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Growing Matters,
Lancaster & Morecambe College,
Torrisholme,
Morecambe,
Lancashire,
LA1 2TY,

Tel: 01524 581405

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Why not come along and discover the wide variety of herbaceous plants we have at Growing Matters Garden Centre

All are of the best quality and sold at very affordable prices.

House Plants

Our houseplants are sold at very competitive prices.

We have a selection of good quality houseplants on sale in the greenhouse.
All are grown to a high standard using environmentally friendly methods.

The Secret Garden
The Formal Opening
The Formal Pond
The Living Seats
The Pergola
The Water Fountain

Marking out the beds
Building beds 1 & 2
Building the outer beds
Trellis Screening
Mosaics
The Secret Garden - Past & Present

This is one I did personally.  It took me about two full days to do.  I started by laying the shape out on a wooden board first.  At that time only the seahorse was done.

It was then photographed and printed off so I could use it as a guide for when I glued it on the slate.

I also traced the outline so that I could use as a template.  I then drew round the outside with a black marker pen on the slate itself so I'd have a guide to go by.

I did this over two days on the 20th of March 2007 and the 22 of March 2007.  This is my first attempt at a mosaic.

The Beginning

On the first day, Tuesday (20/03/2007), I glued the smashed tile pieces with a tile adhesive.  Working round the outside first to get the shape.  I used the photograph as a guide as to which piece went where.  It was then a case of filling in the gaps.

On the Thursday (22/03/2007) I found it had dried successfully.  At first I was unsure as to what material to use as a background.  I thought about using crushed glass or beads, but in then end went for blue tiles; some of which needed smashing.  I thought they'd contrast better with the white and be easier to apply.

Left:  Seahorse design as laid out on wooden board with crushed glass round outside.

The Background

The laying of the blue tiles I found somewhat easier, thanks to the addition of a small pair of tweezers.

I was keen to cut some in half, and laid vertically, reaching out like rays of sunshine from the white tile seahorse.  The idea being to draw your attention to the main design.

I wasn't going to cover the entire slate at first, but decided later on that it would look better, as though the whole piece was 'framed.'

Grouting

On the 12th of June 2007 I decided to grout the Seahorse Mosaic.  I used a mixture of white tile grout and cement to darken it.  I could have just left the grout in its original colour but then the white tiles would have been very difficult to see.

Applying the grout wasn't too difficult.  I used a soft sponge to spread it across the mosaic.  It was spread across the surface covering the tiles as well, rather than trying to fill every individual gap in.  I then wiped it over several times until all the cracks had been filled.

As it happened I needed two mixes of grout.  I also applied a layer round the outside of the mosaic to both keep the tiles in place and to make sure the whole thing was completely waterproof.

After grouting I went over the tiles with a damp sponge to remove any excess grout.  I then left it for a couple of days to dry before cleaning the tiles to give them their shiny look you see here.