Poores of Acton Ltd
2/4 Colville Road, Acton, London W3 8BL
Open Mon-Sat 7.30am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm
Tel: (020) 8992 1177 Fax: (020) 8993 9946
E-mail: [email protected]
GARDEN PROJECTS
Pond pumps add movement and sound to your water feature, and are essential in many fish ponds. The Titan range illustrated is suitable for waterfalls and filtration systems, and comes in sizes from 2000 litres/hour up to 8000 litres.
PONDS
Ponds and water features can be incorporated in to almost any garden, whatever the size.
Pre-formed high density polyethylene pools offer convenience and strength, and provide areas for marginal plants and shelves for aquatic plants. There’s also a wide variety of pre-formed water courses and cascades to add interest.
For greater flexibility, pond liners allow you to shape the pool as you wish (and with rolls up to 100ft long, that’s quite a lot of flexibility).
You can add a fountain, pump the water to create a stream or waterfall, and lights to make a feature of the pond at night. Many pumps accept different fountainheads to create special effects such as bell, tiered and geyser sprays.
If you’re thinking of having fish, we can provide aerators, biological filter boxes and UV water purifiers for a healthy pond environment.
FOUNTAINS AND PEBBLE POOLS
Very popular and suitable for smaller gardens, these self-contained fountains are easy to install and maintain. Styles range from classic to fun, and sizes from a 70cm diameter bowl fountain upwards. Some are provided as kits including pump and accessories, other give you the freedom to incorporate different elements as you wish.
Whatever size or style of pond or fountain you choose, Poores has all the electrical and plumbing accessories on hand and can give you advice on installation.
A wall fountain creates a delightful and stylish feature without taking up garden space. Easy to install, they are provided complere requiring only an electrical connection.
These programmable water control systems provide water up to 6 times daily, for a period of up to 10 hours, and will operate in conjunction with an automatic 6-way distributor to water different parts of the garden at different times.
WATERING SYSTEMS
Watering a garden takes up a surprising amount of time, and more so as we experience drier, hotter summers. This is why so many people are turning to automatic watering systems which, as well as making life easier, will also take care of the garden whilst you are on holiday. The heart of an automatic system is the timer which controls how often and for how long the watering system is turned on
A timer may be as simple as a clockwork valve which is opened manually and shuts off automatically after a predetermied period. There are many more comprehensive battery-driven control units, offering a varying number of programs per day with watering times user set and varying from a minute to several hours. Some of these can route water to different zones at different times. For environmentally-conscious watering, there are rain sensors and soil dampness sensors which will prevent an automatic system operating when it is not required.
Drip systems effectively put water right where it is required, at the roots of individual plants, providing very precise watering control. Porous hoses provide moisture to the soil roughly a metre each side of the hose (which is usually buried in the soil). Both can be used as part of either manual or automatic watering systems, as can the broad array of hose attachments including oscillating lawn sprays, pop-up sprinklers, pulse sprinklers and pattern sprinklers.
WATER STORAGE
Rainwater is a valuable commodity in the garden, particularly as water meters are introduced across the country. Plants love rainwater, which comes out of the butt at garden temperature and doesn’t contain the chemicals that water companies must add to our domestic water supply. Use rainwater for your cut flowers and they’ll last longer and the water won’t start to smell the way tap water does after a few days.
Modern storage systems include a range of useful features including childproof lids, automatic rainwater diversion from the downpipe, stands to raise the butt and make filling watering cans easier.
Here’s a water butt that will hold 700 litres (150 gallons) of rainwater, yet its compact shape and depth of just 65cm means that it will easily fit in the side alley of many houses.
A selection of low-voltage garden lighting: for paths, background illumination, steps, and a spotlamp to pick out features.
GARDEN LIGHTING
Gardens are so enjoyable in daylight, it seems such a shame that by twighlight everyone has gone in doors. But now there are safe, low voltage system that can be easily installed. And the effect of garden lighting is to transform a garden into a new space unlike the garden of the day. There are spotlights to pick out features, soft illumination for background lighting and tiered lamps whose light is shed downwards to illuminate steps and other potential hazards.
The most common lights are on spikes which can easily be placed in the ground wherever they are required, but there are also floating pond lights, wall lights, lanterns and strings of fairy light sfor outdoor use.
If you want to get a taste of the effect without the expense of electrical installation, you ca use outdoor candles, giant torches that burn for up to three hours giving a delightful soft light.
GREENHOUSES AND COLDFRAMES
A greenhouse allows you to do so much more in the garden. Delicate plants can be overwintered, annual sowings can be started months earlier than if they were sown directly in the soil, and in summer you can grow exotic plants that would not thrive in the outdoor temperatures alone. All sorts of accessories are available to make effective use of the space and give your plants the best chance of success. Shelving, heating, shading, soil warmers, automatic vents and much more make the task of gardening easier.
If you don’t have space for a greenhouse, there are several excellent alternatives, too. Lean-to greenhouses rest against a wall or in a corner, providing a lot of growing area in a small space. Cold frames are smaller still, yet in a tiered shelf cold frame you can grow hundreds of seedlings, saving a fortune on shop prices.
This compact coldframe holds 9 standard-size seed trays, allowing hundreds of seedlings to be grown. An aluminium frame and double-wall polycarbonate panels make for a rigid frame and far better heat-retaining properties than glass.
GARDEN PROJECTS