So here we are again, another week just about over.  I feel like these two, how about you? What have you got planned this weekend, anything nice? Me, I will be working hard - no partying for me that's for sure.  Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I have one of our fabulous Japanese Bird Feeders hanging in my garden, here it is.   

 So the other day I was sitting in the living room looking out of the window and there on my Japanese Bird Feeder was a beautiful Greater Spotted Woodpecker just like this fella here.  He was really enjoying the food on the feeder the only thing was by the time I had got my camera he had flown away.  Hopefully he will visit again and I will get a photo of him on the feeder.  If you would like one of our feeders then just go to our Best For Birds page there are quite a few to choose from.http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/birds/birds.html and there are all different prices.  It really is very easy - just select what you want, go to checkout, pay and your item will be with you within 3-5 working days.  Hassle free shopping with Ruddick Garden Gifts.

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

                                                                                                             

Welcome to Wednesday!!  Already half way through the week.  Hope you have something good planned for the weekend.  So today I'm going to introduce you to one of the cutest little doorstops you will ever see and here he is.....  http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/inside/small_animal_doorstops.html

meet Elephant Doorstop isn't he cute! So he is made from faux leather in brown and beige so he will fit in with any decor in your home.  He is weighted with sand and measures 12.5x11x25cm and is priced at just £11.99.  If you are not an elephant lover then he has friends, namely Rabbit, Tortoise, Fox, Hedgehog and Owl.  So I am sure there will be something to please everyone.  You will find them all on our Inside Gifts page.  They really would make a great addition to your family!!

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

Happy Sunday everyone.  This picture kind of sums up what we have in Carlisle today - wind and rain!  Autumn is here, I hear you cry.  Most definitely I would say.  So for today's "Product of the Week" let's think about....... thermometers.  We have a wide range of different thermometers on our What's The Weather page, from ones for the kids to quirky froggy ones.  So today I am showing you one of my favourites.  This is our Round Wall Thermometer http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/weather/round_wall_thermometer.html





As you can see it is quite modern looking with the steel look rim and the blue face.  It measures 22x5.5x22cm and is priced at £29.99.  I think it would look stylish either inside or outside your home.  And now for something a little different we have this Metal FiligreeThermometer http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/weather/metal_filigree_thermometer.html

This has been produced in die cast metal and is suitable for wall mounting either indoors or outdoors, but I think you will agree it is a little different.  It measures 9x41cm and is priced at £19.95.  Both these items come gift boxed and can be found on our What's The Weather page along with a range of other thermometers.  Well I hope you don't get blown away today, my lot were going sailing on Derwent Water but that has been cancelled as it is too wild.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend and keeeep shopping!!!!

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

Hello and welcome to another wonderful Friday.  Thought you might like to see our amazing Carlisle Castle! Don't know why just thought you might!.  Anyway, hope you are all feeling fine today and have had another good week.  We have had quite a bit of rain up here in Cumbria this week and I'm telling you
our Cast Iron Boot Jack came in very handy.  It has two brushes on either side as you can see which are great for scraping the muddy bits of your wellies and then the jack on the front means no more bending down to get your wellies off!!  Brilliant!!  You will find it on our Wipe Your Feet page and it is priced at £24.99.  http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/feet/boot_jack.html

And again for no reason other than I thought you might like to see him - here's Alfie relaxing in his bed after another walk round Talkin Tarn.  That dog leads such a life I'm telling you.  Until next time folks, enjoy the weekend and keeeeeepppp shopping!

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

Good morning everyone and I hope you are having a great weekend so far!  Well we are definitely into September now, what with the wind and rain we have been having up here in Cumbria for the last few days it really is beginning to feel like autumn.  So on that note, today for our "Product of the Week"  I am featuring a couple of products that will help keep your house clean once the bad weather starts....... Doormats!  The two I am showing you today are similar just with different designs on them.  Both can be found on our Wipe Your Feet page and both are priced at £8.99.  First up is the Bird House design doormat, 
http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/feet/printed_birdhouses_doormat.html
which is a fibre topped rubber mat measuring 76x45x0.5cm.   It is easy to clean, you simply wipe, sweep or rinse with a hose.  It really is a nice doormat and would look great in any home.  
Next one is our Bird Feeder design mat.
 http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/feet/printed_birdfeeder_doormat.html

Again priced at £8.99 and with all the same specifications as the bird house mat this is ideal for all you bird lovers out there.  Both of these mats would be a welcome addition to any household.  Why have a boring old mat at your back door when you could have one of our stylish printed doormats delivered to you.  So go on take a look at our Wipe Your Feet page and see what you think.  There are other more traditional mats on there so I'm sure there is something for everyone!  

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

Hey, we made it!! Friday is here and the weekend is fast approaching.  What will you be up to this Saturday and Sunday.  The weather isn't great here in Carlisle today, it's very wet and they reckon we are going to get flooding and winds tomorrow - AUTUMN is finally here I think!  
Anyway, do you like this little fella?......................
well we have some fab Bee products at www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk.  What about this cutey - he is our Bumblebee Thermometer and you will find him on our What's The Weather page.  He is a fun and bright thermometer and a great way for children to learn about temperature.  Simply attach to your window with the suction pads.
http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/weather/bumblebee_thermometer.html  He is priced at £4.99 and measures 22x3.5x19cm.  Buy him today, it's so easy!
                                                                       

    

We also have seeds to attract Bees into your garden. They are on our Seeds page and are part of the Garden's Friends Range.  Bees are very important in the garden for pollination so it is vital to encourage them and with this meadow mix you will certainly do just that.  Inside each box there are at least 27 annual and perennial species including cornflowers, sunflowers and cosmos.  Each box will cover an area of 7m2 and are priced at £9.99.  The ideal way to
encourage bees into your garden.  Take a look today at what we have to offer, you'll be surprised!!

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

 Good Morning everyone!!  As you may have noticed on our website - we love ladybirds!  They are great for the garden and they are cute.  So today I am not just going to show you a "Product of the Week" but I have put together some of our ladybird items to make it our "Products of the Week"  So we have a fantastic Ladybird House http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/birds/ladybird_house.html  which you will find on our Best For Birds page.  It has been designed to allow ladybirds to shelter whilst
keeping out other likely inhabitants or predators and so that ladybirds can access it easily.  Ladybirds often hibernate in clusters and it is advisable to put some leaves inside to make them feel at home so the house has a pull down front to give easy access for you to do this.  The house measures 17x10x22cm and is priced at just £9.99.

 Next up are our Seeds which have been put together to encourage ladybirds to come into your garden.  You will find these on our Seeds page http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/seeds/ladybirds.html  They are part of     the Garden's Friends Range.  In each box there are 28 annual and perennial species including borage, cornflowers and chamomile. The contents of the box will cover a 7m2 area and is priced at £9.99 and as you can see from the above picture you really do get a beautiful display.  Finally we have our Ladybird Thermometer.                                                                        

 This is a bright and fun item for young and old alike.  There are four suction pads on the reverse of the ladybird and you just attach these to your outside window and then you can see the temperature outside from the inside! You will find this on our What's The Weather page and it is priced at just £4.99.

http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/weather/ladybird_thermometer.html     
So there you have it, our ladybird products which I think are all great.  Remember ladybirds do a lot of good in the garden as well as being a joy to watch.  Did you know for example that an adult ladybird eats over 100 aphids per day?! which is a really good reason for encouraging them into your garden and making them comfortable when they get there.

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

 Happy Friday folks, well we made it to the end of the week and here's hoping the weekend is going to be fine.  I thought today you might like to see some pictures from one of my customers who bought some of my seeds.  They chose the seeds for Birds in the Garden's Friends Range on our Seeds page.  
http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/seeds/birds.html

 Each box costs £9.99 and covers a 7m2 area. In this particular box there are 17 annual species including poppies, helianthus and cosmos.  The special meadow mix offers birds a source of food from early in the season right through until winter.  Full instructions are on the box and the only thing you need to make sure of is that you sow them in a sheltered area.  This customer sowed these in June and look at the lovely show they have just 8 weeks later!  So why not give our Seeds a try they really do make gardening simple.        

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

                                                       

 Hello everyone and welcome to the middle of the week.  Thought you might like to see a picture of Alfie in his new bed!  He's not too sure about it but is getting used to it.  He had is boosters at the vets yesterday so was feeling a little sorry for himself.   Anyway, enough of that - I hope you all had a very enjoyable bank holiday weekend and were able to get out

in your gardens.  You have to make the most of the weather now as autumn will be here before you know it.  We had a lovely barbeque on Saturday night and one thing that came in really handy was our Citronella Bowl which worked perfectly keeping away all those annoying insects.  You can find it on our Fire & Light page and it is priced at just £2.99.  Why not order some today so you have them at the ready.  It really is very simple!
http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/fire/citronella_bowl.html

Another great product for keeping insects at bay in the garden are our Citronella Garden Torches.  You get 3 in a pack and they cost £7.99 ideal for placing round your garden when you are entertaining.  Not only do they give a nice ambient light but they keep away all those annoying flies!!  The garden torches can also be found on our Fire & Light page so why not go and take a look, there are loads of other brilliant ideas for you and your garden.

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

Welcome to the Bank Holiday Weekend and I hope you all have something lovely planned.  Today our "Product of the Week" is another new item I would like to share with you.  It is our Lavender Incense Set http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/inside/lavender_incense_set.html
which can be found on our Inside Gifts page.
The set comprises of a terracotta burner for a candle, a stainless steel sieve, a small box of dried lavender, a packet of seeds for growing your own lavender and a handy book with tips on using your burner. The set comes gift boxed and is priced at just £9.99.  

Lavender is perfect for helping restore peace and calm and relieving stress and tension.  It is also helpful for headaches and insomnia.  The set is so easy to use - simply find a quiet spot, put some of the dried lavender onto the sieve on top of the burner, pop a tea light into the bottom of the burner and light.  After a short time the fragrance will spread throughout your room giving you a wonderful sense of relaxation.  This would make an ideal gift for family or friends or simply treat yourself.  What better way to unwind after a hectic day than relaxing with our Lavender Incense Set.  So go on give it a go, it is sooooo easy - pop on over to our Inside Gifts page, click on what you want and buy.  We aim to deliver in 3 - 4 working days so by next weekend you too could be enjoying the benefits of Lavender.

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

 Happy Friday everyone and I hope you are all having an enjoyable day.  Thought you might like to see my new sign writing on my car!  I have to say I love the ladybird even though it is massive!  Hopefully this will mean as I am tootling along from place to place lots of new people will see me and go look at my website.  Here's hoping. Anyway,  enough of that and onto my featured product for today which is a great one for the kids - it is our DIY Paint Nest Box 
http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/birds/diy_paint_nest_box.html

As you can see from the picture you get the nest box, paintbrush and three paints in yellow, red and blue.  So if you mix yellow and blue you also get green and if you mix red and yellow you also get orange so that is a potential of 5 colours!
The birdhouse measures 15 x 12 x 20 cm and is priced at £9.99.  You will find it on our Best For Birds page.  The birdhouse is suitable for Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Crested Tits and Willow Tits and once decorated it is best placed in a sheltered spot, not in full sunlight or facing the prevailing weather.  The entrance must have a clear flight path for the birds.  So why not give it a go now.  Get your nest box all spruced up ready for the birds this winter and make this little fella happy with a new home!

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

 Middle of the week time folks and welcome to your sneaky peek at one of our NEW PRODUCTS - and here it is our Lavender Bath Salt Set http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/inside/lavender_bath_salts.html

 The kit contains everything you need to make a soothing, stress relieving lavender bath. You will get a glass jar, a 500g bag of bath salts, a 9g box of dried lavender and a wooden spoon as well as a packet of seeds to grow your own lavender and a book with tips on how to enjoy your lavender bath.  The set comes gift boxed and can be found on our Inside Gifts page.  It is priced at just £10.99 and would make an ideal present for family and friends.  Think ahead to Christmas, wouldn't this be a lovely gift?  You could either give it as it is or make it up into the bath salts and give that as a present.  

Lavender is great for all sorts of reasons, it relaxes spasms, stimulates circulation and has antiseptic properties.  It can be used to treat muscular pains, sunburn and rheumatism which is why it makes a fantastic bath time experience.  So go on give it a try either for yourself or a loved one, it really does make an excellent gift.

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

Hello again and welcome to our "Product of the Week".  This week I have chosen one of our fabulous Inside Gifts but to be honest they can go outside too!  Meet Sykes - he is one of our doggy ornaments made from ceramistone which means he can go inside or outside your home.  Obviously I would advise not to leave him outside during the really
bad weather but certainly through the summer months he could stay outside.  And then in the winter he would look great sitting by your hearth or anywhere in your home. So, Sykes is an English Bull Terrier ornament which measures 18cm in height and costs £38.00. You will find him on our Inside Gifts page.
http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/inside/sykes.html

Also on this page we have Dale who is a cute little kitten ornament. Again made from ceramistone he can go inside or outside your home.  Personally I would probably want to keep this little fella inside as he is just sooooo cute!   He measures 11cm in height and costs just £35.00. http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/inside/dale.html
He would make a brilliant gift for all you cat lovers out there.  So why not take a look at our Inside Gifts page and meet some of our great characters such as Roland the Rooster, Mac the Westie, Baa'bara the Sheep and Tyson the Staffie.  I am sure there will be at least one that will capture your heart.

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

                                                             

Hey, hey hey, how's it going with you guys out there?  Here's a question for you - What happens in 132 days?
The picture might give you a clue ..............
CHRISTMAS that's what!! Can you believe it?  Well I have decided it's about time I started to look at new products to add to our website that would make especially good Christmas presents for all you gardeners and friends out there.  We already have some great ideas on our website but there are several others which I am hoping to add in the next couple of months.  You know what to do then, WATCH THIS SPACE!  Until then here are just a few of the products we have at the moment that would make brilliant gifts not just for Christmas but birthdays, anniversary's or just to say thank you, see what you think.....

So there you have it, some great ideas I think.  Check out more at www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk or find us on facebook, twitter and linkedin.  And remember only 132 days to go.  I promise I won't mention it for another couple of weeks.

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

Well, here we are Monday - AGAIN!!  and guess what?  I forgot to do my "Product of the Week" yesterday, how very bad of me I hear you cry!  Well, anyway better late than never, as they say.....
So, last week I gave our patio a good pressure cleaning, took me nearly six hours!!  And afterwards I was very grateful for one of these, a Cast Iron Boot Jack.  As you can see it has two brushes 
http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/feet/boot_jack.html

on either side so you can clean off those muddy boots and a handy jack on the front, so no more bending down and struggling with getting your wellies off.  See just how easy it is.  It measures 22x25x11cm and can be found on our Wipe Your Feet page.

 It is very reasonably priced at just £24.99. Take a good look at our Wipe your Feet page as there are some fantastic doormats too.  Lets face it the weather we get in this country you don't really want to be trampling muck and mud into your lovely houses now do you so why not treat yourselves to one of our fantastic products.  I know 

you are probably thinking "it's summertime" we don't want to be thinking about mucky and muddy wellies but believe me that time of year is fast approaching and you will be very glad you got in first with your Ruddick Garden Gifts Boot Jack and Doormats.

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

Welcome to Friday, another week gone.  Hope you're all feeling great!  I think we have had a great summer this year, I know I have spent loads of time out in the garden, how about you?

 This is a little bit of my back garden earlier in the year.  I would love to show you it now but as I said in previous blogs my camera is still poorly!  Anyway, the perfect item for doing any work in your garden as I have mentioned on other occasions are our Gloves. They are really brilliant.  These are our Soft n Care Flora Aqua Blue and they come in small and medium.    They are a fantastic fit and perfect for sensitive work such as planting small pots etc. Priced at just £4.75 why not give them a try, you wont be disappointed.  Find out more at http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/gloves/aqua.html
They come in three colours too, blue, pink and yellow and would make a great gift for any gardener.  Something else for the gardener is our Gardeners Handcream.  Made from rich ingredients such as multivitamins and moisturising factor, this handcream can moisten the skin and make hands smoother.  It comes in a 100g pot and is just £5.99.  Why not make up a little gift parcel for your gardening friends and family, a pair of our gloves, the handcream and a lovely plant that would be a great idea!!
http://www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk/accessories/gardeners_handcream.html

 Find our handcream on our Garden Accessories page and try it out, I'm sure you wont be disappointed.

"Gifts To Make You Smile"