A Quick How To...measure for pond liner

We frequently get asked how to calculate pond liner. Having dug your pond hole, whatever the shape, measure your pond’s…
Maximum length (L)
Maximum width (W)
and Maximum depth (D)

Pond liner required = (L + 2D) x (W +2D)
E.G. L=3m, W=2m, D=75cm (0.75m) Pond liner = (3+1.5)x(2+1.5) = 4.5m x 3.5m

Our Clyst St Mary Garden Centre sells PVC and rubber pond liners both in pre-cut packs and off the roll, plus pond underlay and pre formed ponds. For further help or advice why not visit or call 01392 876281?

One of the best times of year to plant is autumn, as there is generally moisture in the soil and the soil is still warm from the summer.

St Bridgets have a vast range of plants all ready to plant in your garden.

Trees, roses, shrubs, fruit trees and soft fruit and perennials.
Call into one our 2 garden centres at Old Rydon Lane, Exeter or Clyst St Mary to see what you can plant to make the most of your garden next year.

Winter Hanging Baskets.

If your summer hanging baskets are now looking sorry for themselves after the first frosts of the autumn, you can still have some colour through the autumn and winter.

Replant them with PRIMROSES, PANSIES, VIOLAS with some IVIES around the side and plant with some early flowering spring bulbs.

You can also replant your tubs and troughs the same way to give colour in the milder spells though the winter

St Bridgets sell everything you need from wicker baskets, traditional baskets and troughs and tubs and the compost to and a vast range of spring flowering bulbs.

AUTUMN IN THE GARDEN

There is plenty to look out for in the garden in the autumn and winter, lots of trees etc have berries and fruit which attract the birds in the colder months Sorbus, Malus, Crataegus all have various colours from reds to yellow and oranges.
There is also autumn colour from Prunus, Acers and Oaks and plenty more too, and when the trees are bare of leaves there are trees with attractive bark, Betula varieties, Acer Griseum, Prunus Serrula which all have attractive stems with pealing bark to keep the interest in the dull dark winter days.
St Bridgets grow all these trees and have them in the nursery tree fields for lifting from November onwards.

PLANTS BY MAIL ORDER

St Bridgets can send roses, shrubs or perennials by mail order, so if you have a spot in your garden and you want to received a good quality plant straight to your door, why not look through our plant list on our website.

http://www.stbridgetnurseries.co.uk/veitch_garden_centre_news.asp?PK_cats=7

Look through the list and contact us for a delivery quote, we can send mixed parcels with either perennials , roses or shrubs, or if you find something you can't find anywhere else and live to far away to collect yourself we can send just one plant.

Plan your new border from the comfort of your own home on one of the long dark cold nights that we will be getting over the coming months and have it delivered to your front door.

We generally send out on a Tuesday so your orders should reach you just in time for the weekend.

Email sales@stbridgetnurseries.co.uk for more information.

Yummy yum strawberries
Strawberry plants are only at their best for three to four years, so think about starting a new patch. Firstly clear out the old and add good organic matter before planting the new plants. St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centres in Exeter sell certified stock at £1.45 each or £13.00 for ten plants. Varieties include Albion, Calypso, Cambridge Favourite (AGM), Elsanta, Florence, Honeoye (AGM), Pegasus and Symphony (AGM). AGM stands for the RHS award of garden merit.Plants can also be sent by mail order. Please cal 01392 873672 for carriage prices.

GIVE A ROSE FOR THAT SPECIAL OCCASION.

St Bridget's grow all their own roses, why not give a rose for that special day. Wedding, Birthday or special Anniversary there is a rose for most occasions.

Climbing Rose Wedding Day
Floribunda Rose Birthday Girl
Floribunda Rose Golden Wedding
Floribunda Rose Many Happy Returns
HT Rose Congratulations
HT Rose Diamond Jubilee
HT Rose Loving Memory
HT Rose Remember Me
HT Rose Ruby Wedding
HT Rose Special Anniversary

We will starting to lift our roses from our rose field later this month so contact our Garden Centres and they can be ordered for collection or delivery from Early November.

St Bridget's grow a wide range of Ornamental and Fruit trees at our Old Rydon Lane Nursery.

If you would like to view the trees and pick your own and collect it or have it delivered later.

Contact

Phil by email sales@stbridgetnurseries.co.uk or Phone 01392873672 to make an appontment..

If you would like a full list ring our office for a price list.

As the summer bedding has now gone past its best, fill your tubs and troughs up with winter/spring bedding primroses, polyanthus, pansies and violas and spring bulbs.

Wall flowers are can also be planted now for spring colour with bulbs all which are currently in stock at St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centres.

Plant some small tubs up for that drab corner to brighten things up on a dull winter day or buy one ready planted up, St Bridgets have a good selection ready to take away at prices to fit every ones pocket.

Malus

Malus or crab apples as they are sometimes better known give a fantastic display, some varieties twice a year.With blossom and fruit

In the spring they have a lovely mixture of blossom colours from light pink, dark pink through to deep burgundy red flowers depending on variety and in the autumn fruit varies from small on varieties like Golden Hornet up to large red on varieties like Dartmouth

Varieties grown at St Bridget's are the following

MALUS (Crab Apple)
floribunda AGM
hupehensis AGM
x magdeburgensis
x moerlandsii Liset OG
Profusion Improved OG
Royalty OG

tschonoskii AGM
Van Eseltine

Fruiting varieties ( Zero-rated VAT)
pumila Dartmouth
Evereste AGM OG

x zumi Golden Hornet AGM OG

John Downie AGM OG
Pink Glow
x robusta Red Sentinel AGM
Sun Rival
Veitchʼs Scarlet
White Star

Please enquire for sizes and prices available at sales@stbridgetnurseries.co.uk

or Tel. 01392873672.

CORTADERIA PUMILA

Better known to most people as PAMPASS GRASS is now beginning to look its best with large white plumes standing proud above the tough strap like foliage.

It makes a good stand alone plant in middle of the garden, but to keep it tidy cut back back the old foliage at the base and dead head the flower plumes when they have gone past their best to stop them seeding over the rest of the garden.

Autumn Colour

With the evenings getting longer and the nights getting cooler the leaves on the trees are changing colour, some turn yellow others change a wide range of colours from reds / oranges and golden yellow.

This can give a fantastic show in the autumn, so look out as you are out and about this autumn .

There are some good places to visit to see autumn colour one of the best known being Westonbirt in Gloucestershire.

There ares several ornamental trees and shrubs that you can plant in your garden like ornamental cherries (Prunus), viburnum to name a few.

Look out in gardens and woodland in your area to see a free show of colour and maybe plant something in your garden.

Try the woodland trust website to find your nearest wood and go and look at the autumn colours on the trees.

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/our-woods/Pages/woodland-estate.aspx

Wallflowers

St Bridget's own field grown wallflowers are available now, in various colours and some good mixtures of colours too.

They give a lovely early splash of colour in spring with the bulbs and give a good scent too.

Persian Carpet contains many of the beautiful colours seen in Persian Carpets including cream, apricot, orange, rose, purple and gold,very fragrant.

St Bridget's have the following varieties bare root,

Bundles of 10 for £2.10

Fire King

Scarlet Bedder

Golden Bedder

Giant Pink

Persian Carpet

Bedder Mixed

Harlequin Mxd in 12 Packs

Brighten up your window sills

Put a bit of colour on your window sills this autumn,

Miniature Miracle CYCLAMEN will flower for months if you keep dead the old flowers once they have finished, if you look into the centre of the plant you will see all the new buds all waiting to appear.

They prefer a cool light situation out of bright hot sunshine and will even be ok outside until the really hard frosts come.

Coming in a large variety of colours there is a colour for everyone from whites reds pinks Burgundy and bicolours too.

They are an easy to look after plant for the cool window sill.

St Bridget's have good selection in our garden centres fresh from our nursery.

As autumn approaches and the weather is damp and wet, the summer bedding has normally gone past its best.

Brighten up your garden, pots and even hanging baskets with some pansies and violas.

They flower for months until the frosts come and normally again in the spring, just keep dead heading and the flowers will keep coming.

St Bridget's have lots to choose from in 9cm pots in good selection of colours and 6 packs in mixed colours.

Feed the Birds Let's face it when it rains we don't really like to go out for food -why should birds? With the weather getting cooler and wetter it's time to stock up on bird food to help our garden friends through the autumn and winter. St Bridget Garden Centres love wildlife and have everything you may need such as bird tables, stands, feeders, houses, seed, peanuts, fat balls, fat blocks etc! Plus there are some excellent savings on many products so stock up now. Remember to pick up a selection of food as not all birds eat the same things e.g. Robins and Blackbirds like to feed on horizontal tables/trays and eat seed and meal worms. Tits like most food but woodpeckers love peanuts!

Grow a Hardy Palm in your garden

Trachycarpus Fortunei-

One of the most popular and suitable palms for the UK. The Chusan palm from China tolerates temperatures down to -12°C without problem, so hardy in the normal British winters even the cold spell we had in January 2010, so they should be looking equally good in summer or winter.

Trachycarpus fortunei should not be planted in very windy locations as the leaves can get to look untidy. Large green, fan leaves grow from a hairy, matted trunk that can grow between 10-30cm a year at maturity, although much slower when younger!

Fully grown height can be up to approx 4-5 metres over time

St Bridget's have 2 sizes available

2 Litre pot size @ £9.50

4 Litre pot size @ £11.50

Contact our garden centres for more details.

Bulb-tastic!

Spring bulbs are filling up both St Bridget Nurseries' shops! There are hundreds of different varieties to choose from and some great bargains. Buy now for the freshest bulbs and the best choice.

Some of the bargains at the Old Rydon Lane garden centre include:

British Daffodils & Narcissi in 5kg sacks. £7.99 each or any 2 for only £14. Great for naturalising.

Plus large value spring bulb packs only £4.99 each or 3 packs for £12.

Be wary of cheap bulbs you may find in supermarkets - if you look closely, bulbs may not always be of the same quality/size.

Pyracantha Cadange

A glorious sunny September morning, look around you as you go about your daily life and see the variety of berries there are about in peoples gardens.

Pyracantha, Cotoneaster to name a few in various colours red, yellow and orange .They will normally stay on the plants until the weather gets cold but are then generally eaten by birds so they can give autumn colour to the garden and also supply a food source for wild birds.

Devon Wildlife Trust - visiting If you are interested in wildlife or want to know how you can attract wildlife into your garden then come along and ask the experts. St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centre in Old Rydon Lane, Exeter (EX2 7JY) will be welcoming The Devon Wildlife Trust on Saturday 18th September (10am-4pm) and Sunday 19th September (11am-4pm). In addition you can find out more about the Trust, the essential work they do and how you can become a member.

August Bank Holiday

With a wet ending to August, why not start thinking about autumn,

St Bridget's now have their own grown Brassica and lettuce plants in 12 packs,and pansies in individual 9cm pots and 6 packs now ready for sale fresh from our own nursery.

We also have Ornamental brassicas and Hollyhocks all ready for sale now.

Field grown Wallflowers will be available from mid Sept with trays of mixed Wallflowers in packs of 12 available now.

Sedums

Sedum give a long display of colour during late August / September and are very easy to grow.

They can be planted at any time of year, if planted in winter you will need to cut off all the previous summers growth that has died back if it has not done already.

In March it will start to shoot and will get up to 0.75m tall in good soil conditions with plenty of moisture and can become top heavy when in full flower, the best solution for this is to cut back some of the shoots in May known by some as the Chelsea chop and this will encourage the plant to produce a more compact plant and will extend the flowering season as the pruned shoots will flower slightly later.

Sedums also encourage masses of bees and butterflies into the garden.

St Bridgets grow the following varieties.

Autumn Joy AGM (Herbstfreude)
erythrostichum Frosty Morn
spectabile Brilliant AGM
telephium Matrona

Ruby Glow

AGM is a plant that has been awarded the RHS AWARD OF MERIT.

Butterflies

Most people love to see butterflies in their garden, encourage them with plants which will make them them stay for you to enjoy watching them.

A lot of butterflies like to feed on weeds as well as garden plants so maybe leave a small area to nature for them to enjoy.

Buddlejas, Sedums, Verbena Bonariensis are just a few plants that encourage butteflies later in the summer.

Plant your butterfly garden in a sunny location, but sheltered from the winds. Butterflies need the sun to warm themselves, but they won't want to feed in an area where they are constantly in the wind. It is also a good idea to place a few flat stones in your sunny location so the butterflies can take a break.

CROCOSMIA


A good plant that gives masses of flower throughout August is Crocosmia, they come in various colours of yellow, red and orange, They grow from corms and can be late coming into growth in the spring so remember them when tidying your borders in the spring.


The new varieties are not so invasive as the old orange types which people might know better by the old name Monbretia.


Within a few years of planting you should have a nice clump that will have masses of flowers over quite a long period of late summer.





St Bridget Nurseries grow the following varieties.


Crocosmia Emberglow -Red

Crocosmia George Davidson - Yellow

Crocomia Emily Mckenzie -Orange with a dark centre blotch

Late autumn is probably one of the best times of year to plant fruit trees, so August is a good month to sit in the garden thinking about which type of apple you would like to be eating straight from your garden in years to come and what space you have.

St Bridgets sell their apples on a dwarf rootstock M27 and a semi dwarfing rootstock MM106.

St Bridget Nurseries have large selection of Apple varieties growing in our fields and this year looks like it could be a good year for bumper apple crop as there seems to be a lot of apples around on the trees.

Fruit trees are normally sold in different forms starting with bush, half standard and standards there are also the trained forms- cordons, fans and espalier.

APPLE ALLINGTON PIPPIN
APPLE ASHMEAD KERNAL
APPLE BLENHIEM ORANGE
APPLE BRAMLEY ORIGINAL
APPLE BRAMLEY SEEDLING
APPLE BOUNTIFUL
APPLE CHARLES ROSS
APPLE CHIVERS DELIGHT
APPLE COX'S ORANGE PIPPIN
APPLE DISCOVERY
APPLE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE
APPLE EGREMONT RUSSET
APPLE ELLISON'S ORANGE
APPLE EXETER CROSS
APPLE FIESTA
APPLE GALA
APPLE GOLDEN DELICIOUS
APPLE GREENSLEEVES
APPLE GRENADIER
APPLE HOWGATE WONDER
APPLE JAMES GRIEVE
APPLE JUPITER
APPLE LANES PRINCE ALBERT
APPLE LAXTONS FORTUNE
APPLE LAXTONS SUPERB
APPLE LORD LAMBOURNE
APPLE NEWTON WONDER
APPLE REV.WILKS
APPLE SPARTAN
APPLE STURMER PIPPIN
APPLE SUNSET
APPLE WINSTON
APPLE WORCESTER PEARMAIN

Picture showing St Bridget's tree propagator budding an ORNAMENTAL CHERRY TREE

Ornamental and Fruit trees.

At St Bridget Nurseries we propagate the vast majority of our trees on our nursery by budding or grafting, most of the budding is done during the summer and grafting normally during the late winter.

Budding is a method of propagation which involves putting a small bud of the variety of tree you want to propagate onto a rootstock,it is normally done with varieties of fruit trees and ornamental trees,the rootstocks are normally a common variety of the same type of tree which is a lot easier to propagate.

It will normally takes between 2-3 years to get a saleable size tree from budding and they are grown on to make half standard, standard ,cordons, fans, espalier fruit or feathered, half standard and standard Ornamental trees .

Contact St Bridget Nurseries for a copy of our price list and a full list of trees we sell or to visit the tree fields contact us to make an appontment.

Today's fact...

Plants can relieve everyday symptoms.

Plants can reduce stress levels.

So plants are vital to healthy lives.

So for first aid, try plant aid!

Make sure you have plants in the house/workplace as they are proven to aid concentration, clean the air, reduce headaches and reduce dust particles. If nothing else they look very pretty!

St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres have a lovely selection of indoor plants and colourful containers to brighten any indoor space.

Hydrangea's for August/ Sept

Hydrangea Paniculata Grandiflora,

Kyushu AGM,

Limelight,

Pink Diamond,

Are all varieties of Hydrangea that flower in August /early Sept they have big flowers in various shades of white/Pink colours.

To get the best flowers they have to pruned in a different way to the other Hydrangea varieties.

Prune them hard to approx 20-30cm in March just before they start to come into growth and they will produce lovely big flowers on the growth they make that same spring/summer. This will also keep them to a compact size of approx 1 metre.

St Bridget Nurseries sell the above varieties for £8.25 each

Hibiscus Red Heart

August can be a month in the garden when flowering shrubs are not so abundant, one that flowers throughout August and into September are Hibiscus.

They flower over a long period in a wide range of colours blues ,whites , pinks , reds and bicolours.

Hibiscus are deciduous so will loose their leaves in the autumn and are late coming into leaf in the spring.

St Bridget Nurseries graft their own plants in the winter and below are a list of varieties we grow.

Priced from £10.00

HIBISCUS
syriacus Ardens

Blue Bird AGM

Duc de Brabant
Elegantissimus
Hamabo AGM
Meehanii AGM
Purpureus Variegatus

Red Heart AGM
Totus Albus
Woodbridge AGM

Planting for bees...
You've probably read in the news that honey bee and bumble bee numbers are in decline. Much of this is due to new plant cultivars in gardens (more double blooms and cultivars with little or no pollen or nectar) and changes in agriculture (decline in flower rich hay meadows for example).
bees urgently need your help and considering bees help you (Einstein was reported to have said: "if something eliminated bees from our planet, mankind would perish within 4 years") then there's no excuse!
Plant early flowering plants to help the Queen Bee lay more eggs. Salix spp (Willow), Chaenomeles speciosa (quince) and Corylus (Hazels) are all good options. Then plant something for June when the colony has peak numbers, something like rosemary, Sambucus Nigra and Raspberries. Finally for Autumn when bees build up fat and protein to survive winter, try Agastache foeniculum, Lavandula Angustifolia (English lavender) and solidago (Golden Rod).
Further suitable plants can be found at St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres in Exeter and you can pick up a free advice leaflet.

Now's the time to prune your rambler roses, cutting out a third of flowered stems at their base.
Also prune established wisteria plants cutting new shoots back to 5 buds. Tie in where necessary.

Tomatoes continue to grow and ripen thanks to plenty of sun and strong green leaves - these convert nutrients in the soil to vital energy. To encourage the fullest flavour, feed every 10 days with Tomorite. It's full of energy, magnesium and seaweed extract to give you top quality tomatoes - that's why it's the country's No.1 best seller. Tomorite can be purchased from both St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres in Exeter.

HOT off the press...

This Friday buy a copy of the Sidmouth Herald and on the front page there will be a token for a free rose bush from St Bridget's! The only catch is that you have to be one of the first 85 people to claim a rose at each centre. Once the 85 have gone, they're gone!

This offer is part of the 85th anniversary celebrations at St Bridget Nurseries.

Where has the summer gone, we haven't seen alot of the sun this week but with the weather warm and some moisture in the ground there are plenty of plants that can be put in now.Shrubs , perennials and container grown roses can be planted as long as they are well watered when planted and when there are dry periods in late summer and autumn.

Don't forget to dead your summer bedding and hanging baskets to prolong the season and keep feeding them every couple off weeks.

As August approaches get in amongst your perennials and dead head them, not only just to tidy the borders up, but you may even get a few more flowers in mid/ late September.

Watch out for mildew etc on autumn flowering Asters

As the flowers go over and your borders begin to look a bit tired look out for different plants to flower in late summer /autumn, Sedums and Rudbeckias and Japanese Anemones to name just a few.

Invasive ladies...
Our office was swarming with these nasty critters last year. They are Harlequin Ladybirds. On a plus they do eat aphids BUT so do our native ladybirds and these are the ones who are under threat.
In general Harlequin Ladybirds are larger and have more spots that our native ladybirds.
Think you've found one? The University of Cambridge, CEH and Anglia Ruskin University are doing a survey of Harlequin ladybirds. You can use your mobile or the web to record your sightings. Just click here to find identification sheets and more info. Another great site for native ladybird fans is http://www.ladybird-survey.org/

Attract some wildlife to your garden, bees and butterflies love Buddlejas, there are numerous varieties to choose from,whites, purples, blues and reds.

To keep them to manageable size prune them hard every spring just before they come into growth to get a nice bushy plant, they get tall and woody if not pruned every year

St Bridgets grow the following varieties-a good selection of flower colours and foliage.

BUDDLEJA
alternifoiia AGM £8.00
davidii Black Knight AGM £7.00
Camberwell Beauty £7.00
Empire Blue AGM £7.00
Harlequin £7.00
* Marbled White £7.00
Nanho Blue AGM (Mongo) £7.00
Royal Red AGM £7.00
White Bouquet £7.00
globosa AGM £7.00
Lochinch £7.00
Pink Delight AGM £7.00

Give your south facing sunny wall an exotic look by planting a Passion flower.

They come in various colours and are interesting flowers to look at and children will be fasinated by them.

Plant them where they will get winter protection outside or in a cold greenhouse or conservatory.

St Bridgets grow a good selection from Caerulea which will generally survive outside in the south west through to varieties that need winter protection.

Prices range between £7.50-£7.75.

PASSIFLORA (PASSIONFLOWER)
caerulea AGM £7.50
Constance Elliot £7.50
rubra £7.50
Eden £7.75
x exoniensis £7.50
Lavender Lady (Amethyst) £7.50
mollissima £7.50
x violacea Victoria £7.50

Give the lawn a quick-acting summer feed, especially if a spring feed was not done.

Find suitable products in both St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres, you can get granular feeds or liquid ones. Remember if you apply feed by hand always wear gardening gloves.

Summer Sale coming soon...

Hot off the press - St Bridget Garden Centres in Exeter are going to be having a furniture frenzy and summer outdoor living sale starting this Friday (23rd).

There are some fantastic offers on furniture including some beautiful benches. Plus there's going to be 25% off chimeneas.

Why not visit today and start planning what you will buy this weekend?

An easy to grow, summer flowering shrub for July is Perovskia Blue Spire, it flowers for a long period between July /August.

Grows to approx 1 metre tall.

Prune hard to about 30cm in Feb/ March and you will get masses of blue flowers during the summer.

Available at St Bridget Nurseries garden centres priced at £6.65 each

Another job that can be done is to cut back Lavender flowers that have finished flowering to keep the plants bushy and prevent them getting woody stems.

Unseasonably blustery again today for July, don't forget to stake your tall growing late flowering perennials and dahlias etc before they blow over, don't wait for them to be blown flat on the ground just as they come into flower.

Keep an eye on your peas, beans and outdoor tomatoes which can also get damaged with summer gales.

HERBACEOUS BORDERS FOR SUMMER COLOUR

July and August are the best months for herbaceous borders but there are perennials you can plant for colour from late winter right through the year to late autumn..

A few to look out for in July, are Liatris, Phlox and Coreopsis all flowering over a long period look out for them at one our 2 garden centres.

Another blustery and showery morning here in Exeter, Roses don't like the damp wet weather so those flowers that have finished flowering should be dead headed, prune them to a bud and you may get a second flush of flowers late August / Sept.

St Bridget Nurseries rose field is open for you to view our field grown roses, which is much better than looking at pictures in book and you can smell the scent as you walk around.

They are at our Clyst st Mary garden centre on the Sidmouth road just outside of Exeter.

They are open daily 9-5 Mon - Sat and 10.30 - 4 on Sundays.

We're back!

Yes it's been a while hasn't it? Sorry. Truth is that this blog was never written by an android, there is a person behind the words and that person had a baby. But, the person is now back and I'm going to be accompanied this time by a fantastic horticulturalist so you'll get more variety, more information and hopefully more blogs!

To celebrate we've changed the format a bit - hope you like the new design?!

It's raining today in Exeter and is a more typical English summer day! It's a day for indoor gardening and what better job than sorting through all those half used packet of seeds? We've all got them - admit it. Somewhere in the shed or under the kitchen sink they're lying there with the end rolled over. Get them out and check sow by dates then put them in an air tight container. At St Bridget's, there is now 50% off all Suttons seeds until the 21st August so why not stock up now?