UPDATE: The competition is now closed so please don't enter!

And the winner is.... Alison Sherwood

(we'll contact you shortly to arrange delivery of your new Cover!)

If you've previously purchased garden furniture from us, then you'll know how important it is to keep your investment protected, so this year we are offering a free Bench or Picnic Bench cover worth up to £29.99 to help fight off the wet and cold. 

As the months come and go, its more and more crucial that you've prepared your garden for the harsh extremes that December and January often bring us. A few checklist items besides protecting your garden furniture include; planting spring bulbs, relocating cacti to a warmer place inside and aerating your lawn.

Cold weather is known to make wood dry and brittle, whilst accellerating the chance of dry rot. Wooden furniture is especially at risk in areas with extremes differences in day and night temperatures. 

The regular expansion and contractions during the day and night can cause warping and cracks, so its particularly important that you use a bench cover to maintain the lustre, shape and sonorous qualities of your furniture.

Entry to the competition is quick and easy, and you have two methods of entry:

Like our facebook page, and leave your name and email address on our Facebook wall.  

Leave your contact details via the form on this page.


A Few Rules

The competition will run for approximately 14 days and is planned to end on Friday 16th November 2012. Enter now to avoid missing out.

We will endeavour to deliver the Bench/Picnic Bench cover to an agreed standard UK mainland address as arranged in advance with the winner. The winner will also have to select either a small cover(120cm), a medium cover(150cm) or a large cover(180cm) depending on the size of their Bench. If you are selecting the Picnic Bench cover, this only has one size.

Minimum age for entry is 18.

The winner will be chosen at random.

Automated sign-ups or clicks will not be accepted and we will reject any suspicious entries.
This competition is not associated with any other company.

Please include a current email address on facebook or via the contact form, one that you check regularly, so we can contact you if you’re a winner.

The winner will be notified via the email list entry and must claim the prize within 30 days.
We reserve the right to end the competition at any time.

There’s no cash alternative – it’s a fun competition!

Good luck.
Ewan

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Sudden changes in temperature, moisture, and pest/insect infestations such as woodworm, dry rot, etc. can play havoc with your wood furniture. Wood can dry out, rot away, or get infested weakening it over time and destroying your garden furniture. Every homeowner knows the importance of protecting outdoor furniture from these environmental threats.

Preparing for Autumn/Winter: The Effects of Cold Weather on Wood

Wood absorbs moisture and warmth from the air. It swells with heat and moisture in the summer and heavy rainy simply worsens the effects. Wooden garden furniture especially is prone to contract and expand as the temperature changes. As the summer ends and autumn arrives; it is all the more important to protect your wooden furniture from the cold.

Darwin Garden Bench 1.8m

Cold weather makes wood dry and brittle. It speeds up dry rot infestation as well. Wooden furniture is especially susceptible to damage in places that see large variations between day and night temperatures.

The daily cycle of expansion during warmer afternoons, and contractions during cold nights can ruin your furniture for good by affecting its lustre, shine, shape and sonorous qualities. Outdoor furniture, such as a wooden garden bench, is especially prone to damage and needs strong protection measures.

How to Protect Outdoor Wooden Furniture From the Elements

Wood preserver is a chemical solution that protects wood from woodworm, dry and wet rot, and halts the daily cycle of expansion-contraction with temperature variations.

Wood preserver is applied to furniture either at the time of manufacture, or later on, and is vital to prolonging the life of wooden garden furniture in particular.

Wood preserver is mainly available in three varieties, depending on the primary chemical used:

 - Organic solvent preservatives
 - Copper chromium arsenic
 - Alkaline copper quaternary

These chemicals fill the microscopic gaps present in wooden furniture, and suitably expand and contract with temperature changes. Organic solvents are preferable to the other two varieties because they are non-toxic and can be more efficient at preserving wood.

You can also buy natural wooden preservatives from most hardware stores these days. Unlike the above mentioned chemical preservatives, these natural preservatives, such as linseed and tung oil, are completely non-toxic.

Coating your furniture, especially outdoor furniture like a wooden garden bench, with wood preserver is essential during the winter season. Cold temperatures are unkind to wood; keep your furniture protected by using a quality wood preserver.

As the year moves steadily from summer towards autumn, there are a number of things you need to do to your garden. As well as protecting your furniture from the cold, you need to plant your spring bulbs, bring your cacti inside, and aerate your lawn.

Protect Your Furniture from the Cold

Bali Reclaimed Teak Picnic Bench Set

One thing that you will definitely need to do as the weather gets colder is to protect your garden furniture from the cold and damp. To do this, you will need to get some garden furniture covers. For example, if you have a wood garden bench, you do not want it to become cracked or warped, so make sure you cover it up with a garden furniture cover.

Lawn

One thing you should do at this time of the year is to aerate your lawn using a garden fork. This involves making holes in the lawn to let the stale carbon dioxide escape and let the oxygen-rich air in. You can also re-seed any bare patches of the lawn. Alternatively, if you want to sew a new lawn, September is a good time because the earth will still be warm.

Flowers

Now is the time to buy spring bulbs, as most of them will be best planted in September or October. September is also a good time to collect seeds from annuals and perennials. Collect them in paper bags, leave them to dry in a warm place for a few days, and then clean them and store them in envelopes. If you fancy something different for your garden next year, why not see if any public gardens have seed-collecting days.

Fruit & Vegetables

Protect Your Fruit & Veg come September

To keep birds away from your raspberries and blackberries, cover them in netting. As for apples, pick them and eat them as soon as they are ripe, because they will quickly go rotten if you leave them.

Carefully lift ripe onions out of the ground, lay them out to dry and then store them. For sweetcorn, once the silks turn from golden to brown they are ready for harvesting.

Greenhouse

Now is the time to bring houseplants and cacti inside if they have been outside during the summer. If you want Christmas flowering plants, buy the bulbs now and plant them in bowls along with bulb planting fibre.

Around this time, you should continue taking cuttings from any tender perennials. You should also start watering any indoor cyclamen plants that you kept from the previous winter.

Whether it's protecting your valuable garden furniture or planting out new bulbs ready for the spring-time colours; take action from September start.