Caring for your Christmas TreeFor years there has been debate on live
versus artificial foliage trees, and now that we are all endeavouring
to lessen our carbon footprints the arguments have become quite heated...
Our wildlife meadow...
When I was a child (over forty years ago!) my grandfather showed me a
wild bee hive on his allotment and the good they were doing for his veg
and flowers. Ever since that moment it has been a personal ambition to
keep honey bees...
Oakhaven Hospice Bike and Hike 2008
It was supposed to be for fun...
Spare land + free time = wonderful home grown food...
When the Christmas rush was over we all sat back and discussed what we
should do for the next project. It was agreed that perhaps small beds
where we could all grow our own vegetables...
Settling in...
Many of you have asked us how things are going on our new site, well here is a brief resumé of our first Summer at Pauls Lane.
Décorfolia goes bananas
Have you ever fancied growing a banana plant in your garden and making
a statement with it's impressive tropical foliage and architectural
structure, but thought it too difficult...
The BIG move...
What
does Friday the 13th mean to you? For us at Decorfolia it meant
signing on the dotted line and moving to our new home...
A day trip to Eden.
So this year we all voted for a day out to the Eden project in sunny Cornwall and what a beautiful day it was too.
Treatment in the real world.
"Fortunately for us, decorfolia stepped in and offered to replant our
reception with some fabulous foliage, as part of a donation to our
centre..."
Time
to meet a new member of staff...
Time to introduce a new member of staff - most of you have probably now
met Katalin. Kate, as she prefers to be called...
Why make compost ?
The simple answer to this question is, the better the soil the
healthier your plants will be. Home made compost is the most cost
effective and rewarding way of improving and fertilizing your garden's
soil...
Busman's Holiday
I thought that late September would be a good time to visit Cornwall
for a few days, and of course just had to make a trip to the Lost
Gardens of Heligan. I wasn't disappointed...
A simple money saving idea
In recent years Alan, Charlie and Co. of the 'ground force' team have
started a DIY landscaping epidemic. They make time consuming and
expensive gardening techniques look very easy...
Succulents
Hydroculture is an unlikely candidate for the growing and care of this
large group of xerophytes (plants that have developed water storage
structures for times of drought). But with care and patience...
Allotments
Used to be gentlemen of a certain age taking this pastime every day,
with neat green grass pathways and rows of vegetables. Taking time to
'brew up' and sup the tea with their allotment friends...
Bionic Buildings
During the Christmas Holiday we were contacted by the Plants for People
organisation - you might remember the item in a past Newsletter, when
we used some of their research to illustrate the use of plants as
health givers in your working environment...
Neem Oil
The neem tree, (Azadirachta indica) native to India and now being grown
in Africa and the hotter parts of America, is proving to be a
remarkable plant. The Indian nation has known of it's virtues for
thousands of years, where the tree is known locally as the village
pharmacy...
I had a Ficus but all the leaves fell
off...
There are over 800 species and 2,000 varieties of ficus. Their natural
habitat tends to be the moist forests found across the tropics and
sub-tropics, mainly in parts of Asia and Africa, but also in South
America and Australia. In their natural surroundings they can live to
over 500 years...
Conservatory planting
Recently, we have been invited to undertake some interesting work in
private houses, supplying hydroculture plants for conservatories. These
have been very varied projects, ranging from an ultra-modern underfloor
heated and automatic shaded addition to a home, through to the more
traditional half-brick style. The only common point between them is
that this is a hostile environment...
Introducing Margaret and Mark...
I would like to take a few lines in this edition of the Newsletter to
introduce a couple of members of the Decorfolia team...
Ugly Bugly
It must have been about 4 years ago that Ugly first appeared in the
greenhouse. At the time I was already feeding a stray cat that I had
called “Peaches”. He was an entire tom, with the most beautiful cream
coloured coat that had small flecks of peach – hence thename Peaches –
short for Peaches and Cream...
The influence of "landscaped"
offices on well-being, health and productivity.
Considerable academic research, which shows that plants can improve
health in the workplace, has been carried out. The research has shown
that plants reduce complaints of minor ailments, generally improve the
feeling of well-being and also reduce stress levels...
The Christmas Tree
Most of us will have a Christmas Tree as the centre of our festive
decorations. Whether our choice is for live or artificial the history
of this tradition remains the same...
What’s the big deal about
office plants?
Do the plants in your building give people a buzz or bore them rigid?
How can you tell? Your own opinion of what you look at is a good start.
If your reaction is "wow that's impressive" or " this room looks
attractive", then it is reasonable to assume that the plants are
creating a good impression...
The Flying Dutch Trip
During the early part of September 2002 Pat and Mark took up a
long-standing invitation to visit one of our regular plant suppliers
whose nursery is in the Alsmeer area of The Netherlands. We thought it
would be a good idea to link this visit to a flying trip to the
Floriade show...
A letter from America
Brazil.
Dear Decorfolia friends and clients of, it's Guy here an ex-DecorF
employee. You may have seen me around your office floor, rummaging
around in the foliage, between April and September 2001? I hope that
you remember me!? Hello to those of you who do!
Anthurium
Anthuriums, sometimes called Flamingo flower, come from a large genus
of about 900 species of evergreen, native to the damp tropical and
subtropical forests of America. A large proportion of these bright
plants are epiphytic, i.e they lodge on other plants and get
nourishment and moisture from the atmosphere...
Poinsettia
Did you know that the Poinsettia is now the most popular pot plant in
the UK?
By careful breeding and production we can now buy these traditional
plants in all shades of Pink, Red, Cream and even Marbled shades...
Décorfolia goes Dutch
On 1st November Décorfolia celebrated it's first year with Pat
at the helm. How could we mark the occasion? - what better than a trip
to Holland to visit our main hydroculture plant supplier? So off we
went! The little group included Peter, Anita, and Mark all of whom you
know, and our latest recruit Laura...
Staff Profile
Hi, I'm Laura.
I joined Décorfolia back in August. Hopefully I have met most of
you by now and those I haven't I'm sure you will see my face out and
about soon...
Geranium (Pelargonium) cuttings-
July and August is the best time for taking Geranium cuttings...
Happy Birthday Décorfolia
Did you know that it was in June 1976 that Bronwyn Burrell
started Decorfolia? I know that some of her earliest customers are
still with us now. I wonder how many companies can make a boast like
that?
Some "potted" information on the
humble tomato -
Few plants are as diverse and useful as the humble tomato. It's alter
ego as the "love apple" gives us a small clue as to the supposed
aphrodisiac properties of the fruit, whilst on a much more serious
note, there have been numerous reports recognising the important cancer
combating characteristics of the tomato.
Pachira Aquatica
Pachira Aquatica (water chestnut) - quite by
chance we discovered this little used plant in a local nursery - the
elegant plaited stem along with the bright green foliage shouted at us
to be introduced into our contracts. We believe it is a native of
Mexico and S. America where it grows in rich peat along river banks and
can, in its natural state, grow to some 60' tall
