CONIFERS – THE PERFECT SOLUTION FOR THE NO-SPACE, NO TIME GARDENER’S IN THE SOUTH WEST

Today’s busy lifestyles and hectic schedules mean that many people are short of leisure time and may struggle to look after a garden. PlantforLife, in conjunction with the Association of British Conifer Growers, found that over half (57%) of people in the South West want a garden that is easy to care for, with more than a quarter (29%) of those surveyed saying they want to enjoy a great-looking garden.

Since garden aesthetics are still hugely important and people are short of leisure time, there is a need for plants which are manageable and easy to maintain. However, people still want their gardens to have the same impact as large, well cared-for gardens.
Conifers fit all of the above criteria so they are an ideal solution for many gardens. Conifers are a wonderful way of adding colour and shape to the garden. What’s more, they last all year round – unlike many other plants. Many of them change colour throughout the year, giving gardens fabulous splashes of orange, blue or purple in the autumn and winter, when other plants are dormant.
When thinking of conifers, many people associate them with the large and fast-growing Leylandii conifer. While these can be very useful and magnificent trees, they can be too much for small gardens if not properly trimmed. However, there’s a lot more to the conifer family than tall trees. There is a huge variety of shapes and sizes of conifer.
Conifers are also fantastically versatile. They can be used in containers or as dramatic standalone features in the garden. They can give height to borders or create a formal look around a front door. Their beauty is striking when frost or snow covers their shape in winter.
Many conifers are also very easy to look after. As long as they are planted in the right spot, and there are many positions in the garden that would be suitable, conifers only need an occasional trim or prune to keep them looking good. They will need watering to get them established, but once growing will need little attention and will provide year-round interest. They are virtually maintenance-free and great value as they will perform for years to come.
The fourth National Conifer Week takes place from 27th September – 5th October 2008 and St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres in Exeter are brimming with home-grown conifers and information on how they can add a contemporary look to your garden. Additionally, visit www.plantforlife.info/conifer for conifer suggestions, pictures, gardening advice.

Nursery Plant Sale - EXCLUSIVE BARGAIN EVENT!

With new season stock nearly ready for sale, St Bridget Nurseries' nursery department has some older stock that they would like to offer you at greatly reduced prices. All selected plants in this sale are just £3 each, which represents over half price savings for many of the plants! The sale takes place this Saturday (27th September) between 9am and 12 noon. Follow signs through the garden centre plant area in Old Rydon Lane, Exeter, EX2 7JY. Get there early as we plants are expected to sell fast at this very special event!

Job vacancy at St Bridget Nurseries

St Bridget Nurseries' Clyst St Mary Garden Centre are advertising for a deputy garden centre manager. The deputy garden centre manager will be part of a team of 15 people working at the Clyst St Mary, Exeter garden centre & will help deliver quality advice & assistance to our customers whilst enabling the company to meet its financial targets. As a senior member of the company the role is flexible, the deputy garden centre manager maybe required to work at other sites operated by the company.
This is a full time position, 5 days a week including 1 w/e day.
You'll respect the importance of driving sales and exceeding customer expectations through the development, encouragement and recognition of your team. If this sounds like you please call 01392 873672 or e-mail marketing@stbridgetnurseries.co.uk for a job application pack.

Closing date for applications is 30th September 2008.

Berry Good!

Blackberries and their relatives loganberries and boysenberries produce fruit on stems produced the previous year. To ensure a good crop every year, cut back all canes that fruited this year to the base and leave the newer cane shoots to fruit next year!

Soft fruit plants including raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries and blackberries will be on sale in St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centres at the end of October - order yours now to ensure you get the varieties you want. Call 01392 873672

Winter Hanging Baskets

The basic principles of making a winter hanging basket is exactly the same as a summer one. Plant your basket during September or October. If you use a wire basket line it first (you can buy liners from a garden centre like St Bridget Nurseries). Fill the basket half full with compost like a multi-purpose or if you plan to plant heathers use an ericaceous compost. Start by planting one central evergreen centrepiece like a clipped box (buxus), cordyline (the green ones are more frost hardy that the red and purple ones), dwarf conifers or tiny choisya. Around this plant some trailing plants like ivy. For colour try any winter flowering bedding plants like primulas, winter flowering pansies, violas, cyclamen (as illustrated), or winter flowering heathers. Also plant some bulbs like iris for January and crocus for February flowers. Winter hanging baskets are best placed in a sheltered sunny spot, keep an eye on moisture - the basket should be moist but not soggy.

Bulb Bonanza!

St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres in Exeter are packed with beautiful spring flowering bulbs. Now is the best time to buy them as it ensures you get the best specimens and the widest choice of varieties. Large bulbs tend to give the best flower displays such as daffodils and tulips. It's best to plant most bulbs as soon as you can but tulip bulbs may benefit being planted later (October/November) so prevent them becoming diseased.

Tulips like to be grown in a partial shade or full sun position and a sheltered one so that the wind and rain don't batter their flowers. Tulips like fertile well drained soil and are ideal for pots/containers. Plant bulbs about 10-20cm apart and at three times or more their own depth in the soil. You can also force tulips to give an earlier floral display. Simply plant in pots in November and keep in a cool dark place. Once buds emerge (in December) move to a cool, light spot. After two weeks bring indoors for flowers in February or keep in the cool for longer if you want to delay flowering a bit longer.

Look after Orchids

Orchids are simply stunning houseplants and they are really easy to care for. To help you feed your plants there are lots of new drip feeders on the market. You simply cut the end of these small tubes, turn them upside down and they very slowly drip their contents into the soil surrounding your orchid. St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centres sell these 32ml feeders for just 99p each. Plus they have beautiful orchids, orchid pots and orchid compost for sale.

I'd like to grow a tree that giraffes like to eat!

The staff at St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres in Exeter like to be asked challenging questions to test their horticultural knowledge but one customer recently had them baffled! The customer approached the member of staff and said, 'I'm looking for a tree, I don't know what it is called but giraffes like to eat it!' Intrigued the staff were about to call the local zoo but the customer managed to spot the plant for sale in the garden centre and the tree was identified as Robinia (False Acacia) pseudoacacia Frisia!

So next time you have giraffes in your garden you may want to protect these plants.

NURSERY PLANT SALE

With new season stock nearly ready for sale the nursery department at St Bridget's has some older stock that they would like to offer you at greatly reduced prices! A limited section of the nursery (in Old Rydon Lane, Exeter, Devon, UK) will be opened to the public on Saturday 30th August between 9am and 1pm only. Follow signs to the gate at the top of the garden centre plant area. Get there early as plants are expected to sell fast at this very special event!

JAPANESE ACER WEEK - Monday 25th to Sunday 31st August 2008.

During this special week celebrating the beauty of Japanese Acers with their vibrant colour and amazing textures, St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres in Exeter have two special offers in place.Buy any £15 Japanese Acer (one in a 3 litre container) and purchase a decorative pot to plant it in and you will receive £2.50 off the pot. Receive £2.50 off for every £15 Acer and pot combination you buy.

If you spend over £75 on Japanese Acers you will receive FREE delivery! Offer applies to a spend of £75 or more on Japanese Acers only. Free delivery is to zones A and B (normally charged at £4.50 and £8.75 respectively). Delivery will be made on a day set by St Bridget Nurseries. Delivery prices to other delivery zones are discounted under this offer.

FREE - WHILE STOCKS LAST

Receive a free Leptospermum when you spend £25 or more in a single transaction at either St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centres. Offer excludes sales orders. The variety of Leptospermum will be chosen by St Bridget Nurseries and only includes varieties that are in a 3 litre pot and normally sold at £7.50.
Offer is only available while stocks last.
Only one Leptospermum per customer spending £25 or more.

HYACINTHS FOR CHRISTMAS

August and September is the best time to plant hyacinth bulbs to flower for Christmas. Simply purchase prepared hyacinths (bulbs that are specially heat treated) and plant in bulb fibre compost in a suitable pot. The neck of the bulb should just show above the compost. Place the pot somewhere cold and dark for roots to develop before the leaves and flowers, this takes between 8-12 weeks. A shed or an outhouse is ideal to start them off.

In December, move pots to a slightly warmer and lighter place like a porch or spare room until the flower buds are showing. At this time, they can be moved to a full light position like a windowsill. careful not to put pots in a place too warm as the flower stems will grow too fast and flop over, you can always stake the flowers with small split canes though.

St Bridget's Win Best In Show!

St Bridget Nurseries won Best In Show for their floral display at this year's Taunton Show. The display was packed with colour from stunning herbaceous perennials to taller trees and shrubs. All plants used in the display were grown on the nursery in Exeter and are available to buy from both St Bridget Garden Centres.

Time for a trim

Many hedges can be trimmed now. Before you start always check that there are no nesting birds. Use the right tools for the job. For small leafed hedges use shears or a hedge trimmer for large leafed hedges (like laurel and holly) use secateurs so you can neatly cut the stems.

Children's Holiday Project - Decorate and grow!

Buy a terracotta or plastic pot about 25cm in diameter. If you use a terracotta pot, paint it with PVA glue to seal it and prolong the painting. Once dry paint the outside with emulsion or acrylic paint in your child's chosen colour. Let the pot dry in the sun. Let your child decorate the pot by painting a pattern - you could even help make stamps from potatoes or sponges - think of fun shapes like flower heads, hearts and swirls. If you go wrong, paint over with the base colour and try again! To help preserve the painting apply another layer of PVA glue to the dry painted surface then fill the pot with compost. Either sow with seeds or pre-grown plants. You could either have a colourful flower pot or what about a vegetable or salad pot? At St Bridget Nurseries Garden Centres you'll find the pots, seeds and compost you need plus a lovely range of gardening tools for children including small trowels, watering cans and gardening gloves.

Flower Power

Summer flowering shrubs such as philadelphus, jasmine and weigela will benefit if you cut back flowering shoots to strong new growth immediately after all the flowers have faded.
Encouraging new growth ensures the plant carries flowers all over the plant instead of just at the top. To give shrubs the energy to produce plenty of flower bearing stems, dress around the roots with a slow release food like Miracle-Gro Slow Release Rose & Shrub food. This contains a controlled release plant food that will supply all the major nutrients over the next six months to ensure good sturdy growth.

This product is available from both St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres in Exeter.

Production Rose Field Now Open...

Would a garden without a rose smell so sweet? St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres have a wonderful selection of roses in their plant areas for you to buy today or alternatively visit the production rose field while you are visiting the Sidmouth Road, Clyst St Mary Garden Centre. It's just a short walk from the bottom of the car park. You will be able to stroll through thousands of roses that we the company are growing in Exeter. If you find a rose you like why not order it for the autumn when the roses will be dug from the field? St Bridget Nurseries have a delivery and mail order service. Ask their staff for further information or call 01392 876281.

Tomatoes

It seems like everyone is growing tomatoes these days. What help can we give to ensure bumper crops?

Tomatoes certainly are a favourite home-grown vegetable or rather fruit! You can grow them in a greenhouse, in the veg garden, in pots on the patio or even in hanging baskets! A little care and attention now will ensure bumper crops throughout the summer. First you need to make sure they are kept well and evenly watered – if the soil or compost dries out then the crop is reduced, the fruit may split and even suffer from blossom end rot –that’s when the bottom of the fruit turns black. Crops growing in grow-bags are always the worst affected as the compost dries out so quickly. A drip watering system will help get over this. Tomatoes are also hungry feeders, and need a weekly diet of liquid tomato fertiliser – this not only improves the crop, but it improves the flavour too! Make sure your plants are well supported – so tie them in regularly to their supports, which should be strong and sturdy. Finally, always remove sideshoots from upright cordon varieties – this isn’t necessary, by the way, with the smaller bush varieties – then remove yellowing or dying leaves and watch out for pests and diseases and treat accordingly.

VOTE AND WIN!
This weekend is the last chance you can vote for St Bridget Nurseries in the Greatest Awards 2008.
There are three categories that the company is entering:
The Greatest Plant Sales Team,
The Greatest Garden Centre Team
To vote, go to www.thegreatestawards.co.uk or text
PLANT ST BRIDGET to 87023
or GARDEN ST BRIDGET to 87023
Text votes cost 50p plus your normal charges, at least 23p of each vote will go to The Greenfingers Appeal which creates gardens at Children's Hospices.

You can also vote for your favourite restaurant at St Bridget Nurseries' Garden Centres.
vote for either:
The Plantsmans Cafe at Old Rydon Lane
or The Coffee House at Clyst St Mary

YOUR VOTE COULD WIN YOU A £50 NATIONAL GARDEN GIFT TOKEN
VOTE NOW!

St Bridget Nurseries gets into the Neighbourhood...

On Monday, one of the senior managers at St Bridget Nurseries got out of the office and went to nearby Exeter neighbourhood of Clyst Heath thanks to the Digby Residents' Association.

First stop was Clyst Heath Nursery and Community Primary School where the children have grown Snap Dragons from seed. Each class was judged to see who grew the 'biggest and brightest' Snapdragon as part of the summer gardening competition. There were some fantastic entries and judging a winner was really difficult. some of the classes had even considered their presentation using coloured sand to decorate the top of the soil and tissue paper around the pots. Every child taking part will receive a certificate and the winners are going to be presented with a prize and framed certificate tonight.

After leaving the school, St Bridget Nurseries went for a walk around the houses to see the entries in the 'Best Front Garden' and 'Best planted container' classes. Again judging was really difficult as everyone had clearly put in so much effort. The judges were looking for eye catching designs, that used the space available including the vertical (which is quite often forgotten in gardens) along with good plant health.

The winners will be announced at the Clyst Heath Nursery and Community Primary School fete tonight starting from 5pm. The Lord Mayor, Councillor Paul Smith, will be attending the school fete from 6.00 pm to present certificates and prizes which include vouchers for St Bridget Nurseries.