Halloween

Join the witches this Halloween with a Besom Witches broom only £3.99 from St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres, Exeter. The brooms are also useful for sweeping up leaves. Better hurry before they fly away!

LAST WILD DAY TODAY!

Since Monday, Devon Wildlife Trust has been working with St Bridget Nurseries' staff to create a permanent BBC Breathing Place. The event was organised to celebrate St Bridget Nurseries becoming a Silver Level, Devon Wildlife Trust Approved Garden Centre. Devon Wildlife Trust designed a wildlife garden with butterfly border and Invertebrate Hibernation Castle!

Today the garden is due for completion so it is well worth a visit to St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centre in Old Rydon Lane Exeter. You will be able to ask the experts questions and find out why each plant and product has been chosen. Many of the items used have been recycled from materials used on the nursery. For example the hibernation castle is built from wooden pallets, terracotta pots, bamboo canes, straw, rocks, wood and air vent bricks. In addition the obelisk which has climbing plants growing up it was an old shop display stand!

Children visitors are invited to take part in a treasure hunt quiz. Simply pick up an entry form, find the 10 posters hidden around the garden centre and write down what simple step each poster tells you about. The 10 steps are simple ways you can help the environment and wildlife at home. Each completed entry receives a small prize and all entries will be put into a draw to win a ladybird box and £5 St Bridget Nurseries Gift Token.

Call 01392 873672 for further details.

What a specimen!

The team at St Bridget Nurseries' garden centre had an unusual challenge yesterday when they had to move a

15ft tall, approx 1.5tonne very spikey palm tree! The plant was originally planted when the Old Rydon Lane garden centre shop was first built back in the eighties. Surrounded by brick walls the palm has greeted visitors to the garden centre for all those years. However, the area surrounding the palm is due to be transformed into a wildlife garden next week in a joint event with Devon Wildlife Trust. Not known for its major wildlife attraction, it was felt the palm should be moved. It took 4 men half a day to dig, wire undercut and eventually lift with the use of the nursery tractor. Many customers then watched as the huge specimen plant was driven across the car park and temporarily planted in a wooden pallet crate. The staff are still considering what to do with the palm and so if you are looking for a huge specimen then do get in touch on 01392 873672.

Plants for the future

Pick up any newspaper today and you're sure to find at least one article relating to climate change. Our climate is definitely changing and now is the time that we should be trying to minimise the impacts. Just a small change in the average annual temperature will have a large net impact on growing seasons.

In Great Britain many plant varieties will struggle to survive, whilst it will open up the possibility to new varieties to thrive. Plants will be living in a warmer world but will have to cope with winter waterlogging and summer droughts. If we have fewer cold snaps pests will not be killed off leading to more diseases and more weeds!

Climate change could also bring about rapid changes in the character and style of the British Garden.

For the domestic gardener key challenges are likely to include how to manage and maintain soil fertility, how to cope with more pest problems. The smooth green lawn will be even more of a challenge and with extension of the growing seasons comes an extension in maintenance needs. However, it is not just doom and gloom, we have opportunities influding an increased range of plants suitable for growing in the open garden (Cordylines, aloes, sedums, olea (olives), Proteas and Carpobrotus), plus warmer and drier summers and autumns will allow us to enjoy our gardens more and be in them.

Don't ignore climate change, it is happening and you can do things to minimise its impact on you and on others. Start planning your garden of the future too, for further information e-mail marketing@stbridgetnurseries for a short leaflet they have created with scientists on climate change and your garden.

LAWN DAY

Just a reminder that this Sunday Dennis Lane, Grounds Inspector of the Institute of Groundsmanship, will be on hand to give expert help and advice on all aspects of lawns and turf management at St Bridget Nurseries, Sidmouth Road, Clyst St Mary, Exeter. He will be happy to identify weed problems in your lawn or why you have bare patches so please bring in samples of the weeds or diseases on your grass. Mr Lane will be there from 10.30am to 4.30pm. Call 01392 876281 for further details.

Deer resistant

They are creatures that many of us do not have in our gardens, and one that many of us think we would love but for those who do get deer visiting their garden it can be quite problematic.

In Devon there are lots of deer and many gardeners find their plants eaten over night. If you are one of these gardeners then you may want to take a look at a very helpful guide written by Andrew Halstead for the RHS http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0105/deer_resistant.asp Andrew has listed many plants that deer appear to not favour as much as others! Included in the list are plants like Jasmine, Honeysuckle, Mahonia, Buxus and Daphnes all of which you will find at St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centres.

SMALL PLANTS, BIG BARGAIN!

St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centre has just put our an offer on their home-grown range of small container plants. Each plant was grown on their nursery in Exeter and normally costs either £1.99 or £2.00. They are now offering you the chance to pick and mix 3 plants from this range for just £5! There are cyclamen, small conifers and small shrubs included in the offer. What's more at that price you can afford to splash out on a really nice glazed pot and create a stunning autumn colourful planter. Visit St Bridget Garden Centres today for some great gardening deals.

DON'T MISS OUT JUST BECAUSE OF THE POSTAL STRIKE!

If you would like a copy of any of St Bridget Nurseries' plant lists and don't want to wait until Christmas because of the snail mail, then simply e-mail the lovely St Bridget's team and they will send you a pdf copy.

What's more if you are interested in any of the top fruit varieties listed on pages 19 and 20 of the main price list, you can get 10% off when you order between Thursday 18th October and Thursday 25th October in celebration of St Bridget's Apple Week. BARGAIN!

E-mail marketing@stbridgetnurseries.co.uk for your price list today.

WHAT'S ON?

This weekend at St Bridget Nurseries' Exeter Garden Centres there will be two visitors.

On Saturday 6th October at the Sidmouth Road, Clyst St Mary Garden Centre a representative from the Devon Wildlife Trust will be on hand to answer wildlife questions and tell you more about how to encourage wildlife into your garden as well as tell you about the great work that the Trust does. As a Devon Wildlife Approved Garden Centre, there are lots of wildlife friendly products at St Bridget's garden centre and the staff are trained and enthusiastic about wildlife gardening. The garden centre is open from 8am to 5pm on Saturday.

On Sunday 7th October at the Old Rydon Lane, Exeter garden centre Dennis Lane, Grounds Inspector of the Institute of Groundsmanship, will be on hand to give expert help and advice on all aspects of lawns and turf management. He will be happy to identify weed problems in your lawn or why you have bare patches so please bring in samples of the weeds or diseases on your grass. Mr Lane will be there from 10.30am to 4.30pm.