Get the best containers...

After deciding you want to spice up your patio, balcony, door way, window sills or garden with a planted container you have two choices - plant it yourself or get your local garden centre to do it for you!

DIY

If making a container yourself start with a good container compost. If you are planting a pot think about the material. Terracotta pots tend to loose more water as they are porous than say plastic or glazed pots which will mean you will have to water them less often! If planting a hanging basket choose a hanging basket liner that will retain water while allowing excess to drain away. The bigger the basket - the better it retains moisture.

You may wish to mix in some moisture retaining gels too.

Investing in a drip irrigation system will allow you to water several baskets or containers in one go simply by turning the tap, you can also fit a timer so all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the pretty view!

Plant a nice colourful selection of plants in your container or hanging basket. It is usually nice to put a more upright plant in the middle and then surround with colourful bedding plants and trailing plants toward the edges.

As the season goes on, cut off dead flowers to encourage re-growth and check for signs of nutrient deficiency like straggly growth. If you spot this give your containers a feed.

DONE FOR YOU!
Simply call your local garden centre, like St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter (01392 873672 or 01392 876281), say what colours you want, they'll give you a bargain price and then once you've ordered they'll do the planting for you. All you have to do is the occasional water and feed!

All equipment listed above is available from St Bridget Nurseries, Old Rydon Lane and Sidmouth Road, Clyst St Mary, Exeter.

Rain rain go away....
Most of us don't like the rain and are longing for summer but think ahead for your plants who generally love rain!
2006 was officially the UK's warmest year on record and many counties had restrictions on water use. With climate change it is no doubt that we are going to have to be more water wise and the garden is a great place to start. Here are some things YOU can do...
- collect rainfall in water butts while there's plenty of it. Water butts can be purchased at local garden centres.
- Add bulky organic matter like a garden compost, bark or well-rotted manure to soil as this retains mositure in the soil.
- Choose drought-tolerant plants for your borders and containers.
- Use seep irrigation and drip hoses in the summer as they use water more efficiently.
- When things start to heat up water plants ealy in the morning or later in the evening so the moisture seeps into the soil and does not evaporate.

Water butts, irrigation equipment, mulches and drought tolerant plants are all available at St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres in Exeter.

Hello...Hellebores!

The Hellebores frost defying flowers enthral us at this time of year. They give a little bit zest at low levels and come in a variety of colours. This beauty is the variety orientalis.

Helleborus Orientalis is the botanical name but it is also known as the Lenten Rose even though they are from the Buttercup family! Hellebores are perennial plants so will come back every year. Their flowers bloom during the Easter celebration of Lent. When they are not in bloom they remain as lush ground cover throughout the year. A must for a small space! At St Bridget Nurseries they have a range of perennials at only £5.25 each plus there are some great bargain ones in 9cm pots for only £1.25 each!

A garden classic!

Heathers are sometimes overlooked for use in the garden as they've been around for years. But you shouldn't dismiss them just because they are not new and trendy. The old faithful Heather gives colour and interest to the front of borders when everything else is dormant! It could also be lucky to have some Heather in your garden...

Lucky for us St Bridget's are going to be offering 3 heathers for the price of 2 in their garden centres. The offer applies to 23 varieties in 2 litre pots. All plants look best when planted in groups of three so this is a beneficial bargain. Plus Heathers are so easy to look after. Go on put a classic in your garden.

1 potato. 2 potato...

Potatoes are so easy to grow and you don't need a big garden or an allotment.

Get your seed potatoes from a good garden centre like St Bridget Nurseries who stock over 35 certified varieties. Put them in a cool place to sprout as this will give them a head start when planted.

Take a pot of at least 25cm diameter, a big black plastic one is not only a cheap option but a good choice for good growth.

Half fill the pot with a multi-purpose compost and then bury a seed potato just below the surface. As shoots grow cover with more compost and repeat until the pot is full. If keeping the pot outdoors keep an eye on frosts and cover young plants with garden fleece if there is a risk of frost.

Keep the compost moist but not wet, if leaves go yellow feed regularly with a tomato feed like Tomorite. By late June/early July you'll have potatoes ready to cook! Push your hand in and feel for them (or tip contents out). Pick the ones of eating size out and put the rest back in so they continue to grow - yummy! You can pick up everything you need at St Bridget Nurseries so give them a call!

FRUIT!

Cut autumn-fruiting raspberry canes back now to ground level for a bumper crop later in the year. Also don't forget to bring pot-grown strawberries into the greenhouse or coldframe for an earlier crop. For strawberries in the ground cover some with cloches to promote early fruiting while leaving some uncovered to prolong the harvest season.

Things to do in the garden this weekend

• The mild winter we have had means that many more pests will have over wintered and stayed alive but many more predators should survive also. Pay particular attention to pest control in conservatories, glasshouses, cold frames and tunnels as aphid and other pest populations will boom.
• If soil is not too wet, start weeding and digging over borders and any new areas ready for planting.
• Dead head winter pansies to prolong their display.
• Hippeastrums, also known as amaryllis, growing indoors will require watering once or twice a week. Do not over water as the roots may rot. You should see some beautiful flowers very soon.
• Plan a new project for the garden – think about adding something new to your garden, maybe a pond, a new border, planting shrubs that birds will appreciate as well as adding nesting boxes and feeding stations for the birds.
• Cut hedges before birds start nesting.
• How about learning how to propagate? It's easy. Now is the time to take hardwood cuttings of willow and root cuttings of perennials. Pick up all your propagating material along with other gardening bargains at your local garden centre, like St Bridget Nurseries.

NATIONAL NEST BOX WEEK

Give a bird a home and put up a nest box for birds in your garden. The aim of National Nest Box Week is to encourage everyone to put up nest boxes to help our breeding birds and other wildlife. The natural nest sites on which many of our bird species depend, such as holes in trees and buildings, are fast disappearing as gardens and woods are ‘tidied’ and old houses are repaired. So, whether you’re a family with space for a box in your garden, or you’re a teacher, a member of a local wildlife group or you belong to a bird club and could organise a work party, National Nest Box Week gives you the chance to give a brood a home. Not only will you be helping the conservation effort in the UK, but you will also have the pleasure of observing any breeding birds that you attract to your garden as they work to raise their young.

There are lots of nest boxes for birds and other wildlife such as hedgehogs, lace wings and ladybirds at St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

In the dog house because you've forgotten? Don't worry as there is still time to pop into one of St Bridget's garden centres in Exeter and pick up a beautiful houseplant or for the ultimate romantic how about an outdoor rose that will grow with your love? Failing that at the Old Rydon Lane garden centre there is a florist who'll wrap you a beautiful bouquet.

Make someone feel special today.

BABY PLANTS

Spring is definitely on its way and so it's time to start thinking about summer bedding. For a head start you can start growing seedlings now or baby plug plants to grow on in a propagator or glasshouse. Seed trays, compost, seeds, plug plants and pots are all available from your St Bridget's garden centre now.

Alternatively, if you like having things done for you why not order your seasonal containers and hanging baskets and then collect them when they are ready later in the year? St Bridget's in Exeter has just released its planting up prices and you can either have a brand new hanging bascket planted up to your colour and/or plant specifications or you can bring back your old hanging basket for them to do the planting. With prices starting from £19.99 its a bargain way of adding colour to your house and garden.

Get digging!

If soil conditions allow make sure you finish your major digging and preparation of seedbeds by the end of the month. Cover with clear polythene or cloches to warm the soil before planting. It may seem like hardwork but it's a good start to that new year diet you've been putting on hold!

SNOW TIME!

With all this cold weather don't forget your plants particularly those less hardy ones. Stop pots from freezing by raising them on bricks or pot feet. Wrap bubble wrap around them and keep them in a sheltered place. Semi-hardy plants can also be protected by wrapping them in horticultural fleece or bubble wrap. If you live in the South West of England you can get all these items from St Bridget's garden centres.

CUT BACK ROSE BUSHES
Now is the best time to cut your rose bushes back by a bout a third, pruning out dead and disaesed parts. Pull suckers off (don't cut) close to their point of growth as possible. Not long before you'll have a beautiful summer aray like this gorgeous Lovely Lady Rose from St Bridget's.

GET MULCHING!!
Get your trees and shrubs, beds and borders off to a flying start this year by mulching and feeding with a controlled release fertiliser. Mulches should about 1-2 inches thick and good choices include bark chips and composted bark.

Happy St. Brigid's Day!
Did you know that St Bridget Nurseries in Exeter was named after the first crop it grew - St Brigid Anemones? And did you know that today is St. Brigid's Day? Saint Brigid of Kildare or St Brigid of IrelandSt (Brigit, Bridget, Bridgit, Bríd or Bride) (Naomh Bhríde in Irish; fl. 451- 525) is the secondary patron saint of Ireland, after Saint Patrick. St Brigid was an abbess and the foundress of a number of convents. Her feast day, 1 February, is the traditional first day of spring in Ireland.

MAKE DAPHNE YOUR VALENTINE!

A wonderful fact of nature is that early flowers tend to be particularly fragrant because of their need to attract the few pollinators that are about. If you can site your daphne in a sheltered position you’ll get more value from the richly scented flowers.
Daphnes aren’t too difficult to please in terms of site and soil requirements, but soils should neither dry out nor become waterlogged. Extremely acidic soils will not be suitable.

Sun or partial shade is equally suitable which means that they can be grown near trees. Other possibilities would include a rock garden or shrub border.
Shrubs of this size are perfect for most gardens because they don’t take up too much space. Daphne mezereum has an upright habit of growth and will normally reach no more than 1.2m in height and a spread of 1m and as with the best garden plants, it isn’t just early spring flowers that they deliver. Flowers are followed by attractive fleshy red fruit (inedible), yellow in the case of Daphne mezereum alba. Maintenance is simplicity itself: just trim back any untidy shoots after flowering. Otherwise they will look after themselves very happily.