Finally we are approaching the time of year where we see less cold and rain and more bright sunny days (fingers crossed). With spring now just around the corner, we can all look forward to spending more time outside in our beloved gardens and look at the Garden Trends for Spring 2024.

Although, after months of being subjected to the harsh winter conditions many of our gardens aren’t looking as pristine as we might like. So, with this in mind, here are some of the top 2024 garden trends that you can incorporate into your spring garden tidy up and have it ready to burst into life this spring.

Embracing the Wild Side

Typically, there is an idea that wild plants and flowers aren’t visually appealing in our gardens, with rigid geometric designs being preferred in the gardening world.

However, natural, realistic garden aesthetics are becoming increasingly popular in 2024! Think carpets of wildflowers bursting with colour, meandering pathways that weave through your space like woodland trails and uneven borders that mimic the natural world’s organic flow.

By incorporating native flowers and habitats for pollinators, you can foster biodiversity while adding a vibrant touch to your garden that looks stunning.
With Grangewood Fencing’s beautiful hazel hurdles, you can add a sustainably sourced, natural border to your wild themed garden that provides a seamless rustic appeal and blends with your untamed aesthetic.

Explore Hazel Hurdles

Open Air Sitting Rooms

As we enjoy longer days and warmer weather, the outdoors becomes an extension of our living space.

Outdoor seating areas aren’t new, but 2024 emphasizes comfort blending seamlessly with garden nature.

Use wooden garden furniture instead of metal or plastic seating and glass tables.

Many garden enthusiasts are building their own wooden garden furniture.

Using railway sleepers or other timber, you can create elegant seating, tables, and planter boxes.

DIY wooden garden furniture adds uniqueness, environmental friendliness, and robustness to your garden.

For an extra touch of comfort, add neutral coloured throws, cushions and weatherproof rugs.

For more inspiration on using railway sleepers for your garden furniture, click below!

Five Uses for Railway Sleepers in your Garden

A Feast for the Senses and the Stomach

Nature and sustainability take center stage again.

As people grow more conscious of their food origins and seek sustainable practices, edible gardens are thriving in 2024.

This year, it’s about more than growing vegetables and herbs; it’s a culinary adventure with your garden.

Edible gardens in 2024 focus on exploration and experimentation. Instead of sticking to traditional staples, try incorporating:

Unique Vegetables: Grow heirloom tomatoes and peppers with exciting colors and flavors. Experiment with lesser-known vegetables like kohlrabi, romanesco broccoli, or okra, adding variety and visual interest to your garden and plate.

Edible Flowers: Admire their beauty and add them to salads, desserts, or cocktails for elegance and flavor. Use pansies, nasturtiums, or violas to enhance both aesthetics and taste.

Herb Delights: Explore the vast world of culinary herbs beyond the usual ones. Grow lemon balm, lemongrass, or Thai basil to add unique aromas and flavors to your dishes and garden.

Growing your own food lets you control its quality and origin.  Its also great for reducing reliance on commercially produced food and its environmental impact.

2024 – The Year of Sustainability

When it comes to choosing the right fence posts, the options can be overwhelming.
While traditional wooden fence posts remain a popular choice for some, the increasingly unpredictable weather and a demand for security has seen many people turn to concrete fence posts as a sturdy alternative.
For those considering concrete posts for their next fencing project, this comprehensive guide will delve into everything you need to know about concrete fence posts, answering common questions and equipping you with the knowledge to make an informed decision.

Why Use Concrete Fence Posts?

For homeowners that value privacy, safety and reliable performance, concrete fence posts are the ideal solution to provide additional reinforcement to your fencing.
Due to their inherent weight and strength, concrete posts are extremely difficult to break, meaning that they add significant stability to your fence when subjected to extreme weather conditions or even intentional damage.
Concrete fence posts anchor firmly into the ground, especially when installed with our high-quality rapid-set post concrete, offering a solid foundation for your fence panels and minimising the risk of leaning or shifting.
As a material, the production of concrete also involves minimal environmental impact and it can be easily recycled or repurposed at the end of its life cycle, making it an eco-friendly choice.

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Are Concrete Fence Posts Better Than Wood?

Whilst wooden fence posts have their merits, concrete posts often outperform them in terms of durability, maintenance and longevity.
Rot, pests and weathering are all common issues presented with the use of wooden posts. However, concrete is unaffected by these factors, saving you the time and money associated with regular treatments, coatings and repairs.

Feature	Concrete	Wood
Durability	Excellent	Moderate
Maintenance	Low	High
Security	High	Moderate
Cost	Varies by size and style	Varies by type and quality
Aesthetics	Modern, Industrial	Traditional, Natural

As you can see above, concrete offers superior durability and lower maintenance requirements, ensuring long-term performance.

Can You Paint Concrete Fence Posts?

Yes! While concrete has its own natural aesthetics, you can customise concrete posts to match your existing panels or personal preferences, ensuring that they blend seamlessly with the overall design palette of your garden.
There are some important things to consider when painting concrete posts.
Firstly, concrete is a porous material, meaning that it will need to be cleaned and primed (using an acrylic latex primer) to guarantee successful paint adherence.
Once your primer layers have completely dried out, use a high-quality masonry paint designed for concrete surfaces and apply the paint carefully using a roller for the best results and a smoother finish.
Allow each coat to dry thoroughly before applying the next one. Pinterest has some wonderful ideas for painting concrete posts, and may give some inspiration for your own garden.

Can Concrete Fence Posts Be Drilled?

Yes, concrete fence posts can be drilled, although it does require specialised tools, techniques, and precautions to ensure that posts aren’t cracked or damaged during the drilling process.

Consider concrete posts for a new fence installation or an upgrade for a durable, attractive solution.

At Grangewood, we stock a wide selection of concrete fence posts and related products.  Our offerings include various sizes and heavy-duty options to meet your needs.

Explore our Range

Concrete fence posts offer a robust and reliable choice for fencing projects, offering durability, low maintenance and versatility.
Whether you’re considering a new fence installation or upgrading an existing one, choosing concrete posts can provide a long-lasting solution.
At Grangewood, we stock a wide selection of concrete fence posts and related products.

Revitalise your wooden fence with our quick and easy cleaning tips

We have put together the quickest and easiest ways to Clean Your Wooden Fence Panels. For garden lovers, your outdoor space is a point of pride.
People work tirelessly to maintain their lawns, tidy up flower beds and trim overgrown hedges to ensure that their gardens are always in the best condition possible.
However, one key element that is often overlooked during this garden maintenance is our fencing.
Acting as an elegant border for your garden and helping to maintain privacy, wooden fence panels are constantly subjected to the outdoor elements and can also be affected by both rot and insects, meaning that over time, they can look a little worse for wear.
The idea of cleaning your fencing panels may seem daunting.  

Pressure Washing

Pressure washers are ideal for stubborn grime build up and moss that may be sullying the appearance of your fence. When you are pressure washing your fence, preparation is key. First thing is setting your machine to between 500 and 800 PSI to avoid cracking or over saturation. Next you should cover any plants or garden furniture that sit close to your fence with a drop cloth or plastic sheet for protection.

Which have an impartial review of 2024 best pressure washers here.

When everything is covered, you can use a broom or brush to remove any loose debris. The next step is to divide your fence into manageable sections and then working from top to bottom and left to right, apply your chosen wood cleaning solution. After letting the solution work for 5-10 minutes, change the nozzle on your pressure washer and begin rinsing until all of the fence cleaning solution has been removed and the water runs clear. Once cleaned, your fence may take 24-48 hours to dry.

A Simple Alternative

For those without a pressure washer, a mixture of vinegar and dish soap can be ideal. Vinegar and dish soap, kitchen staples, effectively refresh wooden fence panels.

Protect nearby plants or furniture, then use a brush or broom to remove larger dirt or debris. Mix white vinegar, dish soap, and water in a spray bottle (one part vinegar to two parts water).  This mixture removes mold and dirt without damaging your fence panels. Spray the solution evenly on problem areas and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Scrub the solution away with a soft-bristled brush or sponge, lifting mold and dirt. Rinse your fence with water to remove any remaining cleaning solution.

The Finishing Touch

Whether you choose a total pressure wash or a light refresh with the soap and vinegar solution, once you have finished cleaning your fence completely, and it’s had a couple of days to dry, use a good quality wood preserver or stain to cover the whole fence. 

Use a brush or roller, begin applying the wood preserver, following the grain of the fence to ensure maximum absorption.

Also, remember to pay particular attention to corners or cracks where moisture would tend to sit. By adding this extra protection, your wooden fence panels will be able to better withstand weather exposure.

Grangewood Fencing: Your One Stop Solution

In some instances, it may be too late to Clean Your Wooden Fence Panels and they may require a complete replacement.

Explore our wide range of high-quality fencing products to discover the ideal solution for your requirements.

Or for more expert garden and fencing tips, visit our blog section.

As the weather gets colder and damper, many of us start using our log burners or fire pits. Here are some Simple Tips for Drying Logs.

Gathering around a traditional fire with family and friends during autumn and winter creates a cozy, relaxing atmosphere and is cost-effective for warmth.

However, a common problem arises: logs kept for burning often become too damp to light.

To solve this, we’ve put together three Simple Tips for Drying Logs, ensuring you can light your fire in no time.

Protective Storage

To dry and maintain ready-to-use logs, shelter them properly.

Store your logs in a place where the sun and wind can reach them. This helps evaporate moisture while protecting against rain and dampness.

A log store is ideal for this purpose. Grangewood log stores have a sloped waterproof roof, protecting firewood from rain. The off-ground base prevents surface moisture from seeping into your logs.

Our log stores come in various shapes, sizes, and colours. They are made with FSC-approved, environmentally sustainable, and weatherproof wood.  Pinterest also has some great DIY options.

This setup keeps your garden tidy and ensures you have seasoned firewood ready to use anytime.

The natural air drying process is the most common way to dry firewood.

Split the logs into smaller pieces and stack them to allow air circulation. The sun and wind help evaporate most of the wood’s moisture.

Traditional air drying can take months, especially for softwoods with high moisture content. Use a dehumidifier to speed up the process for pre-seasoned wood, but store the logs in a room or shed.

Choose hardwood like oak or hickory for firewood. Hardwood dries faster when exposed to moisture and burns longer.

Kiln Drying

Traditionally designed for baking clay and pottery, a kiln can also rapidly accelerate the log drying process.

By placing the wood into a temperature controlled kiln, you can regulate humidity and air flow, resulting in wood that is consistently dry throughout the entire batch.

A kiln can also help to preserve the colour and quality of your logs by reducing warping, cracking and insect infestation. Most modern kilns are also designed to be energy efficient with minimal energy consumption and environmental impact.

Providing both consistency and speed, the use of a kiln is ideal for ensuring that dried firewood is always available.  However, it is worth noting that a high quality kiln suitable for residential use will require a significant investment.

Alternatively, if you require immediate access to firewood or simply don’t have the space for a kiln, we stock high quality kiln dried logs that are ready to use.

Solutions from Grangewood

Here at Grangewood Fencing, we understand how important your garden space is, our wide range of fencing and garden products are designed to the levels of highest quality.

 For more expert garden tips, visit our blog section or to learn more about any of our products, feel free to contact us today.

If you want to see Grangewood Fencing’s products in action for yourself, see our customer testimonials to discover our high quality and competitively priced solutions.