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Please note that any special offers and prices mentioned may not
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Eden Found
 Our
Plant Manager Chris Day recently returned to the Eden Project have
another look behind the scenes.
The Eden Project, located in Cornwall, is a must-see horticultural
wonder. Inspired and developed by entrepreneur and ex-record producer
Tim Smit (who also did a rather nifty job restoring The Lost Gardens
of Heligan), Eden offers all gardeners an awesome view of plants
and how they provide that essential link, a thread if you like,
to the well-being of our planet.
There's lots of educational stuff to be learned and it would be
all too easy to say this alone is the gimmick, but it is not. Essentially,
the two biomes (huge glasshouses made of a special foil, not glass),
provide the space-age design. Incredible, when I first saw the Eden
Project back in March 2000, the former 15-acre and 60-metre deep
former china clay pit was just that, apart from the Meccano-like
construction going on. These geometric Tardis-like structures have
to be seen to be believed and from the outside look deceptively
small, but hey, walk in and you'll be blown away by the sheer size
and what each of these biomes contains. These biomes, if you didn’t
know, are already in the record books as the biggest conservatories
in the world.
Nearly four years on and everything has taken shape. The smaller
of the biomes contains plants from the Mediterranean, South America
and California and is full of wonders. The other biome, at 50-metres
tall, and large enough to house the Tower of London, recreates the
magical effect of the humid tropics, with plants from Amazonia,
West Africa, Malaysia and the Oceanic Islands. Bold landscaping
includes a dramatic waterfall that adds even more moisture to the
atmosphere and elsewhere you see misting units showering the foliage
(not the visitors) with life promoting H20.
Logistically, you really need to get to the Eden Project early
to avoid the queues otherwise you might be confused for a crowd
of worker ants as you criss-cross the pathways!
 The
plants are fantastic and even when you've seen fruiting bananas,
breadfruits or 40ft high (and wide) bamboo plants, this is only
part of the wonder. Cropping cotton plants caught my eye, as did
fruiting coffee, pineapples and cocoa beans. Everywhere you look,
information is available and all is clearly labelled – it’s
the sheer spectacle that will have you stopping to pinch yourself,
just in case it’s a dream!
 Like
my last visit, I had a chance to look behind the scenes at the nursery
that grows all the plants for Eden. This nursery, about 5 miles
away from the Eden Project, was up and running a whole year before
Eden was started. All on view is incredibly fascinating, but the
talk at the moment is the possible development of a third biome
- the Dry Tropics Biome. Although still in its planning stage, this
biome could be the most interesting yet, as it will be a celebration
of how people and plants work together in desert environments and
overcome the challenges presented. But before this ambitious project
can start, Tim Smit may need to use the famous Sir Bob Geldof words,
"We need your money - now!" We'll have to wait and see
when this is likely to happen, but my guess is, given the number
of visitors so far is excess of 7 million, it will happen sooner
rather than later.
Unlike that other Dome in London, Tim Smit's vision has been an
amazing success, and he has had funding to the tune of £43
million from the Millennium Commission. Tourism in Cornwall is booming,
according to official figures and isn’t it heartening that
this success story is down to plants and our incredible appetite
to enjoy them?
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Topical Gardening Tips
The dry late autumn has been excellent for autumnal colour
on a wide range of trees and shrubs and, what’s more,
it’s good the recent wet weather is making those all-important
plantings possible. Don’t be fooled when it comes to new plantings
– give your plants a good drink to help settle
them in and re-apply water as required to settle those roots.
Get a move on if you’ve still got bulbs to plant,
especially tulips and daffodils. Remember to plant correctly –
the general rule is to dig a hole for the bulb that is at least
two and a half times the diameter of the bulb. If you plant too
shallow you’ll get poor flowering in years to come as the
bulbs often turn blind producing foliage at the expense of flowers.
Many tender perennials benefit from a cosy duvet
for the winter period. If you’ve a gunnera (giant rhubarb)
for example, why not use its leaves (before they completely go brown)
to create a wig-wam structure over its crown – it’ll
keep out the excessive cold.
Other prone plants can be cosseted using a few layers of horticultural
fleece over the plant. Never insulate or cover with plastic, as
this will cause the plants to sweat and in turn freeze resulting
in cell damage.
Create a welcome late show of colour by adding
winter-flowering pansies and violas to edge bold groupings of ornamental
(sometimes referred to as flowering) cabbage and kales, heathers
and the richly-flowering skimmias.
Leave on the seed heads on perennials and shrubs
to help feed the birds through the winter. Whilst
it may look tidy to trim off all the spent blooms, left in place
they will provide a useful and rich resource for a whole host of
wildlife visitors.
Colour your winter with one of the superb
winter-flowering clematis now becoming available. Select
from the green-yellow blooms of Clematis cirrhosa to the
flamboyant, creamy white bell flowers of ‘Wisley Cream’.
Combine these with brightly splashed small-leaved hedera (ivy) and
you’ll be on to a winning combination.
[Top of Page]
 Sulgrave
Manor Apple Day
A big thank you for all your support at the recent Apple Day event
at Sulgrave Manor last month. It was good to see so many of you
– enjoying the whole event (lots of tasting in the cider tent
noted!) on what was a splendid, if slightly chilly weekend.
According to the organisers attendance figures were well up on
previous years so let’s hope this annual event celebrating
the apple in all its forms continues to gather strength and support.
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Guess the Seed Competition
 Now
here’s a puzzler! Can you put a name to the mystery seed pictured
to the left? There are no clues to help, apart from the fact the
seeds have come from the oldest ‘plant’ in the UK. There’s
a stonking hybrid cyclamen prize up for grabs this time around,
so if you know the answer, do please e-mail us with the solution!
The answer will appear in our next newsletter – promise!
[Top of Page]
Christmas
 Have
you been puzzling to think of an interesting idea for a Christmas
present for a keen gardener. We have two relatively new Dandf products
which may fit the bill. There is a tool store (which looks rather
like a century box!) but is really useful for a small garden. It
is only 600mm wide, 600mm deep (2ft x 2ft) and 1850mm high with
half shelves and room for tools. With a 20 year warranty it sells
at £175. Also a very attractive wooden mini greenhouse with
a 15 year warranty, 750mm wide by 635mm deep selling again at £175.
As our regular customers know we do not turn our shop into a Christmas
Grotto, but only devote a small area to Christmas decorations and
cards, but those we do have are very unusual and most attractive.
Best to come and have a browse.
Christmas Trees
Christmas Trees are expected to be arriving at the end of next
week (21 Nov). This year we will be stocking:
Fraser Fir. Abies fraseri has attractive
soft green needles, which it retains well, and is the up-and-coming
tree choice. New this season as a cut tree.
Lodgepole Pine. Pinus contorta comes
from British Columbia and Alaska and has twisted, yellow-green needles.
Excellent needle retention. New for this season as a cut tree.
Emerald nobilis. Originally from South Russia,
the Abies nordmanniana fir as it’s often called has
light green floppy leaves. It is the most popular needle-retaining
tree on the Christmas tree market. It has a great shape and is always
bushy – perfect for decorating!
Tip: Use a Christmas stand that features a water reservoir –
even good needle retention trees, like the Emerald nobilis, will
keep fresher if they are kept moist at the cut stem. Remember to
regularly top up the reservoir right through the festive period.
Norway Spruce (potted living tree). A containerised
Picea abies is a traditional tree from Europe and is indigenous
to Scotland. Very popular and being potted will retain needles over
a longer period of time. Tip: Needs acclimatisation
if you intend to plant it out in the garden in the New Year. Water
regularly and place the tree on a sufficiently sized saucer to catch
the water.
Abies Nordmanianna (potted living tree). Excellent
shaped potted Christmas tree with good needle retention.
Tips: Keep trees cool and avoid any direct heat
source (radiators, open fires etc) to help extend the life of the
tree. Like the potted Norway spruce, if you intend to plant the
tree outdoors it’s wise to delay this until the spring, when
the soil is warmer. Ideally, keep the potted tree in a cool greenhouse,
porch or well-lit garage to acclimatise it for the outdoors. Even
horticultural fleece placed over the tree will help this process.
Do make sure the potted tree is kept moist, even through the winter
months.
To assist in needle retention, spray the tree, before bringing
into the house, with Vitax Christmas Tree Spray ‘n’
Save (aerosol, £1.99). You can successfully spray even when
the tree is in its net.
Holly, wreathes and mistletoe
will be available from early December onwards.
[Top of Page]
Saturday Opening & Special
Offers
Since the business was founded on its site in Buckingham in 1970
the proprietors, Richard and Pauline Brown have always kept the
business closed on the old Christian Sabbath, that is on Saturday.
This they know was annoying for some customers and lost them sales,
but despite this the business has thrived.
Now 33 years later they are hoping to pull back a little and get
some more time for holidays before they are too old to enjoy hobbies
such as mountain walking, searching for interesting flora and fauna
or just exploring old beautiful cities and villages.
Their two sons David and Peter are now in the business and a General
Manager, Steve has been appointed, and these three are keen to open
seven days a week. Many existing staff wish to continue with their
present six days working contracts, but some are happy to change
and new staff have been taken on board. Training of new staff is
now to the level that we are happy to announce that from November
14th the business will be open seven days a week.
The big advantage will be that the Sunday rush will now be spread
over two days so hopefully we shall be giving a better service to
our customers. If you do want to see either Richard or Pauline they
will not be there on Saturdays, but will leave it to their able
team.
We will be running a series of special offers during Saturdays
in November (not valid for mail order sales) - vouchers for these
can be found at the end of our downloadable
newsletter. The current offers are:
Roses really can grow on you!
Buy any three potted bush roses (priced at £5.95) or miniature
climbing roses (priced at £7.99) for just £9.99 for
3.
Instant Hedging Thuja (approx. 3ft high)
Buy 10 or more Thuja plicata atrovirens at a special price of £5.50
each (normally £5.99)
Great Value Hebes
including ‘Golden Dome’, ‘Buxifolia’, ‘Cob
Valley’ and ‘Vernicosa’ normally £2.99 each.
3 for just £6.
20% off Wheatgerm fish food at Buckingham Aquatics
Tetra and Nishi Koi Wheatgerm food. The best food for feeding pond
fish during winter months.
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Bare Root Plants
The season for bare root plants is now upon us and we are busy
filling up the selling area and the field with thousands of bare
root hedging plants, soft fruit, fruit trees, ornamental and forest
trees. Some varieties are not yet available so do give us a ring
before making a special journey.
The quality of stock seems very good this year and despite the
weather most plants have come well up to their anticipated height.
We have made further improvements in the area where the bare root
and pot grown hedging is sold, by building a ‘grand stand’
at the base of the hedging area to contain all the pot grown hedging
plus the ornamental shrubs and climbers listed in the catalogue.
We shall be interested to hear any comments from you on the new
lay-out.
The paths in the bare root area do still get muddy so do be careful
when it is wet or raining!
Our full catalogue is available on-line.
Our previous newsletter introduced what's
new this year.
[Top of Page]
Unusual Edgeworthia Plants
We are delighted to be able to offer this highly fragrant Chinese
deciduous shrub, related to the popular Daphne, for this first time
to our customers. The plant prefers a sheltered warm wall or the
protection of other shrubs, such as a woodland to develop to its
full potential, typically around 5ft in height and spread. Interestingly,
the bark of Edgeworthia chrysantha is used in Japan for
the manufacture of high quality paper used for making bank notes!
Edgeworthia chrysantha is occasionally referred to under its synonym
Edgeworthia papyrifera, the epithet papyrifera meaning
paper-bearing, hence its common name paper bush.
Edgeworthia chrysantha grows best in a moist but well-drained,
humus rich, loamy soil in full sun or light dappled shade. It is
reasonably hardy but in frost-prone areas it should be grown against
a warm wall.
 Edgeworthia
pseudachrysantha
Height and Spread: 1.2m x 1m (4ft x 3ft). Glossy foliage and dense
nodding terminal clusters of fragrant yellow flowers, clothed outside
with white silky hairs, in late winter. Sun or light shade in moist
but free draining soil. Shelter in cold winters essential.
Edgeworthia pseudachrysantha 'Red Dragon' (New
Form)
Height & Spread: 1.2m x 1m (4ft x 3ft). Glossy foliage and nodding
terminal clusters of fragrant orange-red flowers, clothed with white
silky hairs, in winter. Sun/ light shade in moist but free draining
soil. Shelter in cold winters essential.
Limited availability. For collection from the Garden Centre only.
2 litre pot size, plants approx. 60-75cm high plants, £29.95
each.
[Top of Page]
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