News – Page 4

Autumn Colour & Sale Continues!

Early Autumn is a lovely time of year in the garden centre with plenty of colour to enjoy, both with late flowering perennials still in colour and new season, autumn plants providing seasonal interest. Looking ahead, there are veg plants and Christmas potatoes in stock and ready to plant plus autumn bedding for seasonal interest in your pots and borders plus a large selection of spring bulbs for a show of colour next year.

With autumn the best time of year to plant, now is a great time to start planning any new planting schemes so if you are looking to make some changes in the garden, why not pop in and speak to Paul, Stephen or Antony? Our new season roses, trees and soft fruit will be arriving over during the new season and are best planted before winter to ensure they establish well.

Our end of season clearance sale continues, with up to 75% off a wide range of products including plants, gifts, garden furniture and plants so be sure to visit us and grab a bargain!

We look forward to seeing you soon! Best wishes, Sophie, Greg & all the team at Timmermans

Your Garden in September

The shorter days are now noticeable and as summer draws to a close, our attention turns to autumn proper. And that is a busy time for new and experienced gardeners alike.

Vegetables: you will be flat out picking, harvesting and reaping the rewards of all your efforts over the growing year. Pinch or nip out the tops of tomatoes to allow all energy to ripen the little fruits on the plants. Anything starting to form now will never ripen. Courgettes need picking and carrots are always sweeter if picked when younger and not allowed to turn into monsters. Make a daily check for any leaves that might be looking tatty and pick off. Caulis, cabbages and cabbages are usual culprits. It will reduce problems of fungal diseases later and next year. And net over anything that the pigeons take a fancy to – if you don’t net it, you won’t get it.

Hanging baskets and containers; they do start to look thinner in September so bulk them out by taking any of the dead bedding plants out and replacing with something sparkly and new. Cyclamen love a basket, and chrysanthemums, grown in the shape of spheres, are perfect for rejuvenating the look of your garden displays. They will last well into winter and beyond if the weather is kind.

Flowers: nip off any dead flowers on dahlias to keep plants producing more blooms. And pick blooms early in the morning for a superb long lasting display for your house. Later in the month is a great time to plant new herbaceous plants. The soil is warm, moist and the roots get growing before winter. This gets next spring off to an absolute flyer. There’s always a great choice in autumn before the mad rush to garden in spring. Get smart, beat the queues and get planting.

Camellias: Next year’s flower buds are forming on your camellias right now and it’s important they don’t run short of water. Don’t waterlog them, but if the weather does turn dry keep up with the watering. You will happy with the results next April.

Lawns: put any high nitrogen fertilisers away for the year. If applied, they only produce a lush ‘soft’ lawn that is prone to fungal attacks (and is hard to cut in a wet autumn) However, do keep cutting your lawn if it is growing actively. If your lawn is looking peaky and still needs some help, look for a lawn fertiliser formulated for autumn application. These fertiliser mixes, low in nitrogen but high in phosphates and potash, encourage stronger root growth = a longer term better lawn. When you get the roots growing well the rest follows suit.

Bulbs: get in early and grab the best choice of bulbs. Even if you don’t plant them (tulips for example are best planted later but can be bought now and stored in your shed or garage) you will get the chance to choose which pack or bulb you want. With a little planning you can have blooms from January with your early daffs right through to May. Prepacked bulbs make it easy to choose and loose bulbs often give you more unusual varieties to grow. Get in ASAP for the best choice as they always sell out fast. Flowering times are always on the bulb packs or display boards. And don’t forget your glasses when out shopping.

Seeds: leave your sunflowers to produce mature seeds – the birds will love them. Same goes for most of your annual plants in the borders. And start planning what to sow in the next couple of weeks (poppies, hardy annuals, broad beans and spinach to name just a few) and even get yourself sorted for next year.

Bits and bobs: diminishing day length may get you down but it is a chance to sort out lighting in your garden. Go big and install electricity in the garden or go simple and get yourself a few solar lights to lighten up seating areas, patios or particular plants. Whatever you do in the garden take time to stop and enjoy what is on offer. There are so many plants in bloom, veg to eat and sounds to enjoy.