon and egg sandwiches.
- Bananas.
- Water.
- My nice knife.
- Mobile phone
- Charger for the mobile
- Some sweets, for when we stop at the top, a celebration.
Let's see how we get on, I'll come back and tell you.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
I love asparagus, it's the start of fresh growth.
But, and here's a thought, it's the only food that I know (except for a hot curry) that comes back at ya on it's way out so to speak.
The asparagusic acid in asparagus produces many sulfurous byproducts that give your pee a rotten-like smell. The smell can be detected as early as 15 minutes after eating asparagus (OMG) and may last up to 14 hours (Hmmm..)
But I love it, asparagus that is!
It's fresh.
It's pure.
It's clean.
I love it best because I know the asparagus I cook and eat is produced local.
Very local.
Which got me thinking.....
I was watching Clarksons Farm series 2, whilst I have no real understanding why Jeremy says some of the things he does, he shouldn't, but whilst watching the series I saw something that is truly special, kinda slightly hidden in all the buffonary.
The Diddly Squat Farm BIG VIEW CAFE has all its food produce coming from local surrounds.
Very local.
If anything Jeremy is driven to optimise this strategy.
It's very good.
It's sustainable.
It's going to help local farmers.
It's going to help the local community.
Just think about that for a minute, a whole sustainable business, producing food from local farms, making food that it can with what it has.
Locally.
This might seem like a trival idea, and a "hearts and minds" strategy.
But it's something we should all look more closely at, the power of local.
Which got me thinking...
Just what will it take and where will it be, and how far do I have to go to embrace local.
Sometimes simple is best.
Sometimes local is most powerful.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Funny how things go sometimes.
My son wanted to go to a trampoline park, (Jump Inc) with his mates.
To get there he'd need "dad's taxi", you know the one that takes and waits, but the wait time has no charge.
We had to collect Oli his best mate, his dad is called Bob.
Bob's a nice guy, and he has a load of apple trees.
Each year Bob makes cider from his apple trees.
When I drove into the drive at Bob's place, I noticed that there was a fruit press at the gate, which normally indicates it ready for scrap collection.
I asked Bob if the fruit press worked, and he said it does, "but it's too small for my needs now".
Bob's is up leveling his cider making.
So I took the fruit press.
I'm going to give it a clean.
Then I'm going to use it to make cider.
I'm starting my journey of apple juice and cider making.
If I wasn't driving "dad's taxi", I wouldn't have met Bob, and if I hadn't met Bob, the fruit press would have gone to scrap.
But the fruit press now has a new life ahead of it.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Today I stepped out onto our lawn.
Our lawn I gave a quick cut last week, it was looking a bit shabby.
But today I could now see some growth, I knew the lawn was growing, but by just how much wasn't clear.
The growth across the lawn wasn't consistent.
Which got me thinking, what makes a lawn grow.
I think in the late winter into early spring what makes the grass grow is the light levels, and the intensity of the light, which I guess comes down to photosynthesis.
Some grasses respond well to bright light, the rye grasses.
Some of that bright light is also warm, I think that helps.
Which got me thinking, what else using lights and a bit of warmth to grow grass especially rye grasses.
If you've ever wanted to know just how Premier Football Clubs like Arsenal get their playing surfaces to look so good over winter and early spring it comes down to light and how it's used, plus a bit of under pitch heating to keep roots just warm enough to keep healthy.
Which got me thinking, if you want a really nice lawn, hard wearing and looks good most of the year it needs to be dominated with rye grasses.
The rye grasses at the Arsenal ground are 2 particular cultivars - Eurodiamond and Columbine.
There seem to do a good job.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Be narrow.
A while back I created a service for All Gardening, It was simple to me, offer lawn cutting and add in lawn treatments. I called it Lawn Plan Complete.
Over the many years All Gardening has been around it has offered many types of garden and landscape services.
But this year 2023, I'm going to focus on just one.
I thought it might be easier to do something everyone wouldn't want.
After all everyone is a lot of people.
I thought I'd like to matter a lot to a few people.
A small crowd.
Today I've started a small advertising campaign, it's promoting one service.
That service is called Lawn Plan Complete.
It's not for everyone.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Old oaks are a gateway to the past
There are few things that give us a chance to ponder the past.
There are few things that have done so much to be a custodian of the gardens.
More importantly old oaks look after the surrounding environment and eco systems.
Do you know where your nearest old oak is?
Do you want to know?
Our good friend Ben Pollard from Mighty Fine Oaks has spent much of the last 10 years tracking down these old oak trees, learning about their stories and most importantly harvesting the acorns from each tree and growing them on.
To date Ben has grown over 2000 oak saplings, some now 7 years old and over 4m high.
He encourages you to plant your own oak.
Ben says "Oak trees are a symbol of many of the good things in life: generosity, stability, resilience, connection, strength, persistence, joy."
When you come to plant an oak, remember these words were written for you ...
"These trees which he plants, and under whose shade he shall never sit, he loves them for themselves, and for the sake of his children and his children's children, who are to sit beneath the shadow of their spreading boughs."
Hyacinthe Loyson, 1866 (translated from the French)
Here's a link to Mighty Fine Oaks, you can watch a video about Mighty Fine Oaks and Ben's mission.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Work.
Work.
Work.
Work.
Play.
Play.
Play
more info
In the UK where I live and run All Gardening, hours worked on average 1837 hours.
We work the longest hours in Europe. Yet are the least productive.
At All Gardening we do 4 days per week, that's it..
Here's why the 4 day week is coming in 2023.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
If we think too much about what we want to do we might not actually do it.
I think my first garden remained a mess for 3-4 years, I thought it was a bit cottage like, messy, natural.
I was ok with that.
For a while.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.
Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.
Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Think.
It seems such a simple thing to ask you to do.
But think, think hard.
Today I've been thinking hard.
Today I've been thinking how do I connect with you.
Today I've been thinking how do you connect with us.
You see I think you need to understand us, and we want to know you.
Customer relationship matters to us, (to me), the closer we get the better we are.
So to help move things along with our relationship I've put some new sections on the website.
I hope these new pages will make you think about us a bit more.
I hope you'll learn from us a bit.
I hope it will help you understand what we want from you.
And in return what you can expect from us.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
Year on year no lawn is the same.
They all have a story.
And like a good story a lawn has layers, characters, consequences.
So we're at the start of 2023.
So we don't know what's ahead.
But we can tell ourselves a story of what might be, and what might come.
For many of us, we'll start thinking about the lawn too late.
But for some, the adventurous ones, we'll be doing things now.
And if you are doing things now you'll be ahead.
And being ahead in lawn care is good. Very good.
It's like being first at the bar with a cold beer after a long day out in the sun.
It also takes focus.
Some of us will focus.
Some of us won't.
For those of us that do stay ahead, and are focused, delights are ahead.
If only everyone knew this.... everyone.
Hmmmm....
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent. Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed. Just you and me. No ads, no guests.
Get more from your garden:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
A green and stripy lawn is one of the most beautiful aspects of a well maintained lawn.
You'd think if you cut it regularly you'll end up with just the job, but it takes more than just regular cutting.
I'll run down some of the key things to consider to get a stripy lawn this spring.
1 - Feed regularly
Tip: Sometimes less is more
The best way to think about how and when to feed your lawn is think about how healthy you'd like the grass to be, then think about how often you might cut it, say once a week and think about it now in the context of if you wanted to perform better what would you do - eat better. So think of feeding a question of performance, the more performance you want, the more you'll need to feed the lawn.
2 - Moss control
Tip: Scarify the moss out, only when the lawn feed has kicked in.
A bit of moss is ok, it's quite normal. But don't let your lawn get carry away making moss for your hanging baskets!! (That's whats used in some btw).
It's best to treat you lawn at the start of spring with a moss and feed fertiliser, this will inhibit it's ambition. Once you've done a little moss control its a good idea to lightly scarify the lawn to lift the moss out, but don't go to hard.
3 - Cut when it dry and sunny
Tip: Dry and sunny days more mowing quite a nice job in winter.
Every 4-6 weeks, a light cut throughout winter. Then weekly once it starts to grow in spring. Remember a little and often is better than once every 2 weeks. You might find it's best to cut the lawn every time it flushes (growsa bit).
4 - Clearing debris
Tip: Use your mower to collect small debris
Oak leaf, that the big one to take care of, it's the last leaf to fall at the end of autumn and is often not cleared, but if you leave it on the grass you'll be surprised just how fast it will kill off the grass below it, so clear all leaf fall a couple of times over winter. Also with the winter weather you'll have sticks and bits and bobs all over the lawn, if there big pick them up and if there small, grab them all when you do the lawn mowing.
5 - Lawn Mower - type of mower
Tip: Buy something better than you think you need, you'll always get your money back over time.
To get a really nice defined strip, you'll need a cylinder lawn mower, we use Hayter 48 Pro's.
6 - Lawn mower - sharp mower blade
Tip: This is the easiest think to do, but few do.
A sharp blade, all year round gets you a perfect cut. You can easily buy the perfect mower, but that mower is only as good as the condition of its blade. We sharpen ours once a month.
7 - Aeration
Tip: Do this task after 3-5 days of dry weather.
If your grass struggles to hold its condition as the summer rolls in, you'd do well to get the lawn a little aeration in late winter into early spring. Pick a nice dry day, a day that perhaps follows on from 3-5 dry days, you'll find you'll get excellent results.
8 - Scarification
Tip: Do less in spring.
I like to think your can do different grades of scarification, you can go hard and do triple pass to get all the thatch out and prep the area for new seed or you can just gently scarify a lawn to get the grass breath. I prefect to do a little pass in spring, then feed the lawn and see how it goes and then scarify again in late summer.
9 - Over seeding
Tip: Make sure to always cover your seed with a thin layer of compost.
Most lawns benefit from over seeding, especially after scarification.
Do you need to do all of the above to have a nice lawn this spring? Yes is the simple answer
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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The mowers we use matters.
Over the years there has only really been one machine we use.
A Hayter 48 Pro.
It the foundation machine of our Lawn Plan Complete service, I'd go so far as saying it's the main reason we developed the service, "the machine was too good to just {cut} grass"
But over the years, as Hayter has changed ownership, the product has changed.
The machine hasn't always been very good. Perhaps over the last 18 years there has been 3-4 models of the same machine we have purchased.
I'd go so far as saying we have bought 15 to date.
But most of the 15 have had significant issues that have cost a lot to fix.
Mostly the rear roller assembly and gear box, and drive system.
BUT.
With the machine that I bought last year I can say its the best model so far.
The new rear roller and gear system are ace, robust to the last detail.
The carrying handle is back on, it could be better placed a little more mid machine than back of machine to make the lift less dead weight, and more balanced between back and from axle.
The washing system, good bar not quite up to the job. To keep things in order it's best to pressure wash often and use the wash system in summer days.
The wheels are great, robust and strong.
BUT.
The biggest change that will save many many hours and much wear and tear is the new bumper bar, and the little end of bar plugs.
Here's today's podcast and below a video review too.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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I guess it's the easiest of questions.
But do you need lawn maintenance or lawn care, there is a difference.
Lawn maintenance implies that the lawn is as good as it needs to be and it is just a question of ticking things along.
But do keep in mind the condition of a lawn never stays the same year on year, season on season.
Lawn care however dips into our motivators, the human desire to do things better, you can care for your lawn, make it better.
We know the difference.
But we also appreciate that some lawns needs care and some lawns need maintenance.
But we also know there are some lawns that need care and maintenance, these are the ones we like to work on most.
These lawns drive our desire to do one thing well, but motivate us to make lawn better year on year, season on season.
Do one thing well.
Our service Lawn Plan Complete, was developed alongside our lawn care and lawn maintenance customers many year ago.
It's a hybrid service, it's lawn maintenance and lawn care. Meaning lawn cutting and lawn treatments.
Like a good green keeper coming to you place.
We've got it nail now.
And we're looking for 85 new customers onto our Lawn Plan Complete service this year.
- That's all.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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Well this is going to be my biggest experiment yet.
I'm going to break my comfort zone.
I'm going to put a new block in place (i'll tell you about that soon).
Let me explain.
Most years I wait for the season to become obvious, the grass is growing, it's time to get started.
But this year for a bit of fun (not sure that's the right word), but i'm going to take a look at when Google Trends thinks the season starts.
I'm going to search for the term "lawn" and "lawn treatments" and see when people start searching for those services.
Now I think what will make it interesting is Google Trends gives you a 5 year view.
That's a whole 5 years of data and trends on what people do.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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What colour of green is your lawn in winter?
I ask this because for a lawn there is no one colour green in winter. It can be lighter green, darker green, yellower green, mossy green, muddy green.... you get the idea.
The variation in colour tells you something about your lawn.
The variation of colour tells you what your lawn needs.
The variation of colour tells you that there is no time like the present to do something to get beautiful green come spring.
So what can you do, and when do you do it.
The variation of green will be to do largely with the soil conditions, the level of sun light, and the type of grass you have, and on that point the type of grass I'm thinking how old the grass is.
So here are my 3 tips, they can apply to most lawns.
- Feed your lawn. A winter feed will give it a boost, take care of the roots and harden the leaf, you shouldn't expect any growth. That said grass in good condition might perk up and grow a bit if the days are warmer and sunny.
- Cut your lawn. I'm a big fan of keeping a lawn looking tidy, most importantly clear all leaf fall and branches that might fall on the lawn. Keep in mind heavy leaf fall left on the lawn will blind out the grass and you might find come spring there are patches that need re seeding. So, clear and blow off the lawn, give it a light clip and you'll be able to look back with pride.
- Treat the moss in your lawn. Don't let moss take control, you can do a moss treatment more than once a season, it wont do any harm. If you keep on top of any moss when it comes to spring and summer the lawn will stay in better condition for longer the more maintenance and wear and tear it receives.
Oh, I should say, always sharpen you lawn mower blade, do it when ever you get a chance. Cutting a lawn is far better than bashing the grass with a blunt blade.
My thinking is, the more you prepare your lawn for spring, the better it will be when it comes.
It will be the best green it can be.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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On the odd day we will see sun and dry weather!
These days may come along when you least expecting them.
After all, we don't check the weather forecast everyday do we!
But when these days come along it's a really good opportunity to do some key tasks around the garden.
- Mow the lawn, well you might be able to and all it's going to need is a very light trim, just tidy it up a bit. It will also give you a chance to see if the mower is working, does it need a service or will you be needing to buy a new one.
- Take the chance to clear all the fallen leaves off the lawn, patio's and garden beds. As the sun will dry things quickly you should find the job relatively pleasant. Add the leaf fall to a compost heap, and if you haven't got one of those now is a good time to start thinking about making one.
- Give all your hand tools a good clean, we can honestly say that this is a time of year when we take pleasure in getting all the hand tool in there best condition ready for the year ahead.
- Mulch the beds, if you've cleaned down the beds and you find that things are perfectly dry mulching the best now can be a great job. Grabbing the odd bag of compost from a garden centre trip will get you started but if you really want to get the job done well then go online and find your local landscaping materials yard who can deliver you a large dumpy sack. Once you have it delivered don't waste any time getting it onto the beds, if you leave it and it gets wet with rain it can be an absolute task. So plan to do it when it arrives.
- Clean the patios with a pressure washer. This is a time of year when you will have time to do this, and you'll almost certainly notice the impact you'll have from doing the job later in the year. Over winter sitting water and north facing areas of the garden that have a patio will try green with algae. Pressure cleaning is a very satisfying job to do.
There is more that could be done, but for today those 5 things should keep you busy.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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So it's time to move on.
I'm nervous to be honest.
I've designed an email campaign to firmly root my thinking on the progress of All Gardening - the long term.
In the email I'll be sharing less. But pointing to more.
I'll share a habit.
I'll share some ideas.
I'll share less.
I'll share a long term plan.
I'll share a start point.
The email, one that I'll write every week to go out on a Friday about 5PM.
It's going to be called Notes from the Shed.
This Friday is No.1
How long will it go on.
Why didn't I start this earlier.
What will it lead to.
I'm nervous. This feels like an experiment.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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When we look at the world, and take a short term view, we want things now, and we don't often think about how long those thing will be around for.
I guess we look for fast, not slow.
I have a few things I've had for ever, I call them my nice things.
A nice pair of shoes, a nice watch, a nice knife, a few very nice t shirts, a nice coat, my nice bike (1982 BMX GT pro), a poem from a teacher in from 1982, a gold sovereign from my nan, you get the idea.
Lee a good friend of mine once said to me "look after your nice things, and your nice things will look after you".
Lee, never says how long you'll need to look after them for. He just says "look after them".
And over the years I have, a few nice things.
Nice things become nice things with age and the experiences I have with them.
So with that in mind I've decided to create an experiment.
I thought it was time that I settled on an All Gardening t shirt to wear for work and being out and about, and I can tell you over the years I've tried so many variations.
But with this t shirt I thought what if it was one of my nice things, a thing that never ever went away, a lifetime t shirt.
Crazy as it may seem, no t shirt can last a life time, can it?
My job was to create a t shirt that lasted, but also give you a lifetime offer.
The offer, when its worn out, if it gets damaged, fails in someway, send it back to us and we'll do something useful, recycle it, into a new t shirt, and send you a new one.
Feels a bit risky, does this mean you'll but a one t shirt only, ever, and we'll give you hundreds for free.
This got me thinking.
So, to make things a bit more progressive and help you look after them a bit, I've decided to do the t shirts in limited batches, just 4 batches a year, (I hope given time I might be able to do pre orders and then only get made what is guaranteed a very nice home), every batch a new design, each t shirt has the same lifetime guarantee.
I guess what I'm hoping for is people collect the various designs of t shirts, own maybe more that one, and look after each and everyone like a "very nice thing", they will last longer, much longer (Lee would be proud of you).
If you want to learn more and be part of some of our future experiments, it's best to sign up to our newsletter. Our subscribers get first and sometimes the only access to our newest ideas.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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Let's start at the beginning.
Mowing, it's the simplest thing to do.
It takes time.
But the more you do it the more your lawn will improve.
And when we say improve we mean improve a lot.
You see when you cut grass it's stimulated to grow more grass, and the more you cut more grass the more it fills out, and as it fills out it will start to look better and feel better.
You see it's not hard, it just takes time.
You cant rush a lawn cut, it just takes as long as it takes.
Enjoy the process.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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It always surprises me when I service the lawn mowers for All Gardening.
In the past I've had as many as nine to get through.
If I'm honest I really enjoy starting them up, when there fresh.
I do three tasks, and I normally do them in a specific order.
The order happens.
First I remove the old oil, I have a small seaside bucket I use to catch the oil.
Second I add the new oil, SP 30, nice stuff, it's clean. I do the fill in two parts, I add 500ml ish, it's measured, then I check the dip stick, and then I top up to the level required. Don't over fill, it can affect the engine performance.
Third I remove the spark plug and add in a new one. I always check the old sparks condition, if it's a little blackened I change the air filter.
That's it. One, Two, and Three.
I start the machine up, give it a few minutes to settle down, and then put the blades in action, just to feel the weight on the engine.
More times than not, it's all smooth.
Normally, we do this to each machine 2 times per season, at the start around February, and then in July, it keeps things running along.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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Sounds so simple.
Do one thing well.
But it's hard.
Going deep on one thing takes time.
Going deep on one thing means you're always seeking better.
Going deep on one thing eventually comes good.
Lawns, there simple right?
There just a few bits of grass.
A few million individual blades of grass.
But this means you need to see all the options, and make the best call.
A lawn can only ever get better or worst, it can never stay the same.
Each year, each day, each growing moment will always be different.
The more you seek simple, the more complex simple is.
But the art in doing one thing well is in pushing away all the distractions and ONLY focusing on what will make the one thing you want to be good at its best.
We do lawn care, that's it.
It's narrow.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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You'll walk around 8,640 meters cutting your lawn a year.
But numbers mean nothing to us garden and lawn keepers.
So, let’s break it down in terms of a things we know about steps.
The average speed you'll walk is 3 mile per hour.
You'll walk for an average of 48 hours per year cutting the lawn.
About 2000 steps equal 1 mile.
And then, you'll use an estimated 200 muscles during walking.
(Step length, may vary)
So there is a lot of fitness in that.
Let get cutting, it's good for you!
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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When you want to grow a garden, where exactly do you start.
Well, start just outside, where the door to the garden opens.
I tell you this because we always think too big, we always start with the big space, we always start with the worst bit.
This is like thinking that everyday is the day AFTER new years day.
I mean, your always at the beginning..
Just think, 365 days of 2nd January...
Which makes me think, there is a better way to start.
Well, I mean think big, look at the big space.
But look small, freshen up those plants by the back door, you know the ones you'll walk past everyday, the ones you'll never look at after they have been done.
What you'll find special is how you'll feel for that small moment.
The thing about growing a garden is, it's daunting.
Starting small isn't.
Have you yet?
Here's today's podcast
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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Small space. Kitchen.
Medium space. Conservatory.
Large space. Garden.
Cooks don't travel far.
Parents have spaces.
And oh, the gardens we will create.
And between the stages are dreams.
Here's today's podcast
Phil
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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When I get started all I can tell you is how long it takes doesn't matter.
"Little by little, by little"
I want the garden to be perfect.
But perfect is like the plastic plants - there are many but non matter.
It is in digging little by little we grow.
And sometimes, it's easier.
I was shifting some soils today, they were wet, it never got easier.
I love the way soils do that, hang together that is, hold tight, asking for the effort.
This is how growing a garden is.
Commitment and vision.
Passion for the future.
But what we know is coming keeps us digging.
When you fall in love with the little by little, by little way, you end up visualising what's ahead.
Do the digging.
Keep doing it.
There is no quick way.
Here's today's podcast
Phil Argent
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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A time for growth.
Thats the title of this years yearbook.
That's how far I've got, I know what it should be about.
The image on the front cover has come from one of the members of the All Gardening cafe that you'll find on Facebook groups.
The group has just under 6000 members, a lot happened last year.
When you grow a garden you're never too sure what will come through.
That's exciting.
The hard work has to begin long before the rewards are there to be seen.
What makes a reward exciting is the feeling it gives you.
A feel good vibe.
A feeling that you've done good.
A feeling that it is all worth it.
A feeling of progress and success, and don't we need that today and everyday.
I think I've got about 50-100 pages to fill with beautiful images from the All Gardening cafe group.
Putting the book together feels a bit like getting started on a garden or lawn.
You have to start somewhere.
You have to start at a good place.
You have to start at a point that seems obvious.
So I've started with working out what I want the front page to convey.
The first page says "here's the reward".
Colourful and vibrant.
Here's today's podcast
Phil Argent
Founder of All Gardening
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Your garden is one small part of our earth. We've learnt that billions of people connect with a garden in some way.
But we're just custodians.
The one day you leave your garden, nature takes over control.
Nature simply takes it back to mother earth. No matter what you do, your control is limited.
Without gardens we can't breath and we know this.
That's why we started All Gardening back in 2004. To bring the value gardens give our planet closer to us. To bring all our skills to your doorstep. And help the earth breath a longer breathe.
As one client we worked with once said to me when I was working for her "Our life's have changed so much. We care about our garden space, it brings us joy and makes us feel connected."
I just stood there thinking everyone should have that feeling.
Let's see, one garden at a time.
Here goes.
Here's today's podcast
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So it's the first of January 2023. Wow.
Another year in the garden past.
It was a dry year.
It was a year where the grass burnt out, for a bit in summer.
It was a year that things took shape.
If anything it was a year that past all too soon.
I didn't know what was going to happen, I hadn't really made a plan.
I'm grateful for what came along eventually.
I've done it once, put a book together from the All Gardening Cafe.
I'm going to do it again, this time I'm going to focus the book around GROWTH.
Things we grow.
How we grow.
What to grow.
When to grow.
Why we grow.
I'll do a small print run, and no reprints.
It will be a year book to keep.
It will be a year book to treasure.
I hope when it's done, and I share it with you, you might delight in it.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil Argent
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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Grow your all
This is a celebration of everything you can grow. For the pleasure in trying and the excitement of what might come.
Here's to the big, beautiful mess of gardens and the mindfulness that simply makes you feel good when you try.
When we look closely, we can see more, simple seems so beautiful.
How do you start, how far do you go, how much will it take.
You'll only know when you grow your all.
Delight in getting started, because it's a gift.
Here's today's podcast.
Phil Argent
Founder of All Gardening
www.allgardening.co.uk
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Mud, mud, glorious mud. Nothing quite like it for cooling the garden
But it's fair to say perhaps, we don't really love mud enough.
I've made peace with mud over the years, I've learnt there is good mud, there is wet mud, there is hard dry mud and the is compacted mud.
Magic mud.
Sticky mud.
I've found that somedays mud gets deep into my hands. Deep into my fingerprints.
Deeply gripped.
I've found that somedays mud hangs on my boots, adding and adding, like it wants to travel somewhere with me, but it need not know where it's going.
Weighted mud.
Carrying mud.
I've found that mud tells a story of the garden and lawn, mud shares insights into the past and the future.
Mud moves me.
We should take more time to look at our mud.
We should take more time to feel our mud.
We should take more time to play with our mud.
Playful, plentiful, perfectly posed to make more.
Here's todays podcast.
Phil Argent
Founder of All Gardening
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/podcast
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It's all about apples, coz apples is apples
Did you notice the apples this year.
Spectacular, spectacular.
I mean did you notice how many trees produced huge lush volumes of apples this year.
A bumper crop.
Are the apples from this year any better or worst than last year?
I have a question, If you had an apple tree in your garden, did you try the apples or did they simply fall, and eventually go into the bin.
Here's the thing, this years apples were delicious.
There is a saying "apples for apples" assuming that judging something against something the same will be a consistent measure (apples in this case).
But here's the other thing, this years apples were better than last years apples.
But if you never tried last years, and then you never tried this years, you wouldn't have known.
There is a lot to be said about trying things that grow in the garden.
There is a lot to be said about remembering to try these things every year.
Because in a garden, your garden, some years are better than other years.
Emmm....
Here's todays podcast.
Phil Argent
Founder of All Gardening
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/podcast
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Manifesto of a gardener
1 - Begin with small. If you seek to change anything momentum will help get you going. Learning how to move a little will inspire you. Find a tool that makes little delightful. Then find the next tool that makes a little a bit more.
2 - Let things take time. Nature does not give you deadlines, so don't set yourself any. Seek progress in the things you're getting done.
3 - Dig like you mean it. Dig with a spade first, but make shallow trial digs, feel the soil you are working with.
4 - Focus on the task. Doing a bit here, and a bit there is just faffing. Faffing can be plentiful. But remember, faffing stops you from doing.
5 - Somethings won't grow. This is guaranteed. All the preparation in all the world will sometimes not be enough. See these failings as gifts. They will make you a better gardener. Rather than drive you to give us, they will drive you to learn more, and be more patient and focused.
6 - Ideas start change. But ideas are just that ideas. Try something you can see evolve. Do the work to bring the idea alive.
7 - If you want to grow something, you have two options. One, you can talk about it. Two you can do it, bit by bit, step by step, by step.
8 - What you grow takes effort. Don't give up.
9 - What needs to be done today. Ask yourself this everyday. It's your job to do the caring and growing each and every day.
10 - The effort you can put in, has a direct relationship to how much you want to see it grow. Your effort is not infinite, use it carefully.
11 - Growing better comes. When you start it's simple, simple to do, simple to see. But it will get better.
12 - Dig, rest, dig, rest. Human’s get more done in bursts followed by rest. Getting things done isn’t about who does the longest hours, but who does the smartest hours.
13 - 80% of your time will be spent on things you won't see grow. 20% of your time is spent on the things you are very good at. In order to get more done, flip that.
14 - Tea multiplies output. It's a simple with, but a cup of tea, to ponder the future brings power to move mountains.
15 - Keep your energy for pushing the garden forward. The past is done. Things out of your control cannot be changed. Energy spent being angry, jealous, or cynical is negative energy. Stay positive.
16 - Have a plan. Then accept it can and will change. Making something happen is about being nimble and adaptable.
17 - Think, more than do. Try to not redo, and try not to move anything twice. Think through your next task ahead of doing.
18 - Growing is rewarding. Growing is a gift, the results you can share, tell stories about, and teach others.
19 - Little actions repeated daily will result in big changes. You'll see over time that small parts added, become something huge.
20 - Agree that some things will not grow. This is a gift. You'll learn more by what doesn't grow than what does. Seek out the failures.
21 - Even though gardening is a sole passion, share it with others. Give back. It will help you.
22 - All gardeners are custodians. Have something big that you want to change. This is bigger than you. Your purpose multiplies. An oak tree planted as a sapling today, is a gift for someone in the next century.
23 - If you are going to make change happen, make it a good one. This planet needs as many friends as it can get.
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Hold my hand, squeeze me tight, feel my warmth.
These December winter days, they are short, especially from a daylight point of view.
Days start.
They peak.
And the days' end.
Seeming like a shooting star.
We end where we start, surrounded by our closest.
We gardeners have a natural place to settle.
We find our "green house", it's warm, an ever optimistic place.
We know things still grow, steadily, they just need that bit more care.
We guide with delight.
I often look up at the sky seeking a diamond star.
You see these winter nights often offer those gems, but you need to look.
Warmth comes from being together.
Growth comes from dreaming together.
Hold my hand, squeeze me tight, and make me smile.
Here's today's podcast
Phil Argent
Founder of All Gardening
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/pages/podcast
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A few tips, keep in mind it’s not alway easy.
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Yup the website now does what we say we do.
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Is your lawn in need of a complete regrow? There will sometimes be occasions where a lawn has deteriorated to the extent where it is not possible to bring it back to life with just a few treatments.
There may be specific problems with the grass plant itself which has led to the lawn being in such a poor state.
These may include disease, insect damage, substantial weed infestation, considerable levels of thatch in the lawn, or incorrect grasses may have been used on the lawn to begin with.
More times than enough though, other home and family priorities have meant the lawn has been neglected, or it has simply run its course due to overuse through time – your much-loved and much-used family lawn and garden has served you and your family well over the years and it is now time for a complete lawn rejuvenation.
Many customers also tell us that their circumstances and lifestyles have changed, and with the children grown they would prefer an ornamental lawn, others say they have a growing family and is it possible to make the lawns more hard wearing.
Whatever the reasons for your lawn requiring a complete overhaul, our Complete Lawn Plan programme will give you a new lawn at a much more affordable price than laying new turf.
What does the programme entail? Our Complete Lawn Plan programme is a bespoke programme specifically tailored to each lawn’s individual requirements, and we will carry out a lawn survey and consultation with you.
It's like having your very own green keeper.
This is typically an annual program, where all the technical work is done alongside lawn mowing visits. This helps us keep track of progress and make any changes as and when are needed.
What might be Included? * Killing off the existing lawn – this is only required in certain circumstances. * Aeration to relieve soil compaction, and allow clean air, nutrients, and water to reach the roots leading to healthier growing conditions. * Scarification to remove extensive moss and thatch build up. * Over-seeding with seed specifically aimed at addressing any previous problems with the lawn. This may involve the introduction of different types of grasses if incorrect grasses had been used when the lawn was first laid, for example introducing shade tolerant grass. Or sometimes, we just need to thicken the lawn up. * Regular lawn treatments. * Wetting agents. * Iron treatments. * Selective weed control. * Top-dressing with sand. * Top-dressing with soil. * Top-dressing using a mix of both sand and soil. * Lawn rolling. * Lawn feed. * Weekly lawn cutting. * Bi weekly lawn cutting. * Lawn cutting with a cylinder mower.
How much does it cost? The cost of each programme is dependent on the work that is necessary for each particular lawn. It is more cost-effective to completely regrow a lawn than to lay a new lawn from scratch as materials and labour can often be expensive.
All Lawn Plan Complete programmes typically include a weekly or bi weekly visit throughout the season. This also enables us to check on the progress of the new lawn and provide tailored follow-up advice on caring for your new lawn to ensure you get the full benefit from the programme.
This programme can be carried out at any time of the year apart from winter.
To learn more, have your lawn assessed and a free quote contact us.
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It’s something we did an age ago, but we never told anyone we’d done it. So go to our website now, and get a free downloadable lawn care calendar.
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I’m doing a few things I’m really not sure about, but not knowing is all about discovering what works.
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There is something very absorbing about setting a challenge.
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/124-31-days-50-subscribers
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/all-gardening-lawn-food-subscription
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It’s my latest marketing campaign title, I’m aiming to stimulate people into action. The words “can you save it” often come up in lawn assessments.
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So to get on track with my new Lawn Food service I’m doing door to door leaflets.
Episode Home Page:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/122-walk-the-walk
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It’s just a thing I’ve learnt to do, go see who your working with, what there story is, and get a feel of they are right for trading with.
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Just working through my supply chain.
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It’s time I doubled down and trusted everything i do and use, and share with others this insight.
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It’s been an awesome couple of days
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I loved the original story, the man who planted trees, but I know feel that All Gardening is planting lawns… one at a time.
Podcast Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/118-the-man-who-planted-lawns
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I’m learning to keep it simple.
Podcast Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/117-planting-seeds
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I’ve launched All Gardening Lawn Food, have had one subscribe and finished a huge lawn renovation.
Podcast Episode Home
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/116-celebration-of-3-moments
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Well, it's the best thing I can do this time of year, go look at other superfine lawns.
Today I'll be playing at Northcliffe Golf Club.
Here's today's podcast home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/115-lawn-plan
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I know it's the start to a great 80's sound by Frankie goes to Hollywood (to name one artist of many). But I just got that feeling when I was talking to a client about the future of their lawn!
Some of the song goes like this:
The power of love
A force from above
Cleaning my soul
Flame on, burn desire
Love with tongues of fire
Purge the soul
Make love your goal
Give it a listen.
I guess the more we talked about the future the more I got to thinking about loving something, and in my case at that moment I was thinking about my love of lawns. The simple love of green, the love of simple, the love of something that others love to talk about.
Love lawns
Here's today's podcast
Podcast Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/114-the-power-of-love
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The lawns we look after give their owners more joy and pleasure than you could ever imagine.
Before we dig into the options to get you to lawn joy, we want to highlight something obvious. There are many millions of lawns and gardens that DON'T give much joy, for that matter, there are plenty of lawns and gardens that are an absolute nightmare to look after.
We probably have all had to deal with a lawn that is just too long, too wet or too uneven.
But it's not what we want.
That's why the word "joy" is sitting right there in the middle of the headline (we could use "pleasure", "delight", "love", or "relaxation".
We want our customers to feel something.
That's what we like to do... maximise the power of your garden. Joy, pleasure, relaxation, love.
Our Lawn Plans are built to match your needs, simple, impact or complete.
Where do you feel a lawn service should fit?
Lawn Plan Complete - our flagship service, a beautiful lawn all year round.
Lawn Plan Impact - you'll know if you need to make changes.
Lawn Plan Basic - keep things under control, regular feeds and weed control.
Lawn Plan Renovation - a better option that a new lawn.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/113-discovering-the-joy-of-a-beautiful-lawn
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So I've done a lot of careful thinking, if I want to provide the best lawn service possible, I'm going to have to be uncompromising on somethings.
I've spent nearly 3 full days looking at all the lawn services available in the UK, I've also considered all my years of experience.
What I know all too well is the feeling you get when you've cut the lawn and it looks perfect.
To get a perfect lawn you need to do more than just apply lawn feeds.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/111-new-lawn-plan-services
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Growing a lawn from seed is for sure one of the best things I have ever learnt to do and its something that's done through a lawn renovation process.
The lawn renovation process goes like this.
- Cut the lawn short, this makes for less grass to pick up from the scarification.
- Scarify the lawn taking a single direction pass.
- Clean up the green waste from the scarification.
- Scarify again lightly to get closer to the rootzone and clean out anymore thatch (if needed).
- Aerate the lawn using a hollow tine aerator, spiking a lawn doesn't do a very good long term job from our experience.
- Level off shallows in the lawn using turf dressing, not all shallows, but any that are around 6-12mm can normally be addressed during the process.
- Over seed the lawn at 20 grms per m2 (as a standard).
- Now use more turf dressing to over over seed at the required rate, which varies between seed types.
- Roll lawn which also helps pack down the seed, improves soil to seed contact.
- Apply a good quality lawn feed, normally we use a 15-5-15 feed which helps the existing grass growth and recovery as well as the new grass development.
Any lawn we renovate we schedule a number of follow on visits to "keep an eye on things" those being correct watering, is there any growth that needs help and the first cut.
We're often growing a new lawn from new lawn seed when we're renovating lawns. The process of renovating a lawn is fairly simple, the most important thing is you need to pay particular attention to seed bed preparation, seeding, dressing and feeding the lawn.
From there the next thing to be very engaged with is watering the new seed, not a lot but you need to keep the seed damp for 7-10 days to get it to germinate.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/109-how-to-renovate-a-lawn
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So here's a few things about scarifying a lawn that most people don't mention before they go for it, you have to take into account the condition of the lawn, the time of year, how ready are you to wait for it to recover and what result do you want to achieve by doing it.
The last bit is the most important thing, what do you want to achieve by scarifying your lawn.
I always feel that you scarify the lawn so you can add to it, not take something away which leads me to the 3 ways to scarifying a lawn.
Way 1: Lightly so the lawn can breath.
This requires lifting the scarifier blades so you're verti cutting the grass. Think of this in the same way you mow the lawn, but you're cutting down through the grass. This is the type of scarification we'd do on a lawn in good condition once or twice in the growing season.
Way 2: Extensively because it's time to start a new lawn.
Ok, so the lawns seen better days, its full of moss (which you have had treated), so it's time to get all the moss out and a load of old dead thatch, it's a double pass, and you'd do this if you were reseeding or renovating a lawn.
Keep in mind doing that is very damaging and after care is vital, if you do this and feed and seed a lawn correctly afterwards, and really care for it you'll have a great lawn, but done at the wrong time of year it can take an age to recover.
Make sure you ask about the after care if your planning to do this.
Way 3: Just enough to help the lawn grow.
This is a deeper single pass, just aiming to open up the lawn all the way down to the rootzone. Done well it's a nice job and creates a good opportunity to over seed.
Having scarified lawns over many year, lawns that have been in all sorts of condition, we know there is not one way to scarify a lawn.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/108-3-ways-to-scarify-a-lawn
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Ok so we're going to start making tracks to get my e-commerce store going and I've been thinking what could I offer that others don't, something valuable to a potential grass seed or lawn fertiliser customer.
I think if I'm going to build back a better All Gardening, I need to share my knowledge ahead of expecting anything back in return.
It seems like an old fashioned idea, give first and then see what happens.
So here's the idea, I'm going to offer anyone, a Free virtual lawn assessment.
All I need is to see a lawn from a few angles and I can normally work out what's needed.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/107-virtual-lawn-assessment
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So cool, it's taken just a handful of weeks but today, the 23rd of March I've received my first online order for an overseeding kit!
I'm so excited, I kinda never thought it would happen, but it did.
So the product that I'd always thought would be most popular, for one day is!
Lawn overseeding kit, to be honest, it's the number one job I'd start with on any lawn, I mean any lawn.
Overseeding with professional-grade seed is a total game-changer for a lawn, over the last 50 years or so grass technology has advanced so much, and if you've lived with a lawn for more than a handful of years your lawn could do with overseeding for sure.
The seed and feed types we provide have been tested by us time and time again, which means when you do get round to overseeding we can tell you exactly what we would expect to happen, when and how to look after the lawn after overseeding.
Oh and the other thing is, on my van bonnet, just a small section I put grass, not real grass but a small bit of artificial grass that LOOKS like grass, it's going to finish off the van beautifully!
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/106-lawn-over-seeding-kit-and-grass-on-my-van
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One of my favourite hand tools has just been delivered to me, it's a lawn lute. It's such an understated garden care tool, but it's the number one tool if you want a level lawn. Maybe it's the number one gardening tool that never gets to see a typical garden shed. A lute does 3 jobs in one: It does the job of being half rake (kinda) and half shovel (a very wide and small depth spade) and lawn iron (well it does help flatten off the lawn). If you have a garden that has a lawn that's just not very level for one reason or another all you need is to grab a lute and a load of turf dressing, and perhaps a little bit of lawn seed and a little bit of perfect is on its way. The trick with using a lute is only to shift a little bit of soil (turf dressing) or you'll end up pushing against a wall. The lutes we use are double-sided, one side is designed to flatten the soil and dressing, and the other side is used to "brush" in the dressing. You do one side then the other, and repeat until you have a perfect level lawn. If you'd like a level lawn, need to fill in holes, or feel that your lawn just needs some renovation give us a call and we'll be sure to bring along our beautiful collection of lutes and rakes! Here's today's podcast: Episode Home: https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/105-lets-level-up-and-get-growing
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Let's think really carefully about your lawn, really carefully.
I've learnt over many years that a lawn can only get better or worst, it can never be the same.
I was reminded of this just yesterday on a lawn assessment in Harrogate when the client mentioned to me that their lawn had looked "so good" last year.
Year on year your lawn will never be the same, so many things will happen this year that didn't happen last year.
For instance and as an example, last year we welcomed a dog to the family, Oban was also welcomed to the lawn.
The lawn is now very different to last year, not a big worry.
But here's the thing, whilst the lawn was looking great last year, this year it's going to be a different story.
What I have to do is help it get back to condition by doing things "differently" than the previous year.
Lawn renovation seems to fit my mindset, whilst my lawn is still lovely, it's going to need slightly more intensive care this spring.
Most lawns need renovating from time to time.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/104-forwards-or-backwards
Fancy a little bit of lawn heaven?
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It's often said to me at assessments, "I don't want a cricket pitch", as if to say "I don't want something really good".
If it's not as good as It can be, then how good does it need to be?
I often ponder the question, just how good?
I take real pride in making a lawn look as good as it can be, the thing to note here is, most lawns can't be a "cricket pitch", so many variables won't allow a fine lawn cut at 5mm, most residential lawns are best kept at 30-40mm, a few can get down to 21mm.
But, that said, we can try and look after your lawn as well as it can be looked after, and as we learn more about it and how much you learn to love your lawn, we might just be able to make you start to think more about that "cricket pitch".
Maybe you don't like cricket, but you can love your lawn!
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/103-i-dont-want-a-cricket-pitch
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Phew, today I moved heaven and earth, literally. Today I was cracking on with a 430m2 lawn renovation, but fitted in 2 assessments on the hop. Well today things are starting to work, in a most familiar way. Which should be easy to manage, but change isn't always easy to manage. I've moved from very humble beginnings 2 weeks ago to now having a good gathering of new customers for lawn care, lawn renovation and lawn repairs around my home town of Harrogate. But it's just the beginning and I need to spend some time making sure I'm building back a better All Gardening. The move from idea to trading (note that was 1st of March), to really going has happened perhaps as fast as I'd expect, but it's still not easy. What happened today makes me think we're moving into a new stage on this lawn business, past the start and more into the build. What sign tells me that, well so far all the effort has been outbound marketing and sales, BUT, today was the first incoming enquiry. It was a small lawn, just local to me, needed some care to bring it back to it's best, it wasn't too far gone so easy to pull back. Here's today's podcast: Episode Home: https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/102-incoming-growth
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Well, today it's going to be a high of 11 degrees and sunny most of the day!
It's March 14th 2022, so it can only mean one thing, the grass is growing.
It's not big growth, but I can see a little flush, excited to say I'll have to be getting the mower out at least once a week from now on!
Here's today's podcast
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/101-and-the-grass-is-growing-in-harrogate
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So here we are at the 100th podcast.
Looking back at it I never really thought I'd get here, but now I am I think it would be good to think about whats going to happen in the next 100 episodes.
It's hard to say because I don't really plan these daily (ish) podcasts, I just share whats going through my mind on the day, it could be about lawn treatments that i'm going to carry out in Harrogate.
It could be about something I'm trying to set up for the business.
It could be just taking a moment to look back and being grateful for what I have and what I think I'll be able to do in the future.
Exciting times ahead.
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/100-its-just-the-beginning
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I've made it this far, now I've made it to 10 customers, It's official I'm the newest lawn care expert in my home town Harrogate.
And that's defiantly something to celebrate and be grateful for!
I've never been very sure about using the word lawn expert, you see I still feel as if I have a lifetime of learning ahead of me.
But for now, now that I'e launched my lawn care business in Harrogate, which will be covering the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Wetherby areas, I think it's a good time to say that I'm happy to be someone who has an expert view on the condition of a lawn.
An expert view more than just an expert.
Since first launching All Gardening in 2004 I've done over 25,000 lawn visits, and with those 25,000 visits I've done lawn treatments, lawn renovations and new lawns all over the Harrogate area.
I'm still learning, but for now, I'm just happy to have got things off the ground and gathering some customers, and it's only just the start of March.
Here's today's podcast:
Podcast Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/99-hang-ten-and-harrogates-newest-lawn-care-expert
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When I first when looking for a lawn mower that I could live with for ever (or as long as it lasted) I wanted something that looked the part, felt the part and was green!
That last bit about it being green was a real want, you see over the years I'd always found that the best mowers that golf courses use and other large lawn areas used were green! (or red).
The lawn mower I choose was the Hayter Harrier 48 Pro, it was a proper machine.
It was heavy, fast (self propelled) and had a weighted rear roller.
Today, the Hayter Harrier 48 Pro was got better and better, and it's the only machine I buy for All Gardening.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/98-a-lawn-mower-to-love-and-other-stuff
Video Link:
https://youtu.be/FLDyCWKT5-Q
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So I recently spent a bit of time looking through some of the visit photos, you see with every visit we take a photo.
The idea of that photo is for us to be accountable for our efforts, we are only as good as our last visit, and the only way to know that is to record each and every visit so we can look back and learn.
I found a couple of photos of a lawn that was the most amazing turn round.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/97-before-and-after
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I've seen them, they are starting to gather energy, some of them I like, some I don't and some are just a right pain, lawn weeds need to go!
So if I said there are some weeds I like, if they are controlled, I'd say that weed is clover, which comes with a white or purple flower.
I was told that clover is a good sign that there is lots of nitrogen in the soil, which is great for grass growth.
Dandelions on the other hand are powerful and messy fellas, they send down roots 15-20cm, they hunt moisture for life.
What makes them super powerful is they are brilliant at going to seed, spreading their power, multiplying.
What also makes them powerful is they take the place for grass, and blind out grass growth, which means given time if you don't sort out the weeds you will lose your grass.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/96-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly
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So to speed up I need to slow down.
I know that sounds mad but it's totally right. If I'm going to do things right for the long term the thinking and doing has to be spot on.
From a lawn care perspective, spring is very very near, I've even spotted the bigger broadleaf weeds start to appear and flourish.
But for now, for today, it's a Sunday, and I thought it would be a good idea to look back on the week that was and have a good think about the week ahead.
Here's today's podcast
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/95-sunday-session-1
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Oh god, you know what today's been a day when I don't know if i'm coming or going, but it doesn't matter I'm moving forward.
So I may have mentioned that I'm doing more and more lawn treatments, and it's starting to make sense, in my head that is.
I guess where I'm at is I've build the business systems, not I just need to let the process be managed and see how we go.
It's kinda simple, I need to measure lawns and make the move to treat them with the right lawn treatment.
Today I've been doing spring feeds, after all spring is just rolling in, you can't stop it.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/94-measure-and-move
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I woke up nervous this morning, I wasn't sure quite where I was heading with my little business.
But then I remembered I just need to take it one lawn at a time.
Here's today's podcast
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/93-growing-one-lawn-at-a-time
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Well today I was reminded of a song,
Going loco down in Acapulco by the Four Tops today, not because I was listening to the song by because I was very much going local with my suppliers and the song came to mind.
Adding Harrogate on the end doesn't have quite the same rhythm.
It's weird how the mind works, and mine all too often finds a song to link to a task.
Today I wanted to spend a bit of time finding my best local suppliers for all things ground materials, which included turf, soils, lawn dressing and grass seed.
So where was the best place to start finding the best suppliers? We'll I'll ask my local hire company Paul Yates would be a good place to start.
I had a chat with the delivery driver who came to pick up my aerator and scarifier, he suggested a few places but the one that was most local to me for turf, soils, lawn dressings and grass seed was Riverside Quarry in the outskirts of Knaresborough so I thought I'd drive over.
I popped in to meet the team and had a check of the materials.
They were a super friendly bunch happy to show me around, and I have to say I do love seeing topsoils and lawn dressings under cover from the elements, as dry as they can be.
After a good chat, I thought this seemed like a place I was familiar with so opened an account.
Local matters, small connections help.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/92-going-local-down-in-harrogate
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Lawn aeration is the number one task to do if you're after a beautiful lawn, today is the day 2nd day of trading and other news.
Why is it so important to aerate a lawn?
The simplest answer is it lets the rain from the sky, which is full of lovely nutrients, flow down to the grassroots, which helps them grow grass.
The second reason to aerate your lawn is it allows the roots to breathe, and that's good for growing.
The third reason to aerate your lawn is it de-compacts the soil, which can help with drainage, and improves the hydrology (the flow of water) of your garden.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/92-getting-close-to-the-roots
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It's never easy getting a new business off the ground, even if you've done it before, several times.
Getting things going i find is a careful balance between spending funds and building relationships.
Today this balance was perfectly shown, Babs works in accounts for Paul Yates Hire in Knaresborough, I popped in to check out there machines.
I later called Babs to book an aerator for a new job starting next week, I spoke about what I needed, and I spoke about getting started (again), she listened and was very nice.
I booked a collection and delivery, eventually for two machines, on different days assuming a delivery and collecton charge for both days, both machines, I said thanks and put the phone down.
But Babs called back, Babs made the suggestion that if I finished with one before I wanted the next one, they could collect and deliver at the same time, saving me money.
That was nice, she didn't need to suggest that.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/90-babs-and-machines
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Building back All Gardening feels like a journey, one that is going to be epic, and along the way there are going to be moments to be proud of, and moments to reflect. Today it's one of those moments.
When I first coined the idea of Lawn Plan being a complete lawn service, one that was focus on the quality of the lawn I looked after and less about the number of lawns I looked after I think things really changed for me.
You see Lawn Plan is a real "thing" it's a name of a service, and that name is something people will share with other people.
I think Lawn Plan is bespoke, it's intelligent, it's a relationship.
I'm proud that people now ask me about Lawn Plan, not just lawn treatments.
It's a deeper relationship.
Here's today's podcast
Episode home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/89-when-two-becomes-three-lawn-plan
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It's February, It's sunny, It's windy and it's a perfect day to give the lawn it's first cut of the year.
It's exciting to get the mower out, get it started and see how things are.
I'm always nervous of the first cut, one reason is I'm always concerned that the mowers won't start after being still for a while (but they are nearly always fine.
The first cut is often not as good as you'd hoped it would be, not all the grass is growing, there may be some patches of worm casts that you didn't see and roll over, it could even be a little more un-level than you remember, that often happens after frosts and snow, you'd do with rolling it a little.
The most important thing with the first cut is to not go to low, just a few mm off the tops, it will just help to get things started.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/88-how-short-the-first-cut
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I've been looking back into my email, going right back, back to a period around the start of All Gardening, 2009.
It was a period when everything was right, everything was simple.
I was building.
I'm building back better now, a new All Gardening, one that takes all of the best from the past, and aims to get the thing rolling again.
One of the things I did in the past, at the beginning, was doing the essentials of gardening and lawn care well.
A key aspect of that was PAS100 soil improver, which is green waste recycled into compost, which is brilliant as a soil improver and general bedding mulch.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/87-the-essentails
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Well when I say heaven, I obviously mean lawn heaven, I think we can help with that! So here's the thing, everyday I start the day by checking in on the website, check to see if any leads have come through over night. But, before I can check for leads the video on the home page of All Gardening starts playing, it's David Bowie, he's singing "it ain't easy", It's a song I've always loved because he sings about "looking over the land". Looking over the land is something I've always thought about, you see when you look at the earth from space, or if you use Google earth to look around the earth, you see 2 very obvious things, the blue of the sea, and the green of the land, that green will be "grass" - "lawns" So, I'm trying to think how do I connect with the land, through the lawns and gardens, it ain't easy, but well get there given time. Here's today's podcast: Episode Home: https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/86-how-to-get-to-heaven
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I've learnt something today, something so very simple, something that I've known before, it's this, people love talking about their lawn.
In a world where everything is connected to the matrix, the systems, the notifications, meeting people face to face, having a chat about their day and their lawn creates magic.
That magic is opportunity.
An opportunity for everyone to be happy.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/85-lets-talk-about-your-lawn
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I wanted to share something that I think is obvious to those of us who work outside, but less obvious to indoor folk, the growing of a lawn starts long before it needs a cut.
This means you could take a little more care of the lawn a little earlier than you think and it will deliver a wonderful surprise.
A lawn that's been cared for throughout winter, and into early spring will be spectacular come to the heart of springtime.
Getting ahead is something I'm always encouraging people to think about, I even tell my children that it's a good thing to think about.
Because being ahead is far easy and more fun than being behind.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/84-growing-starts-gradually
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In 2004, April 19th I started all gardening, I had a plan to build a service called Lawn Plan, I did have a focus, but I started to say to every "gardening enquiry" yes, when I should have said NO, not now.
It's a skill in business to do what you say you're going to do, stick to the business plan, it's also a skill in business to learn to say No, not now to some opportunities.
This year I'm re-launching my Lawn Plan service, and Lawn Plan is a great simple service that has a market of 22m lawns, it's simply a plan for your lawn, between 4-7 visits, done throughout the year, at the right time for the lawn, paid for as an annual one-off direct debit of a monthly direct debit over 12 months.
What I'm going to do this year is focus on simple, focus on adding customers to one plan, keep things focused around Lawn Plan, and say no, not yet to everything else.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/83-lawn-plan-thats-the-plan
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So starting a small business was never going to be easy, but that's defiantly where I'm at.
On this podcast, I highlight some of what has happened in the last 3 weeks, how I have made decisions and what is the progress to date.
I also talk about getting a start-up loan, buying a van, building a new website and getting focused on one service, which is Lawn Plan.
Small steps, done each day, more and more focus on making this work.
Episode Home
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/82-grateful-for-the-progress
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Work with us!
We're building a culture like no other, we have big dreams and we’re planning to have loads of fun achieving them!
It's important to us that we have a team culture that is owned and supported by each other. This means that everyone who joins All Gardening can feel comfortable being themselves, after all, every garden and lawn is different our plan is to recognise, develop and value this DNA.
We love being Lawneys! We want you to think about being one too. We are world-class at the basics, we're innovators and we hope to drive change, for everyone.
We specialise in lawn renovation, new lawns, and end to end lawn care, working with private households and commercial businesses.
Find out more about opportunities within the All Gardening team, especially if you are in the North Yorkshire region, just drop me an email for a zoom coffee n chat.
Here's today's podcast
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/81-be-a-lawney
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Today I visited a lawn, it was at a new build house, let's say there wasn't much lawn to talk about, more holes, bricks weeds and some couch grass.
Which reminded me of a problem my lawn has, both my house and the lawn I was assessing had one thing in common, new builds, you just don't know what's under the grass waiting to appear.
You see my home, which I moved into just over a year ago, on the edge of harrogate, it's a farm house style build has a small 240m2 lawn, a new lawn, not very flat, I believe from what I'm told it was laid during heavy rain, it has holes in it the size of foot prints! (Note: I have a new lawn to lay this year, mine!)
During the summer of 2021 I started to notice a rectangular area of my lawn appearing to burning out (lose colour and turn to yellow straw) very very fast, there was no reason for this, the lawn was in generally good condition for the time of year.
This could only mean one thing, looking at the size of the rectangle, there was a for sale sign under the lawn!
But my lawn wasn't for sale!
Just goes to show, if you want a nice lawn, what goes under the grass, in the root zone is something you really need to know about, because it's the root zone that makes a lawn grow.
If you have a new build, and you don't know how it's been built, you might want to have a poke about, before something starts to appear, bricks and sand are normal, for sale signs and planks less so!
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/80-my-lawn-is-not-for-sale
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It's true there are "people" in Harrogate from time to time doing things that really mean business. I'd even go so far as saying from time to time we see gangs.
And those gangs got me thinking.
Sharp blades, meaning business and getting the job done well is, dare I say, something we should all be looking to do this year.
Note: Gangs, are groups of mowers, cylinder mowers, they nearly always have sharp meaningful blades.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/79-the-gangs-of-harrogate
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
So yesterday I had the feeling that we were nearing a spring like day, it was warm and it was sunny, it was magic.
But today, it's about 4 degrees, it's windy as hell and it's raining, and that rain is travelling a speed horizontally, it's not feeling like spring anymore.
That's lead me to simply look out the window, waiting.
It got me thinking, good things come to those that wait.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/78-good-things-come-to-those-that-wait
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/allgardening/message
I've been thinking about what my focus should be for All Gardening in 2022, it wasn't very clear until I carried out my first assessment of the year.
I think the one thing I've been unsure of until recently is how important simple is, but the more you make something simple, the deeper your knowledge of something is likely to be.
I realised today at my first assessment of the year, my understanding of growing a lawn and maintaining it is based on 25,000 visits.
Here's today's podcast:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/77-lawn-renovation-its-the-focus-for-2022
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What's important to know here is it's not just about measuring the lawn up, it's more about looking for the inconstancies.
Did you know that the average size of lawn in the UK is around 180m2, probably a lot larger than you'd have thought.
And did you know that most lawns have less than 70% grass coverage.
Which means there is a lot of other stuff making up the lawn, and how do you go about making a lawn better, fuller and greener.
You have to look correctly.
Here's today's podcast:
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/76-how-to-assess-your-lawn
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I think I missed this point a few years back, most of us we want to be excellent at something.
I think I'd missed that point until recently.
I think the first time I was asked why do I look after lawns (I think the point being made to me was it was too easy, or I made it look easy) was one evening down the pub on a Friday evening.
In 2014, on a summer evening, a good mate who was a systems developer for one of the London banks quizzed me "why" I looked after lawns.
"Phil, you're always on holiday"
I laughed, did he really only see how relaxed I looked, how confident I felt, how reassured I seemed to be, could he not see that I was "always-on", always concerned about my team, my customers, my vans (I had 5 running around), my suppliers, the machinery we used, the results I craved!
"It's simple, but not obvious, you see I want to provide world-class lawns, lawns that people admire and talk about" because by doing that they are helping share the "why", why do I need a beautiful lawn.
I subconsciously wanted my team and business to deliver world-class consistency, every visit.
I like to think now, looking back at that chat, we were and still do.
We delivered world-class consistency every visit, every day for every customer.
But, it wasn't a holiday, it was a mission.
Here's today's podcast
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/75-world-class-consistency
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The funny thing is every time I cut the lawn I look back at it and wonder how thankful my lawn could be if it talked!
I know I may sound mad, but over the many years, I have been looking after lawns every time I cut them I look back at just how good the job has been done.
It's now February and I've just made the first cut of my lawn, and I'll be putting down a few today too, this is all good.
The sun is out and it's perfect conditions to get ahead, and If you've often been in the garden you'll know that getting head with the garden doesn't happen many times in a year.
So here's to the planners, the waiter and the get readiers, today is a day to get ahead.
Here's today's podcast:
Podcast Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/74-i-cut-my-lawn-and-i-think-it-liked-it
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Harrogate, it's the town I visited and few time, then moved to.
I moved for one obvious reason, in the middle of town there is a "lawn", it's 200 acres of maintained grass, it's called the Stray and it's magical.
Here's today's podcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/73-harrogate-loves-grass
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Oh how I love the colour green, not because I run a lawn care business, but because I have so many memories of what happens on grass, when the grass is ultimate and pure in colour.
I remember being told that a lawn had gone brown when it was to have only gone a bit black (moss killer applied), that lawn was a very very big lawn, it became wonderfully green in the end.
I also remember being paid in pennies once to make a lawn very green, and that's a story.
What it is about the colour green that really gets me with lawns is the consistency of the green.
Lawns start off as a inconsistent "range" of greens, meaning every colour under the sun makes up a mish mash of green, but given time the green becomes ultimate and pure:
Lawn care and lawn treatments done correctly, produce beautifully pure green.
It's a colour to behold.
Here's today' podcast
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/72-green-is-a-magic-colour
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If we're going to have a beautiful lawn, waiting for it to grow before you help it along is just the wrong thing to do.
Ok, lets talk about nature and how things happen differently to us humans, which is obvious, nature doesn't wait, it just does.
So, we sit at home looking out the window to the lawn and garden and we say, "that can wait", the lawn care can wait, the first lawn cut can wait, but nature does different.
As we're waiting for the lawn to grow, before we start out on the lawn care, the lawn is left waiting. Giving a lawn a feed just before it needs it is going to do wonders.
Give it a try.
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/9-awaken-your-lawn-this-spring
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Well we’ve reached a key KPI - 1% of our interest audience has been reached. 4.8m people have seen the All Gardening post on Facebook!
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How I grew something big bass he beautiful 🤩
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I've got that winter feeling, a January feeling, one that's very familiar.
This poem that I heard today reminded me of the feelings of January.
January by Henry Wadsworth
Janus am I; oldest of potentates; Forward I look, and backward, and below I count, as god of avenues and gates, The years that through my portals come and go. I block the roads, and drift the fields with snow; I chase the wild-fowl from the frozen fen; My frosts congeal the rivers in their flow, My fires light up the hearths and hearts of men.
This poem is in the public domain.
Here’s today’s podcast and my reading of the poem.
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/gardening-blog/2022/1/12/156-my-frosts-congeal-the-rivers-in-their-flow
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So what’s it going to take to jump off with 2 feet into my own successful future. A push…..
Here’s today’s podcast:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/gardening-blog/2022/1/11/67-jumping-off
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It’s so easy to do, overwintering your lawnmower, but few of us do it.
What I’ve learnt is 5 minutes lawn mower care done at just the right time of year will save you so much hassle when the new season first cuts arrive.
You’ll also save cash to spend on new plants!
I also talk a bit about my Facebook business page and how I think the podcast works well on that page.
Did you know most of my listeners to the podcast are in the USA! Hello everyone.
Here’s today’s podcast:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/gardening-blog/2021/12/29/66-overwinter-your-lawnmower
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So the book is out there (The eternally hopefully gardener), and people are buying it from around the world. Only a small handful, but everything starts with just a few roots. Now it’s time to give it some love and care and let it grow.
Here’s today’s podcast:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/gardening-blog/2021/12/17/64-the-eternally-hopeful-gardener-a-book-by-the-all-gardening-cafe
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The Eternally Hopeful Gardener is the story of the first year of the All Gardening Cafe.
It’s your story, the story of the All Gardening Cafe community. A community that came together in 2021 to make the timelines of Facebook and Instagram beautiful.
During the year there have been over 5000 people join and connect, they have shared thousands of moments and beautiful images.
Everyone has been commenting, connecting with love and beautiful words, over 300,000 at the last count.
The Eternally Hopeful Gardener is a 36-page book that features some of the thousands of photos from the member's gardens throughout the year {2021}.
It is a beautiful book and memory of the year.
Alongside the photos, there is the story of the idea behind the All Gardening Cafe, how it got rolling slowly but surely, making friends along the way and where it's heading.
It's connecting the gardener of the world, one gardening moment at a time.
Gardeners are eternally hopeful, which I think the book shows that perfectly.
A small gift for anyone who might be a gardener, or friend or family member.
If you haven't yet visited the All Gardening Cafe on Facebook and joined the community, follow this link below:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/allgardeningcafe
Thanks and love as always
Here’s today’s podcast:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/gardening-blog/2021/12/17/64-the-eternally-hopeful-gardener-a-book-by-the-all-gardening-cafe
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Note: All Images we’re shared and gathered via the All Gardening Cafe. All Image rights belong to All Gardening.
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Today I’ve started thinking about creating a real place for the All Gardening cafe.
When I started All Gardening way back in 2004, I had the idea that I should build a business that somehow connected all the gardens in the world, it was a BIG IDEA.
Then I let the idea slip for a few years.
But I’ve recently started to rethink the idea, at first I started connecting with people through my All Gardening Facebook page, which grew gradually, then I thought I needed a “cafe” a virtual place for people to share moments from their garden and I started to gradually grow a Facebook group - The All Gardening Cafe.
At the time of writing this blog 250,000 people have discovered All Gardening on Facebook, the All Gardening page has 31,000 followers and the group has 4,700 members,
Where I think I go next is to try and help build deeper relationships, so that people can connect more deeply with each other, tell stories to each other, I’m thinking the All Gardening Cafe should enter the real world.
The All Gardening Cafe is a place to go with friends, where everyone knows your name, grab a coffee or a tea, grab a cake and a smile, grab some flowers on the way out.
The location and details to follow, but will be somewhere in Harrogate, UK.
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It all started a few months ago, building a global community that is, but since I've been building an active Facebook group, the page has gone from just a few hundred followers to 28,876. The Facebook group is now just under 4000.
I'm not totally sure what to do with the page followers or the group from a monetisation or business building point of view, so I thought I'd ask you.
https://www.facebook.com/allgardeningHQ is the Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/allgardeningcafe/ is the Facebook group.
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/ is my website.
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Growing seems such a right way of thinking about The All Gardening Cafe on Facebook Groups. Am I trying to make it give me back money? No, not yet.
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It’s a happy vibe. The Facebook group was started in 2021, now at 3900, in 100 countries.
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If I go back to the conversation I had with my mum about building something “big and beautiful” It gives me the ability to understand that maybe the Facebook group building is not just group building but more than that it’s bigger.
I’ve today started an Instagram account, you can find it if you search All Gardening Cafe on Instagram.
I’m thinking that the content on the Facebook group should be shared on the Instagram account using the hashtag #allgardeningcafe.
Where will it go? who knows.
Here’s today’s podcast.
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I think the stats talk for themselves, 100k engagements in the last 60 days, 3017 members of the All Gardening Cafe group (the mission my mum set me), and 8347 followers.
It's just the start but I build a Facebook page, group and audience that love gardening.
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I think I know what I'm good at. And I think there is space in the All Gardening cafe business for others.
If I said I was building one of the biggest brands (coming soon) on the planet would you believe me?
We'll in 60 days I have built the All Gardening Cafe group to a level of engagement that is extraordinary, 75,000 engagements (comments, posts, emoji's) and that's just the start.
I think the All Gardening brand has just started on its journey, I know what I'm good at, and I need a few others to join me to do the next bit, building a strategy around products and services.
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Hello everyone! ❤️
Build something "big and beautiful", that's some of the last words my mum said to me before she passed away this year.
She loved her friends, her garden and loved to travel with a camera in hand, so much so that I thought I'd build the All Gardening Cafe group (worldwide) as a memento to her.
She would have loved to have seen all the gardens and flowers, friends, comments and pictures, so much beauty, sharing and learning.
It would have made her smile a huge smile.
In the first 60 days we have become nearly 3000 worldwide members, wow! ❤️ with over 60,000 comments! Wow!
I laughed to my mum that Facebook had 468m people worldwide on it who loved gardening, I said "would that be big enough?"
She smiled and laughed, even though it nearly killed her to laugh, she wasn't ready for giving up but poor health had taken its toll.
We move on.
I'd like to keep building the group, I think it's a good thing.
So, to start i'd to learn more about you all, about the community we are building across the world and how we might be able to help each other all learn, enjoy and grow plants, flowers and gardens, either begin or get better at it.
I'm thinking I might be able to build a small business opportunity that services all your gardening needs, in one place.
A small business designed by a community, by you, for you. If that makes sense!
So I've made a short survey, all the images have come from the posts from the group.
It will take just a minute to complete, hope you are happy to help.
If you drop in an email, I'll make sure to send you all a short overview on what I learn.
Thanks loads
Keep smiling, gardening and loving your friends.
Cheers, love as always.
Phil xxx ❤️
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It was all about moving an idea on a bit and trying to find a way to bridge a gap that I see in the All Gardening Cafe community.
That gap I see is, how do the masses who love gardens but don't know where to start move to the other side of knowing and sharing.
I thought the All Gardening Club box, a subscription service, monthly or bi-monthly would be a nice idea.
So today I went and thought about what goes into it.
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I've always wanted to learn more about planting and plants and having planted thousands over the years I have to say I haven't really ever stopped to think about what they are and how I can share what I've learnt. However that was before the All Gardening Cafe became a thing, what I've learnt in the space of a few weeks is I have vast knowledge, and I think I'd love to share it through a plant subscription club, live event thang.
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I love seeing an audience grow, and I love a bit of data. But what am I going to do to get the All Gardening cafe on Facebook to 2.4m, how long will it take and will it cost a bucket of cash?
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It’s become very clear to me that a rose has the ability to change how people think and see things.
A really good example of this Bankys graffiti of a terrorist throwing rose…
What the image says is somewhat hijacked by how we feel about the image.
Is it good versus bad?
Is it love versus hate?
Is it law against choice?
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The reason I talk about this today is I believe that the All Gardening Cafe could become one of the biggest groups in the world, and also the All Gardening Facebook page could have one of the largest followings.
So, as a small business opportunity to help pay the bills, I'm thinking about starting some courses, in-person and online.
Is it a good idea, only time will tell?
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I've been thinking like trees, once they are growing well they don't go away which is a bit like how I think about All Gardening and the idea I've been building this year (an old idea).
The idea of connecting the garden, shopping for gardening products to lawn care to ecommerce.
It's not an obvious business idea, and I have to keep just chipping away at what I know, something will start working soon enough.
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What comes 1st - All Gardening in a box or All Gardening Lawn Plan (which gets delivered in a box van).
I'm just getting the idea sorted in my head, and with you guys before I set it going.
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I’m just learning that my Facebook group will manage itself.
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It’s building the idea that matters.
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Out walking today I thought it was worthwhile slowing down and taking a closer look. Simple is, simple.
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It’s happening in the All Gardening cafe, the macro and micro thinking I have is doing something, what I haven’t yet worked out.
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So we're building this community and it's global.
Today we doing a little reward idea, we're trying to see if we can get someone to start a journey with us and buy one of our All Gardening in a box, shed editions.
We're doing it a very special price, just to test an idea.
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It’s a thing I think I’d like to make happen. Take a look on the website after you’ve listened to the podcast.
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The idea of getting started and enjoying a glass of wine whilst you do.
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I’m off to play good badly and look at the grass/ turf expertly....
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How do you cut abs lawn, when and how often?
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Just a little stats update, we have now 7000 people following our Facebook page and over 1000 members in our Facebook group, have you joined our mission yet? Check out our page on Facebook to learn more
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So we're on the hunt for some spring growth, but it's just not here yet! We need rain! and lots of it!
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We're build one brick at a time, today's brick is google ads, which I may not have told you but I've done a fair bit on google so should be a good investment when I start.
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The thing about lawns and grass care is once you start the journey to find perfection, you can never stop!
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The new Hayter 48 Pro is special, and with my shorts on I've given my lawn the 1st cut at ...... 42mm
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Our event is growing and growing and literally about growing a very nice lawn!
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I thought it was time to start my long-planned project, teaching others how to grow a very nice lawn. So I've started to promote my lawn care courses.
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I thought it was time to move this show forward, so I've gone and done it, I've bought the Hayetr 48 pro. Now the journey and stories begin!
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Yes, it's the first of many online events we're planning, this one is all about "how to grow a very nice lawn". It's going to be fun and informative.
Sign up on Facebook here
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I know what I should do, so what's making the decision so hard? I think it's about the cost today, but it should be about the value of its life.
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All your garden needs, in one place.
Simple idea, but where do you start?
Well over the years I have always thought you should start with the thing that takes the most time to manage, which is the lawn.
In fact, the lawn is in most gardens over 92% of the garden area, and for many, the lawn is the only thing that needs to be managed.
So, why not have the perfect lawn?
Now, I just need to start to drive the idea of the Lawn Plan service and grab a few annualised paying customers to get things rolling.
Once rolling ill need some wheels, a van and a mower.
Here’s today’s podcast
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I think I've just realised why I am the way I am about lawns. If there is something powerful in simple its this, simple if something everyone can connect with, have an opinion of and maybe a lever of knowledge of. My obsession with a lawn goes deep.
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Yes, I have a lawn now, and I have fed it today. It will take time to grow. But I'd expect results of some kind within a week or 2.
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I want you to have a think about an idea, I want to share my knowledge and I want to do it with anyone no matter how you want to receive it. You see I think I've always wanted to share what I know, but I didn't know how to do it. But that's changed.
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It's this time of year that I get the itch to buy a new mower or 2, but its the wrong time of year. Just wait a bit, till its rained a few days when you really want to cut the lawn and you can't.
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I wanted to start to share just what I think I do for the clients I work for and those that I train.
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I said to my mother that I wanted to build something big, a big community. That was always the idea of All Gardening.
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I can't help but feel that I am holding back on the potential of All Gardening, it could be a great employer, I could build something great again, I just need someone else involved.
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Once you have seen 1 hole you can't stop finding more. Its just like that!
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It’s never easy to start something, but we seem to be building a head of stream now on our Facebook cafe!
www.allgardening.co.uk/gardening-101/2021/2/23/20-its-all-going-swimmingly-
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If I was to say one thing about building a business, it’s how it’s similar to growing a lawn, it’s all about the ground works, the foundations.
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It's taken some time, but I finally have my very own lawn to look after!
OMG!
What shall I do first!
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We’re doing ok 🙌 growing a community on Facebook via our page and a Facebook group!
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We launched a cafe on Facebook, it’s a group called the All Gardening cafe. It’s open and it’s friendly! Come and join!
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We thought we had done a chat thing before we did this podcast, we did! It was called All Talk and it was a newsletter we did every month for our customers.
So were going to rename the podcast the same as the newsletter! Also our Facebook group All Gardening Cafe is going global!
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I want to share my love of lawns and what a better way to do it than meeting 1-2-1 on a zoom call, from you in your garden to me in my shed!
I have always wanted to share my knowledge and now with all the tech we have and the simple fact is we have time, why not take the chance to learn something new!
Learn about your lawn!
All you need to do to have a chat is Subscribe https://www.allgardening.co.uk/subscribe
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I've started a Facebook group - its called All Gardening cafe, come for a chat!
I've started this because I always wanted All Gardening to be something bigger than just a lawn care company, I wanted All Gardening to be known as a company that encourages everyone to have a bit of garden!
That idea of thinking big is what I've doing today, its what really want to do.
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Its a spring bounce, well not quite yet but it will be a spring bounce soon. The sun is out and the sky is blue, there's not a cloud to spoil the view! It's as simple as that.
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Yes, I know its weird, but it's all true! I worked for a client who asked us to instal a new lawn each and every year. He also introduced us to his art collection, Picasso's!
He said our van spelt weird, like a bombers van, but it just smelt of "expertness". We knew the van could spell of bananas from time to time.
Its weird!
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Well, we could admin to being slightly OCD, but we're not really, we're just very passionate about lawns.
We like to think we are just a bit ahead of the incoming season, doing what we can to get ready for the main season when there is no let-up.
For now, we all have time to learn that a sharp lawnmower blade sounds different to a blunt lawn mower blade.
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Its this time of year that a lawn or bit of turf goes through some weird changes in colour, why? lots of reasons.
Those reasons give us the opportunity to build out a Lawn Plan, a list of things you might need to do in the year ahead.
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Most lawns need aeration, but the first time I did it I was shocked at what I saw as a result on the day and some 4 weeks later.
I didn't fully appreciate until I aerated for the first time just how important looking after the roots was, but its obvious now.
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/8-mr-waterfield-trusted-the-process
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What? and water your lawn over winter too?
We’ll I have a confession, at this precise moment, I don’t own a lawn? But I will soon, we’re just in the last few days of buying a new home which will have a 150m lawn to look after.
Now, I went to take a look at the lawn to see what I was going to be working with and what condition I will find my new lawn in winter. Well, it’s going to be a lawn of 2 halves, sunny bit and a north-facing bit of lawn.
I think I’ll have to make a lawn plan especially for my lawn, its a bit tricky to have a half-half lawn. But I’m up for it and I know it’s going to be all about grass type I use to get it to grow correctly offseason.
I think for those of you who don’t cut their lawn over winter, you need to be aware of overwintering your mower correctly or it might cost you money to get the machine serviced in spring or make sure you use it when you can. We use our Hayter mowers in the main season and small lightweight rotary mowers in winter.
What cut does the lawn need? Just a few mm.
Listen to my podcast to get more insights into winter lawn care.
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/7-lawn-mowing-in-winter-sure
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Today is 22nd of January 2021 and I went to meet Keith our local butcher who runs Addymans.
Keith has been doing the same job in the same shop for 43 years, and you know what he is the happiest shop owner I have ever met.
What I also learnt from Keith today was his family produce all the meat that he sells, his brother does that. They produce beef, pork and lamb and they also produce some superb bacon!
What I also learnt again today, which always amazes me is Keith is always there at the shop, every day of the week and from 1st light to close up. He just loves it. Which is really nice to see and understand.
Why don’t we all do something we love? Well, I think some of us do.
If there is something that I and Keith share its that we simply love what we do, and to be honest its the love of simple things that makes business (in Keith’s case) work for 43 years uninterrupted.
For me, I’ve just got started, but 16 years and 25,000 lawn visits later I still love what I do.
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/6-keith-said-he-loves-what-he-does
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The best ideas grow, like a good tree. But to start anything especially a business you have to plant a seed, water it and care for It as it grows.
We have a big idea and we need you to help by planting a few seeds.
We know that we had a solid idea of what we wanted to do back in 2004, but at the time the technology just wasn’t there to do it. Zoom and Google Earth have given us new opportunities.
But that’s changed, we can now share our knowledge face to face, on-demand, anywhere in the world at any time.
This means that you can share how your lawn and garden are looking and we as experts can help you make things better.
It’s brilliant. Our idea now can be something real.
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/5-growing-a-business-from-a-seed-of-an-idea
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It’s true, we knew the lawn spreader we had bought at the time was no good, we also knew the lawn feed we were about to use was going to do something that we simply wouldn’t have experienced the results of before.
But, we got on with it all the same.
Till some days later, we had a chat with the owner of the lawn, one of the biggest public lawns at Henley Royal Regatta, it had gone brown, very brown.
We found out some week later this was exactly what we wanted to see happen, but we simply hadn’t experienced the results before, so we were terrified that we had killed the lawn only a few months before the annual Henley Royal Regatta.
The good news is, it wasn’t so bad.
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/4-we-thought-we-destroyed-a-lawn-at-henley-royal-regatta
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If we know as much about words as we know about lawns we would be a multi book writing, award winning, global named novelist!
If a business idea is easy to build everyone would do it, if everyone could build a business that worked and didn't fail everyone would do it. All Gardening is a business that I've now been building for 18 years.
It's never failed, even through it's disappeared from public view from time to time.
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/3-18-years-1-website-knowledge
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It's ended and then it's starting again, more to come for sure.
It took me some time to realise that I knew something that very few people knew. I knew how grass grows, I knew just how much lawn care was needed to grow a fine lawn. But I didn't know how valuable this knowledge was until I stopped doing lawn care.
We're building back better.
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/podcast/2-25000-visits-so-far
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It all started a long time ago, we looked at lawns millions of years ago, but for very different reasons.
Lawns we love to look after but we have found someone who did a PHD on why we love watching things happen on grass, especially football.
It's amazing to think people loved lawns/ grass at the start of the world!
Episode Home:
https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/news/1-sahara-syndrome
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It’s taken a few twists and turns building a busienss, but I haven’t given up yet.
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