News – Page 4

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With Christmas behind us, January can seem a long, dark and depressing month but with spring only 8 short weeks away, we can start looking forward to lighter nights and warmer temperatures.

At the garden centre we have our biggest ever January sale underway with 50% off Christmas stock, 20% off all giftware (for a limited period) up to 60% off Voyage homewares, 20% off Emma Bridgewater plus clearance on selected lines, up to 75% off. We are due to hold a barn sale on the 15^th/16^th January so keep an eye on facebook for confirmation that it’s going ahead.

The seed potatoes have arrived so buy yours now while the selection is good and get chitting!

We look forward to serving you soon, keep smiling! Best wishes, Sophie, Greg & the Timmermans team

YOUR GARDEN IN JANUARY

Happy new year and obviously, it needs to be better than the last one. But whatever happens your garden will grow and can flourish given a little tender loving care. And that starts from day one!

Christmas trees:  Real, cut trees need disposing of. Don’t bung them at the back of the shed hoping they will magically degrade to nothing. You can shred them and use as a mulch around rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and Japanese acers. Strip the main branch and use the individual branches as pea sticks in the veg garden. The recycling centre has a green waste bin but expect a queue.

Flowers: There’s a surprising amount of bloom in gardens at the beginning of the year. Snowdrops are popping up, as are a few early daffs and iris. Winter jasmine is looking glorious and buds of camellias are beginning to burst. Don’t forget to spot the autumn (and well into winter) flowering cherries around the village. If you do nothing other than admire nature’s floral feast then that’s fine!

Hellebores: They are looking good this year and may need a few errant leaves tidying up. Nip off the straggly leaves near to the crown so that the emerging flower buds can develop unobstructed. It also reduces incidence of disease in plants. New leaves will develop once flowering is over in a couple of months. And there’s plenty of choice to buy and plant new hellebores at this time of year. Never plant too deep – plant at the level they are growing in their pots.

Vegetables: The dusty, sunny days of summer may seem a long way off, but you can get in early and buy your potatoes. Seed potatoes are virus free and the best way to grow superb crops. Once home, space out the seed potatoes in an egg tray or simply stand them in a seed tray. One of end of each of the potatoes will have more shoots than anywhere else on the potato – this end should be uppermost. Put them in a light, frost free space to get the little shoots growing. Actual planting is a couple of months away but it’s the best start possible.