Bank Holiday Blogging

May Bank Holiday and the weather forecast is dire!!!! What a surprise!
I have been pleasantly surprised at how many of you have been coming in and commenting on the website. It is very nice to know you are out there reading this!! You may have been wondering why I haven't been blogging lately - Well, I've had a virus!! Not one that laid me low, luckily (I'm too busy for that!!) but one that took the trusty old computer down. Thanks to Jim persisting and telling me to buy a new one I am now back in communication with the outside world. I even have a fab new flat screen that I can read (even without my glasses on!!)
May has been a busy month for us as you all got out and started gardening in earnest. I hope you haven't been caught out by the late frosts and are ready for the deluge that is on it's way, apparently.
We have noticed a huge upsurge in interest in vegetable gardening this year. We sold seed potatoes for the first time this year and today I sold the last one! Nearly everybody seems to be having a go at growing something! Well done. I hope we have a good summer so you get good crops. Remember, this is England, so if you don't get a bumper harvest this year don't be too despondent - and don't give up!! There is nothing to beat picking and eating your own food and it is great that so many people are having a go.
Lots of you have been to Chelsea this year - lucky you!! I have watched the coverage on TV with interest. Not too much quirkiness or outlandish design and lots of ideas that you can use in your own gardens. Jim, being of fine Irish extraction, is often commenting on "forty shades of green" and this year's Chelsea was full of them!!
I don't suppose you are going to get out much for the rest of the weekend but you can always head for the potting shed and make your hanging baskets ready for when the gales die down and summer arrives!
Happy Gardening!!!

Spring is Just Around the Corner

It's great - the snowdrops are well and truly out and the daffodils are up with buds showing so it's official - SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER! We are looking forward to it, of course. The promise of a new Spring is the most wonderful time in the garden. The buds are beginning to swell already and it's all very exciting. The Nursery is looking well and we have had a delivery of new roses, all with leaf buds beginning to show! We have also got a good range of vegetable seeds and, for the first time ever, we have got seed potatoes in stock now. So many people are having a go at growing their own vegetables and it can be very rewarding. You don't have to have a huge garden or an allotment to grow veg. Many different types of vegetables can be grown in amongst other plants in the borders and you can grow fantastic potatoes in big pots on the patio. If you've never grown your own food before make this year the year you have a go. You will be delighted at the feeling of satisfaction that comes from producing your own food and you will love the fresh flavours!!

Happy New Year

How the time flies! I was just telling you all that the Christmas Trees had arrived and now the New Year has! I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to what 2008 will bring.
We are having a bit of a rest and the Nursery will be closed until the 15th January. I know that seems like a long time but a little holiday is called for!! We are busy ordering the plants for next season though. I love looking through the catalogues and deciding what you will be having in your Hanging Baskets next year. Some nice new colours of things and some old favourites will be on the list! It won't be long before you can all get back out in your gardens but in the meantime settle down in front of the fire with your favourite seed catalogue or gardening book and dream of what the garden will be like this summer!

They've Arrived!

Amber, who many of you will know is our trusty side-kick here, tells me that Christmas starts when the Christmas Trees arrive. In that case, I can tell you, that Christmas has started!! Yes, the trees rolled in today - and very nice they are. The Nordmans are good quality this year - it's always a bit of an unknown quantity - will the summer have been too wet, too dry, too windy or just too summery? It would appear that Nordman firs like whatever weather they had in Scotland this summer as they look just right!!
I always enjoy Christmas Tree time as it very nice to have a busy car-park, full of families. I love seeing the children organising their parents to have a nice big tree to fill the sitting room with!! We are looking forward to having Katy with us between the 12th and 16th as she claims she wants to come and sell Trees! (For those who don't know - Katy is our wandering teenage daughter who is currently working in a riding centre in Devon! For those who do know - why not have a look at www.caringhorsemanship.co.uk and see what she gets up to!
Looking forward to seeing you all!

Fireworks and Festivities

Well - Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night have come and gone! What fab weather we have enjoyed. I hope you've all been out enjoying your gardens. It's a real bonus to get an Autumn like this to make the most of the plants. Hopefully you've got your Winter pansies and bulbs put in by now. If not, don't worry - there's still time and the stock is still looking good. The ground is warm and the weather is still lovely - so no excuses!!
Christmas is the next big event - it can't have escaped your notice that the shops are full of festive frivolities - so now's the time to think about your Christmas Tree. We will be having the usual fantastic Nordman Fir trees this year - if you haven't had one before make this year the time you try one. I promise you will not be disappointed. They are big and bushy with soft needles which rarely drop - which means you can have the tree in a little bit earlier than usual and make Christmas last! We are expecting them in ready for the first weekend in December and remember - you can always come and choose it early and we will keep it for you until you want to put it up in the house. We shall be having our usual Holly Wreaths, too, as well as the usual Cyclamen, Bulbs and Poinsettias for decorating the house - or for gifts.
See you all soon!!!!

Autumn Arrives

The first frosty morning of the Autumn is upon us! How lovely to have such clear sunny days and a nip in the air in the morning. It means that the best planting season has arrived. It's definitely time to spruce up your pots and baskets for Winter, plant some bulbs and think about what shrubs, trees and perennials to plant for best effect next summer. Autumn is the best time for planting as although the air is cold, the ground is still warm and that means that whatever you plant now has time to put on some root growth before winter sets in which means that your garden will establish better and be more successful next year. The nursery is still well stocked with all sorts of things. We have some lovely Hellebores and, of course, the winter pansies are coming into flower. There's a selection of trees with 25% off marked prices!

Look forward to seeing you soon.