As you know, we had been hoping to move to a new site on the corner of South Croxted Road and Park Hall Road, but now, for several reasons, this is not going ahead. Of course it’s frustrating, as we had very much looked forward to creating a wonderful new space in a more prominent position, with a bigger building, but we were unable to formulate a plan that suited both us and the Dulwich Estate, so agreed to drop the project idea. The best laid plans of mice and men!

So we will remain on our current site, and have spent most of January renovating and redecorating. It’s lovely to be going into 2020 with a clean, fresh site, and look forward to welcoming you in the coming months.

At the time of writing we are continuing to have a very mild winter, and many of you are starting to plant already. The good news is that we have lots of lovely new stock in, including:

BULBS If you forgot or didn’t have time to plant bulbs last autumn, you need not fear … we’ve got pots of crocus, narcissi, iris reticulata, snowdrops, scilla, fritillaria, bluebells, tulips and more, so you can ‘cheat’ and plant them now. There will be plenty more coming in over the following few weeks.

PLANTS, SHRUBS, TREES, & CLIMBERS We have sweet smelling Daphne, Cornus, various Prunus (including Kojo-no-mai), stunning Magnolias, Acers, Camellias, Pittosporum, Choisya, Edgeworthia …the list goes on. There are also some truly astonishing Hellebores (see picture below). You’ll be amazed at how much is looking really good for the time of year.

With the disappointment many of us have suffered with our box topiary and hedges, we suggest Taxus baccata (Yew) as an excellent alternative. In various shapes and sizes, this traditional evergreen is gaining popularity as a simple-to-maintain evergreen backbone. (You may remember that I planted some Yew balls in my garden last year and they really do look fabulous. They provide year round solidity and form, around which seasonal planting appears – Tulips, followed by Alliums, followed by Echinacea.)

Towards the end of February we’ll be getting in much more in the way of plant stock, including fruit trees, herbaceous perennials, herbs and shrubs.

SEEDS & GROW-YOUR-OWN ITEMS We all love it here when the first seeds come in, as nothing quite captures the magic of gardening as they do. A packet of tiny seeds becomes a swathe of glorious flowers (or delicious vegetables) in just a few short months. Our seed stands are in the main shop – one for vegetables, one for flowers. In order to encourage your little ones to become interested in gardening, we have a range of packs specifically designed to be easy and give quick results. The ‘Little Gardener’ boxes include seeds, pot and compost, and easy to follow instructions.

We also have propagators, pots (including coir), root trainers (ideal for sweet peas), labels and everything else you need to successfully get started on growing your own.

COMPOST & MULCH We are delighted to have reached our goal of having an almost totally peat-free range of composts. The one exception is John Innes, which currently we simply cannot source without peat in it. Our stock includes seed and cutting compost, farmyard manure, various sizes of multi-purpose (including Organic), wool compost, as well as potting grit, Strulch and decorative bark. Digging in plenty of manure, along with grit, is the best way to condition our London clay soil, and well worth doing before you start planting beds or vegetable patches.

PEST CONTROL The particularly mild winter may well mean pests emerge sooner than usual. Be armed and ready! ‘Grazers’ is sprayed directly onto the leaves of your plants, and has been shown to dramatically reduce slug and snail damage, but is totally safe for the environment, wildlife, pets and humans. Other safe-to-use products include wool pellets and beer traps. Putting a layer of Strulch or whelk shells (the brilliantly named Shell On Earth!) on your beds, or just round vulnerable plants, will also keep them safe from slug and snail damage.

Box caterpillar/moth has decimated great tracts of Buxus (Box) plants in our area over the last two years. It was heart-breaking to see how quickly these lovely shrubs were destroyed. The moths normally remain dormant until about March/April, but could become active sooner this year. If you don’t have one yet, and want to protect any remaining Buxus you have, ‘Buxatrap’ covers an area of 180m3 and is in stock now. It is a pheromone trap developed and patented in collaboration with the INRA institute as part of the ‘Save Buxus’ project, and has been shown to be highly effective. I can personally vouch for its effectiveness!

WILDLIFE The most natural form of pest control is our native birds. You can encourage them into your garden in a variety of ways, and it really does pay dividends to do so. Not only will your slug, snail and caterpillar problem be reduced, but you’ll have the pleasure of watching our feathered friends too. Keep your feeders topped up, ensure there is water available, and you’ll be rewarded. Now is the time the birds are starting to look for somewhere to nest, so if you put a nesting box up you might have the added delight this spring of watching youngsters being fed and taking their first flight. Our range of award winning contemporary feeders and nesting boxes is stunning, and an alternative to the more traditional ranges we continue to stock.

Of course there are many beneficial insects and bees that we should encourage into our gardens too, and you can do so by having an insect ‘house’ in your green space, and by ensuring you incorporate insect- and bee-friendly plants in your garden.

FIREWOOD AND KINDLING You’ll be pleased to know we still have a plentiful supply of wood, kindling and firelighters for those chillier evenings.

In the shop...

Valerie and I have recently been to a trade show, and we have a couple of new lines coming in that we hope you’ll love as much as we do.

Firstly, some fantastic ‘braided’ rugs, made from recycled plastic, that are suitable for indoors or out, and are washable. They feel soft and are flexible, but are incredibly tough.

One of our long-time customers has started a kitchen table business making organic candles which are absolutely gorgeous. The capsule range from ‘Ode to the Wild’ is not only made from totally organic wax and essential oils, but the packaging is all fully recyclable too.

We found some fresh, bright beakers, salad bowls, trays and ‘take-away’ cups made from bamboo that we just love. With a bright ‘jungle’ theme, they’ll complement any outdoor picnic spread.

Another long-time customer came in with a beautiful hand-drawn map of ‘Great Trees of London’, along with another of the Brockwell Oak. You can see them on the wall by the till counter, and I’m sure you’ll be as blown away by their intricacy and beauty as I am.

The range of Bramley’s hand and body products continues to be very well received. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out! Purest essential oils and botanicals create wonderful scents, with therapeutic qualities, and (again) all the packaging is fully recyclable or compostable.

I’ve just restocked the Starburst solar lights. They look totally amazing as dusk descends (though they need some bright daytime light to charge their batteries).

We will continue to keep a range of Chilly’s bottles in stock. Did you know that not only are they brilliant at keeping cold drinks cold, but also at keeping hot drinks (or soup) hot?

There are some lovely new designs in the Beeswax Wraps range, one featuring ‘earth’ and one ‘sea’. If you bought your first Wraps a year ago (when we first stocked them) they might need a bit of wax replenishment, so we’re now supplying the wax block with which you can give them a new lease of life.

The houseplant area is starting to fill up again. The stock is constantly changing, and Martyna does an amazing job of covering all the bases from tiny cacti and succulents, plants to hang or trail, and plenty of lush green ferns as well as more structural plants such as Monstera. There’s also an extensive range of indoor pots, soils, decorative stones, and fertilisers for all your houseplant needs.

So, as you can see, there are lots of reasons to come and visit us this month!

I’ll hand you over to Sally now, with her Garden Tasks for the month.

Keep warm, and we hope to see you at the garden centre very soon.

Warm regards

Karen and the team

Garden jobs

There’s plenty of time in the weeks to come this winter for temperatures to fall and freezing conditions to take hold. However, there will be opportunity for you to enjoy being outside so here are some jobs to be getting on with when you’re ready.

General garden maintenance

• Before you venture outside into the garden remember that walking on lawns when they are frosted or wet will damage the grass. If you need to access beds and borders to work for any length of time, lay planks to walk on.
• Frosts improve the structure of previously dug soil, but take care not to walk on or work the soil when it is waterlogged - you will do more damage than good.
• On the subject of lawns, if yours is looking tired and in need of a boost, use a winter lawn product.
• Weeds start growing before anything else – get rid of them as soon as you spot them because it’s much easier when they are small. Perennial weeds should be dug out with as much of their roots as possible, or treated with a systemic weed killer as soon as new leaves appear.
• Check protective fleeces and wrappings around plants and pots; ensure stakes, fences and gutters are secure, and that the garden is tidy, with nothing lying around which could be picked up by strong winds and cause damage.
• Cut back the old foliage from ornamental grasses before growth begins, clipping them to within a few centimetres of the ground, but leaving a protective ‘mound’ at the core if it is a large specimen.
• If snow is forecast, tie up Cordylines, conifers and other plants which may be damaged by the weight of snow.
• Remove old leaves from Hellebores to make the new blooms more visible as they emerge.
• Spread farmyard manure or a good organic compost as a surface layer over beds and borders. The nutrients will gradually be pulled down into the soil by rain and worms.
• Clear out the shed or storage cupboard, checking over tools and equipment to make sure they are clean and in working order. Get rid of any chemicals and fertilisers which have been lying around for a long time, disposing of them safely.
• Deadhead winter bedding plants such as cyclamen and pansies, remove any diseased leaves and remember to water them as lack of watering can cause mildew.

Container gardening

• Wash empty pots by scrubbing them with hot water and a mild detergent, rinse well afterwards.
• Wrap non-frost proof pots in bubble wrap or hessian to help prevent cracking. Group pots together in a sheltered south facing spot.
• Protect tender plants either by bringing them into the greenhouse or conservatory when cold weather is forecast, or by wrapping them in horticultural fleece.
• Plant some pots with spring bulbs and bedding to brighten the view from indoors.
• When pots of bulbs have finished flowering, deadhead, feed with a foliar feed and plant them in the garden to enjoy next year and free up the pot for summer displays.
• Remember to water planted containers - it’s easy to forget in cold weather.

Pruning

• Finish pruning deciduous trees to keep them in shape. Be prepared to seal the wood with an appropriate sealant.
• Give Wisteria its winter prune by cutting back the current season’s growth to within two or three buds of the older wood. See our notes on Wisteria Pruning.
• Finish pruning apple and pear trees, gooseberries, red and blackcurrants. Prune autumn fruiting raspberries, cutting each cane right down to the ground.
• Cut back Group 3 Clematis which are the late flowering type that flower on the current year’s growth such as Etoile Violette, Jackmanii, Gravetye Beauty and many more. They should be pruned to the lowest pair of strong buds, at about knee height, 30cm above the ground. See our notes Clematis Care for more guidance.
• Prune summer flowering deciduous shrubs such as Buddleja, Caryopteris, hardy fuchsias, Santolina and others. These can generally be pruned very hard, almost to the ground, leaving a few buds or shoots on each stem. If you want to increase the size of the shrubs, leave a few stems on and prune these lightly.
• Hydrangea paniculata can be pruned hard now. Other types of Hydrangea, including common mopheads (Hydrangea macrophylla) should only be pruned lightly by cutting out one or two old stems at the base and removing faded flower heads from last year.
• Prune roses to encourage healthy new flowering stems. Cut back to just above a bud and remove any dead or crossing branches. For more information see our Roses notes.
• When you have finished pruning, give plants a feed with an organic fertiliser and/or mulch with good organic compost or manure.

Planting

• If you missed planting bulbs in the autumn, or find gaps which could do with some colour, pop in a few pots of spring bulbs. Dwarf Iris, snowdrops and crocus will flower first, then Narcissi, followed by tulips and alliums. Get them in the ground while they’re small and they will provide months of colour.
• If your garden is lacking interest at this time of year, plant a winter flowering shrub such as Daphne, Sarcococca, Camellia or Edgeworthia. Viburnum and Pyracantha may feel more ‘ordinary’ but are a valuable addition to any garden. The bright coloured winter stems of Cornus and Salix look stunning underplanted with snowdrops.
• Continue planting deciduous trees and shrubs, as long as the ground isn't frozen or waterlogged.
• Introduce evergreen shrubs if your winter garden is lacking structure. Yew or ilex topiary can give real form and interest.

Seed sowing

• Sweet Pea seeds can be sown indoors in a propagator on a sunny windowsill, and planted out later on. Those sown in Autumn can be potted on, and kept on a windowsill, in a cold frame or greenhouse.
• As long as the soil is warm you can start to sow broad beans, peas, cabbage, beetroot and spinach under cloches.

Pests and diseases

• Keep an eye out for the first signs of herbaceous growth and protect the new leaves from slug attack. An early application (around Valentine’s Day is an ideal time) of slug pellets will reduce the population later in the year.

Wildlife

• It’s important to keep bird feeders topped up with a variety of food to support our feathered friends in cold weather. Always supply fresh water for them too.

Finally

Keep warm and spend time planning for later in spring and summer if it’s too glum outside.

Sally