Are you too busy with work to find the time to manage your garden? Do you need to tidy up and prepare your garden for the winter, but feel overwhelmed by the enormity of it all – especially when you’d rather spend the time relaxing with your family? Or have you already decided you need a gardener, but just get fed up every time you arrange for someone to come and they never arrive on time, if at all!
Having worked in the region since the beginning of 2010, local gardener and handyman, Thomas Wilkins, knows only too well the problems faced by expats, trying to find a reliable gardener who not only understands what needs to be done, but who is prepared to take on some of the less glamorous gardening jobs such as plant removal and leaf clearance. As a former project manager and consultant within the construction industry, Tom is also aware of the importance of time management and completing projects on time.
Tom told knowitall.ch, “When I arrived in Switzerland I found that many expats were looking for a reliable and competent handyman or a knowledgeable gardening service. Most people wanted someone who would turn up when they said they would and do what had been discussed without communication problems or other proposals for work that they didn’t want. If a client wants more, then I am very happy to discuss how they may develop their garden to its full potential, and will provide a fair and competitive quote for the work that will meet with their expectations on quality and time delivery.”
Come to Leman Expat Fair in Lausanne on November 4th, 2012 with a copy of the 2000 edition and receive a copy of the latest edition in exchange!
Would you like to get a copy of the brand-new 8th edition of Know-it-all passport® for FREE?
If so, then look through your cupboards and bookshelves to see if you still have a copy of the very first edition of the publication, which is yellow and black and has 2000 in the title. The first 10 people to bring along their copy to the Know-it-all passport stand at this year’s Léman Fair (Table 80 at the Centre Beaulieu Congress Center in Lausanne) will receive a copy of Know-it-all passport 2013/2014 in exchange!
Why the offer? Well Lisa Cirieco-Ohlman, the editor, only printed 1,000 copies when the first edition came out in 1999. The book was so successful she sold all but two copies of the book, which she kept for herself. She now has three children and really wants to give each of them a full set of the books when they are older, and is now searching desperately for two more copies.
Photo: copyright Jean-Luc Pasquier
Have you always wanted to work in your garden but been daunted by the sheer scale of your space? Do you find trees, bulbs, shrubs and flowers a mystery? Have you been disappointed with the results in your vegetable plot? Would you like to improve your skills, knowledge and success in your garden?
If so, then you may be interested to sign up for one of the many courses being organized this Autumn at the newly-opened Swiss Gardening School.
Headed up by British-trained Horticulturalist and Garden Designer, Hester Macdonald, and her enthusiastic, self-taught gardening partner, Tara Lissner, the Swiss Gardening School aims to provide enjoyable and easy-to-follow introductory courses for gardening novices, as well as advanced courses for more experienced amateurs who would like to expand their knowledge. Course sizes are small, with between 8 and 12 participants, enabling Hester and Tara to combine group work with individualized attention. All instruction is in English.
If you’ve recently used the services of an international moving company then you might like to try your luck in a competition being run by GoodMigrations, the company we featured on knowitall.ch in June 2012, and whose website enables you to find international movers in your region and read customer reviews of how they performed.
To enter the competition, all you have to do is submit a review on the removal company that you used, using the review form located on the GoodMigrations website. The form is very short and should take no more than a minute to complete. Only reviews submitted by 30 September 2012 will be eligible for entry into the competition.
If you win, GoodMigrations reserves the right to request proof of your international relocation, which must have occurred after 1 January 2010. Click here to read the complete rules of entry.
That's it! The corrections are made and the new recommendations have been added on the 8th edition of Know-it-all passport® and it is on press at Imprimerie Nationale Rochat Baumann in Geneva right now! About 4 weeks of printing and 6 weeks of binding is what it takes during this 10 week-long process to bring you the quality item that you will keep on hand for the next two years. There are also two bookmarks on ribbons that are hand-inserted by a little old lady near Fribourg! Look out for it as of end-August this year in bookshops or pre-order via one of the distribution points for your copy hot-off-the-press!
Sporting the new blue color throughout, the cover is lifted with a touch of red as well. Click here to see the the evolution of the colors from the first edition.
See the photo competition winners and runners-up entries in our article.
