For your interest we have
an archive newsletter section.
Please note that any special offers and prices mentioned may not now be current.
 Bare
Rooted Plants
The bare root stock is now being lifted and many varieties are
now available. This year we are changing the system for collecting
bare root stock. We have staff available in the bare root area and
they will pick the stock, collecting large numbers direct from the
field and small numbers from the selling area. They will then label
and bag all stock up ready to go to the tills. This we hope will
make the collection of bare root stock far more user friendly –
you will not need to come clad in wellies this season!
New
Items this Year in our Mail Order Range
Let’s start with items which are not in the printed catalogue
but only on the Web Site or on our special printed lists. These
are Hostas and Iris, both as bare root items. We are able to offer
some really stunning varieties, some of which are not readily available,
and being bare root they are very economically priced. We would
advise early ordering as they are far better planted out early in
the winter, even though it is possible to plant throughout the time
the plants are dormant.
Iris
There are seven varieties of iris including ‘Black Swan’
which is really eye catching with its large shinning black falls
and deepest purple standards, and for those who love real contrasts
of colour this should be planted alongside ‘Winter Olympics’
which has pure white scented flowers with ruffled edges. For those
wanting something more subtle they should consider ‘Pink Charm’
with its beautifully scented, prolific peachy pink flowers. If you
have a hot, sunny well-drained position in your garden these plants
are well worth planting.
For more information and prices see our bare
root Iris page, or ask for a leaflet in the plants office.
Hostas
Hostas are ideal plants for a partially shady position and can
be really effective to give a bold splash of colour in a difficult
dark spot, either planted in the ground or in containers. Some are
quite dainty but others like ‘Austin Dickinson’ will
form a clump with a spread of up to 48 inches (120cm) across. This
variety has rounded blue-green leaves with a wide creamy-white margin,
and when the very fragrant dark purple striped flowers appear in
the summer this certainly makes an eye and nose catching plant!
Another very distinctive variety is ‘Calypso’ with its
lance shaped leaves with creamy-yellow centres and dark green margins.
For more information and prices see our Hosta
page, or ask for a leaflet in the plants office.
More New Plants and Products
In the main catalogue and interesting new hedging variety we have
introduced is Berberis ‘Rose Glow’. This is a thunbergii
variety so is deciduous. It makes a compact deciduous prickly hedge
with purple-red foliage marbled with pink and white, turning purple
later. It has pale yellow flowers in spring, followed by bright
red fruits in autumn. A very attractive variety suitable for hedges
from 3 to 5ft (1-1.5m).
Another dwarf hedge is Euonymus
‘Harlequin’ which is similar to Euonymous
Silver except it is green with an unusual, attractive white
marbling on the leaves.
A complete new section is plug
grown wild flowers. We introduced these to the web site last
year and as they proved popular we have increased the range and
put them into the catalogue as well.
The young ornamental shrubs continue to be very popular so we
have added two more, another hydrangea, hydrangea
paniculata ‘Limelight’ which has huge panicles of
lime green flowers, and Japanese
Maple ‘Beni-maiko’, with its fiery-red young leaves
which fade to pink then to greenish red.
I expect most readers will be aware that all clematis are not
climbers, but some may not know that there are ‘shrubby’
varieties available. We are putting one of these, Clematis
heracleifolia New Love, with the ground cover plants as they
are quite special. They do grow to about 3ft (90cm) in height so
they make quite a statement with their large dark green foliage
and clusters of sweetly scented blue flowers in August and September.
As they are easily controllable they are certainly well worth planting.
Customers who have had their Mason
Bee nests for a few years may now need replacement tubes, so
we have these available in packs of 20 tubes.
RootGrow
 As
we are now entering the main planting season for bare rooted plants
we would like to bring to your attention a new product call RootGrow
that we are selling which will be very benificial to newly planted
stock. RootGrow is a mycorrhizal fungi ("Friendly Fungi")
that is widespread throughout nature and a fundamental reason for
normal plant growth and development. It enhances plants root system
so a newly planted plant:
- Finds more food, finds more water.
- Needs less fertilizers.
- Establishes quicker and reduces failure rates.
- Has increased tolerance to drought and adverse soil conditions.
These fungi are completely natural and organic and native to UK
soils. It is now recognised that the lack of the mycorrhizal relationship
is a major cause of poor plant and tree establishment. While a plant
will gradually develop its own mycorrhizal root system, planting
them with RootGrow will speed this process up. It can take up to
3 years for it to develop naturally, while using RootGrow can get
the mycorrhizal root system established within one month. Further
information about RootGrow please see our web
site, or ask in the shop.
Ho!
Ho! Ho!
 Some
of this year’s potted Christmas trees are now in stock and
the rest plus the cut trees will be arriving shortly. Varieties
available will include Noble Fir, Lodgepole Pine (an improvement
on Scots Pine), Nordman Fir and the beautifully shaped Fraser Fir.
All our Christmas trees are situated within or near the compost
sales area, which is under cover and illuminated for customer convenience.
You’ll find a treasure trove of Christmas glitz in the shop,
including lights, ornaments and accessories to complete the Christmas
tree display.
We’ll also have a generous range of holly, wreaths and mistletoe
from late November. We’ve sourced some superb poinsettias
and cyclamen for the upcoming and busy Christmas gift market –
all British grown and are absolute top-quality. Do check out our
wide range of top-grade amaryllis bulbs – they are literally
bursting into growth!
Poinsettias
 We’ve
tracked what we feel is going to be a major new supplier of home-produced
houseplants to Buckingham Garden Centre. The 10-acre nursery, based
in East Grinstead, is a family enterprise that grows a wide range
of houseplants crops, planted arrangements and bedding plants. On
a recent visit we were impressed in the quality, range and presentation
of their products and feel this will enhance our indoor plant sales
area. At time of visit, we saw over 30,000 poinsettias (all grown
using non-chemical methods, mainly biological control, see picture
above). We also spotted some beauties, including a variety of poinsettia
that is seldom offered to the public, callled Poinsettia ‘Quicksilver
Red’ (pictured left), a brightly variegated compact form,
which we will be offering, albeit in limited numbers only.
Other varieties we will be stocking include Poinsettia ‘Burgundy’,
‘Jingle Bells (yellow) and ‘Freedom’, a wonderful
red with much darker foliage. All are keenly priced at £6.99,
that is for both the red and coloured forms – we don’t
charge extra for non reds, unlike some of our rivals! Do watch out
for some special price offer promotions in the run up to Christmas.
Our new supplier will be offering us a wide range of home-grown
stock (jasmine, hydrangeas, begonias, azaleas, regal pelargoniums),
so there will be plenty to tempt us with next year!! Also, more
excitingly, this grower will be offering us a wide range of unusual
flowering and foliage plants, including Tradescantia Violet Hill,
Anthurium ‘Orange Love’, Calathea ‘White Gold’,
‘Mikado Gold (aptly described as eye-balls on sticks!).
Jobs
for the month
NOW is the last opportunity to plant some bare-rooted wallflowers
(mixed and single colours) before the onset of winter. Inject some
winter colour into pots and baskets with winter-flowering pansies
and violas.
THE next couple of months is the ideal time to move both deciduous
and evergreen shrubs and small trees, which have outgrown their
allocated space or simply need more room to expand. Make sure the
new site is well prepared by improving the soil with well-rotted
garden compost or tree and shrub planting compost BEFORE the plant
(s) are lifted! If you can make this move as quick and painless
as possible then the likelihood of successful establishment is improved.
If conifers are to be transplanted, do apply a generous spray of
the Christmas Tree Spray (available in the shop) to help reduce
water loss (transpiration) through the leaves.
MAKE sure your local bird population has daily access to fresh
unfrozen water. Do top up bird food regularly as the weather gets
colder.
EARLY COLOUR for 2005 can be hurried on a little if you have a
cold or a cool greenhouse. Bring in potted willow (salix), forsythia
and flowering almond into cool heat to force for earlier flowering.
These make a great feature for porches and conservatories, as they
will be in ‘bloom’ up to two months before their outdoor
counterparts.
10 Yuletide Gardening Tips
1. Festive houseplants such as poinsettias, cyclamen and azaleas
need to kept watered (but don’t overwater) and fed. High temperatures
and sources of direct heat should be avoided – cool (around
15-21C) and plenty of natural light are essential. Remember to keep
the plants regularly turned to keep your plants balanced.
2. Cut real Christmas trees benefit from water being regularly
topped up in their stand, assuming it has a water reservoir. A tree
can be thirsty drinking taking up as much as a pint a day!
3. Catch up with a bit of gardening reading over the holidays.
Good reads include the latest issue of BBC Gardeners’ World
magazine, featuring Alan Titchmarsh’s latest How to Be A Gardener
series - this one is all about garden design. The series starts
in the New Year on BBC2.
A highly recommended book is Delia’s Kitchen Garden: A Beginners’
Guide to Growing and Cooking Fruit and Vegetables (around £20
from booksellers). This is one of the most inspirational reads out
at the moment – especially if you are new to growing your
own produce and need to be inspired in the cooking department!
4. Potted bulbs should be introduced to cool and light conditions
gradually. For continuity, bring pots in over a few weeks to help
extend your displays. Keep the bulbs uniformly moist – never
let them dry out.
5. If you have a heated windowsill propagator you can commence
sowings of F1 hybrid pelargoniums (‘geraniums’) and
onions (traditionally Boxing Day is the chosen day with many onion
experts!). Both of these need a long growing season, so its best
to start now.
6. Frosty weather can often ‘lift’ recently planted
stock, including hedging and fruit. Do check over newly planted
stock on a regular basis and carefully re-firm the soil if this
happens.
7. Tender plants in the greenhouse or those stored in a shed are
best checked over. Remember to remove any dead or diseased leaves
as they appear. Water only when the soil feels dry and avoid excessive
amount of water around the stems of the plants.
8. Don’t forget the birds at Christmas. As well feeding with
nuts and seeds, don’t forget to put down some fresh water,
especially if the weather is icy.
9. Clean and sharpen lawn and garden tools and store them in a
dry storage area.
10. Don’t forget those gardening resolutions… jot down
your horticultural successes and the things which don’t quite
go to plan and work out ways of improving on them in 2005 –
remember to come and ask for advice at the garden centre if you
are not sure!
Special
Order Plants
We have been inundated with requests for larger trees, shrubs and
fruit trees in the Plant Info Office this season, but we could easily
handle many more!!! If you are looking for a particular larger size
trees, especially deciduous types, then do let us know and we can
quote for you. We can source stock from many of our European suppliers
and they offer excellent good value for money compared with containerised
potted stock.
Likewise, if you need larger fruit, perhaps orchard size full standards
we will be able to assist. If you have queries for this type of
stock, please call in or phone Chris on 01280 827910 or Sarah on
01280 827909. The cut off time for these specials in mid-February
2005, so please hurry.
New
Tropical Fish
We now have in stock the newest tropical fish available
commercially which is the Red Line Torpedo Barb, Puntius denisonii.
These are very colourful, pretty and placid so are ideal for shoals
of four upwards in a community tank. The price for these colourful
fish is £21.99 each.
Oak
disaster looming?
Many of you will have seen or read the worrying headlines
relating to incidents of the new and virulent disease, Sudden Oak
Death. One of them, “200 million oaks face axe” (in
the Daily Express) certainly brought home the concern of the new
threat to our much-loved British tree.
As a EU Plant Passport nursery, we are kept fully updated
from the Government inspectors of the Department of the Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and we are inspected on a regular
basis to ensure high standards of plant health.
Gardeners are now being urged to do the same and keep
a watchful eye out for this disease and obviously act on what they
see. We feel this is a good thing, so listed below are a few facts
that you should be aware of…
- Since 1995, a disease known as Sudden oak death (SOD) has been
killing large numbers of oak trees along the California coast
of the USA. It is caused by a new species of Phytophthora, which
has been found to be virtually identical to a fungus, which is
damaging Rhododendron and Viburnum in The Netherlands and Germany.
- Sudden Oak Death not only kills oaks, but also elms as the
problems have been discovered at more than 370 sites in England
and Wales. It also affects beech.
- In Rhododendron, the fungus causes a twig and leaf blight,
symptoms of which are most pronounced in summer. Affected twigs
develop a brown to black discoloration, usually starting at the
tip and moving towards the base. Infected leaves show dark brown
blotches. In contrast, Viburnum does not show twig blight and
infection begins at the stem base and spreads upwards, causing
the plants to wilt and collapse very quickly. Both elms, oaks
and beech suffer similar symptoms.
- If the disease is suspected on your plants, we would recommend
that you contact your local DEFRA office. Call the Defra help
line on 08459 33 55 77. Likewise, if the disease is suspected
on trees, the contact should be the Forestry Commission on 01223
314546.
Gardeners’
question time – Live!
Catch Buckingham Garden Centre’s Chris Day on BBC Three Counties
Radio on New Year’s Day between 9-12 noon on the Catherine
Boyle Gardening Phone-in. Do listen in and pose a question –
and, go on, try and catch Chris out!!!
BBC 3 Counties on 98, 103.8, 95.5 & 104.5 FM - or listen
on line.
Christmas Opening Hours
Christmas Eve, 8:30am to 4pm
25th to 28th December, Closed
Wed. 29th December, 9am to 5pm
Thurs. 30th December, 9am to 5pm
Fri. 31st December, 9am to 4pm
New Year’s Day, Closed
Sun. 2nd Jan., 10am to 4pm
Bank Holiday Mon. 3rd Jan., 9am to 5pm
|
