Author Archives: Tammy Falloon

Royal presentation!

We are thrilled to announce that our exhibit of plants at the Devon County Show has not only won a large gold medal but also the Midmay-White Perpetual Challenge Trophy for the best exhibit in the Flower and Garden Show.

Trophy presented by Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

To make this accolade even more special, our Devon County Show team led by Gary, were presented with the Trophy by Sophie, Countess of Wessex today (Friday 19th May 2017).

Sophie, Countess of Wessex presenting Gary Allum with the trophy

Preparation for this year’s show display started last May by ensuring we held back large specimens of plants from sale and kept an extra close eye on their growth in our greenhouses. This group of plants were added to over the following months and show labels prepared for each variety. Gary Allum, our propagation supervisor, oversaw all this preparation and led the design of this year’s display.

Whilst we always go to the show with a design in mind, the final construction is always quite fluid and can involve many last minute changes!

Building an award winning display

On Monday 15th May, we take out all the plants to the show ground. This year we had 18 Danish trolleys full plus large trees and shrubs that have to be carried by hand. We also had a bug hotel to construct, water fountain to install and a garden bench.

How it all begins...18 trolleys of plants

18 trolleys of plants and materials

On Tuesday 16th May, the construction team (Gary plus company director Tammy Falloon and James Sellick, Clyst St Mary garden centre shop supervisor) set to work. The initial stage involves positioning the tallest plants in position we then work our way out ensuring that we mix leaf textures, avoid colour clashes and generally working in harmony to allow each plant to be showcased beautifully. Whilst the final effect looks like an established garden the reality is these are plants in pots stacked on pots and boxes and sacking.

Step one: positioning large anchor points first like trees.

On Wednesday 17th May, the team finish positioning the plants before labelling every variety. We then scan the plants, removing any damaged leaves or dead flowers and covering any visible pot with moss. We run a border of bark wood around the edge to disguise the pots and then rope off the display ready for judging in the morning.

By the end of Tuesday we have most plants in place

Thursday 18th May and the show opens! We find out what medal we have won around mid morning and it was only in the afternoon that we were told we won the trophy. We love exhibiting at the show and meeting visitors.

James, Tammy and Gary who constructed our Devon County Show display.

Our Devon County Show team

Still time to come and see us on the final day of the show

If you are able to visit our stand, this year then please do. You will get to see our trophy winning display as well as enter our competition to win £50 of St Bridget Gift Vouchers. Additionally we are giving out money saving coupons to use in our garden centres and you can buy plants from our stand. At 4pm on Saturday 20th we start the dismantling process and we are permitted to sell off the display plants. We use a ticket system for this where by the first ticket holder gets first choice of plants. The plants are sold at reduced prices so it’s worth grabbing a bargain.

The “bench” side of our display.

Close up of the plants

We hope to see you there tomorrow!

Growing lettuces

Not only are lettuces delicious in salads but their diverse shapes and colours make them an interesting addition to the garden. Increasingly, there is also a trend to grow lettuces in troughs or even hanging baskets.

To get the best results, lettuces will prefer a fertile soil, ideally one that was improved with well-rotted organic matter last autumn. But if like many of us you are playing catch up just choose a good multi purpose compost or cut open a vegetable gro-bag and use the contents. We also recommend adding some growmore to the soil about a week before you sow your seeds. Make sure the growmore is evenly distributed and mixed in.

Sow your lettuce seeds in succession to ensure you have a continuous crop. Perhaps sow them every two weeks between now and July. If you are only sowing a trough or basket one packet of seeds will give you plenty to do this with otherwise if planting a larger area you may want to choose several varieties and sow 1cm (half an inch) apart in 5cm (2 inch) wide drills.

TOP TIP:

Because of their interesting colour and shape. Lettuce plants could be added to any gap in the garden. To do this we recommend sowing your seeds in “cell trays” these are plastic trays with individual planting cells. They enable you to grow your seedlings to a reasonable size before planting out. Alternatively you can buy lettuce plants that we have grown in our greenhouses and miss the sowing stage altogether.

What variety?

There are many varieties available to grow so you may want to scan the seed section at our garden centres and study the description on the packets. However, here is a condensed list of our favourites:

Cos: Cos (or Romaine) are traditional Mediterranean lettuces. They range from mini ‘Little Gem’ to mid sized “Chartwell” and large “Lobjoit’s Green Cos” or “Paris Island”

Leaf Lettuce: Usually purchased in mixed packets these lettuces range from frilly ones to oak leaf shaped ones to low rosettes. “Lollo Rossa” is a well known cultivar.

Butterhead: These reliably hardy, round shaped and soft-leafed varieties. Their hardiness make them a good choice for early crops but they can be very light on flavour. Look out for “Tom Thumb”

Crisphead: Icebergs are the leader of the pack in this category. Crisp dense heads that refrigerate well. These varieties can bolt in drought and tend to require a longer growing season.

What is bolting?

Bolting is quite simply “going to seed”, the plant’s aim in life is to reproduce and quite simply something has triggered the plant to feel it necessary to flower and create seeds earlier than a perfect life cycle. In the case of lettuce, a lettuce will bolt (put all energy into flowering and creating seeds) after a sustained period of warm weather that has followed a previously cold period. If a lettuce bolts it will create bitter tasting leaves.

Lettuce tends to bolt very quickly, putting out long seed stalks. Once it starts, you literally have only a couple of days to deal with it before the lettuce crop is ruined. Once the seed shoots appear, you can trim them back, but be prepared to do this daily in order to keep them back.

To prevent bolting, planting leafy lettuces in the spring and continually harvesting (cutting them back) during the year should work. Starting your lettuce indoors well before the frost lifts is another option. The shock of the transplant process means that the lettuce will be well through its lifecycle by the time the heat of summer really sets in.

Harvest

After about three weeks from sowing you will need to thin your plants to 5cm (2 inches) apart. Use the baby leaves you remove in salads. Then from 5-6 weeks after sowing you will be able to remove further young leaves and progressively thin out your plants. If left to mature into a dense head, most lettuces will be ready to harvest as a whole just 10 weeks after sowing.

For all your lettuce seeds or plants, cell trays, compost and growmore, simply visit one of our Exeter based garden centres.

Japanese Maples

Japanese maples are the perfect choice of tree for any small, compact or courtyard garden. Their character and appeal makes them ideal for creating a focal point in your garden, brightening a shaded corner, or elegantly overhanging a pool or water feature.

Latin Name

Many acers are commonly called Japanese maples, but their parents could be derived from several different species including Acer japonicum, Acer palmatum, Acer shirasawanum or others. Among them are some extremely slow-growing forms, with trees remaining a small, manageable size without the need for regular pruning.

With their Eastern origins in Japan, Korea and China, these small trees are suitable for developing gardens with Oriental themes and designs, choosing other suitable planting partners for them, like ferns, hostas, bamboo, azaleas, camellias, and more.

Their natural shape and growing habit of branches make Japanese maples an ideal choice of small tree for gardens or growing in large patio pots. Their leaf shapes, sizes and colours vary immensely. Many have a broad palm shape, but these are often divided and dissected into the most delicate and intricate forms. Add to this their wide range of colours, from deep greens to yellow, gold, purple or even variegated patterns and you have immense variety to choose from.

While some green or purple-leaved varieties will tolerate an open position in full sun, this can scorch the more delicate foliage of golden, variegated or dissected forms. A sheltered site is more suitable, and particularly one that provides shade during the hottest part of the day and protection from drying winds.

All year round interest

Japanese maples put on a show right through the year, starting as soon as foliage unfurls in spring and continuing until their autumn transformation into shades of gold and bronze before they eventually fall.

Top Maples for any garden

To help you choose the best varieties with outstanding garden performance always look for ones that have received an Award of Garden Merit (AGM) from the Royal Horticultural Society. Here are some of our favourite AGM varieties:
Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’
Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’
Acer palmatum ‘Sango-Kaku’
Golden Shirasawanum maple (Acershirasawanum ‘Aureum’)

Top tips for growing Japanese Maples

1. Choose a sheltered site where trees are protected from late spring frosts, cold winds and scorching summer sun.
2. Maples prefer well-drained soil containing plenty of compost to lock in moisture and ensure the ground never dries out.
3. Spread a deep mulch of leaf-mould, compost or shredded bark over the soil around maples to retain moisture and reduce annual weed growth.
4. For growing in containers choose large and stable terracotta pots with several drainage holes in their base. Line pots with a sheet of plastic before filling with compost to reduce water loss through the sides.
5. As trees can remain in pots for several years it’s best to plant them using a loam-based John Innes No.3 compost with extra grit added to ensure good drainage. Do remember that established trees will need repotting into larger pots every few years.
6. Keep the top of the compost a few inches below the pot rim to make watering from above easier, covering the surface with a mulch of pebbles or ornamental gravel.
7. Water regularly with collected rainwater, and stand pots in saucers of water to provide a reservoir for trees to take up each day during hot, dry periods.
8. Tree roots can be susceptible to frost damage in winter, so either move pots to sheltered sites or wrap with bubble polythene insulation.

Other Japanese Maples that we grow

Acer japonicum ‘Eddisbury’ AGM
Acer japonicum ‘Altropurpureum’
Acer palmatum ‘Fireglow’
Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’ AGM
Acer palmatum ‘Orange Dream’ AGM
Acer palmatum ‘Orangeola’ AGM
Acer palmatum ‘Shaina’
Acer palmatum ‘Skeeter’s Broom’
Acer palmatum ‘Trompenburg’ AGM

Planting partners for Japanese Maples

Try combining maples with other plants and features and ornaments to create areas with Oriental charm. Japanese maples should not be smothered by neighbouring plants, so always give them space to flourish. Here are a few planting partners to consider:

Azalea
Bamboo
Camellia
Cornus kousa and others
Ferns
Flowering Cherries and Plums (Prunus varieties)
Holly (Ilex varieties)
Hydrangeas
Japanese laurel (Aucuba varieties)
Junipers and other conifers
Magnolias
Dwarf Pinus varieties
Rhododendron
Wisteria
Yew (Taxus varieties)

Both of our Exeter based garden centres sell the above listed varieties. Please call ahead to check availability before making a special journey.

April in the garden

With so many plants coming back into life this month, it is a joyous month to be out in the garden. Here are our top tips for things to do in the garden this April.

April in the kitchen garden

Sow brassicas directly into the open ground in prepared seedbeds. Transplant to wider spacings in June.

Sow chard, coriander, beetroot, parsley and carrots in cold greenhouse to plant out later.

Put tomato seedlings into individual pots when they have their first true leaves.

Finish planting shallot and onion sets plus seed grown onions.

April in the wildlife garden

Clean your birdbath and ensure they are regularly topped up with fresh water.

Create shelter for wildlife in hidden out of the way places, log, stick or rock piles are ideal.

Sow wildflower seeds. Annuals will give instant colour this summer or perennial mixes will give a longer term display.

April in the ornamental garden

Cut back Cotinus and Sambucus to encourage larger bolder leaves rather than flowers. The foliage interest is greatest when it contrasts with nearby finer foliaged plants.

Remove dead daffodil and tulip flowers but allow the leaves to die back naturally as you need them to fertilise the bulbs and encourage more flowers next year.

Direct sow annuals like Californian poppies, pot marigolds and sunflowers.

If you agapanthus are in pots and have started to reduce the amount of flowers compared to previous years then divide the clump and re plant.

Plant out autumn sown sweet pea plants or direct sow seeds outdoors.

Remove any dead plants that did not survive the winter and re-plant with new evergreen trees and shrubs.

April lawns

Repair hollows in the lawn by peeling back turf and adding or removing soil accordingly.

Apply a spring feed to the lawn. To save time use a combined product that feeds and weeds. After applying moss killer to lawns rake out blackened moss and thatch.

For all your seeds, plants, compost and pots visit one of our two Exeter based garden centres and have fun this April in the garden.

Grow blueberries in pots

Blueberries are bursting with superfood properties.

Blueberries are a good source of vitamin K. They also contain vitamin C, fibre, manganese and other antioxidants (notably anthocyanins). Valued for its high levels of antioxidants, some nutritionists believe that if you make only one change to your diet, it should be to add blueberries.

Die-hards claim blueberries can help protect against heart disease and some cancers, as well as improve your memory. If nothing else though, they taste yummy whether on their own or in blueberry muffins.

How to grow blueberries

Blueberries have only one request – an acidic soil. If you are unsure what pH your soil is and don’t want to buy a simple testing kit then plant blueberries in a pot using an ericaceous compost.

Many blueberries (latin name Vaccinium corymbosum) will grow successfully in pots although you may not get quite such a bumper crop as you would in the open ground.

Start off by buying a pot about an inch bigger than the one you buy your plant in. Then as it matures and you see roots at the base of your pot, gradually pot on. The final pot size should be 40-50cm (16-20 inches) across. Once at this size you will only need to re-pot every two or three years in late winter. When you are at this stage simply remove 20% of the old compost and roots and then re-plant in the same pot with fresh compost.

Watering and feeding

Water regularly in dry spells. Ideally use harvested rainwater from rain water butts. Feed monthly with an ericaceous liquid feed as per the instructions on the packet. Avoid overfeeding.

In winter, protect plants by moving the pots to a garage or cool shed when it is very cold outside or you can wrap your pot with bubble wrap to protect the roots form getting cold.

In spring you may need to protect flowers from late frosts by covering them in horticultural fleece.

In summer you may need to stop birds eating your berries by covering plants with fruit cage netting.

We think blueberries are a great addition to the garden, why not give them a go?

Winning the battle against Perennial Weeds

Perennial weeds are those pesky hard to kill weeds that die down in winter and re-emerge now in spring. They can be difficult to control and include weeds like bindweed, ground elder, nettles, Japanese knotweed and couch grass. The best time to tackle these weeds is in spring and summer while they are actively growing.

Combining several of our eradication techniques should ensure good weed control and minimal regrowth.

Eradication methods

Barriers

Barriers whether laid vertically or horizontally physically block the speed of weeds. Vertical barriers include edging boards and upended paving slabs whilst horizontal barriers include laying a permeable weed-suppressant fabric (available from our garden centres) over a cultivated and prepared area. You plant through the membrane making a cross cut in the fabric to allow you to sink the plant through. Late winter and early spring is the time to do this before the weeds start to grow.

This technique is effective against the growth of grass in your borders ad suppressing regrowth of old weeds. Vertical barriers are great to stop the spread of weeds from or to a neighbouring plot.

Digging them up

Without a doubt this sone of the most effective control methods providing you avoid breaking roots and or rhizomes when you dig. Use a hand fork or weeding tool to make the job lighter work. If you have to cover a large area then this can be hard work.

Mulches

Mulches help suppress annual weeds like dandelions as well as improve your soil texture and moisture levels, Plus they can encourage beneficial soil organisms. Clear your area first (hoe the ground) then apply a thick mulch of wood bark or chips. The mulch should be 10-15cm deep ideally (4-6 inches).

Weedkillers

Synthetic weedkillers are divided into three groups…

a) Unselective – these kill anything green. Some are persistent and remain active in the ground for months. Chemicals like this should not be used on edible crops so always read the label before you buy to check it is correct for your home and lifestyle.

b) Selective – these kill a specific type of weed e.g. broadleaved weeds in lawns.

c) Systemic – the weedkiller gets through to the root as well as the leaves. The do not persist ion the soil but are toxic so again should not be used on edible crops.

All the above are best applied when temperatures are warm and weeds are actively growing.

Organic weedkillers tackle weeds quickly and effectively. Whilst they may not be as potent as systemic chemical based ones, they do mean that you don’t have to worry about children or animals. We sell the Neudorff range of organic treatments as we feel they are effective and safe.

Other methods

Heat is effective at killing weeds whether you pour water from pots after you have cooked your vegetables or soil a kettle to buying specially designed heat wand guns (that use gas or paraffin). Results can be quite slow and they do tend not to last that long as some of our other techniques.

Scraping the weeds from cracks in paving is effective but you may find yourself repeating the exercise several times and therefore may want to consider a weedkiller instead.

Leave them be

To give a balanced view on weeds, we must not forget that many weeds are actually beneficial and sought after by wildlife. If you can afford to let an area go a bit wild then do. Stinging nettles alone have been proven to support over 40 different kinds of insects! Nettles are also a magnet for other insect-eaters like hedgehogs, shrews, frogs and toads, at all times of year.

However you want your garden to look, our Exeter based garden centres have the tools for the job!

Feed your lawn

April is probably the first month of the year when you can really start giving your lawn some TLC again. It is the best month to apply weed and moss killer and the time to apply the first fertiliser of the year.

When to feed

If you really want a lawn worthy of Wembley or Wimbledon then you need to feed your lawn four times a year during the growing season and we suggest this is done in April, June, August and October. Most people however just do the important spring feed and maybe a final autumn feed in October.

Depending on the size of your lawn you can either use a handheld applicator (as pictured) or we have a push along one you can hire from us. Both of these scatter the granular fertiliser. You can buy your weed or moss treatment separately or the most time friendly option is to buy a 3-in-1 product.

Both our garden centres have these treatments in their lawn care section. Please ask a member of staff for assistance in choosing the right product for your garden.

Want to start again

If you have patches of your lawn that are so tired or diseased, you may wish to consider sowing some new grass seed or some rolls of turf. If you do sow grass seed, don’t apply a fertiliser as the product may scorch the seed and fresh new roots.

We receive turf weekly on a Friday during the lawn growing season. Please call in advance to check we have stock before you make a special journey.

Plant Summer Flowering Bulbs

Now spring is here and the soil is starting to warm up, you can plant summer flowering bulbs like Alliums, agapanthus and canna lilies. What is even better is that we have just reduced the price on all our summer flowering bulbs by 30%!

How to plant summer flowering bulbs

When you buy flowering bulbs, there should be a description or small drawing to indicate how deep and how far apart you should plant each bulb. If not, use the bulb as a guide and plant it two or three times its depth and use the same gap as widths apart from each other.

Whilst you are thinking of bulbs…

if you already have spring flowering bulbs in your garden, a little bit of Care now will pay great rewards next year. Deadhead daffodils and narcissi by snipping off the dead flower heads before they can go to seed. Give them a liquid feed or a sprinkling of bonemeal and then let the leaves die down naturally. This ensures that all energy and nutrients go to the bulb to give it energy and encouragement to naturalise and bloom well next year.

First and Second Earlies, Plant Your Potatoes Now

First and second early potatoes can be planted now we are in April. Then in another couple to three weeks time you can plant main crop varieties such as King Edward.

How to plant potatoes

Hopefully you have already chitted your potatoes (Started them shooting in a dry indoor location) if not put a seed potato in each section of an egg box with the eyes up and store somewhere with natural light. Once they have begun to shoot they are ready for planting.

Start by digging a trench 7.5-13cm (3-5in) deep, although the exact depth should vary according to the variety of potato you’re planting so read the packet label.
Add a light sprinkling of potato fertiliser to your trench before you begin planting, available from our garden centres.
Plant early potatoes about 30cm (12in) apart with 40-50cm (16-20in) between the rows, and second earlies and maincrops about 38cm (15in) apart with 75cm (30in) between the rows.
Gently place the chitted potatoes into the trench with the shoots pointing upwards, being careful not to break the shoots. Cover the potatoes lightly with soil.
As soon as the shoots appear above the soil again, cover them up with more soil. Repeat this process as regular intervals so that by the end of the season you have a ridge about 30cm tall and wide.

Planting potatoes in pots

If you don’t have enough space to plant potatoes in trenches then you can grow them in pots as long as the pots are at least 25cm in diameter. We also sell specialist potato growing sacks. Simply half fill the pot, bury one seed potato below the surface and as the shoot appears keep covering it up with more soil until your pot is full.

We still have some varieties of seed potatoes, onion and garlic sets available to buy in our Exeter based garden centres. Don’t forget to ask one of our team if you are still unsure about planting. It really isn’t easy and you’ll love the taste of your home grown spuds!

Check for Wind Damage

Wind damage? Time to check the garden

Now that we’ve seen the back of Storm Doris, it’s a good time to get out into the garden and check for wind damage. Secure climbers if necessary and if any newly planted trees have moved then re-plant and stake them.

Prune and support

Look up into tree canopies and check for any wind damaged branches that may have snapped but not fallen. Remove them from their base with a clean less jagged cut.

If you are planting new fruit trees or bushes we would suggest you cane them as soon as possible.

Finally we recommend you give your lawn a quick inspection, many small branches may have blown onto your lawn and it will soon be time to give grass its first cut of the year and the last thing you will want to do is make your mowers blades blunt or brake.