Author Archives: Tammy Falloon

July Jobs in the Kitchen Garden

July Jobs

July is known to be a hot and dry month so a lot of watering in the vegetable garden is necessary. Aside from this, there are many other ‘July jobs’ to be done to ensure a fruit and vegetable yield as high as possible! Here are the jobs that need doing this July;

Vegetables

1. Reduce water loss by mulching to trap the water and hoeing to break up the soil.
2. Sow the final seeds; you can still sow these in July
1. Turnips, beetroot, carrots, chicory, spring cabbage and radishes
3. Plant out; broccoli, leeks and cabbage are all ready to be planted out into firm soil now
4. Pepper plants – should be moved into a larger pot
5. Tomato plants – pinch out side shoots and feed them with a fertiliser such as Tomorite once a week. Also remove leaves underneath the first fruit to avoid disease. Ensure that when you water them the moisture is spread evenly to avoid split fruit or blossom rot.
6. Aubergine plants – get rid of the growing tip after you count around 5 fruits to allow them to put their energy into this.
7. Courgette plants– also get rid of the growing tip. Picking young fruit regularly will enable more fruit to grow.
8. Runner beans– harvest beans regularly as this wills top them becoming stringy and will also allow new beans to develop.
9. Check often for disease, blackfly and butterfuly eggs and get rid of anything that you find including any dead foliage around the plants.

Fruits

1. Give fruit plants a good soaking in any dry spells, especially those with swelling fruits such as apples.
2. Net around your fruit plants to deter birds.
3. Give the fruit trees a thinning to help give a larger yield.
4. Give fruit plants that are in containers an high potash feed such as Tomorite.
5. Prune apricot, peach, plum and cherry trees and blackcurrant bushes once you have harvested.

Ask our experts in store for any more advice!

Entertaining in the Garden

Entertaining outside – our guide

Hosting in the Holidays

You have inevitably spent the past few months labouring over your garden and making it look beautiful. As the weather continues to be fine into July, finally it is time to reap the benefits of your hard work.

Summer is the perfect time to host dinners and parties outside with friends and family. Follow these tips to create a warm, inviting and enjoyable space to share with people this summer!

The garden essentials

Clear up; although it’s an obvious step, it can make a huge difference! Simply sweeping away leaves, removing any rubbish and hoeing out a few weeds in the patio can smarten up the whole space. If you have a pressure washer it would be great to use that on a patio area or dirty walls, although a sponge and hose will often do the job. Small things such as washing the dirt and muck off pots with warm soapy water will also help!

2. Shape up; trim hedges or any overgrown plants to make them look tame. Be sure to clear any pathways to prevent any unwanted trips or slips!

3. Lawn care; hopefully the effort that you have put into your lawn this year has paid off! In this weather it is necessary to mow the lawn regularly, as often as twice a week. This will keep it in good condition and ready for any spontaneous entertaining! Now is also the perfect chance to add a summer fertiliser feed to your lawn to promote high quality growth.

4. A lick of paint; does your fence, furniture or wooden patio look a little bit worse for wear? A lick of paint or varnish can give it a new lease of life. However it might be time to treat yourself to a new set of garden furniture!

Planting

5. Add some colour; if you don’t already have sufficient colour in your garden, why not simply add a few roses. These are always attractive and should last you through the summer! Another instant solution for patios is to fill some nice pots with colourful bedding plants that are in flower at the moment. We have a huge range of these and a variety of colours to choose from in store. These can also be planted along borders to add colour without pots!

6. Go bold and make a statement; maybe your garden is lacking interest this year. A great way to add another dimension and really make a statement is to add a large or unusual ornament! Alternatively you could plant an interesting plant in a pot as a centrepiece. We would recommend a stunning Japanese maple (acer) that your guests won’t be able to miss!

Creating the perfect space

Everyone wants their garden to be a sanctuary in summer that they, and equally their guests, love to spend time in.

1. Furniture; furniture is of course an essential if you want to host and even spend time in your garden. Pick furniture that suits your garden and has the capacity to seat your usual number. Pair your furniture with an umbrella and create a space that can be used both in the heat of the day and then later on in the evening.

2. Accessorise; it is a much better idea to buy sturdy and long lasting furniture over flouncy and flimsy furniture. However this doesn’t mean that it can’t look great! The addition of cushions and throws can quickly make a simple furniture set look elegant and colourful!

3. Atmosphere is essential; lights in the garden add so much ambience. Invest in some solar lights, these really are an investment as they are completely free to run and there’s no cost of buying batteries! Place these strategically to light areas of interest, maybe beneath your favourite tree and along paths to guide the way!

4. Night scent; are you hoping to spend evenings in your garden? Plant some honeysuckle which is fragrant through the night!

5. Bringing your kitchen outside; another great idea for a BBQ fan is to fun to plant some herbs near the BBQ area. They create a brilliant aroma and they are within reach to try some interesting herb combinations on the BBQ.

6. Make it fun! Read our blog post about our high quality fun lawn games that you can play with guests!

Outdoor family fun & games!

Outdoor fun & games!

We want to bring together families and the great outdoors this summer! Outdoor games are wonderful to play together as a family and will keep children captivated for hours.

The games that we stock are high quality wooden games that will stay with your family for years into the future! They also make excellent gifts to families and children this season, providing a summer full of outdoor fun.

We currently stock the following;

Croquet set; Not only is croquet one of the most traditional English Lawn games, but it is also hugely entertaining. Simply get all of the balls through the hoops before your opposition, in reality not as simple as it sounds! A classic family game for up to four players! (£30.00)

Quoits; Quoits is a great lawn game that tests accuracy and becomes competitive very quickly! With easy to follow rules it is perfect for families with younger children and can be played as teams or individuals. Simply throw your rope hoop over the wooden sticks from the established distance and get the number of points marked below the stick you managed to get the hoop over! (£12.00)

Giant Tic Tac Toe; The fun of noughts and crosses on a giant scale! Enjoy this simple game on the lawn by laying out the large rope marker and playing as with the wooden noughts and crosses. (£33.00)

Wooden Tumbling Tower; An excellent game for families of all ages and those with younger children. Assembling the tower before the game is equally as fun as tactfully removing the bricks one at a time until the ‘loser’ causes the whole structure to collapse! (£45.00)

Deluxe Flying Ring; a great toy for children to play with in the garden practising their accuracy and trying to learn the skill of throwing a flying ring! (£4.50)

Be waterwise this Summer

It’s great to be waterwise and get into such habits at home, not least in times of summer drought. Here are our top waterwise gardening tips for this summer:

Timing

Watering Accessories at our garden centres

Good timing and good placement of water are extremely important in making a little, or less, go a long way. Be sure to water the base of the plant and the soil rather than spreading water over the leaves and general area; this can also prevent the spread of disease. Always water either first thing in the morning or in the cool of the evening. This minimises the amount of water you will loose to evaporation and in the evening the humidity is lower which reduces the risk of spreading disease.

If drought does kick in and you find your plants extremely dry the best thing to do is to give any suffereing plants a good heavy watering. This is much more effective than frequent but sparse watering as a heavy watering allows the roots to get some water.

Use Grey water

Grey water is the term given to water used in households, although it isn’t necessarily grey. Whilst we may not want to drink our bath water, plants aren’t so bothered. It is estimated that UK households use 29% of mains water for baths and washing up. You could siphon bath water to fill watering cans and take your washing up bowl outside to water your plants. Plants are not harmed by detergents or soaps however you should not use water with bleach or strong detergents and dishwasher salts in it. Just ensure that you let the water temperature cool before you use it and don’t store grey water as this will breed germs. Equally we don’t recommend using grey water on crops you will eat raw.

Prioritise plants

Most established plants in borders, established trees and shrubs will cope with a period of drought and green up again after rain comes. Prioritise your watering needs to plants that really need it such as new plantings, plants in containers, seeds and seedlings and crops (fruit and vegetables).

Mulch and remove weeds

It is imperative to remove weeds in times of water shortage as these can take precious water from the soil for their own use. By keeping on top of your weeds and hoeing regularly you can ensure that all of the water you give your plants is going directly to them! Mulching is also a great way to conserve water. To mulch, laying down straw, or any chosen mulching material, beneath your plants and on top of the soil. This can prevent moisture being lost from the soil by trapping it in.

Go automatic

Installing a timer controlled irrigation system in your garden can limit the amount of time and water used in your garden. You can fit control timers (such as those from Hozelock or Flo pro) to your tap connected to hoses. These in turn connect to drip feeders or sprinklers. Drip irrigation reduces water loss through evaporation. The drips are fed directly to the roots where plants need the water. Low pressure systems can even be fitted to rainwater butts.

Harvest water

You can install a water butt to any rainwater downpipe you have on the outside of your building. It’s simple to install and you can link several water butts together. Collecting rainwater is free and means that you have a ready supply of garden water when the sun comes out to play! Be sure to clean your water butts annually to eliminate any disease.

Find everything you need for waterwise gardening at our Exeter based garden centres.

Pet Friendly Planting

Top garden tips for pet owners

If you have a cat or dog that has a liking for your garden plants then this is our guide to plants that you should avoid in your garden. Most animals won’t eat plants other than grass but there are a few that can cause problems for your beloved pet.

Our nursery dog out in the meadow.

Hi from Twix

I’m Twix. Tammy, the MD of St Bridget Nurseries, is my mum so I probably have a little more plant knowledge than some other pets.

Sometimes other dogs, cats and I can, admittedly, eat anything on offer even when we shouldn’t. I’m a labrador so truthfully, I’m always eating! However, with this simple guide of what ‘us pets’ like, and don’t like, you can make sure that even if we do eat something in the house or garden our health will be OK (even if we are in the dog’s house)!

Indoor plants that I don’t mind;

We know that indoor plants are trendy and good for your health but I was so confused when i first saw a tree inside at the Garden Centre. There are loads of indoor plants that dogs really don’t mind, but you can’t blame us if we accidentally knock a pot or two over! The following are fine

Spider plants
Orchids
Succulents (but if they’re spikey ones please keep them out of my reach- I don’t want to be tempted by the devil!)
Anything in the palm family

Avoid….

I’m mostly ok with indoor plants but please don’t keep Mother in Law’s Tongue because they are really toxic to me and my friends. Also, be careful about where you buy your plants- some pots have a cocoa shell mulch on top which is actually poisonous to us cats and dogs.

Outdoor plants;

On behalf of pets universally, we are sorry to pet owners who are also garden enthusiasts as there are several outdoor plants we can’t stand and could make us quite poorly. These include;

Azaleas
Rhododendrons
Irises
Chrysanthemums
Begonias
Peonies
Dahlias
Lily of the valley (especially toxic to cats)
Tulips
Hyacinths (especially the bulbs)
Laburnum
Wisterias
Clematis
Cherry laurel
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Daffodil (especially the bulbs)

Whilst most dogs won’t even glance at these, there are many that like to dog up plants and have a munch. All of the plants listed above can make us sick in various ways including tummy issues, vomiting, skin irritation and in many other nasty ways that I would rather avoid. I’m sure you would like to avoid the vet bill too?!

Solutions

If you love some of these plants, you could try a hanging basket for the bedding plants to keep them out of reach of our mouths. Alternatively you could try a gated garden making a part of the garden we can’t get to. If you didn’t hide these plants well enough and you suspect that I have eaten one then you should really contact my vet immediately.

You could also plant species that won’t harm us. We absolutely love roses, sunflowers, pansies, petunias and gerberas. We can appreciate their beauty and we can try with all our might not to eat them; who knows if we will be successful! We also love all those smelly herbs like rosemary and thyme, the smell always tickles my nose when i run past and sometimes the strong flavour will put us off eating them.

If you aren’t sure, ask the team in store for more advice!

Healthy Houseplants

Houseplants are attractive and a great way to bring some interest to a possibly dull area. Yet they have also been proven to have numerous physical and mental benefits.

Visual Attraction

WHite orchid makes a great indoor plant, especially good for a bedroom plant to help with sleep.

A White Orchid is easy to care for and a beautiful houseplant. Also known to help with sleep.

On a visual level, we are relaxed by seeing greenery which will in turn help with optimism and reducing stress. Caring for plants can reduce loneliness and also bring about positivity. As well as mood boosting, having the plants around us is suggested to aid productivity and concentration – making them great for an office environment.

Reducing harmful VOCs

Whilst we may try our hardest to keep our living spaces clean and tidy, air quality may slip our attention. Unfortunately indoor environments can sometimes be between 5 and 10 times more polluted than outdoor environments. A build up of things known as ‘volatile organic compounds’ or VOCs can cause this. VOCs are released by regular household items such as appliances, paints, detergents and furniture. Science closely associates polluted air with headaches, sore and itchy eyes, dry skin and even fatigue and nausea. Plants can clean the air of these compounds by removing them- the importance of this is much more prominent in winter when we keep our windows closed and have a lot less air circulation.

Furthermore, plants take control of the humidity in a room which is an important factor in preventing the spread of viral infections, yet one that we struggle to control.

Photosynthesis; providing us with oxygen

As plants carry out the opposite process to our respiration; known as photosynthesis, they take in the carbon dioxide that we breathe out and provide oxygen for us to breathe in. This is a great benefit of plants.

Our recommended plants

Sansevieria Mother In Law’s Tongue, photosynthesises overnight releasing oxygen to help sleep.

– An orchid in the bedroom is a brilliant plant to aid sleep. Orchids photosynthesise and release oxygen overnight to help breathing, health and create a peaceful sleeping environment.
– Mother in Law’s Tongue/ Snake plant is widely known for its capacity to improve air quality.
– Lavender whilst traditionally grown outdoors, could be grown on a bedroom windowsill as its soothing and calming smell that promotes sleep.

Ideas for indoor plants

Something easy to start with…

Succulents make great houseplants as they are so easy to care for.

An alpine succulent- easy to grow and a trendy, attractive plant.

Maybe try a succulent if this is your first time keeping a plant indoors. We have a huge range in our alpine section of both of our centres. Start with a house leek (sempervivum) or another succulent from our alpine range, only £2.oo each or 3 for £5.oo.

Cacti are also very low maintenance and thrive in a windowsill with sunlight. Take care not to overwater them, the most effective ways are either misting them regularly or feeding them from beneath with a saucer under the plant.

Give it a go- put a plant in your work area, try putting a trailing plant over a shelf, filling an empty space or corner with a tall pot plant or even planting some smaller plants in teacups. Plants bring so much interest to a room and once you start seeing the benefits of a few plants we are sure you will grow to love indoor plants!

We have a range of houseplants in both of our stores and knowledgeable staff who would be happy to give advice on which to choose and how to care for them!

Budget Garden Ideas | Inspire Magazine Editorial

Budget Garden Ideas

The following is an editorial written for the Wilkinson Grant Inspire Magazine for Spring/ Summer 2018. It was written by our Managing Director Tammy Falloon about how to improve the appearance of your garden to help the sale of a property. All of these suggestions can also be used as budget garden ideas to enhance your garden- regardless of whether or not you are selling!

Adding value

A well-maintained garden can add a decent percentage to your property value, but if you are looking to move house the last thing you’ll want to do is invest in it. There’s no need to spend a fortune though as a few well thought out additions can reap dividends and can move with you!

We suggest you do the following;

A planted container showing that a small pot can bring a huge punch of colour.

1. Think of your garden as an outside room and therefore give it a good clean up. Mow the lawn, sweep up debris and pull out all of the weeds.
2. Invest in some solar lighting. Any evening viewings will benefit from the warm inviting atmosphere and daytime viewers will see that the space can be useable at night. You can take the lights with you when you move and since they are solar powered there’s no running cost.
3. Privacy is important so if you have an unsightly view or nosy neighbour consider investing in a fence panel or some large plants in pots to disguise the gap.
4. Be sure to de-clutter and organise any outbuildings or sheds that you may have. Buyers will be looking for as much storage and living space as possible.
5. Use props. Show how functional the outdoor space can be by perhaps getting some garden furniture or a BBQ. You can also buy outdoor mirrors which give the illusion of more space. If you get the chance, dress your furniture too- a lit patio heater or candle will add to the atmosphere.
6. Jazz up your front garden. Most buyers will be sat in their cares looking and assessing from the road before their viewing so make sure that the front garden gives a positive impression. Buy brightly coloured hanging baskets and plant up colourful containers with plants. Remember you can take these with you to your new home.
7. Don’t forget to add some plants indoors too. Currently there is a real trend for green houseplants and their health benefits. Succulents are really fashionable plants and very easy to look after.
8. Appeal to all the senses, pick some plants with a fragrance. You want to be the house that is remembered by your potential buyer so position some fragrant plants near a door or pathway for some added impact. Plants like roses, lavender and rosemary are always favourites.

Our top plants for colour this spring and summer

– May: Bedding plants. These plants pack a punch when it comes to bold, brash colour. They are typically annuals (meaning that they only last one season) and ideal for planting in pots, hanging baskets and the front of plant borders. Look out for Petunias, Geraniums and Lobelias in particular.
An Aquilegia

– June: Herbaceous perennials. These are the plants made for cottage gardens and chocolate box photos. They are goof value in that the plants die down in winter but will re-shoot the following spring. Our favourites include Hardy Geraniums, Peonies, Heleniums and Aquilegias.

– July: Roses. We grow over 200 cultivars of roses including the English David Austin varieties. If you want to grow a rose in a pot then take a look at our patio varieties. Our favourites include Flower Power Gold and Sweet Dream.

– August: We love Callistemon (commonly called the bottle brush plant). Perfect for a warm sheltered spot this shrub has vivid flower spikes that look like red bottle brushes. We also love late summer flowering herbaceous plants like Echinacea, Phygelius and Bergamot (Monarda).
An Aster

– September: Sedums are a must. They look great in pots, attracting lots of butterflies and bees. They are super low maintenance plants and when the flowers go over, the brown heads are also attractive. Asters are also a great pick with their daisy like flowers that last into the autumn.

Summer pond care; beating the algae

Pond Care

Beating the Algae

Pond keepers often face the hugely common problem of algae. Fortunately it’s a problem that can be overcome. This blog post will help with pond care by differentiating between the two predominant types of algae and discussing the best ways to get rid of them.

Identifying the type of algae

Most pond keepers will either experience one of two types of algae. The first is referred to as “Green water” which is thousands of microscopic algae cells floating about the water which gives the water a green colour. The second is filamentous algae which is often referred to as blanketweed.

The cause of algae

Like pond plants, algae thrives in an environment with lots of sunlight and nutrients in the water. Algae feeds on nutrients that are produced by organic matter such as leaves decaying at the bottom of the pond.

Getting rid of it

There are many algae treatments on the market which ultimately treat the symptom (the algae itself) but not the cause of it, which is the high nutrient load in the water. These can act as a great quick fix to get your pond looking good. We recommend the tetra algofin which we have in store. However it is also important to deal with the root of the problem to prevent the problem recurring.

The key to an algae free pond is to ensure regular seasonal maintenance is carried out.

Our seasonal recommendations

– Summer- Time to enjoy your pond , however your filter will be working overtime with all the increased sunlight so make sure your filter foams are cleaned at least once a week. Imagine how inefficient your hoover would be if you never cleaned it!?…. it’s the same for your pond filter!
– Autumn- Cut back any “leggy” plants and any dead leaves on your pond plants. If you are lucky enough to own a pond vacuum then this is the time use it. This will remove any unwanted sediment from the bottom of the pond. It is also important to net the pond. Doing this prevents any falling leaves falling into the pond; these will become a food source (nutrient) for algae in the spring when the water temperatures increase.
– Winter- Ensure any leaves and other debris that fall into the pond are removed and that an area of the pond is kept ice free with the use of a pond heater and pond pump,
– Spring– With all your hard work over the Autumn and winter there should be minimal waste products in the pond which will put you on a good footing for minimal algae issues in the summer. It’s worth using a pond vacuum again to remove any remaining sediment before the summer period hits . Pair this with replacing the U.V bulb in your pond filter. A new set of foams for the filter is a late Christmas present your pond will thank you for..

Other tips for a great pond this summer;

-top up your pond regularly as water evaporates faster in hot and windy weather

Preferably fill up your pond with rain water from a water butt. This water is a better temperature and has less nutrients for the algae to feed on. If you are filling a pond (with fish) from the tap then do this gradually. This is becasuse the cold water can shock and harm the fish. Alternatively, fill a bucket and leave it to warm in the sun before pouring it into the pond.

-remove any floating weed as it appears by twirling it our with a stick or garden rod

Be sure to leave anything that you remove from the pond on the edge for around 24 hours> This allows any trapped creatures inside the matter to return to their habitat. To make sure smaller creatures can escape we suggest rinsing the weeds in a bucket.

Planting a medicinal herb garden

Planting your own medicinal herb garden

Real benefits – myths aside!

Without a doubt there are numerous ‘old wives tales’ about medicinal herb gardens- herbs, plants and their magical cures. However, several plants have truly been shown (through lab tests and controlled trials) to have numerous health benefits.

Putting the myths and tall tales behind us, we are interested in how we can use plants from our own gardens to help our health! This can be both money saving and enjoyable, and in the mix of it all may be able to treat some common illnesses and ailments.

Herbs are certainly not hard to grow and you can even select a few which interest you and try them in a small little ‘medicinal herb pot’. It is also surprisingly easy to prepare them into usable forms.

In this blog you can learn the different ways to prepare medicinal herbs and our top 7 herbs for growing in a physic garden!

Picking and storing;

Unsurprisingly, the best time to use the herbs and flowers is when they are fresh. Ideally pick them is just before noon, at this time the essential oils have been warmed by the sun and there’s no dew left. If you plan on storing the leaves dry, this is also fine just endeavour to get them dry as soon as possible without putting them in the sun. Then you can store them in sealed jars in a dark place where they should keep for at least a few months.

Methods of preparation

– Tea;

This is the most simple way to use the herbs and plants. The tea is made by simply pouring boiling water over the leaves or flowers and leaving it to brew (in a covered container) for roughly 10 minutes and then straining. This can be drunk or used to wash your skin or dab on affected areas of skin. If you are drinking the tea it is extra tasty if you add some honey. Why not try the local Devon Honey produced from flowers of the exe valley that we stock in store.

– Decoctions;

This is a method used to prepare bark, fruits and seeds. This is done by boiling them in water in a saucepan for between 10-15 minutes. You then strain the mixture and water it down and sweeten to taste for drinking.

– Tincture;

This makes a small amount of concentrated liquid that is taken in drops. To prepare, chop up herbs/flowers very finely and place in a glass jar. Cover the herbs with vodka or a strong spirit and seal the jar. After 4-6 weeks the tincture should be strained and is ready for use when needed.

– Syrups (eg cough syrup);

This is a quick and easy way to prepare herbs. Chop up and bruise your herbs and boil in a sugar and water solution until it becomes thick and of course syrupy! Then strain and store!

– Cough sweets;

Prepare a syrup and after straining it put it back in the pan and add more sugar and boil for a bit longer. When it becomes very thick, pour it onto a well greased baking tray and leave it to cool. When it has hardened you can break it into pieces!

Our top 7 herbs and their uses;

1. Lavender; soothing, calming and a great smell to encourage sleep. A tea can be drunk to help sleep- or can be used to soothe injuries such as burns and aid healing.
2. Thyme; has antiseptic and antibacterial properties. It is a great addition to teas and tinctures that soothe sores in the mouth or throat. Also good for rubbing on cuts.
3. Rosemary; known for being rich in anti oxidants and having anti inflammatory properties. Often used to boost the immune system.
4. Bay; known for helping with digestive issues such as an upset stomach or IBS by settling the stomach. Used as a tea it can also be applied to shampooed hair to reduce dandruff and flaky dry skin.
5. House leek (sempervivum); the leave can be plucked and cut open to reveal a soothing gel to use on stings and minor burns.
6. Marjoram; an amazing herb known for it’s wide health benefits. It has several benefits in tea which can be used to relieve digestive issues such as flatulence, diarrhoea and cramps. It has also been proven in studies to be a great herb for women’s health used for hormonal imbalance. Similarly it is known for its use for pain relief.
7. Fennel; great for stomach pains and wind. This can be prepared or one can simply chew the seeds for a speedy and effective cure.

All of these herbs can be found in our stores in 9cm pots for only £2 each or a special offer of 10 for £15!

Roses – flowers of the month | A Care Guide

Rose care in June

The flower of the month

Olivia Rose Austin

Roses take centre stage in June; they are even the birth month flower. We have an enormous selection of beautifully flowering roses in our garden centre.

June is the prime time to sort out your roses to ensure your rose display looks tip top this summer!

A Care Guide

Here are a few crucial steps to take towards healthy and flourishing roses;

– Watch out for black spot if you see that your roses have black spots then prune out the affected areas and be sure to burn them rather than putting them into the compost. However, be warned that this may not solve the problem, as it the fungi can be spread by the wind etc. If the black spot is persistent then you may need a fungicide. Ask in store for the best way to use these.

Black spot is; a fungal disease that infects the leaves of rose plants. It can be identified by signature ‘black spots’ on the leaves. Sadly black spot is more prevalent in areas with good air quality so it is one of the downsides of growing roses in Devon.

– Look out for aphids. The solution for these pests depends on the size of the population. If it seems to be a small population then simply squishing the aphids will suffice. However if you appear to have a lot then you will need to spray. Be cautious not to spray onto the flowers and always read directions on the back of the packet. An alternative is to wash aphids of the plant with a soapy water solution.
– Dead head rose plants with large or clustered flowers that have finished flowering and will flower again. This is great as it encourages a second growth of flowers in July and August. The best way to deadhead roses is to pinch the head off just below the flower, this speeds up re-growth of flowers! – Don’t deadhead roses if you want to have their fruits – otherwise known as ‘hips’. This also applies to roses with only one flush of roses; there is no need to deadhead them as the hips will be attractive in your garden in winter.
– Get rid of gallicas or any other suckers. To do this, simply snip the sucker shoot off at the main stem.
– Feed roses with potassium rich foods such as tomato feed- we recommend Tomorite. Another great idea is using banana skins- simply lay them around the plant and cover with soil.
– Try under planting your roses to hide bare stems and create an attractive backdrop. A really great plant to use is lavender to add an aromatic and colourful element.
– Consider adding in a new growth of climbers or ramblers side on to promote more flowering on side shoots.
– Water your roses regularly. As long as you have well draining soil then there is a minimal risk of overwatering.
– Wash down roses at least a couple of times a week to avoid spider mites.

Visit our garden centre for all your roses, rose feed and treatments.