Forget about neat rows and perfect plots, try ornamental vegetable gardening this year to add colour and interest to your garden. This can really make cooking for friends, family and kids a fun and sociable outdoor activity – ingredients picked fresh from the garden to the kitchen or barbecue!
Gardening Tips
May
It can be quite daunting hunting through the many different types of lawn care and seed in the garden centre, but if you’re just looking to improve that neglected green patch in your garden, here are some easy tips to get going. Either get stuck in with a whole new lawn, or try some of our products that will fill bare patches and make your grass more durable.
June
Roses crave lots of sun and do not like their roots waterlogged. Be aware that shaded varieties still require at least 2-4 hours of sun, unlike other varieties that require at least 6 hours of full sun. Continual nutrients through their growing season will ensure that you get the most blooms for your buck, so its worth investing in rose feed – we recommend Westland’s Naturally Rich Rose Food.
July
For those of us who do the daily 9-5 grind, we’ll be spending most of our time in the garden in the evenings after work. There are some beautiful and delicate flowers that come to life in the evenings, releasing their fragrances as well as having their flowers enhanced by the glow of the moon.
August
Regularly cutting our lawns may improve kerb appeal, but it has already proven to have serious consequences for bees and pollinators. Whilst we offer and promote Perfect for Pollinator plants to fill the gaps in your borders and to nourish the pollinating wildlife with nectar and pollen, stress-free no-mow lawns are crying out to be utilised. Have an open mind for the beauty and uniqueness they can bring, they don’t have to be unsightly and unkempt and we promise your neighbours won’t be wanting to complain.
September
Autumn is just around the corner so instead of watching your summer colour wilt, start preparing for next years Spring growth. Planting Spring flowering bulbs can be easy and rewarding if you get started early, so here are our tips to making sure you have a show stopping bloom next Spring:
October
After the destruction caused by Storm Ali you may have been looking over your wind-battered garden with a little despair. Thankfully it’s the perfect time for pruning if you haven’t begun already and will prevent damage from further storms we will not doubt be experiencing later in the year.
November
How long do you plan in advanced for Christmas? Do you pull out the same, slightly beaten artificial tree from the attic or does the excitement of a real, traditional Christmas tree really cement the feeling that the festive season is here? With the trend in recyclables and eradication of unnecessary plastics in full force a fresh tree is also the most environmentally friendly option.
February
Our Star Buys this month are all about keeping the birds well fed, but now is the time to begin thinking about preparing to keep yourself fed through Summer. Although the ground will be too hard to do much with, it is still the best time to get planting in your greenhouse.
Plant cold starters such as peas, beans and sweet peas in an unheated greenhouse. Peas especially only provide 2 crops a year, so you’ll want to get these planted in the next few weeks. Lettuce and leafy salads can also be planted indoors for early season crops – some gardeners even have them growing all through the winter.
March
Unseasonal weather got us all in a flutter through February with customers rushing in to get started in their gardens. The sun and the temperature have put us all in the Spring mood, so getting your garden planted now is a must for seasonal blooms. Now that the ground has warmed up a little, we’ll look at the best things to get planted outside this month, but remember, a lot of plants and cuttings will need some time in the greenhouse or propagator to ensure they don’t suffer from any cold snaps we may have on the horizon.