Hot January!
Records suggest that this January could be one of the hottest on record. In Devon we have certainly seen nature behaving like it is Spring - birds are courting and spring flowers are already in flower. St Bridget's Customer Plant Assistant, Debbie, was in the press commenting about these changes yesterday. To read the full story please visit http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=137015&command=displayContent&sourceNode=136999&contentPK=16521316&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=filtersearch

CLEMATIS ON OFFER!

St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter has put a limited number of clematis on special offer - just £4.99 each! Not all their varieties are included in the offer and so you need to visit their garden centres in either Old Rydon Lane, Exeter or Sidmouth Road, Clyst St Mary, Exeter to grab a bargain. They are simply beautiful!

FRUIT!

Use fine netting on fruit bushes to protect buds from birds. Similarly safe guard early blossom on plums, peaches and cherries from the frost with protective fleece (available from garden centres like St Bridget Nurseries).

Snip newly planted raspberry canes down to about 23cm-30cm after planting.

Plant rhubarb crowns in February in well-cultivated soil.

Actions for the weekend...

After the strong winds check your greenhouse, cold frame and polytunnels for damage and resecure bubble wrap where necessary.

Sow hardy annuals like cornflowers in small pots under glass, ready to plant in Spring.

Deadhead blooms such as pansies and violas to prolongtheir flowering.

Plant new fruit trees bushes and canes, there are still many to choose from at St Bridget Nurseries.

Take a look for wind damage to other plants - check tree ties and stakes and replace broken ones plus secure climbers to supports as necessary.

Done everything? Well how about a nice day out to St Bridget's. Open Saturday 8.00am to 5pm and Sunday 10.30am to 4.30pm with coffee shops at both garden centres and free parking!

DAPHNES ON SPECIAL OFFER!

I love Daphnes and I'm sure you will too at these great St Bridget prices. For a limited time these gorgeous fragrant plants have been reduced from £11.75 to £9.99!! Visit St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter to grab a home-grown bargain!

Sale
Check out St Bridget's plant area for a great selection of bargain plants. The two garden centres around Exeter in Devon have put loads of plants at a special price of £3.95 each or 3 plants for £10! For many plants this represents a saving of at least 50%!!

SEEDS!

Get ready for the busy seed sowing season and make sure you have everything you need for success – including seed trays, small pots, a heated propagator, fresh compost, labels and dibber. And don’t forget to pick up your seeds – some will even benefit from an early sowing this month, such as begonia, antirrhinum, lobelia and geranium.

Looking good!

Viburnum x bodnantense is a brilliant choice for any garden, a deciduous shrub that bears fragrant flowers from late autumn into spring.

St Bridget's in Exeter have many varieties to choose from including

VIBURNUMx bodnantense Dawn AGM

x burkwoodii

x carlcephalum AGM

carlesii

Charis

davidii AGM

Female AGM

Male AGM

Fragrans AGM (farreri)

opulus (Guelder Rose)

Sterile AGM (Roseum)

plicatum tomentosum

Lanarth

Mariesii AGM

Pink Beauty AGM

rhytidophyllum

tinus

Eve Price AGM

Purpureum

Variegatum

AGM means that the plant has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Post-Christmas check up

Keep your houseplants in tip-top condition and they’ll continue to give you a colourful display for ages. All plants will need watering as and when needed – but make sure you don’t overdo it. Flowering houseplants should be dead-headed regularly and given a weekly to fortnightly feed with a flowering houseplant fertiliser. Foliage plants need regular hand misting or standing on a saucer of damp pebbles or Hortag to maintain humidity around the leaves.

Happy New Year!