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Versailles was essentially a gilded trap. To distract and thereby defang the nobles who could have mounted a rebellion against him, Louis XIV invited them to Versailles to marvel at its grandeur and fritter their time away being constantly entertained. Versailles, however, like mighty Rome, did not spring up in a day, it and its gardens were a result of years of toil. And a man who perhaps knew most about the pressures of maintaining the glittering image of Versailles was its gardener Andre Le Nôtre.&nbsp; Before taking the project at Versailles on, Le Nôtre had already shown the breadth of his talent in the gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte the home of politician Nicolas Fouquet. When Fouquet fell from grace perhaps due to Louis’ jealousy, Le Nôtre immediately moved on and started work on Versailles in 1661.&nbsp; Using the expert draughtsmanship he learned under the painter Simon Vouet, and his engineering expertise Le Nôtre transformed the gardens into his signature combination of geometrically perfect parterres, cosy groves, stunning water features, and topiary creations. Though the most impressive thing about Le Nôtre is not his skill but his knack for diplomacy. This is a man that realised the grandest vision in less than favourable conditions and still stopped to make friends along the way.&nbsp;

Monsieur Le Nôtre

When is the best time to book a mower service? The answer may surprise you. The best two times to book a mower service are as the gardening season is winding down, and as the gardening season is starting up. If you can get a service done at both ends of the season, you’ll be even better off. Add <a data-mce-href="https://gardensandlawnmowersbyclive.com/blog/stabiliser-is-essential" href="https://gardensandlawnmowersbyclive.com/blog/stabiliser-is-essential">fuel stabiliser</a> into your service and you'll be much less likelty to break down mid season.&nbsp;Though if you do need your mower tuning up or repairing mid-season, of course it is best to get it done as soon as possible.&nbsp;If you become a Gardens and Mowers customer you'll get a reminder whenever your next service is due, and if you join the Mower Members Club too you'll get cheaper services and repairs year round.&nbsp;

Booking Your Mower Service

If you have a spot in your garden that isn’t up to much, you may want to make it into your own personal meadow. This is great for the bees, and a low maintenance way to brighten up your garden.&nbsp; The main thing you need to consider is how fast you would like your meadow to appear. Wildflower turf is a more expensive way of obtaining a garden meadow but buying turf guarantees that you won’t have to wait long for flowers to show depending on the maturity of the turf. A slightly more cost-effective option that also produces flowers quite quickly is planting plug plants. Just make sure that you mix your species up in each section, so you get a realistic look. Mother Nature, of course, does not tend to plant plants in perfect formation. The last option is to broadcast some wildflower seed. Annual wildflowers in ideal conditions tend to shoot up in 9-12 weeks whereas perennials take their time and often appear a year from when they were planted. Unlike perennials, annuals die off when they’ve finished blooming but if you let them set seed they may come back of their own accord to bloom anew the next year.&nbsp;

Embroidering a Mead

No, not that kind of deck. Today’s post is about the importance of keeping your mower deck clean with a little bit of guidance on how to do it.&nbsp; If you use your mower frequently you may end up with grass stuck to your mower deck which can cause problems with your mower in much the same way as a <a data-mce-href="https://gardensandlawnmowersbyclive.com/blog/it-s-in-the-bag" href="https://gardensandlawnmowersbyclive.com/blog/it-s-in-the-bag">mower bag</a> covered in old clippings can. Preventing corrosion and less than adequate mower performance is easy to do if you clean the deck after each use. Yes, this is a tedious task but doing it can save you a lot of time and money. There are sprays that can help reduce the instance of rusting, but removing soggy clippings is best as a first line of prevention.&nbsp; If your problem clippings are really caked on you may have to physically take them off, just remember to remove the spark plug cable first to avoid inadvertently starting the engine.That’s all for today, see you tomorrow for a post about making your own meadow.&nbsp;

Hit the Deck

There's more to hydrangeas than meets the eye. This old garden favourite can be used in surprising ways to beautify your garden and flower arrangements. In today's post we're going to give you some ideas of different varieties of hydrangeas you may want to purchase and look at some uses for hydrangeas.First up we’ll cover some types of hydrangeas that might interest you. Hydrangea Macrophylla ‘Glam Rock’s form is that of a typical mophead hydrangea, but its kaleidoscopic colour will give your garden a modern look. Another gorgeous hydrangea is ‘Runaway Bride’, with delicate flowers that resemble white butterflies. If you like strawberries and cream you will be a fan of the last hydrangea we’ll look at, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’. The conical flowers of ‘Vanille Fraise’ switch from white to pink gradually meaning that for part of the season each flower will be a mix of pink and white.Now for some uses for hydrangeas. As mentioned in a <a data-mce-href="https://gardensandlawnmowersbyclive.com/blog/the-right-hedge" href="https://gardensandlawnmowersbyclive.com/blog/the-right-hedge">previous post</a> you can make well-established hydrangeas into a colourful hedge and even add them to a flower arrangement for a smart table centre piece. You may even want to dry some of your hydrangeas if you have a lot of them for more rustic looking flower arrangements.&nbsp;

The Wonder of Hydrangeas

Cup of coffee with smoke and coffee beans on old wooden background

In a previous Gardens and Mowers Minute, <a data-mce-href="https://gardensandlawnmowersbyclive.com/blog/a-friendly-foe" href="https://gardensandlawnmowersbyclive.com/blog/a-friendly-foe">A Friendly Foe</a>, we noted that coffee grounds are great at keeping slugs away, but coffee has other uses in the garden.&nbsp;One of the main things to know about coffee is that it contains goodies like nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium that work wonders for the health of your plants. These qualities make coffee a perfect fertiliser. You can mix your coffee grounds into a mulch mix, steep them in cool water to give to plants that need it a little extra help, and add them to compost. The only thing you must be careful with are seedlings, coffee can stunt their growth so it’s not advisable to use it on them.&nbsp;But remember when using coffee in you garden, don’t overdo it. And caffeine isn’t good for cats and dogs, so if you have a pet you may want to avoid using coffee as a fertiliser.&nbsp;

Proper Coffee

Gardens and Mowers by Clive