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Please note that any special offers and prices mentioned may not now be current.

I had intended to continue straight away with the Newsletter, but the mild weather, albeit interspersed by some pretty heavy rain, has resulted in the Garden Centre being very busy and my running out of time.

New Season Catalogue

We are delighted to announce that our Autumn 2001-Summer 2002 Catalogue has now been published.

As it will be the Queen's Golden Jubilee Year we have chosen gold for its colour and have introduced the wonderful and slightly unusual tree Acer negundo Aureomarginata - Golden Variegated Maple. If you are thinking of a special tree planting for the Golden Jubilee this could well be a good choice.

Other new items worth looking at are Fuji Cherry which is stunning in its autumn foliage, the Japanese Maple Sango-kaku, a new Lilac, prestoniae James MacFarlane with its late rosy-red flowers. For wonderful perfume there is the Variegated Mock Orange, which can surprises many who do not know it well, because the white flowers blend in with the beautiful variegated foliage and many have been known to wonder where the outstanding perfume is coming from. If the Physocarpus opulifolius Diabolo is planted nearby the variegated silver foliage really offsets the deep purple foliage of the Physocarpus.

It becomes difficult to introduce new hedging lines as we already have such a comprehensive range, but we have re-introduced English Elm which makes an excellent dense hedging subject even though it cannot be grown as a tree, a new Viburnum Onodaga which makes a good hedging variety or can be used as a specimen shrub, plus by popular demand Irish Yew.

There are a few new fruit varieties so it is worth browsing through, but the one we are sure will be popular is Scrumptious - its name along will sell it! For those coming to see us at Apple Day on 20th or 21st October at Sulgrave Manor will have a chance to see this variety as a pot grown plant, hopefully complete with apples.

For those wanting a really fast effective ground cover plant have a look at Euphorbia Robbiae, or for a less vigorous but bright and very attractive variety consider Lonicera nitida Lemon Spreader.

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Spring and Summer Flowering Bulbs

Autumn is now truly with us with all its implications for gardeners. Many bedding plants are still colourful but soon it will be time to add them to the compost heap and plant spring and summer flowering bulbs. This time of the year bulk packs are readily available and are good value for money. A few examples are 50 Grape Hyacinths, 60 Specie Crocus, 25 Dwarf Narcissi, or 25 Dwarf or Tall Tulips all at £1.99 a pack, or 5 Hardy Cyclamen for £2.99, or 30 Tenby Daffodils for £4.99. If you want to take advantage of these multi packs don't leave it too long as you may be disappointed. It is time also to get bowls of indoor bulbs planted so that you can enjoy the perfumes when they are in flower later.

If you are looking for something a little more out of the usual for bulbs there are some very attractive varieties available. Muscari Macrocarpum, the yellow grape hyacinth looks excellent planted with the more common blue form. They have the bonus of being heavily perfumed. Fritillaria pontica with its green and orange flowers look good planted with Uva-Vulpis with the purply black flowers. Its worth trying Dichelostemma with its pretty red flowers in May and June. This mentions just a few. I would suggest coming in just to browse through the many varieties. All have a good illustration to tempt you, then a full description to let you know the conditions they like so you can decide if they will do well in your own garden. It is always wise to read about a bulb or plant before planting as it is so disappointing to go to the trouble of preparing the ground and planting only to find the plant does not thrive in your conditions.

Other bulbs which should be planted at this time of the year are onions, shallots and garlic. We have Marco Garlic this year and because they have come in a little later than usual they are very good quality dry bulbs. These and onions, Senshyu Yellow, Swift, Silvermoon, and Jermor shallots should go in as soon as possible to give you good early crops next summer.

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New Range of Wood Preservatives

If you come into the shop you will see that we have moved a few things around - this is not to confuse or annoy you, but to make room for the extra range of wood preservatives. These are now down the end of the aisle with the chemicals and lawn products. In the New Year there will be a new roll-on fencing preservative coming and in the meantime there are even more colours and types to choose from. Any day now there will be a real one off bargain - we shall be offering Sadolin Clean and Protect applicator and refill which normally sell at £24.99 plus £19.99 for the refill at £13.99 for the two. There are not too many at this special price so come whilst they are still available. This is an unusual product as it is applied using a hose, which makes the work very fast and easy. The downfall is that it is quite conservative in its colour range so for those who want the trendy new colours this is not the product for you. We have been able to make the changes as so many chemicals have now been withdrawn from the domestic market thus giving us space on the shelves. We have moved all the lawn products together making things easier to find. The space created where the lawn products used to be will soon be devoted to more hand tools, and spreading out our rather crowded display of tools.

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Excellent Value Garden Tools

If like to get Christmas presents purchased early, at the moment we have some excellent value tools which would make very acceptable present for your gardening friends. Town and Country have produced a Hand Tool Holder, which you fix to your belt, and this contains a good quality pair of secateurs plus a pen/pruning knife, all for the price of £9.99.

Also very good value tools are the Oakthrift range all of which we have on promotion at the moment. These consist of a Long Arm Pruners at £15.95, Heavy Duty Loppers at £5.99 and Telescopic Shears at £16.99. As these are good quality tools you can see that the prices are very competitive.

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Chiminea Competition

If you have always fancied a Chimenea but don't fancy the price you have the chance to win one in our competition which lasts until 4th November. All you have to do is answer a few simple questions and if you are the lucky winner you may win a 115cm Chimenea worth £170. A second prize of 3 table top chimeneas is also waiting to be won.

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Bare rooted Plants

It will soon be time to plant bare rooted plants. Many customers are asking for them already, but unless something very unusual happens to the weather they will not be lifted until the beginning of November and thereafter. If plants are lifted before the sap stops rising they can be damaged so patience is needed. However, the ground preparation is most of the job so whilst the weather is good prepare the soil. This means digging it over to break it down to a fine tilth, incorporating well rotted compost if available. Make sure all perennial weeds are removed as these will be difficult to weed out after the hedge or trees or fruit are planted, and could cause damage to the roots of the newly planted stock. If the preparation is done in advance, when the bare rooted stock is ready you will be able to get them planted quickly. We always recommend autumn planting if possible, as far fewer losses occur. If you have our brochure and know what you want to plant, you can always let us know and we will then telephone you when the plants are ready.

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Pond Maintanence

Another important job in the garden at this time of the year is to cut back water lilies and other pond plants and remove as many leaves that have fallen into the water of ponds before they sink and decompose. It is a good idea to clean out any filters before the winter and raise the pumps in outdoor ponds or take them out altogether. This allows the warmer water at the bottom of the pond to remain undisturbed. Also it is a good time to check that your pond heater is working or to make sure you have measures prepared to prevent the pond freezing over completely.

You should now be changing to a wheatgerm fish food as this is lower in protein and more digestible in the cooler weather.

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Marine Fish at Buckingham Aquatics

For those who are interested in fish we should like to welcome you to see our new Marine Display Tank. This is a fascinating display of marine fish, live corals, shrimps, fan worms and crabs. It is very colourful, and the children love to see it. We are not suggesting you try to set up a tank yourself unless you are very keen as it is not an easy process, but just to take advantage of enjoying ours.

For those who do have a marine tank we now have a range of fish, corals, shrimps and crabs for sale and Peter or Tim are available to give help and advice about this and other aspects of water gardening. They have a new range of Rena Fish Tanks available if you are tempted to start a new tank yourself, or add another one!

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Winter Hanging Baskets

Now is the time to make up winter hanging baskets if you have not already done so. Sometimes it is difficult to obtain 'proper' moss for lining the baskets but this autumn it is readily available. Baskets set with winter pansies and variegated ivies, and with dwarf bulbs will give you a colourful display throughout winter and spring. It does seem a shame that so many people take down their baskets and do not re-set them until the Spring as they can be colourful all the year round. If you are prepared to invest in two sets of baskets and you have suitable storage room, it is possible to use the same ivies for several years in the winter baskets by keeping the baskets in a sheltered storage position in the summer, then simply replanting the bulbs and pansies in the autumn. In this way the ivies will be full and trailing well as soon as the baskets are re-set.

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Autumn Colour

If you are looking for some new ideas to cheer your garden up at this time of the year, we would suggest you come and look at our autumn colours display just outside the shop. Here you will find a collection of plants all of which have some special appeal at this time of the year. Another seasonal display we have is for Halloween - apart from all the special candles and decorations this will very soon be stacked with colourful pumpkins. These can be used for Halloween, but better still for a delicious Elizabethan Pumpkin Pie - a recipe I was given at a cookery demonstration at Sulgrave Manor's Apple Day celebrations some years ago which has been enjoyed by our family every year. If you want a copy of the recipe it can be collected with the pumpkins at the Garden Centre or send us an e-mail and we can send you a copy.

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Feeding Wild Birds

As winter is approaching it is particularly important to keep your bird feeders well stocked. For those who like feeding the highly nutritious fat balls but are worried about the design of the containers for the balls, you will be pleased to hear that a new design container is now available which has a lid, thus preventing the birds from getting inside the container. I did mention in the January Newsletter this year about the Sunflower Hearts which are now available. These are more expensive than the conventional seeds, but, especially for those with a smaller garden where any untidiness shows, they do have the advantage that everything will be eaten, so you will not have the problem of discarded seed below the feeder.

It does look as if we may be in for another wet winter, so we would suggest you take advantage of the good days we are sometimes having to get all those autumn gardening jobs done as soon as possible. Happy Gardening!

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