Harvesting your own home-grown food is one of the joys of gardening, whether you grow your vegetables in an allotment, a kitchen garden or simply in pots on your patio. Get the best from your plants with our tips for successful harvests. 

Tips for successful kitchen garden harvest

• Start with the soil. Work out what kind of soil you have – heavy clay, sandy, or somewhere in between- and test the pH to determine whether it's alkaline or acidic. This will help you decide which crops will grow best in your garden.

• If you're still deciding where to locate your kitchen garden, give it as much sunshine as possible. Most fruit and vegetables need at least six hours of sunlight daily to perform at their best. 

• Mulch the soil annually in autumn or spring with a thick layer of organic material such as well-rotted farmyard manure, garden compost or leaf mould. This mulch will be gradually worked into the soil to improve its structure, helping heavy soils to drain better and lighter soils to retain moisture.

• Protect young seedlings from slugs and snails by starting them off in pots in a greenhouse or cold frame or indoors on a sunny windowsill. Plant them out when the plants are larger and better able to survive the loss of a few leaves to a passing slug. If your kitchen garden is small enough, do a regular late evening patrol armed with a torch and bucket, and pick off any slugs and snails you find.

• Weed regularly. Weeds compete with your plants for water and nutrients and can harbour aphids which can transmit diseases. Tackle annual weeds by running a Dutch hoe over the soil on a dry day. The hoe cuts off the weeds just below the soil surface, and they can be left on the ground to wither.

• Net brassicas like kale and broccoli to stop cabbage white butterflies laying eggs on the leaves, which hatch into caterpillars with voracious appetites! It's also a good idea to regularly check the leaves' undersides to ensure nothing has slipped through the netting.

• Try companion planting – the jury's still out on how much it helps, but it's worth experimenting in your own garden. French marigolds are said to repel greenflies from tomatoes. Umbellifers (plants with flattened flowerheads) like achillea attract ladybirds and lacewings, which help to control aphids, and bee-friendly plants like lavender and borage will bring pollinators to your garden, boosting your harvest. 

• Intercropping is a great way to make the most of a small plot. Grow fast-growing crops like radishes or lettuces between the rows of slower-growing, wider-spaced plants like Brussels sprouts. The faster crops will be ready to harvest long before the slower plants get big enough to take up all the space. 

Whether you're just starting out in your kitchen garden or you're an old hand at growing your own, you'll find everything you need in our centre, so come in and see us! Check our opening hours on our contact page.

For many of us, gardening is a way to connect with the natural world, so we want to be sure that when we’re gardening, we’re not harming that world. To help, we’ve put together our top tips on how to garden more sustainably, make the best use of our natural resources and avoid waste.

How to save water in the garden

Water is one of our most precious resources, and it’s also vital to the health of our gardens. Here are a few ways to minimise water waste while still giving your plants what they need to grow.

• Install a water butt to collect rainwater and use this to water your plants whenever possible. As well as saving our precious water supplies, rainwater is often better for plants than tap water, especially in hard water areas.
• Put away your hosepipe and use a watering can to water your plants. This allows you to get every drop of water to where it needs to be, with minimal waste.
• Fix leaky hoses and dripping taps straight away. 
• Water the garden in the morning or evening to reduce water loss through evaporation.
• Place a plant tray under your pots so that the roots can soak in the water from the bottom.
• Mulch your beds with a thick (5cm/2in) layer of garden compost or well-rotted farmyard manure in spring or autumn. This improves soil structure and helps lighter soils to retain moisture, meaning you need to water less often.

Make your own compost

Making your own compost not only benefits your soil, it also helps reduce carbon emissions from transporting garden waste. If you don’t have space for a big compost heap, get a green waste bin from your local council and start composting!

• Aim for a 50/50 mix of soft green waste (like grass cuttings, stems and leaves) and brown waste (like shredded woody stems and cardboard).  
• Don’t compost perennial weeds like bindweed or brambles in a home compost heap or bin, as the temperature doesn’t get high enough to kill them off, and you could end up just spreading them back onto your garden!
• Pile up autumn leaves separately to make leaf mould, one of the best soil conditioners there is. 

Re-use and recycle plastic

Disposing of plastic pots and old compost bags has long been a problem for gardeners, but thankfully, solutions are now available! 

• Many of the larger supermarkets have recycling collection points for plastic bags, so wash out those old bags and find your local collection point.
• Garden centres often offer collection points for old plastic plant pots. Unfortunately, black plastic pots can’t yet be recycled, so try to choose coloured pots when buying plants.
• Wash out your old plastic pots and use them for potting on seedlings.
• Re-use old compost bags as grow bags for vegetables such as tomatoes or peppers.

From peat-free compost to organic vegetable seeds, you’ll find everything you need for your garden in our centre. Come in and see what’s in store!

It’s August, the holidays are here, and it’s time to really make the most of your garden. Borders are filled with late summer flowers, and there’s plenty to harvest in the vegetable plot! Keep your garden looking great this month with our top 15 gardening tips for August.

Top 15 gardening tips for August

1. Keep up the deadheading. Roses, daylilies, dahlias and cosmos will all keep on flowering for longer if regularly deadheaded, and they make beautiful cut flowers! 

2. If the weather is dry, water camellias and rhododendrons regularly as they start developing their flower buds for next year’s display.

3. Trim faded lavender flowers to keep the plants looking tidy, taking care not to cut too far back into old wood. Check down the stems to see where new leaf buds appear and cut above these.

4. Now’s the time to prune rambling roses. Remove one in every three old stems and tie any loose growth into supports. Shorten side shoots by approximately two-thirds.

5. Summer prune wisteria, cutting back all this year’s long whippy shoots to 5-6 leaves from the main framework. As well as keeping the plant under control, this encourages it to produce flower buds for next year.

6. Water container plants regularly in dry weather and feed flowering plants fortnightly with a high potash liquid feed like tomato fertiliser. When feeding container plants, always water them first so that the compost is damp – this improves nutrient uptake and avoids damage to the roots.

7. Annuals like nigella and poppies will be setting seed now. Collect the seed in paper envelopes for sowing next spring – and don’t forget to label the envelopes! 

8. Remember your garden wildlife when the weather is hot. Keep bird baths and ponds topped up to give birds and insects somewhere to drink and cool off.

9. Plant nerines and colchicums, for an autumn display of flowers just as other plants are starting to fade. 

10. Prune summer-fruiting raspberries once you’ve finished harvesting, cutting back all this year’s fruited canes to ground level.

11. Keep picking courgettes and beans to keep the plants producing more. Potatoes, tomatoes, beetroots, onions and carrots should all also be ready for harvesting this month.

12. Feed container-grown courgettes, chilli peppers and tomatoes fortnightly with a high-potash liquid feed to boost fruit production.

13. Salads aren’t just for summer! Sow lamb’s lettuce, mizuna and rocket now to give you fresh salad leaves in autumn and early winter.

14. If you’re lucky enough to have hedgehogs in your garden, leave out food and water for them to help them fatten up before they hibernate. Meat-based cat or dog food is ideal, but not bread or milk, as these are both very bad for hedgehogs.

15. Mow the lawn less often if the weather is dry, and raise the blade height on your lawnmower. 

Borders looking tired? Visit our centre where you’ll find a fantastic range of shrubs and perennials to give your garden a late summer boost!

When watering hanging baskets, there is plenty to take into consideration to ensure they get enough when needed for your plants to thrive. Having hanging baskets is a great idea no matter what size garden you have because they can be hung from most vertical spaces including on balconies and patios, or from walls and pergolas. Hanging baskets are a wonderful way to be able to grow even more flowers in your garden and really can brighten up a space. There are plenty of plants for hanging baskets which will all need watering, so here are some ideas. 

Choose your plants 

If you have a sunny spot for your hanging baskets, choose plants that will love the sun and some that may even need less frequent watering, such as succulents and some bedding plants. If you are hanging your baskets in a shady place, pick shade-tolerant plants like Ferns and some Fuchsias and Begonias. There are so many different plants that grow well in hanging baskets, from Calibrachoa, Petunias, Tumbling Tomatoes, Strawberries, Verbena, Violas and Nasturtiums, to name a few. Why not use yours to grow salads as well?

Easy access

Wherever you decide to hang your baskets, make sure you can easily access them without getting into any difficulty. The plants may need deadheading and tidying, you will want to harvest edibles, and mostly, they will need frequent water during the summer and dry spells, so think about the height and how you will reach them with your watering can or hose. 

How to water hanging baskets 

Ideally, if you can, collect rainwater to use when watering your garden. That’s definitely the best option. So a water butt or container outside that you can fill your watering can with or attach your hose to is helpful. If you are in a small space and don’t need a long hose, extendable hoses are ideal for watering hanging baskets and can be stored away easily. If you are using a watering can remember it can get very heavy if large and filled with water, so you might want to lift your hanging basket down to the ground and water it there before allowing it to drain and hang back up again. 

How often do you need to water hanging baskets? 

If there hasn’t been much rain and it is dry, hot and/or windy, you may need to water your baskets every day. Try to balance the watering by ensuring the basket doesn’t completely dry out but also so it’s not soaking wet the whole time. Water well so the water drains all the way through, and make sure any excess can drain away. This can be achieved by ensuring your baskets are lined with drainage holes and plants have been planted into a good quality peat-free compost with added fertiliser granules. 

In store, we have a selection of hanging baskets, plants and accessories to keep yours well watered. 

The rich, sweet flavour of pumpkins in soups, stews or pies is a delicious treat in autumn. Growing your own pumpkins is great fun, and with new breeding breakthroughs, you don’t need a huge amount of space to do it – there are even dwarf varieties that can be grown up a trellis! 

Pumpkin varieties to grow

As well as classic orange Halloween pumpkins, you can also grow blue pumpkins, white pumpkins and even dwarf pumpkins! Here are a few of the most popular:

• Pumpkin ‘Big Max’ – a good all-rounder, great for cooking and carving. Fruits have been known to weigh up to 45kg!
• Pumpkin ‘Crown Prince’ – smoky blue skin and delicious orange flesh with a sweet, nutty flavour.
• Pumpkin ‘Jack Be Little’ – one of the smallest pumpkins available, each plant producing 8-10 fruits weighing between 170-350g.

How to grow pumpkins from seed

• Sow pumpkin seeds indoors in April or directly outdoors in May. Sow the seeds 2.5cm deep in individual small pots filled with good-quality multipurpose compost, placing the seeds ‘on edge’ rather than flat to reduce the risk of rotting. Water the pots, place them in a propagator at 20°C or cover the pots with clear plastic bags, and place them in a bright warm place to germinate. 

• Meanwhile, enrich the soil they are to grow in by digging in plenty of well-rotted farmyard manure or garden compost.

• Once the seeds have germinated, take them out of the propagator or remove the bags and grow them somewhere warm until they’re big enough to plant out.

• Harden the seedlings off for a week before planting them out by putting the pots outside during the day and bringing them back indoors at night.

• If you have room, plant your pumpkins 1.5m apart so they can trail across the ground. If you’re short on space, choose smaller pumpkins and grow them vertically, training them up a trellis. 

Caring for pumpkins

• Water your pumpkins regularly. Once the flowers appear, feed fortnightly with a high-potash liquid fertiliser like tomato feed.

• Place a tile or slate under developing fruits to keep them off the soil. This reduces the risk of rotting. Make sure they get plenty of sunshine to help them ripen – pick off any leaves that are shading the fruits.

• If you want to grow really big pumpkins, remove all but two or three fruits so that the plant can focus all its energy on these.

• Keep the pumpkins on the vine for as long as possible before harvesting to give them time to ripen. Harvest them before the first frosts, cutting the stems from the vine with a sharp knife. If you want to store them, leave them in the sun or in a greenhouse for a couple of weeks after harvesting to allow the skins to harden.

Forgot to sow your pumpkins in spring? No problem! We have a wide range of vegetable seedlings in the centre ready to plant out, so come in and take your pick!

Summer is the time to harvest your own salad and there is nothing like eating your own homegrown food. It is totally true what gardeners say, and that is, homegrown tastes best! At this time of year, when you grow your own food, you’ll find plenty of harvests from squash to brassicas, onions, fruit and delicious summer salads. To make sure you get the most from your space, here are some ideas for sowing, growing and harvesting your salads. 

Why you should grow your own salad 

Growing your own salad is really easy, and especially for beginner gardeners, it is a great place to start when growing your own food. The ideal thing about growing salad is that most can be grown in small spaces, in pots and containers and even on windowsills, so space isn’t a problem. Most salads are sown from spring through summer and harvested just a few weeks later, depending on what you are growing. Sow into a good quality peat-free compost and keep moist. If you start salads off before the last frost in spring, the seeds and plants will need protecting with a cloche or horticultural fleece. A greenhouse or polytunnel is ideal. 

Know what type of salad to grow 

There are so many to choose from. You could try the following:

• Lambs, Lettuce or a well-known Iceberg.
• Lollo Rossa is a popular red lettuce, or there’s even one that was grown in space called ‘Outredgeous’!
• Then there is spinach, mustard, pak choi, various types of radish and spring onions.

All can even be grown in the same container if needed. 

How to grow all year to harvest your own salad 

There is some lettuce that can be grown over the colder months with some protection, such as ‘Winter Gem’ and oriental greens such as mizuna and mustard greens, along with Endive and Salad Burnet. Alternatively, grow microgreens which are essentially just the seedlings of many edible plants. Grow cress, herbs, peas, radish, chard, beetroot and many more in trays on a light windowsill and harvest them when they are no taller than 10cm—packed full of nutrition. 

Know when to harvest your own salad

In warm weather or if plants get stressed, they will go to seed very quickly. This means they will shoot up, flower and seed. This is their natural life cycle, but if they do that, the salad will likely taste bitter - but you can collect the seeds for resowing. If you are growing cut-and-come-again salads, you definitely want to keep on top of harvesting, so they carry on growing. Mostly just keep on harvesting and enjoying your harvests. Successionally sowing means sowing at about two weekly intervals. 

Visit us in store and pick up your packets of salad seeds to grow at home. 

Groundcover plants are a fantastic choice for low-maintenance gardens. As well as covering bare soil and suppressing weeds, many grow in difficult situations like dry shade, and they often have beautiful flowers or attractive foliage too. We’ve put together a list of our top 10 groundcover plants.

Top 10 plants for ground cover

1. Geranium macrorrhizum is an evergreen hardy geranium with aromatic foliage and clusters of pink or white flowers in late spring. It’s tough and reliable, grows well in dry shade, and in autumn, the leaves take on red tinges, adding extra interest.

2. Vinca minor (lesser periwinkle) is also good for dry shade. Less invasive than its cousin Vinca major (greater periwinkle), this evergreen perennial is good for spots where little else will grow, producing purple flowers from mid-spring to autumn. Cut it back in spring to keep it under control.

3. Pachysandra terminalis (Japanese spurge) produces rosettes of lush green leaves with serrated edges that form a dense mat of foliage, excellent for suppressing weeds. It grows well in shade.  

4. Epimediums (barrenwort) form mounds of heart-shaped leaves, with sprays of small flowers in early spring. They’re best in shade and cope well even with dry shade. Cut back the old foliage in late winter to make it easier to see the delicate flowers – this also promotes a flush of fresh new foliage for spring.

5. Euonymus ‘Emerald Gaiety’ is a low, spreading semi-evergreen shrub with grey-green leaves edged in cream. It’s very tough, will grow in sun or light shade and is a great choice for low-maintenance gardens, needing just an annual trim with the shears to keep it neat. The leaves become pink-tinged in winter and may drop in very cold spells.

6. Hebe pinguifolia ‘Pagei’ is an evergreen shrub that forms a low, spreading mound, with small grey-green leaves and occasional spires of white flowers. It’s happy in sun or part shade, and ideal for coastal gardens.

7. Campanula carpatica (tussock bellflower) is a beautiful flowering perennial with violet or white bell-shaped flowers all through summer, especially if regularly deadheaded. It does best in full sun.

8. Thymus serpyllum is one of several species of thyme known as creeping thyme for their low, spreading habit.  It’s ideal for hot, sunny sites with well-drained soil, where it forms a mat of aromatic evergreen foliage covered in clusters of tiny pink flowers in spring. 

9. Sedum cauticola (stonecrop) is a low-growing succulent with small, fleshy leaves. it makes excellent ground cover for hot sunny spots with well-drained soil, and bees love the nectar-rich pink flowers that appear in late summer. 

10. Erigeron karvinskianus (Mexican fleabane) is a semi-evergreen perennial that flowers literally for months, producing a plethora of small white daisy-like flowers over mounds of green foliage. It grows well in the sun, and is very low-maintenance – just cut back to new growth in spring.

If your beds have bare patches that need covering, come in and see our wide range of ground cover plants. We’re sure you’ll find what you’re looking for!

Knowing how to keep your lawn looking healthy even when it’s dry is important if you want to keep your lawn in good shape during long, hot and dry weather spells. In recent years there have been numerous times when prolonged dry weather has affected gardens, including luscious green lawns. It is especially useful to think ahead in case you also have a hosepipe ban in your area. And there are also ways to grow a lawn with different plants that require less water.

Watering and feeding 

Watering your lawn when possible is going to help to keep it green and healthy, but in long spells, it can soon dry out and especially if you are unable to water it. Grey water can be used on the lawn - washing up water, for example. It’s always a good idea to keep water butts if you have space to collect water to use during drought. Water at night when it is cooler or in the morning before it gets hot. Feeding should only be needed once or twice a year. 

Mowing

Don’t mow your lawn too low, as this will cause it to burn. Less on mowing and keep it on a higher level so the lawn and soil beneath retain some moisture. Letting it grow will benefit you, the wildlife and the watering requirements.

Alternative to lawns

With the changing climate, it’s a good idea to consider alternatives to having a lawn. If you don’t want to be watering, feeding and mowing, why not change up your garden? The lawn can be replaced with vegetable beds or perennials, perhaps even a wildflower meadow.

Alternative lawns include Chamomile, Creeping Thyme, Moss and Clover. All of these will need less water, look beautiful and be beneficial for wildlife. 

Don’t worry 

Mostly, we recommend that if it is hot and dry for a really long time and you are unable to water it in any way, don’t worry! You may notice your lawn being scorched and even looking completely burnt out, but it’s really quite incredible how lawns bounce back after some rain or even the following spring. Sometimes just going with the flow of nature is the best way to look at gardening.

Visit us in store for lawn seed, feed and tools, plus alternative lawn options. 

With their tall canes and evergreen leaves rustling in the wind, bamboos add a touch of exotic elegance to a garden and make beautiful screening plants. However, they do have a reputation for spreading! To allow you to enjoy your bamboo without worry, it’s important to choose the right bamboo and to know how to control it.

Explaining running and clumping bamboo

Bamboo is divided into two types: running and clumping. As the name suggests, clumping bamboo grows in clumps which gradually increase in size but tend not to spread invasively. Running bamboo spreads by putting out rhizomes (underground stems) which pop up at some distance from the original plant and grow into new plants. In this way, running bamboo spreads quickly and can become invasive if not controlled.  

How to control running bamboo

When planting a running bamboo, dig a trench at least 60cm (2ft) deep and preferably 1.2m (4ft) deep around the rootball and line this with a root barrier fabric – use one specifically designed for bamboo, as standard weed-suppressant fabric is not strong enough. Overlap the ends of the fabric by at least 50cm, and seal with tape to make sure there are no gaps where roots can creep through. The barrier should protrude 7.5cm (3in) above the ground so that bamboo runners can’t spread over the top.

In addition, it’s a good idea to root-prune running bamboo at least once a year – this also lets you spot any escapee shoots early! Use the sharp edge of a garden spade, driving it into the ground around the rootball of the bamboo and cutting through any rhizomes that are starting to spread. Dig out the rhizomes, leaving a small amount attached to the plant so that it can put up new shoots. If you find any shoots beyond the root barrier, dig them up and seal the hole in the barrier.

Popular running and clumping bamboo

There’s a wide range of beautiful bamboos available, and here are a few of the most popular. Before buying any bamboo, always check whether it’s a running or clumping type.

• Phyllostachys nigra – a fast-growing running bamboo with dramatic dark purple-black stems. It’s a fantastic architectural plant but, like all Phyllostachys bamboo, should always be planted inside a root barrier.
• Pseudosasa japonica – a tall, vigorous running bamboo with beige canes, more tolerant of shade and wind than most bamboos. It spreads rapidly if not controlled.
• Sasa veitchii – a compact running bamboo with glossy green leaves that dry at the edges, turning straw-brown and giving the foliage a variegated effect. Plant in a root barrier to control its spread.
• Fargesia rufa – a medium-sized clumping bamboo with slender arching canes. It’s good for smaller gardens and can be grown in a large pot.
• Fargesia murielae – a fast-growing, medium-sized clumping bamboo with arching yellow-green canes. It can be grown in a large container.

For advice on growing bamboo and other screening plants, visit our centre. Our staff are always happy to help!

July means holidays, long days and (hopefully) sunny weather, giving you a chance to really enjoy your garden. In between watering, weeding and deadheading to keep everything looking its best, don’t forget to take some time to relax and admire the flowers! Here are our top 15 gardening tips for July.

Top 15 gardening tips for July

1. Plan ahead for fabulous flowers next spring by sowing biennials like foxgloves and wallflowers in seed trays or modules in a greenhouse.

2. Deadhead roses regularly to keep them flowering. Sweet peas and cosmos will also flower for months if regularly deadheaded, and they make beautiful cut flowers for the house. 

3. Cut hardy geraniums back hard when they start to look leggy and tired, and they will produce a flush of fresh new foliage and flowers.

4. Once bearded irises have finished flowering, lift and divide overgrown clumps. Re-plant them with their rhizomes partly exposed so that they can be baked by the summer sun.

5. Give wisteria its summer pruning, cutting back all this year’s long whippy shoots to 5-6 leaves from the main stems.

6. Pinch out any side shoots on cordon tomatoes to focus the plants’ energies on producing fruit. 

7. Water tomatoes regularly, especially container-grown tomatoes. Keeping the moisture level in the soil consistent reduces the risk of fruit splitting.

8. Water container plants regularly in dry weather. Use stored rainwater where possible, watering in the morning or evening to reduce evaporation. 

9. Sow salad crops like lettuce every couple of weeks for a constant supply through summer. To reduce the risk of lettuce bolting in hot weather, provide shade for the plants in the hottest part of the day.

10. Tomatoes, beans, courgettes, peppers, blueberries and gooseberries, will appreciate a fortnightly boost with a high-potash liquid feed such as tomato feed, which promotes the development of flowers and fruit.

11. Pick courgettes and beans regularly to keep the plants producing more fruit.

12. Pinch out the growing tips of broad beans once the pods start to appear. This encourages bushy growth and also reduces the risk of blackfly infestations, as these pests tend to attack tender young shoots.

13. Mound up the soil around the stems of maincrop potatoes (this is called ‘earthing up’) to stop the sunlight from reaching the tubers and turning them green. Remember, green potatoes are toxic! Harvest the first early potatoes, digging up one or two first to check whether they are big enough – if not, leave them to grow for a few more weeks.

14. Plant autumn bulbs like nerines and colchicums for beautiful flowers later in the year.

15. Mow the lawn regularly, raising the blades to a higher setting if the weather is dry. 

Whether it’s plants to fill the border or garden furniture for a party, you’ll find everything you need in our centre to help you get the best out of your garden this summer!

If you have a pond, you already know how much it adds to your garden, bringing in wildlife and creating a cool, relaxing atmosphere even on scorching summer days. Ponds need a little help now and then to keep them in good shape, and summer’s a good time to do pond maintenance, with no risk of disturbing the eggs and larvae of pond wildlife as you might do in spring. Here’s how to take care of your pond in summer.

Pond maintenance tips for summer

• Check your pond regularly and remove any dead and dying leaves on pond plants, as well as any leaves that have blown in. Leaves and other plant matter left to decay in a pond will increase the nitrogen content of the water, which encourages the growth of algae. The decaying vegetation also builds up in a layer of sediment at the bottom of the pond and can make the water smell less than pleasant!

• When clearing vegetation from a pond, leave it sitting on the ground by the side of the pond for a day before you dispose of it, so that any wildlife living in it can crawl out and find another home.

• In hot weather, keep an eye on the water level in your pond and top it up if necessary. Ideally, use stored rainwater from a water butt, especially if your pond contains fish. If you have to top up using tap water, leave the water to stand for 24 hours first so that chemicals like chlorine can evaporate.

• Pond weeds like blanket weed and duckweed can choke a pond if allowed to grow unchecked. Fortunately, blanket weed is easy to clear, either by hand or by twirling it around a long stick. A small amount of duckweed in a pond is not a problem, as it provides food for wildlife and shelter for tadpoles, but it spreads fast and can get out of control, so use a net to sweep it to the side of the pond and leave it there for a few hours before disposing of it. 

• Oxygenators like hornwort are vital for pond health but also have a tendency to take over. If they’re taking up more than one-third of the pond, now’s the time to cut them back.

• Marginal plants need weeding just like plants in your borders, and summer is a good time to remove any unwanted self-seeders.

• Wildlife visit ponds frequently in summer to drink, so check that ramps are in place and safe to use. A wooden board wrapped in chicken wire makes a good non-slip ramp for hedgehogs and other small mammals. A few well-placed rocks in shallow parts of the pond create places for insects and other creatures to rest while drinking.

Get your pond and garden into great shape this summer with plants from our extensive range. Visit us today to see what’s in store!

When you know how to prune Wisteria, you will be able to keep it in top shape, with plentiful flowers and beautiful foliage. Wisteria is loved by so many people and graces many walls, pergolas and trellis around late spring into early summer. There are many varieties, from white to lilac and darker purple, which can also grow up arches and even trees. Once you know how to prune yours, it is really easy to care for. Just follow these steps.

Know how to prune Wisteria 

Wisteria can be pruned twice a year, during the summer and again in January or February. Pruning in July or August is about cutting back the green shoots that look long and ‘whippy’ to about five leaves. Make sure to do this after it has finished flowering. Doing this means you’ll be keeping the size of the Wisteria in check so it doesn’t end up in your windows! It also encourages more flowers. Pruning in Winter means cutting back those same shoots back to three buds to give it a tidy-up. 

Techniques of how to prune Wisteria 

If you have an old Wisteria, you might need to prune it back harder and remove old or dead growth. You can cut back longer branches and older stems to just above and stronger younger branches. You can also cut right back to a main branch. If you are pruning hard, take your time and care, so in the end, the framework has well-spaced beaches. Hard pruning means new growth in spring. This can be done over winter.

How to prune Wisteria and train it correctly 

Wisteria can grow and find its own way, but they tend to grow more flowers with regular pruning. Growing up a wall means it will need some support, such as galvanised steel wires placed horizontally or over pergolas where the flowers can hang above your head. They can even be grown into trees, but pruning can be tricky, and flowering may be less if the tree canopy is dense—plant on the south side of the tree about 1m away from the trunk.

Now you know how to prune Wisteria, which variety to grow? 

Most commonly, you will see the blueish-lilac varieties, but there are white, pink and purple varieties as well, and many have a wonderful fragrance as well.

• Most climb by twining around the support, but Wisteria floribunda twines clockwise, and Wisteria sinensis climbs clockwise.
• The most common is the Wisteria sinensis, and ‘Prolific’ is the most popular.
• Others include Wisteria sinensis ‘Amethyst’, Wisteria floribunda ‘Domino’ and Wisteria brachybotrys ‘Showa-beni', which is pink and white. 

Choose from our selection of Wisteria and tools to prune them when you visit us in store. 

Whether you’re an old hand at growing your own food, or just starting out, it’s always fun to try something a bit different!  There are so many unusual and delicious fruit and veg to grow, and here are three of our favourites.

1. Sea kale

Sea kale (Crambe maritima) looks stunning in summer, with its big blue-green wavy-edged leaves and clouds of tiny white flowers. As well as being ornamental, this bushy perennial is also edible, especially the tender young shoots which can be eaten like asparagus. 

To grow sea kale from seed, nick the hard seed coats and soak the seeds overnight in water before sowing 2.5cm deep in pots filled with seed compost. Keep at a temperature of around 22C until germinated, then grow on somewhere warm and plant out after the frosts are past. 

Like asparagus, sea kale needs to grow for a couple of years before you can harvest it. In late autumn, ‘force’ the plant by cutting off all the old leaves and covering the crowns with buckets to exclude light. (Weigh the buckets down with bricks to stop them from blowing away!) In around 3 months’ time, the plant will have produced tender young shoots around 10-20cm long. To harvest, cut the shoots off low down, with a section of root attached. In late spring, remove the buckets, stop harvesting shoots and let the plants grow.

2. Cucamelons

Cucamelons (Melothria scabra) are in the same family as cucumbers, squash and courgettes. These small oval fruits have a refreshing taste, like cucumber with a splash of lime, and can be grown from seed in a similar way to cucumbers. Start them off in a greenhouse or propagator in spring, at a temperature of around 24C, and plant out once all risk of frost is past. Provide canes or support wires for the plants to climb up and feed fortnightly with a high potash liquid food. Pick the fruits once they reach the size of small grapes, and before they start to go soft.

3. Cape gooseberries

The Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana) is a tender perennial with papery fruits concealing deliciously tart orange berries. It’s easy to grow from seed, sown indoors in early spring in pots on a sunny windowsill or in a propagator as for tomato seeds, and planted outdoors after the frosts are over. Water the plants regularly and feed them weekly with a high potash feed. Harvest the fruits once the husks turn papery and the berries inside are bright orange. The fruits tend to drop off the bush once they are ripe, so check on the ground around the plant too! 

NB: Don’t confuse Cape Gooseberry with the similar-looking Chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi). This plant also produces orange berries inside orange papery ‘lanterns’ but they are not safe to eat.

Our wide range of fruit and veg plants has something for everyone, so visit us today and start growing!

Gardeners have been trimming box plants into weird and wonderful shapes for centuries, right back to Roman times! Box (Buxus sempervirens) was a must-have for Tudor palace gardens and is still one of the best-known hedging plants. Sadly, in recent years, the box has struggled in our gardens, first with box blight and then the arrival of the box tree caterpillar, which can quickly defoliate entire plants. Unwilling to give up their neatly trimmed hedges, gardeners have gone on the hunt for alternatives to box hedging, and here are five of the best.

Top 5 alternatives to box hedging

1. Yew (Taxus baccata) is one of the best alternatives to box, and has been a popular choice for topiary for centuries. It’s dense and bushy and can be trimmed to shape. It’s also one of the few conifers that will grow back when cut back into old wood, making it possible to renovate plants that have got out of control. The new leaves are bright green, contrasting strongly with the darker green mature foliage. Yew grows in sun or shade and in any soil that isn’t waterlogged. Trim it in spring and autumn to keep it looking neat.  

2. Pittosporums are proving an excellent alternative to box in many gardens, and there’s a wide range of foliage colours available. Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’ grows naturally into a rounded shape and has striking maroon-purple foliage, with bright green new growth. Pittosporum ‘Irene Paterson’ has white-marbled green leaves that take on a pink tinge in winter. Pittosporums are hardy except in very cold areas and do best in full sun, although they will cope with some light shade. Trim once or twice a year from mid-spring to late summer.

3. Lonicera nitida (shrubby honeysuckle) is a good substitute for box, with very similar small green leaves. It grows into a dense shrub and can be trimmed to shape. Low-maintenance and drought-tolerant, it will grow well in sun or part shade. Lonicera nitida ‘May Green’ has deep green foliage, but yellow-leaved or silver-variegated varieties are also available.

4. Euonymus japonicus ‘Jean Hugues’ is a slow-growing, dense, compact evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves, similar to box. This robust plant will even grow well in coastal gardens, tolerating wind and salt-laden air. Happy in sun or part shade, it’s ideal for low hedging. Trim in late spring, and again in early autumn if needed.

5. Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) is robust and quick-growing, coping well with most soil conditions and happy in sun or part shade. It’s also tolerant of pollution, making it a good choice for urban gardens. Privet forms a dense shrub which can easily be pruned to shape, although this does mean losing the sprays of white flowers which appear in summer. Trim in May and August to keep it looking neat.

If your box hedge has had its day, come in and see us! With our extensive range of hedging plants, we’re sure you’ll find the perfect alternative.

This is what to do with garden waste when you are clearing up or clearing out your garden. Throughout the year, there are often times when you might have some garden waste to dispose of or recycle. From times that you create a new garden bed or a new seating area to removing old decking or patios to general weeding, there are always garden projects that may create waste. But it’s what you do with that waste that counts. 

Composting

The top of the list has to be composting. Producing your own compost is the best and cheapest way to replenish your garden. You could make some wooden compost bins from old pallets and compost a lot of your green and brown waste from your garden. Compost can consist of grass clippings, leaves, plants, annual weeds, cardboard, twigs and even your tea bags from your garden cup of tea. 

Reusing wooden items 

Many used wooden garden items can be reused in various ways. Logs can be piled up in a corner which will help to attract wildlife to your garden and increase biodiversity, or be made into a path, edge garden borders or used in a fire pit. Old fence panels can be made into raised beds, compost bins, insect hotels and even shelves in your shed. 

Selling paving slabs

If you are removing an area such as an old patio and have a lot of paving slabs, why not sell them to someone else who will collect and reuse them? If you have no need for them, they can even be donated to a local community project. Otherwise, they can be used for new garden pathways or even broken up and used as crazy paving along with some shingles.

Making mulch

Along with compost, if you have a lot of leaves, why not rake them up and store them in bags to make your own leaf mulch? Leaves are nature's way of replenishing the soil, and if you make your own mulch, this can be used as a soil improver and to mulch around your garden plants. 

Waste disposal services

If you do have a lot of waste and no way to reuse it, check out your local waste disposal services. Some larger items may be collected from your home, sometimes at a cost, and this is by your local council. Other items can be taken to a local recycling centre. 

There is always a way to deal with garden waste in the most environmentally friendly way you can. For advice, please visit us in store. 

Do you long for a beautiful garden but don’t have the time to look after it? Gardening doesn’t always have to be hard work. With the right choice of plants and a few clever tips, you can create a garden full of colour and interest that doesn’t require constant looking after. Here are our top 7 tips on low-maintenance gardening.

Seven tips for low-maintenance gardens

1. Pick plants that suit your garden’s conditions and will grow happily there. Don’t try to force sun-loving plants to grow in the shade or vice versa, as stressed plants are more likely to be attacked by pests and diseases, needing more care and attention from you. 

2. Shrubs are ideal for low-maintenance gardens, often needing just annual pruning to keep them looking good. Try evergreen Prunus laurocerasus (laurel) for a year-round structure in the garden and deciduous shrubs like Weigela and Viburnum opulus for beautiful flowers. 

3. Groundcover plants are great for suppressing weeds, and they look beautiful while doing it! Hellebores, evergreen Geranium macrorrhizum and Pachysandra terminalis make excellent groundcover plants for shady spots. In sunny beds, plant silver-leaved Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ears) or hardy geraniums like Geranium ‘Rozanne’, a prolific flowerer that just needs cutting back once a year when it starts to die back in autumn. Geranium renardii and Geranium ‘Mavis Simpson’ also make gorgeous flowering groundcover for sunny spots.

4. When planting in containers, remember that small pots dry out fast in hot weather and need frequent watering. To reduce the time and effort spent watering your pots, combine several plants in one large pot – but check first to make sure they all like the same growing conditions! Add vermiculite or water-retaining granules to the compost in hanging baskets. These retain water and release it slowly into the compost, allowing longer between waterings.

5. Even low-maintenance gardens will need some weeding, but annual weeds in flowerbeds are easily tackled with a Dutch hoe. On a dry day, run it over the soil so that the blade of the hoe cuts through the weeds just below the surface of the soil. The weeds can then be left to wither on the surface.

6. Get rid of any awkward corners on your lawn so that it is quick and easy to mow. If your garden is small, you could even get rid of the lawn altogether, replacing it with permeable paving or decking. 

7. Apply a thick layer of mulch to beds in autumn or early spring when the soil is damp. This does require some effort, but the benefits are well worth it, as the mulch helps suppress weeds and keeps moisture in the soil. Annual mulching with organic material like well-rotted farmyard manure or garden compost also improves soil structure so that it retains moisture in dry periods, reducing the need to water. 

Looking for more guidance on low-maintenance plants? We have a fantastic range in our centre, and our friendly staff are always happy to help. Come and see us soon!

Topiary is the art of training plants into different shapes, and it’s a fascinating way to add your own unique touch to your garden. The range of shapes that can be achieved with clever pruning is amazing, from simple balls and cones to elaborate models of elephants and even peacocks! All you need is patience, a suitable plant and some sharp secateurs. Here’s our simple guide to making your own topiary.

Choosing the best plants for topiary

Box (Buxus sempervirens) has traditionally been a favourite choice for topiary, with its small leaves, dense growth and ability to be neatly clipped into shapes. Sadly, in recent years, box blight and box tree caterpillars have made it difficult to grow healthy box plants in many areas, but there are plenty of other suitable plants to choose from for your topiary.

Yew (Taxus baccata), one of the few conifers that will grow back after hard pruning, is another classic topiary plant, especially for large shapes. Other plants that work well are Delavey privet (Ligustrum delavayanum), bay (Laurus nobilis), holly (Ilex aquifolium), Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) and shrubby honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida).

How to create a topiary

• To create a topiary from scratch, choose a well-developed, bushy plant with dense, healthy growth that suits the shape you want to produce (for example, a rounded, bushy plant if you are planning a ball-shaped topiary, or an upright conifer for a corkscrew or cone shape).
• Plant your chosen plant in a pot or in the ground. Feed and mulch it to promote strong healthy growth.
• Using sharp secateurs or shears, clip the foliage roughly into shape. For simple geometric shapes, you can do this by eye. For more complicated shapes, you may find it easier to make a template to fit over the plant to guide your pruning, or to buy a frame. To create a lollipop topiary from a bushy shrub, select the most upright shoot to form the main stem, tie this to a cane to keep it growing straight and remove all other shoots from the base of the plant to achieve a clear stem. As the plant grows and bushes out, clip it into a rounded shape.
• Creating topiary does require patience, as it can take several years for your plant to grow into the shape you’re after. If you want quick results, the simplest solution is to visit your garden centre and buy a plant that has already been shaped. You can then keep it to shape with regular pruning. 

How to care for topiary

Water topiary plants regularly in dry periods, making sure you water around the roots, and feed container-grown plants monthly during the growing season with a balanced liquid feed. Prune your topiary annually in summer to maintain its shape. Fast-growing plants may need a second trim in late summer to keep them looking neat.

Want to try your hand at topiary? Come in and choose from our fantastic range of shrubs and let your imagination go wild!

When making your own compost there are a few aspects to know about to ensure your compost breaks down well and becomes the perfect compost for your plants to grow in. Homemade compost is invaluable to have in the garden meaning you will be able to use it as a mulch, soil improver or as an organic growing medium. Not only does it save cost, but it also means your garden becomes more sustainable and biodiverse as compost heaps, when kept well, can also be beneficial to wildlife. So what does it take to make good compost, how to make it and how to use it? This guide will help you. 

What you need when making your own compost

Firstly, you will need somewhere to store it, permanently - or at least for a long time. Compost can take from just 3 short months to years to break down and form the perfect garden medium. How long takes depends on what you put in and how you care for it. When you have created space, think about what you will store your compost in. From large, dalek bins to wood pallet bins there are many options. Think about your space and what fits and suits it. 

Know how before you start making your own compost

A good compost heap consists of a 50/50 mix of nitrogen and carbon mixed materials. Nitrogen will come from green materials such as grass clippings, annual weeds, tea bags and carbon comes from brown materials such as cardboard, straw and woody stems. So every time you add some green materials, try to also add in the same amount of brown materials. Scrunching up paper, cardboard toilet roll tubes and egg boxes to help aerate the compost. If you have too much nitrogen you will end up with a soggy pile or too much carbon means it will take a very long time to break down.

Making your own compost means taking care of it as well

Turning your compost pile every now and again will also help to aerate the pile, meaning it will break down quicker. Using a garden fork start from the outside and turn them into the inside. It can be helpful to cover over your bin so it doesn’t get drenched in rain. 

When making your own compost consider it’s uses

Think about how you will use your homemade compost because when it is dark and crumbly you’ll be able to mulch your plants and pots, improve your soil and grow healthy plants. Visit us in store for all of your composting needs. 

Summer’s here and it’s the best time of year to be out in the garden, with flowers blooming, bees buzzing and long days to enjoy it all! Keep your garden looking fabulous this summer with our top 15 gardening tips for June.

1. Fill pots and hanging baskets with summer bedding for fantastic colour that lasts for months. Trailing geraniums, petunias and lobelia love sunny spots and busy lizzies and begonias are great for shade. Feed fortnightly with a high potash feed for maximum flowering.
2. Harden off and plant out runner beans, French beans, squash, courgettes and tomatoes.
3. Keep on sowing salad leaves, beetroot and carrots to give you a supply all through summer.
4. First early potatoes should be ready to harvest this month. Dig up one or two first to check how big they are, and if they’re too small, let them grow on for a few more weeks.
5. Feed tomatoes fortnightly with a high potash feed to encourage fruit development. Container grown vegetables like dwarf beans and courgettes will also benefit from a fortnightly high potash feed – tomato feed works for them all!
6. Harvest garlic and onion once the leaves turn yellow and start to flop over.
   
   
    
7. Net strawberries as they start to ripen so that the birds don’t get to them before you can enjoy them.
8. Deadhead repeat-flowering roses and pick sweet peas regularly so that they will keep on flowering all summer.
9. Once hardy geraniums have finished flowering, cut them back to promote a flush of new foliage and flowers.
10. Mow the lawn regularly, but in long spells of dry weather, mow less often and on a higher blade setting to reduce stress on the grass. If you have space, leave an area of lawn uncut to provide a home for insects and other garden wildlife.
11. Weeds grow fast in summer, so keep them under control. On dry days, run a Dutch hoe over the soil to cut down annual weeds like spurge, chickweed and hairy bittercress, and leave the weeds on the soil to wither.
12. Give Wisteria its summer prune, cutting back all this year’s long whippy shoots to around 20cm long.
13. Trim evergreen hedges to keep them neat, but always check first to make sure you aren’t disturbing any nesting birds.
    
    
     
14. Prune summer-flowering shrubs like Philadelphus (mock orange), Weigela and Forsythia once they’ve finished flowering, cutting back the flowered shoots to strong buds lower down and removing one in every 3-4 old stems to encourage new growth.
15. Water in the early mornings or evenings to reduce water loss through evaporation, and install waterbutts to conserve rainwater for use on the garden.

Whether you’re planting, weeding or simply relaxing in a deck chair, you’ll find everything you need in our centre, so pay us a visit soon!

These top five tips to get kids gardening will help to encourage kids in your family or friends to get engaged with growing plants. Children are always excited about being in the natural world, feeling awe and curiosity all around. Without fear they will usually climb trees and run bare foot on the lawn and this natural affinity with the garden can keep children entertained for hours as they can also learn how to sow seeds, nurture and watch plants grow and learn where their food comes from and how giant Sunflowers grow. There are some really easy ways to get started and here are our top five.

1. Get their hands dirty 

Unless they are gardening where pets have been or near thorny or stinging plants, let them get their hands in the soil. It’s a great opportunity for them to learn about how important the soil is for plants to grow and all about the magical life beneath their feet. Remember turning over a stone or rock to discover woodlice, worms and millipedes? It’s fascinating to look at what goes on in the garden and kids will love to explore. 

2. Have a growing competition 

This could be between members of your family or wider friend group or even at school! Who can grow the tallest Sunflower is always a great one to get kids involved with because the seeds germinate fast and ultimately they become something so big and pretty, it’s great for kids to enjoy.  The winner could be given a packet of Sunflower seeds for next year!

3. Sow fast growing seeds 

While gardening does teach us as adults patience, kids perhaps need something to keep them engaged a little quicker! Choosing seeds that tend to germinate quickly along with some others as well means they will see what happens sooner and will stay engaged. Most peas, squash and even micro greens will grow fast enough to keep them happy while the other seeds take a bit longer. 

4. Choose fun edibles 

There are so many flowers that are also edible such as pansies, nasturtiums and herb flowers. Add some of these into the kids garden area and they can try some petals to eat as well! Lots of fun, lots of colour and lots of different flavours. 

5. Give them their own space and tools 

Especially if you want to look after the rest of your garden in your own way, why not allocate them a space to grow whatever they want, to dig and to learn? By giving them a little space and their own tools they will take ownership and love two watch it grow. 

Visit us in store for plenty of fun seeds to sow, children’s tools and lots of inspiration. 

Making an outdoor living space in your garden gives you the best of both worlds – a place to enjoy being in nature with all the comforts of your living room on hand! There are many ways to turn an outdoor area into an extension of your home and here are a few of our favourite ideas.

1. Decide how you want to use your outdoor living space – whether it’s a space for entertaining family and friends, or somewhere you can escape to when you need some time to yourself. Think about how much space you need, and what sort of furniture you want. Spend some time watching where the sunlight falls in your garden throughout the day to help you decide where to make your outdoor living room.
2. Make a small space feel bigger by hanging a mirror on a fence or wall. The mirror acts like a window into a new part of the garden, reflecting areas you wouldn’t otherwise be able to see. Choose a mirror designed for outdoor use.
3. Layer up benches and comfortable chairs with cushions and rugs to add softness, texture and colour, and give your outdoor space an air of cosiness.
   
   
    
4. Place outdoor rugs over decking to define a seating area and add a splash of colour. Made of durable, weather-proof fabrics, these will cope with summer rains, although they’ll last longer if you bring them indoors over winter.
5. Add a parasol, umbrella or shade sail. This not only provides a shady retreat on sunny days, but also makes your space feel more intimate and private.
6. Look for furniture that would suit being used indoors (for example, in a conservatory) as well as outdoors – this helps create the feel of an outdoor room and also means you can use the furniture indoors in winter! Stylish bamboo and rattan furniture is perfect for outdoor living rooms.
7. Create a boundary for your outdoor room – you can do this very simply using screening plants such as bamboo in pots, or a trellis covered with flowering climbers.
8. Lighting lets you extend the use of your outdoor room well into the evening. Strings of fairy lights create an atmosphere of celebration, and solar stake lights are ideal for marking pathways and boundaries.
   
   
    
9. Create a focal point for your outdoor room. This could be a water feature, a fire pit or even a small ornamental tree such as a Japanese maple in a large container.
10. Link garden and house with outdoor plants that replicate the look of those indoors. Ferns and bold-leaved canna and arum lilies are ideal for creating an indoor/outdoor connection. You could even move indoor plants outdoors in summer, but remember to bring them inside again before the first frosts arrive.

Create the perfect outdoor room with our extensive ranges of plants and outdoor furniture. You’ll find everything you need in our centre!

When you’re short on space to garden, sometimes the only way to go is up! Vertical gardening is ideal for balconies, making use of walls, upright supports and cleverly designed planters to turn even the smallest space into a little green piece of paradise.

Tips on balcony gardening

• Spend some time watching where the sun goes on your balcony over the course of a day, so that you know where the sunniest and shadiest spots are. Most fruit and veg will need at least six hours of direct sunlight a day to do well.
• Balconies can be very windy, and this means plants will dry out fast. Putting up a windbreak of cane matting will make things easier for your plants.
• Be careful not to overload your balcony with heavy pots. Remember that soil and compost can weigh a lot when wet.
• Use drip trays under pots to stop water overflowing onto your neighbours below!

5 vertical gardening ideas for balconies

1. Balcony rail planters are specially designed to sit over or hang from a balcony rail. They take up hardly any space at all, and they’re perfect for small plants like herbs and strawberries or trailing summer bedding like petunias and begonias.
2. Stackable planters are another clever solution for small spaces. These modular planters can be stacked on top of each other to whatever height you choose, with planting pockets at each level perfect for flowering plants or herbs like parsley, basil and mint.
3. Grow climbers in pots, trained up an obelisk or a trellis fixed to your balcony wall. Miniature climbing rose ‘Warm Welcome’ will grow happily in a pot and produces masses of bright orange flowers all summer. You could also combine flowers and food by growing a climbing bean like French bean ‘Blauhilde’, which has gorgeous violet flowers in summer followed by tasty purple beans that turn green when cooked.
4. Tiered plant stands are great for small spaces like balcony gardens, letting you grow three or four times as many plants in the same amount of floorspace. On a balcony, the lower levels are likely to be shaded for part of the day, so put the sun-lovers on the upper levels and the plants that prefer shade lower down.
5. Add height to your balcony garden with an ornamental tree in a container. Dwarf Japanese maple ‘Wilson’s Pink Dwarf’ has gorgeous variegated leaves and prefers to be sheltered from hot afternoon sun, making it ideal for balconies that often only get sun for part of the day. You can even grow a small fruit tree in a container. Ballerina apples like ‘Samba’ and ‘Flamenco’ produce fruit in short spurs off the main trunk, so they have a very narrow, upright shape that takes up very little space, and they have beautiful flowers in spring.

However big or small your garden is, we have everything you need to make it look fantastic this year. Visit us today and get gardening!

Our top 5 climbers to grow have been chosen by us so you can decide which you would like to grow up your trellis or fence or perhaps a pergola and for privacy. Many climbers can even be grow in larger containers with support or a back board of trellis so they have something to climb up. There are so many to choose from some growing more vigorously than others, some with flowers and some with varied foliage. Many climbers can be great for wildlife encouraging insects for birds and bats to eat plus resting and nesting spaces as well. Whichever climber you choose, it is sure to add interest and delight to your garden. 

1. Clematis ‘Taiga’
2. Rambling Rose 
3. Honeysuckle
4. Virginia Creeper 
5. Star Jasmine 

1. Clematis ‘Taiga’

There are so many varieties of Clematis to choose from, there really is one or more for every garden, every aspect and most soils. But if you are looking for an absolute showstopper this Clematis which was a nominee for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year Award is a stunner. With lots of flowers, almost looking like a Passion flower, it’s a hardy climber and very easy to grow and care for.

2. Rosa Rambling Rector 

This rambling rose has many large clusters of creamy white flowers all the way through from early summer through to late summer. The hips are red and as a vigorous rambler you can grow it for privacy or to hide unsightly walls and fences. It will even grow on a north facing wall and die to the rambling habit, looks great in a wildlife garden.

3. Honeysuckle ‘Dart’s World’ (Lonicera japonica)

There are plenty of honeysuckles to choose from and with some of the best scents in the garden, they are ideal to be planted somewhere near where you will sit or walk by. This variety flowers from late spring through to late simmer with dark pink flowers that change shade as they age. This will grow quickly and is a great feature climber.

4. Chinese Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus henryana)

You may know the well known colour changing climber that soon takes over and lasts forever but this one is far less vigorous and can even be grown in smaller gardens. The flowers and berries, although loved by bees, are fairly insignificant. It’s the autumn colour that really stands out. Easy to grow in fertile, well drained soil it will soon climb up a supporting structure.

5. Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) 

This is a stunning, fragrant evergreen climber with dark green leaves that change colour in autumn and put white star shaped flowers in simmer. Easy to grow it will soon climb if planted in well drained soil with full sun. This can also be grown inside. 

Choose your next climber from our range in store. 

Planting these top 5 drought tolerant plants means they will thrive in dry conditions and longer hot summers which will ultimately mean you can have a low maintenance garden with the environment in mind. All plants need water, but drought tolerant plants need far less, meaning you can use the water from your water butt for other plants that need it. Creating a dry garden is great for hot spots and there are many plants that flower, have texture and fragrance perfect for a drought tolerant space. Many will have long roots which are able to draw up water from deep below the surface and others have evolved to grow smaller leaves meaning less transpiration and others may have fleshy stems where they store water for times of low rainfall.

1. Agapanthus (Lily of the nile)

A really well known and distinctive plant that grows really well in containers or in garden borders. There are many varieties but we love ‘Fireworks’ as the lilac and white flowers look just like fireworks at the top of the long sturdy stem. Agapanthus need water as they establish but after the first year they will need much less. 

2. Eryngium (Mediterranean Sea holly) 

The spiky lilac, blueish bracts surrounding the cone like centre of little flowers is really stunning and make a bold statement in a sun filled dry garden. Very little water needed and the flowers look really pretty in a cut flower bouquet. 

3. Oenothera (Gaura)

Flowering through midsummer into autumn often where nothing else is growing, the white and pinkish flowers float gracefully in the breeze and will thrive in full sun and well drained soil. Oenothera is a lovely addition to any garden giving it a whimsical feeling, especially if planted amongst grasses and other drought tolerant perennials. 

4. Mangave

This is a cross between and Agave and Manfreda and most have really interesting patterned foliage such as ‘Inkblot’ that looks just like ink splashes on the leaves. Mangave needs very little water and planting in well drained soil. 

5. Delosperma (Hardy ice plant) 

A wonderful drought tolerant plant again needing very little watering. Delosperma cooperii is a low growing variety which is exceptional for ground cover in containers or in borders. Grow in full sun and well drained soil.

There are many more plants that will thrive in drought conditions. Always read the label on any plants you buy which will show if the plant needs a lot of watering or not. Other drought tolerant plants include Erigeron, Verbena bonariensis, Liriope and Nepeta. 

We have many plants in store for a dry garden and advice on hand when you visit us. 

With lots of sustainable kitchen garden ideas, you may be wondering where to start and what is best for your garden. First of all, it is great news that you want to think about gardening sustainably and secondly we think it is all the more fun to do so! There are many ways to incorporate sustainable ideas in your kitchen garden which all starts with thinking about everything single thing you do. Before you do anything just ask yourself if it is good for the planet first. Here’s some ideas we love for sustainable gardening.

1. Everything is organic 
2. Reuse, recycle and upcycle
3. Choose the right plants
4. Look after your soil
5. Collect rainwater 

1. Sustainable kitchen garden ideas means everything is organic 

One of the best ways to ensure your garden is happy and healthy is to use organic products and practices. This means soil, wildlife and plants all grow naturally without the use of harmful chemicals. Non organic products can deplete the soil of nutrients and wipe out pollinators. Try organic feeds such as Comfrey or Nettle, and biological pest controls. 

2. Reuse, recycle and upcycle sustainable kitchen garden ideas 

This is the fun part! When you garden sustainably, you will look at everything you use and wonder what you can reuse it for, if it can be recycled in the garden or put in the compost or up cycled in some way. Cardboard tubes from toilet rolls become seed pots, drawers become quirky planters and even baths and beds can be used in the kitchen garden to grow vegetables in. 

3. Sustainable kitchen garden ideas starts with choosing the right plants 

One of the most important aspects of gardening sustainably is to ensure your planting suits your environment. If it is very hot and dry, make sure your plants are drought tolerant. If it is shady and moist plant according to that. This will help your garden thrive long into the future. 

4. Look after your soil is the top of the sustainable kitchen garden ideas

Everything starts in the soil. Without good soil, not much will grow. Your soil is home to millions of organisms that are beneficial to the garden and will help your vegetables to grow. Collect fallen leaves to use as leaf mulch, use grass clippings, put garden waste in the compost bin and use that when it is ready, mulch to retain moisture and provide nutrients and always ensure it is organic. 

5. Sustainable kitchen garden ideas including collecting rainwater 

Minimising water usage in the garden, especially during hot and dry weather is really important. Water butts in the kitchen garden are a great way to collect rainwater, which is what plants refer, to reuse when your plants need it. They can be connected to your shed or greenhouse or freestanding and will soon fill up over winter. 

Ensure your garden is sustainable by choosing from our organic range in store.