Newsletter

Spring 2023

Like many of you, I have been venturing out into my garden to assess any damage from winter – broken pots and dead plants, for instance. We had some extremes of weather last year so it’s a good time to see if you need to replace anything. If you have space for a little colour, we have loads of pots of tulips, daffodils, alliums and other bulbs in all sorts of colours and sizes, ready to plant out into pots or into the ground – handy if you didn’t have time to plant them last year.

As usual, new stock will come in every week so do pop in to see us to get some ideas for any spaces you need to fill: just grab one of us if you need any advice. Choosing seeds can be a good place to start; we have Franchi vegetable seeds from Italy and, new this season, a big range of flower and herb seeds from King’s. Raising plants from seed is an extremely economical way of filling your garden with colour – packets are usually £2-3. Also may I remind you there’s a tomato shortage going on! Try growing your own this year (and they will be tastier than many of the shop-bought varieties).

The David Austin roses have already arrived – in all shades from the classic and peaceful white of ‘Tranquility’ to fruity ‘Boscobel’, one of David Austin’s most popular varieties. Please do ask us if you need help with choosing one of these delightful roses.

We have had our first delivery of the year from our amazing Yorkshire supplier of trees and shrubs; we also have a small range of fruit trees – apples, pears, plums, cherries and figs. They also supply us with a wide range of shrubs which, while they’re not the most exciting things in the garden, are very useful backdrops in the border and many are evergreen. There are lots of varieties that can be used for hedging so do ask us if you are unsure how to use them.

Our range of ornamental trees are suited to smaller gardens; have a look at Betula (birch) ‘Fascination’ which has deep orangey-brown glossy bark. See how Prunus (cherry) ‘Amanagowa’ can fit a corner nicely as it is a very slim columnar tree, plus it has gorgeous fluffy blossom.

Climbers have started to come in now – Clematis Armandii, an early flowering plant, also Wisteria in purples and whites. Think about how you will support them using either trellis or wire strung between fencing posts.

Seasonal bedding will be arriving soon - it’s an easy and cheap way of brightening up the pots in your garden or balcony. Just keep dead heading, feeding and watering and the flowers will keep on going for many months.

We are looking forward to shortly getting in our first deliveries from our amazing UK supplier of herbaceous perennials (plants that come back every year but die back to the ground over winter). Use them in many ways – start a white section or a tropical area perhaps. Our rusty plant supports are already here and it’s a perfect time to position them in the soil before the plant grows too high; they are well-priced, good to look at and will last many years.

The edibles arrive as the weather improves; we will have a big range of herbs, veg strips and pots; convenient for those of you who don’t have the space (or the time) to grow them from seed. We always keep the classic herbs in stock, useful for keeping in the kitchen or on windowsills.

I have just repotted my houseplants in fresh compost and will start to feed them again this month; they should start to grow away nicely in spring. We have some lovely new indoor pots in a range of colours, or in contemporary black, grey and white recycled plastic.

Just to remind you, we deliver within our local area; the minimum spend for this is £75 and the charge is £10. If you spend over £250 delivery is free of charge. We are very flexible and if you are interested just come and speak to one of us.

We look forward to welcoming you to the garden centre soon!
From Robby and the team