Top Prune. Garden & Maintenance

14/08/2026

https://youtu.be/ELLaE53ZuP8
Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) – one of our eight native social wasps. This nest has been under the roots of a sumac tree for most of the summer. It’s grown very busy and is now probably quite large. Unfortunately it’s in a family area, so it has to go. Vespula vulgaris is one of the milder-mannered wasps, though they become more defensive as the season progresses. Over the summer they’ve done an excellent job as pest controllers around the garden and they’re useful pollinators too. Unlike bees, wasps are almost impossible to move or relocate. If a nest is somewhere safe and out of the way, leaving it alone is always the preferred option.
This one is simply too close to domestic areas, so now is the time for it to be removed

Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) – one of our eight native social was...

11/08/2026

From Cowboy Builder Bodge to Proper Professional Finish –
Summer House Steps Transformation.
https://youtu.be/7h8ta4QcjKM
I was contacted by a couple who’d had a nightmare experience with a cowboy builder.

You’ll see from the video just how unsightly and shoddy the work was.
The job they’d been commissioned to do was straightforward: remove the existing decking in front of the summer house, install two proper sleeper steps, and lay a patio on the remaining area that had been covered by the old wooden decking.
The customers had also made it very clear they did not want any gravel used on the job.
For some reason the cowboy builders still used around 200 kg of gravel on each side of the steps, around the slabs and on the borders, instead of using full size slabs and grouting.

On the steps themselves they cut full-size slabs down for no good reason – and what’s more bizarre, they did this on all four sides made even worse by the unsightly wooden support legs! "Even cutting out chunks of slab to go around them " instead of cutting the timber legs to a correct recess depth.

The steps were built from shoddy sleeper off-cuts and timber-incised ground posts that were never intended for visible work, together with the remaining off-cuts from previous sleeper jobs.
They should have used full 3-metre 200 mm × 100 mm sleepers.

Instead, they mashed together about 15 bits of timber, leaving mismatched, off-square joints large unsightly gaps with nothing that was plumb anywhere. The fixings were a complete mess – most sticking out, some splitting the timber driven in too deep, many at odd angles. The few support legs they used were simply sat on the ground (not concreted in) and left protruding being fully visible.
To make matters worse they had further cut the tread slabs to fit around these unsightly support legs. It was all a very ugly, unsightly mess – an utter bodge.

It gets Even worse, the summer house itself had been left floating in mid-air with no supports at all, rendering the structure unsafe and unusable.

When I arrived, I assessed the work.
Even from a distance the unsightly mess was obvious, and the closer I looked the more problems appeared.
The whole front of the summer house was simply hanging with nothing underneath it, had already sunken several inches, opening up gaps in the timber walls and stressing the glass windows and doors.
To prevent any further damage, I immediately placed jacks under the joists on each side. Then explained to the customers that the steps would have to be ripped out completely in order to properly support the summer house.

As the existing steps were such a poor and unsightly job, they had no objection to this and had already painted them in an attempt to make the steps all look the same hiding some of the issues.

Once the shoddy steps were removed proper supports could then be installed under the summer-house joists (exactly as should have been done in the first place).
In addition, I fitted a new full-width support beam – 4 metres of 200 mm × 50 mm timber – secured to every joist with 200 mm tech screws.

On day two we continued the correct ground preparation and began installing two brand-new full-sleeper steps. We used four and a half 3-metre sleepers (100 mm × 200 mm), kept almost all fixings internal using the correct tech screws, and installed nine support legs, every one of which was properly concreted into the ground.
Any visible fixings were correctly countersunk and recessed into the timber, measured for even spacing and set in a straight line. Only 4 fixings are visible neatly placed unlike the 20 or so from the prior bodge just thrown in any old how.
The infill was thoroughly compacted with a wacker plate to create a solid base, leaving a 50 mm recess for the mortar bed and the slabs.

The Indian sandstone slabs were coated on the underside with a priming slurry (a mix of cement, sand, SBR bond and water) painted onto the damp underside, then laid. Ten slabs went onto the two steps, and further Indian sandstone slabs (reclaimed from the original bodge job) were re cut square laid on each side of the steps – exactly as should have been done originally. This completely eliminated the need for large quantities of gravel.
The following day we mixed and applied the grout to finish everything off cleanly.
From an unsafe summer house and a very unsightly bodge job to a safe, strong, correctly supported structure with properly installed steps and slabs.
What a difference a proper job makes!

https://youtu.be/7h8ta4QcjKM

10/07/2026

flat pack assembly free cheap lightweight

This was given to my good lady. A small Freestanding Wooden Bird Feeding Table – They advertise it as a "Heavy Duty Rustic Wood Bird House For Wild Birds, Sturdy Weatherproof Feeder Stand"... Its a small lightweight mass produced lightweight bird table.
I have built this and glued it as i went to add strength and stability. It comes untreated so wouldn't last long. i will use safe oils or water-based, non-toxic wood treatments i have both so will let the wife decide.
I will probably add hooks to make anchors as its so light . they sell for around £12 so cheap. you get what you pay for..

10/07/2026

Hornet Vespa crabro

The Queen European Hornet (Vespa crabro) was going into one of the bird nesting boxes. She was in there a long time, so I knew she was possibly making a nest. When I checked, she had already built 4 cells with eggs, so she had been active for 2 or 3 days. Because the box is right next to the shed and gate, and near where children play, I made the decision to dispatch her. Unlike bees, relocating wasps is extremely difficult.

The European Hornet (UK native) is our largest social wasp. Queens reach 35mm. They have a reddish-brown thorax and a yellow abdomen with black bands. Wasps are excellent pest controllers — they hunt caterpillars, flies, moths and other insects.
Only a queen wasp can eat solid food. The nest itself relies on the grubs regurgitating a sweet sugary substance known as honeydew, and it is this that the colony — and eventually the Queen — lives on. Wasps take insects back to the nest where the grubs eat them. Adult wasps have large mandibles to cut up larger insects, which they then take back to the nest for the grubs to eat. Adult wasps can only consume liquid as they lack the anatomy to eat solid food.
Wasps are very often thought of as aggressive, however they are usually almost passive unless the nest is disturbed or you swat at them. Colonies grow quickly and can reach many thousands. Nests are often made of paper (chewed wood) in cavities such as bird boxes, hollow trees, in the ground, sheds or sometimes in lofts. They are active day and night. If you find a wasp nest in a quiet spot, consider leaving them — they do far more good than harm. Wasps are rarely aggressive unless disturbed. They are great pest controllers as well as very effective pollinators.
Most queen wasps die from predators over the winter, and those that are disturbed or wake early often die as there is no food source. The queen is the only member of the colony to eat in the spring. Once she has produced grubs and those drones hatch, they feed the grubs which in turn secrete a sugar-rich substance (basically honeydew) that feeds the queen and all the workers. At the end of the season, or if the Queen is old, she stops producing eggs. The wasps then become more aggressive because they are on the lookout for sweet food before they die, and that is usually within a day or two. The last grubs to hatch are fertile queens and males. They mate on the wing, the males die, and the new queens seek shelter for winter. If they survive, they start nest building in spring and the process begins again.
Wasps don’t eat solid food themselves, so they don’t last long without going back to the nest to feed. If you are on the flightpath for workers foraging for food or collecting building materials to make or expand the nest, you need to disrupt the flight path. In cooler weather, keep doors and windows closed or use repellent scents.
The best repellent to deter wasps is citronella. If you have a bay tree, you can make a free repellent by placing a few handfuls of leaves in a liquidiser. Blitz them to release the oils but don’t overdo it. Place them somewhere the wind won’t blow them away. Or make a pouch from old window netting and hang it. You can also use any of the following: peppermint, spearmint, basil, eucalyptus, cloves, geranium, thyme and lemongrass.
As to whether it’s a hornet (Vespa crabro), our largest wasp, a good picture is the best way to identify it. The two most common species to see in a home or workplace are the Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and the German Wasp (Vespula germanica). The Hornet can (but rarely does) make a ground nest and is usually very much at home in the corner of a dark barn or the hollow of a tree, usually somewhere high up. If you see wasps gathering nesting material or carrying grubs, you can watch the direction they fly off in to find the nest. Wasps do get a bad press and are rarely aggressive unless disturbed. We have over 9,000 species in the UK, ranging from minute ones right up to our large Hornet.
They are great pest controllers as well as very effective pollinators. Once she has produced grubs and those drones hatch, they divide into different working classes (yep, they do) — some cool the nest, some forage for food, some build and expand the nest. It’s the regurgitated honeydew that feeds the entire colony, so without the grubs the nest dies.
A myth that wasps don’t build in the same place. They can and do, but it’s usually to the side of an old nest or close by.
Wasps don’t eat solid food but do have the capability of cutting up large grubs. Food is taken back to the nest where the developing grubs eat the solid food and then regurgitate the waste (honeydew), a very sweet sugar substance, and it is this that all the wasps eat. At the end of the nest’s life (when the queen stops laying eggs) the nest very quickly dies as there is no food. This is when the workers from the nest go in search of a liquid feed. Sugary foods, pop and beer they can then be aggressive but soon die

10/07/2026

Lawn mowing & rear patio weeding

& rear for a customer who doesn't always get the time to do it themselves

10/07/2026

A customer end of tenancy and

Nice easy job with a very satisfied customer who said "Its cleaner now than it was when we moved in" ..
High pressure twin rotating jets make light work of the job while keeping and mess under the cover preventing splashing

10/07/2026

Even small patios benefit from a good pressure wash . high pressure rotating twin heads make light work of this job.

Nice quick job on a green and dirty patio.

19/01/2025

Local company
A much needed mow and strim for one of our local companies.
Cutting back the verge, hedge for visibility and safety
Tidying up the site
With the site being industrial & busy in the Week Sunday was the only day to do roadway access points.

18/08/2024

This paddock had not been touched for some time. With some of the grasses and weeds standing over 5 feet tall. The thick grass had fallen over after going to seed with more fresh new grass growing through. A thick bed to mulch along with several years growth from brambles and hard stems over 1 inch in diameter. The hedges were all cut and mulched with the mowers. A good days work for the two of us and a hot one at that. Clearing the overgrowth one never knows what may lay beneath. Along with the vintage Chevrolet & Morris 16 out in the undergrowth an Albion roller mill & Bamford Chaff Cutter .Vintage finds Overgrown cut

03/08/2024

A very busy time of year. Though birds wont nest in this hedge due to its location and little cover it is still a requirement to check at this time of year and once done this Nice small hawthorn hedge received a short back and sides.

A very busy time of year. Though birds wont nest in this hedge due to its location and little cover it is still a requirement to check at this time of year a...