Gone Potty?!

St Bridget Nurseries' Old Rydon Lane Plant Area Team have gone potty! The staff have planted up a delightful selection of containers for sale. Just some examples are a herb collection, an alpine collection, autumn flowering collection plus many other stunning plants in containers. Both garden centres will plant up any container for you so if you don't see what you are after just ask!

Get into Home Grown...

The bounty of autumn is also upon us, with fruit trees laden down with apples pears and plums. Top fruit and fruit trees are an excellent place to start your home grown collection. Ornamental or edible, Malus (apple) is hard to beat. Malus offer fruit, autumn colour as well as beautiful blossom in spring. There’s a wide choice of trees that are compact in size and resistant to mildew and scab. There are favourite varieties like Cox’s and Bramleys, as well as the more modern varieties such as Fiesta or Sunset. On the ornamental side, Malus ‘Evereste’ has outstanding characteristics as a garden tree including fabulous blossom (light-purple to pink-white) lovely form and attractive orange-red fruits.

St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter grow their top fruit in an open ground field in Exeter. As well as apples you can get cherries, peaches and nectarines, pears, plums, damsons, quince, sweet chestnut and walnuts. Many of the fruits are grown on what is called dwarf root stocks meaning that they won't grow too big and therefore are ideal for small spaces.

The fruit trees will be dug from the field later this autumn so now is the best time to arrange an appointment to make your selection and pre-order straight from the field. Call 01392 873672 and ask to speak to the nursery manager.

September Pond Checklist

If you have a pond now is the best time to cover up your pond with netting before leaves start falling from trees. Before you cover everything up though, remove dead leaves from waterlilies as they die back and thin out submerged oxygenating plants. Also get a net and remove blanketweed and duckweed.

Also move over to a winter wheatgerm feed for your pond fish.

If you would like to find out more about pond care then speak to St Bridget's aquatic team at the Sidmouth Road, Clyst St Mary, Exeter Garden Centre.

PLANT FOCUS: Schizostylis coccinea Sunrise

There are relatively few flowers that begin blooming in Autumn and put on a good show despite shortening days but schizostylis coccinea does!

Commonly known as Kaffir Lily, the plants have linear leaves and upright flower-spikes, each topped by several flowers that open wide like a crocus.

This single species is vigorous and clump-forming. The flowers are scarlet/pink (coccinea means scarlet) and the plant is a native of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.

To grow well, plant in a fertile moist soil (plants do well beside a pond for example) and shelter from cold winds. You can buy this variety as a herbaceous perennial plant from garden centres like St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter.

Alkaline Soils

My friend recently tested her garden soil using a simple soil tester which she bought from St Bridget Nurseries. The results told her that she had Alkaline soil and so she's ask me what to do about it. My advice with any soil type is unless you want to spend money and time in order to grow something you desperately want it is much easier to accept your soil type and plant plants that will thrive in the conditions.

If you still want a certain plant then try growing it in a pot!

Some soils are unrelentingly alkaline and you can fight it with treatments such as sulphur, watering with vinegar and using acidic mulches but you'll more than likely find it goes back to being alkaline. Therefore plant plants like

Berberis thunbergii, Buddleja davidii, Lavender, Lonicera (Honeysuckle), Mahonia

or herbaceous plants like:

Aquilegia, Cosmos, Geum, Helianthus, Iris, Phlox, Scabiosa

Trees suitable for alkaline conditions include Fagus sylvatica (beech) and Gleditsia triacanthos.

If you're not sure what type of soil you have then buy a simple testing kit to test the pH level of your soil (an alkaline or 'limey' soil will have a pH between 7 and 14)It's easy and fun to do and then you can start planning your garden to work with nature and not against it. For further advice on what plants may be suitable for your garden and to check availability of the above plants call St Bridget Nurseries on 01392 873672.

Spuds!

You should try and harvest all your potatoes by the end of September to avoid them being eaten by slugs! Lift potatoes carefully with a garden fork and try to remove all of them otherwise you'll get some growing next year in a place you may not want them to. Store potatoes in a dark, coo, frost-free place. Natural fibre potato sacks are ideal and are now available at St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres.

September Sunshine!

With the Devonshire forecast looking good for the weekend why not enjoy your garden and invest in a lovely set of garden furniture? St Bridget Nurseries' Old Rydon Lane Garden Centre has a massive garden furniture showroom stocked with wood, metal and resin furniture. You will find everything from a simple garden bench to hammocks, tables, seats, recliners and parasols. Many sets have massive reductions so why not go and have a look this weekend? Don't forget to pick up a Chimenea while you're there to keep you warm outside once the sunsets.

Plant profile: Rudbeckia

The variety pictured is Rudbeckia fulgida sullivantii Goldsturm and is a delightful herbaceous perennial that will add 'Sunflower' like warmth to your garden at this time of year. The variety has a particularly long flowering period from mid-summer to mid-autumn and the first frosts. Flower stems grow to about 60cm high and attract and lovely range of wildlife such as bees and butterflies into your garden.

Plant Rudbeckia in a flower border, as it tolerates light shade, to extend the flowering season late into the year. The Royal Horticultural Society has given this variety its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

Rudbeckia Goldsturm is available from St Bridget Nurseries for £5.25 a plant.

Don't forget...

As temperatures drop, pond fish will have a reduced level of metabolism. Now is a great time to buy Wheatgerm food which is better for autumn feeding and colder weather. Wheatgerm food and a full range of pond equipment is available from St Bridget Nurseries' Clyst St Mary Garden Centre, Sidmouth Road nearly opposite Westpoint Exhibition Centre.

Chim-chimminy-chim-chim!

Having had at least 5 nice weather days on the trot, we've certainly seen more people enjoying their gardens in the evenings. But, as September approaches the temperature at night is dipping. Whilst patio heaters recently received some bad press, chimineas, fire baskets and fire bowls are a good alternative that look stunning too.

Chimineas originated over a thousand years ago in Mexico, where they were used as ovens for heating and cooking.
The nomadic tribes that inhabited the mountains in Mexico shaped clay into simple chiminea shapes and then fired them in wood fuelled kilns. The word "chiminea" comes from the Spanish word for chimney.

Chimineas can still be used as an oven to cook food outdoors but many simple use them as an outdoor heater.

Chimineas in all shapes and sizes plus fire bowls, baskets and burning logs can be purchased at both St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres in Exeter.

What's in a name? - Flaming Katy!

Commonly known as Flaming Katy, Kalanchoes (pronounced KA-luhn-KO-e) are an easy to grow houseplant. They just need warm temperatures (between 12 and 30C) and minimum care. In a moderate climate they can even be grown outdoors (but only in pots and not in the ground). Plants are sensitive to the cold though so really in Britain it's best to keep them as houseplants as they are unlikely to survive a frost.

Kalanchoe plants look great in small pots. You may find that if you plant in a large pot, the leaves grow in size but the amount of flowers or height will grow as normal and rather slowly. If you want to re-pot your Kalanchoe it is best to do so in spring.

Like most houseplants try not to allow direct sunlight on the plant but do place plants in a well lit spot.

This picture shows a beautiful double flower head of a Kalanchoe from St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter. Both garden centres have a wide selection of houseplants and stunning pot covers to complement your home.

Plant focus: Lysimachia punctata 'Alexander'

This is a herbaceous perennial plant that produces elegant light green leaves that have cream margins and red tinges in spring. The light yellow flowers have a fiery orange eye and bloom from mid summer.

Lysimachia like moist but well-drained soil that does not dry out in summer. Plants grow best in full sun or partial shade and these plants look fabulous in a border.

St Bridget Nurseries have Lysimachia punctata 'Alexander' for sale in 2 litre pots for £5.25 a plant.

Rhododendron and azalea flower power for next spring!

Do you have Rhododendrons or Azaleas in your garden? When spring comes do you find they haven't flowered that well? If so, now’s the time to make sure they flower amazingly next year. Rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas all set their flower buds for next year now. They can soon become short of water and then the flower buds don’t set properly. This means that next spring the buds will either fall off or not develop properly. Therefore, make sure you give them a really good soaking before the soil starts to dry out. Mulching the plants with bark, composted bark or similar will help too. Don’t forget to feed with a rhododendron (ericaceous)fertiliser. Liquid ones act quicker and are a better bet in dry weather. It also helps to deadhead this year's flowers. At the base of the flower heads you will see a ring of brown around the flower stem, this is a handy marker of where you should cut the flower head off. It's usually just above the first leaves you come to from the flower head.

VINE WEEVIL
Plants growing in pots or other containers, out of doors or under cover, can be severely affected by vine weevil grubs. The adult vine weevil beetles feed on the foliage of many herbaceous plants and shrubs, especially Rhododendron, evergreen Euonymus, Hydrangea, Epimedium, Bergenia, Primula and strawberry.

Plants growing in the open ground are less likely to be damaged, although the grubs sometimes kill strawberries, primulas, polyanthus, Sedum, Heuchera and young yew plants.

You can tell if vine weevils are killing your plants by spotting irregular-shaped notches on leaf margins during the summer were they have been munching!

Adult have a pear shaped body and are black and just under a cm long. They hide in dark places during the day and are slow moving. They can't fly but they can crawl and climb well.

Far more serious is the damage caused by the soil-dwelling larvae which are plump, white, legless grubs up to 1cm (0.5in) long with pale brown heads. These feed on roots and also bore into tubers and succulent stem bases, devastating many herbaceous pot plants. They can also kill woody plants by gnawing away the outer tissues of the larger roots and stem bases. Plants wilt and die during autumn to spring as a result of grubs devouring the roots.

TO CONTROL

As vine weevil beetles tend to lay eggs in late summer and early autumn it pays to protect vulnerable plants in pots – such as begonias, fuchsias, cyclamen and sedums – with Bio Provado Vine Weevil Killer. A wide range of pests can be controlled by spraying with Ultimate Bug Killer (both available from St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres).

As a Devon Wildlife Trust Approved garden centre, St Bridget Nurseries would rather recommend biological controls. Encourage natural enemies. Vine weevils and their grubs are eaten by a variety of predators such as birds, frogs, toads, shrews, hedgehogs and predatory ground beetles. Alternatively the biological control microscopic pathogenic nematode (Steinernema kraussei) can be used.

For further advice ask one of the St Bridget Nurseries plant experts.

SPRING BULBS NOW IN!
A massive range of Spring Flowering Bulbs are now in at BOTH St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres. Bulbs are a great way of dotting colour around your garden and interest at various heights. Plus if you don't have a large garden you can grow many varieties in a bowl either indoors or outside. Simply, pick a pot that is the right size and will complement your chosen bulbs. If you are using a clay pot with a large drainage hole in the base, place a few 'crocks' at the bottom such as pieces of broken pot. Use a bulb compost and fill your container with compost and plant bulbs, making a hole three times the size of the bulb.
Although different varieties can be planted together, bulbs have more impact when the same variety is planted either singly or packed closely together for a bumper show. If you buy a nice deep container you can layer bulbs and stagger your display by choosing varieties that will flower at different times or grow at different heights. One suggestion is to plant your Daffodils and Tulips at a depth of about 8" and then add a layer of compost about 3" deep and then add a layer of smaller bulbs like Grape Hyacinths and Calla Lilies. Top with some more compost and then water well.

You may also want to add some Bulb Booster. This is a new product that St Bridget Nurseries are stocking. Made by the makers of Miracle_gro, bulb Booster is slow release granules that provide nutrients that feed for up to 3 months. They delivers nourishment to your planted bulbs, encouraging vigorous root growth and encourages lush foliage which is required to support more abundant flowering the following season.

For a great start to your floral display, pop in to St Bridget Nurseries Exeter.

LOW IN PLANT MILES

Unlike many garden centres, St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres grow most of the plants they sell on site, which means their plants are suitable for the conditions found in Devon area. They grow all their roses in fields behind the Clyst St Mary Garden Centre and all other plants are grown on the nursery just two miles away behind the Old Rydon Lane Garden Centre.
It also makes their garden centres low in plant miles - as virtually no carbon energy has been used in getting the plants to you.

If you are buying your plants from St Bridget's it also means you are buying from experts as the company has been growing plants in Exeter for over 80 years! Plus they're so confident about their quality, all hardy St Bridget Nurseries' plants carry a 1 year guarantee.
With nearly 900 varieties of shrubs, over 200 varieties of roses, nearly 300 varieties of herbaceous perennials, over 130 different conifers, over 200 different ornamental and fruit trees as well as over 350 types of bedding plants and other seasonal crops - you'll find it all at St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centres!

INSPIRATIONAL!

The award winning planteria team at both St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres have been really busy and have some fantastic plants on sale at the moment. The use of colour, texture, height and scent gives you wonderful ideas that you can re-create in your garden. This picture is of a lavender, ivy and clematis display at the Old Rydon Lane garden centre. It shows how the whites and purples of the flowers complement the rich greens and tone with the beautiful granite plinth and rustic looking sundial. A lavender border would look fantastic beside a driveway or a simple lavender surrounded by small ivy in a beautiful glazed pot would look suitably Mediterranean for a patio or veranda. Brighten up your outdoor space with home-grown plants from St Bridget Nurseries, Exeter.

RED HOT AND GORGEOUS!

Sumptuous velvety clematis glowing deep in rich reds, pinks, purples and blues. Climbing and twinning up to cover many unsightly objects in your garden! Virginia creeper (parthenocissus) and its glorious autumn reds is a great alternative climber to have on offer
Acer palmatum is a fabulous foliage plant that will almost catch fire with colours of red (depending on variety), as the leaves begin to turn. Some, like ‘Crimson Queen’ are compact enough to be grown in large pots which makes them perfect for patios.
Potentilla presents perfect perennial red choices at this time of year. Use the vivid reds of ‘Gibson’s Scarlet’ to colour the ground level of the display.
All the above plants are available from your nearest St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centre. Old Rydon Lane (01392 873672) and Clyst St Mary (01392 876281), Exeter.

SLUGS!

A few days sunshine meant that I was able to get into the garden in full force over the weekend. My tidying up revealed that while I had been sheltering from the rain so too had hundreds of slugs and snails! There were clearly too many for even my greediest of hedgehog friends and so further help was needed in order to protect my plants from being eaten alive!

Beer is a traditional slug trap - simply fill an old tin can with a malty-smelling beer and set them at close intervals around the garden. To avoid killing beneficial ground beetles don't set them flush with the soil. A slug will happily climb, a ground beetle won't. If like me you'd rather enjoy the beer yourself you can use a mixture of flour, water and yeast in traps instead. Remember to mix up a new batch every day or so.

Another environmentally friendly way to catch them is to use the rinds of grapefruit, lemons and even potatos. Set the rinds, upside down in the ground where you've seen the slugs. Early in the morning lift the rinds up and you'll hopefully have a collection of slugs underneath, either kill your slugs (by crushing them) or give birds a treat and place them on the bird table.

Another trick is to use copper. Copper reacts with the slimey path of snails and slugs and gives them a rather nasty shock! You can buy copper wire and tape from your garden centre, like St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter, along with slug traps for use with beer.

Oh and don't forget a pair of gardening gloves - slugs are very sticky to touch!

BOG GARDENS

Sudden heavy downpours, coupled with soil compaction, poor drainage and landscaping with impervious materials will naturally lead to flooding. Prolonged waterlogging can weaken and kill plant roots. We can improve things such drainage using gullies and soakaways but in smaller gardens this can be more of a problem.

If you have very poorly drained soils that are consistently wet, it is generally better to work with nature rather than against it. Some plants thrive in wet, poorly drained soils such as Fothergilla, Euphorbia, Lamium and Trollius but they won't stand having their roots in wet soil all of the time. for permanently wet soils you could design a bog garden. Not only will this work with your soil type but bogs are a haven for wildlife such as dragonflies, frogs and migrating waterbirds.

Despite the name bog gardens can be extremely beautiful. Some good bog plants you could choose from include Filipendula Rubra (Meadowsweet) , Geum x borisii , Geum rivale (Water avens), Gunnera manicata (Giant rhubarb), Gunnera magellanica ,Gunnera tinctoria , Iris ensata syn. kaempferi , Iris ensata Variegata , Iris sibirica , Mazus reptans Alba, Mazus reptans Blue , Mimulus cardinalis, Mimulus Threave variegated , Peltiphyllum peltatum, Rheum palmatum and Sisyrinchium. All of these plants can be found at St Bridget Nurseries' Clyst St Mary Garden Centre.
Also suitable for the bog garden are Astilbes, Hemerocallis, Hostas, Ligularia, Lysimachia, Lythrum, Schizostylis, Tradescantia and Trollius which can all be found in the Herbaceous Perennial Section at both St Bridget Garden Centres.

If you want help planning your bog garden simply pop into your local garden centre, like St Bridget Nurseries, and ask one of the helpful staff.