Autumn arrives

Autumn seems to have arrived with a vengeance today - the wind is driving us mad!! But there are lots of plants you can plant now. We have had a new batch of fruit trees arrive recently. You may have heard of - or indeed had problems with - the difficulty with keeping Plum trees. It seems that Plums particularly are having problems with the irregular winter seasons we have experienced in the last few years and all Nurseries are finding it difficult to keep them through the winter in pots. However, the good news is that the problems are not being seen in Plum trees that are planted in the ground well before the onset of Winter and that means that now is the perfect time to plant. We have had a reasonable amount of rain and the ground is still warm which makes it perfect planting time for any hardy stock.

The violas, pansies, cyclamen, chrysanths and all autumn and winter flowering plants are looking great and ready to go in now. It has been a challenging summer and not all of the summer bedding has enjoyed it so now is a perfect time to replenish your baskets and containers for winter.

The roses have been really good this year again and at the moment they are still flowering away. We have a lovely selection of David Austin Roses on the Nursery. They are so easy going and seem to keep on repeat flowering if you dead head them regularly. They are particularly good when grown in large pots and that makes them excellent subjects for the patio as they love the sun. There are even some which you can train as small climbers - making only 6 -8 feet in height which is ideal if your garden is not huge as they will just fill a fence panel but not grow too huge.

If your garden is looking a bit dull and colourless at the moment think about planting Michaelmas Daisies. There are lovely varieties that do not succumb to mildew and add a great splash of colour at this time year. "Little Carlow" is the pictured variety and it is lovely. Schizostylis are another great late-flowerer and go on well into the first frosts but look quite exotic. They need a sunny spot. Of course there are many plants looking good at this time of the year and by far the best way to work out what to plant is to come up and have a look!

See you soon!!