Laying the Groundwork for the Borders to Edinburgh Link

It’s exciting times for the Borders to Edinburgh Rail Link, a project that John Lessels Landscaping has been keeping a very close eye on since we were involved in some of the ground works for this important project.
Last month, Network Rail announced that they were more or less halfway there, with 44 per cent of the line which will stretch between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, south of Galashiels, being finished, and that by the end of May they should have been at least halfway there.

It will be great to see the trains run for the first time in 46 years, in September 2015, as we’re too young to remember when the old Waverley line to Carlisle was still in use. The line should be in operation again by next summer, and following driver training and line testing will be open for rail users by September.
The rail link has been an absolutely massive project; construction started last year and so far over 850 members of staff have worked on it, clocking up 2.1 million hours. That’s not including independent contractors like ourselves. Rumour has it that there have been over 25,000 bacon rolls supplied to construction workers so far…we may or may not have partaken in a few ourselves!

You wouldn’t believe the amount of work that goes into reopening an old railway line. For example, it’s involved refurbishing 104 bridges, installing 16 miles of drainage, and moving 804,000 tonnes of earth. That’s an awful lot of digging. That’s not to mention the logistics involved in stabilising the old mines along the route, restoring the Lothianbridge viaduct and two tunnels, and re-routing a section of the Edinburgh City Bypass! We’re sure it will be worth it to have this important strategic railway line back in operation.

Interestingly, we’ve also heard that Alex Salmond has been hinting that it’s possible the Borders Railway could be re-opened all the way back to Carlisle. He was also keen on trying to bring high speed railways into Scotland, but we’ll believe that when we see it.

At John Lessels Landscaping we’re very proud to have been able to contribute in our own way to the project, and we’ll be watching in anticipation to see what happens next.

Top Tips for Gardens in June

We’re fast approaching the longest day of the year. The sun encourages us out into the garden but it’s only then as we’re sitting on our lovely patio with a Pimms in our hand that the warmth has tempted out lots of weeds – number one thing to do in this month will be battling the pests and keeping your garden looking tidy! Our advice is to do this little and often, rather than leaving it to do all in one go; the task will be much easier cut into smaller chunks. And your knees will thank you for it.

Another constant job for gardeners in early summer is dead heading. Your beautiful blooms will shrivel up and keel over as fast as the weeds sprout up to replace them, so keep on top of removing spent heads from pots, baskets and flower beds, and give them a good feed every now and again.

Depending on whether we get a ‘barbecue summer’ or simply a dismal, wet one, you’ll have to step up your watering routine, too. Give everything a good watering once or twice a week when it’s warm and dry, except for hanging baskets which really need water every day. If you have lots of trees and shrubs, and there are no hosepipe bans in place yet, leave a hose by the base of the plant for an hour or so, just on a trickle.

If you’re planting in June, just as at any other time of year, the most important thing is to water the plant in well, whether it’s a perennial, bedding plant or shrub. To do this properly, make sure that you give the root ball a really good soak in a bucket of water before you plant it – it’s ready when there are no more air bubbles popping to the surface.  Dig your hole, fill it to the top with water and let it drain, then put your plant in the hole. Once it’s in place, cover it with soil and then water it well again.

If you’re planning on spending time enjoying your garden, lounging on the patio and generally socialising outside, keep an eye on the moss that can grow on driveways and patios. Get rid of it along with any weeds as soon as you see them pop up, and hopefully you can stop them proliferating too much over the summer.

For more advice about garden landscaping, decking and more, speak to our experts at John Lessels Landscaping.