Autumn garden plans

Start planning that new garden border now. Look for plants with a long flowering period and those that have two or more seasons of interest with flowers, fruit, colourful stems and/or interesting foliage. Choose plants with different foliage colours and shapes, and remember that while evergreens help bring structure and winter interest they may need livening up with deciduous plants. Use winter and spring bedding plants to increase the seasons of interest, and plant bulbs for extra splashes of colour.

 

Fruit and Vegetables

The harvesting season is now in full swing, so make sure you pick crops that are ready. Leave them too long and they’ll lose flavour and tenderness. Now’s a good time to sow endive, radish and spring cabbage for next year plus winter varieties of spinach and maincrop turnips.

Having spent lots of time and effort growing your fruit and veg to perfection, protect it with fleece or small-mesh plastic netting – or, if you have a large area, put up a fruit cage.

 

Ericaceous plants

Rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas are all acid loving plants or ericaceous plants. They will be setting their flower buds now to bloom next year, so it’s important that they never go short of water at this time of year or the flower buds may fail next spring. Feeding will also produce more and better flowers. Mulching with bark or similar products will help maintain soil moisture levels and insulate the roots from damaging high temperatures.

 

Pest Watch

Pests and diseases thrive in hot weather, so check plants regularly for tell-tale signs. Mildews and red spider mite are always worse in warm, dry conditions and these can soon get out of control. Earwigs eat the leaves and flower buds on plants like clematis, dahlias and chrysanthemums, and even slugs and snails can be on the prowl at this time of year. If your plants have a problem, just ask one of our friendly staff to help you choose a suitable product to deal with it or ask us via blogger or St Bridget's Facebook page

 

Spring Flowering bulbs

Start planting up some spring bulbs. We have lots in both our garden centres to choose from, including favourites such as daffodils and crocuses. For colour now, add evergreen shrubs such as rosemary and euonymus, winter-flowering pansies and primroses to give you interest through autumn and winter. Remember when planting your containers to underplant with bulbs.

Garden Furniture

There’s still plenty of time to really enjoy your garden this summer. Make the most of it by investing in a new furniture set – perhaps you need something with more chairs and a bigger table – or a large parasol to create extra shade. Or how about a swing seat or hammock to relax in? Remember to pick up any care products you need for wooden furniture too. Our garden furniture showroom is located at our Old Rydon Lane garden centre. Visit now for some fantastic offers which can be found on our website too St Bridget Nurseries Special Offers

Architectural plants, a hint of the exotic…that’s ornamental grasses

More than at any other time, the garden is a refuge now.  As a place to escape from offices it can’t be bettered and in these recessionary times, leisure destinations that are as economical or rewarding are very hard to find.

If you’re looking for a plant with architectural qualities, a hint of the exotic and very low requirements for care, then ornamental grasses could be your answer.  Flowering grasses provide a spectacle in the garden that far outweighs their demands for care, or their initial investment.  Many, including Imperata and Pennisetum are said to be ‘trouble free’ and they can bring pleasure year after year.  They’re also fantastic for softening up hard landscaping, perhaps on a new-build site.

The range of ornamental grasses available these days means that you can find something for every situation.  In even the smallest garden you should be able to plant specimens of several different species/varieties.  The taller species and varieties offer the promise of sensory reward from the movement and sound as breezes sough through the leaves.  Shorter grasses are suitable for container planting.

 

Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’, also known as the ‘Red Baron’, is a spectacular grass.  It’s a clump-forming plant and the leaves are short, at about 40cm, but they turn red from the tips of the stems downwards, almost as far as the base.  Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln' is a charming, deciduous grass that forms a compact, low mound and produces long-lasting, soft, pinkish, brush-like flowers in late summer that resemble squirrel tails. The bright green leaves turn yellow in autumn. It’s a fairly undistinguished plant until the flowers appear, so use it alongside spring bulbs or early-flowering perennials.  

Ornamental grasses combine well with other plants.  Autumn flowering plants, for example, asters, helianthus or chrysanthemums make good partners, but foliage plants can also be effective alongside more subtle grasses.  For example a side-by-side blend of the foliage of Imperata and Elaeagnus can be a delightful and understated combination.

Most grasses are easy to grow and will thrive in even poorer soils, though they do tend to need a full sun position.  Once established they will perform year after year with the minimum of intervention and have low water requirements, making them perfect for drought-prone areas.  However, if you want to do your best by them, feed in spring with a general purpose fertiliser.  They’re sufficiently sturdy to survive the odd ball being kicked through them, which makes them the ideal choice for a family garden.

All grasses mentioned in this article are sold in both are garden centres for only £6.85 each.

Lawn preparation for September

September is the best time to sow a new lawn or lay turf, but it pays to prepare the area now.

To beat perennial weeds, spray with a weedkiller containing glyphosate (always read the label first and follow instructions).

Once the turf has been removed, work over the soil to a depth of 9 inches with a fork and spade, removing weed roots and large stones, and incorporating compost or composted bark.

Rake and level the soil, walk over it to settle it, rake again and then leave it bare to allow weed seeds to germinate. These can be sprayed or hoed off ready for sowing or turfing next month.

 

St Bridget's Rose of the Year

Each year we ask visitors of our rose field to vote for their favourite rose. It is clear from the results that what is beautiful to one person is not to another as we had numerous different varieties. Whether it is name, fragrance, colour or foliage everyone has their favourite!

 

However, despite so many different votes there was one rose that received more votes than any other and that is our Rose of the Year...the Hybrid Tea rose Twice in a Blue Moon.

 

This is an improved variety from the previous Blue Moon and has the same gorgeous lilac flowers but improved disease resistance and more vigour.

 

This rose is available from our garden centres or can be pre-ordered as a bare root specimen to collect in the autumn. Our potted price is £9.49 or bare root is £8.49.

 

New Rose Varieties

Visitors of our 2014 rose tours were priviledged to get a sneak peek at our three new rose varieties for 2014/15.

We have what will be Rose of the Year 2015 and as launched at Hampton Court Flower Show, "For Your Eyes Only". This is a healthy shiny foliage rose and virtually continuous flowering with a mixture of pink and apricot salmon single open flowers with a dark eye. This is a floribunda rose so will produce large clusters of flowers and ideal for bedding.

 For Your Eyes Only

 

In addition we have another floribunda rose called "Ebb Tide". This is a deep purple opening to smoked plum flowers with a strong spicy fragrance. It has a compact habit.

 Ebb Tide

 

Finally there is the unusual HT rose "Rock and Roll. Splashed and striped flowers in burgundy, cherry and cream. Fruity perfume. Compact growth.

 Rock and Roll

 

You can order roses now as bare rooted specimens for collection or delivery in the autumn. Alternatively they will be available as containerised specimens in our garden centres from late autumn.