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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Colourful spring plants</h2>

Spring plants

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<p>If you wonder <strong>how to improve drainage in your lawn</strong>, you’ll be pleased to know there are some ways that you can help the squelchy yard under your feet!</p>

<p>If you wonder <strong>how to improve drainage in your lawn</strong>, you’ll be pleased to know there are some ways that you can help the squelchy yard under your feet! Many gardens have a problem with drainage, especially after heavy rain. It can be frustrating to see wet, muddy soil on your lawn, which can be a telltale sign of a drainage problem. Often, the ground underneath the grass wasn’t prepared properly, which has resulted in a soggy lawn.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Spiking your lawn</h2>
<p>Sometimes also called pricking the lawn, it involved spiking holes into the property to allow better drainage. A garden fork can do this, but there are also tools specific for the job that will make deeper holes allowing even better drainage. Do your whole lawn and if any gaps are big, put in some sand. You can also buy shoes with spikes and stomp over your yard to aerate it.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Remodelling your garden</h2>
<p>It’s a drastic measure, but if you have a lousy drainage problem, it could be easier to switch up your garden. Areas that are particularly prone to poor drainage could be replaced with raised beds, filled with soil and planted with plants of your choice. Consider it to be an opportunity for something new in the garden! Other ways are to consider removing the lawn and replacing it with a shingle or bark chip.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Improve drainage</h2>
<p>If you are not pulling your hair out at waterlogged soil most of the year, you could make improvements by simply planting more plants in your garden and incorporating lots of well-rotted organic matter into your flower beds. This helps soil structure and drainage, which will mean some of the excess water will have somewhere to go.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Managing the issue</h2>
<p>There are ways to make sure the water runs off to a place where you want it—for example, an area where there are bog plants which will love the rainwater to grow. You would need to make a gully, so the water runs from where it usually collects to where you want it to go. This can be tricky but doable.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Keeping your garden healthy</h2>
<p>Not just keeping your lawn in good health and your whole garden will help improve drainage.&nbsp;Here are a few tips you can consider:</p>
<ul>
<li>Apply lots of mulch,</li>
<li>Use an organic lawn feed,</li>
<li>Plant water-friendly garden plants.</li>
</ul>
<p>See if the lawn improves over time. If it doesn't, please ask for advice at our garden centre.&nbsp;</p>
<p>For lawn seed, tools and advice, come and visit us in store.&nbsp;</p>

How to improve drainage in your lawn

<p>If you’re <strong>new to vegetable growing</strong>, here are some tips to get you started.</p>

<p>Nothing beats the taste of your own <strong>home-grown vegetables</strong>, fresh-picked and still warm from the sun. You don’t even need a garden to grow your own food – many vegetables will grow happily in a pot on a patio or balcony, and you can even grow salad and herbs on a sunny windowsill. If you’re new to vegetable growing, here are some tips to get you started.</p>
<h2>Soil and sunlight</h2>
<p>First, think about how much sun your garden, patio or balcony gets during an average summer’s day. Most vegetables need at least 6 hours of sun per day, but you can still grow vegetables in a shady garden if you choose the right ones.</p>
<p>Next, get to know your soil. If you’re planting vegetables in the ground, you need to know whether your soil is light sandy, heavy clay or somewhere in between.&nbsp; Dig a hole with a trowel and take a handful of the soil you’ve dug up. Dampen it with water and try to roll it between your palms. Sandy soils feel gritty and won’t stick together, while clay soils are sticky when wet and can be easily moved into a thin sausage shape. You can also test your soil pH (its acidity or alkalinity) with a soil test kit – these are readily available and easy to use.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Vegetable gardening tools</h2>
<p>All jobs are more manageable when you have the right tools. Here’s a short list of some of the most useful garden tools for vegetable growers:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>A garden spade and fork with long, sturdy&nbsp;handles for digging over your beds to clear weeds and stones before planting and digging in organic matter such as farmyard manure to improve the soil.&nbsp;</li>
<li>A hand fork for weeding.</li>
<li>A hand trowel for digging small holes when planting out seedlings.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Gardening gloves to protect your hands.</li>
<li>A watering can or a hose (depending on the size of your garden) to keep your plants watered during dry spells.</li>
<li>Snips or secateurs for harvesting your crops.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Choosing which vegetables to grow</h2>
<p>Once you know your soil type and how much sun your garden gets, it’s time to decide what to grow. Choose vegetables that are suited to your garden’s conditions, so you’re more likely to get vigorous, healthy plants and a good harvest. And remember, there’s no point in growing many vegetables that no one likes, so focus on growing the vegetables you enjoy eating.</p>
<p><strong>Vegetables for pots:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Tomato ‘Tumbling Tom’</li>
<li>Dwarf runner bean ‘Hestia’</li>
<li>Dwarf French beans ‘Purple Teepee’ and ‘Safari’</li>
<li>Salad leaves</li>
<li>Early potatoes</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Vegetables for part shade:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Chard</li>
<li>Kale</li>
<li>Leeks</li>
<li>Lettuce</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Vegetables for clay soils:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>French beans</li>
<li>Cabbage</li>
<li>Pumpkins</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Vegetables for sandy soils:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Carrots</li>
<li>Beetroot</li>
<li>Radishes</li>
</ul>
<p>Visit our centre and get your vegetable garden started today! We have a fantastic range of vegetable seeds and plants, and our friendly staff are always happy to help and advise.</p>

A beginner’s guide to growing vegetables

<p>We have picked our <strong>top ten flowers to succeed in hanging baskets</strong> with a few surprises. Discover them now!&nbsp;</p>

<p>The <strong>best flowers to grow in a hanging basket</strong>&nbsp;are questions we have been asked many times. You can plant up your baskets at this time of year, make sure the new plants are hardened off and protected from any late frosts, and then hang them somewhere that you can enjoy looking at them as they grow and flower. We have picked our top ten flowers to succeed in hanging baskets with a few surprises. Discover them now!&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Top 10 fantastic flowers to grow in hanging baskets</h2>
<ol>
<li><strong>Petunia</strong><br />
The Petunia is the most popular flower to grow in hanging baskets, and there is no wonder why! Petunias are easy to hold, come in many colours and patterns, and bloom for months throughout summer. They will need full sun, good quality compost, water retention granules, and a weekly feed in summer. Deadhead them to prolong blooming.&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>Surfinia</strong><br />
A hybrid of the Petunia and therefore requiring the same conditions, the difference is they mainly trail more than Petunias but don’t produce seed. If you mix and match the colours of Petunias with Surfinias, you will get a mass of colour.</li>
<li><strong>Lobelia</strong><br />
Annual Lobelia trails effortlessly over the edges of a hanging basket and can be found in blue, pink and white for a cascade of colours. They do not like the cold or dry soil, so keep your baskets well-watered.&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>Lysimachia (Creeping Jenny)&nbsp;</strong><br />
An unfussy evergreen perennial that survives winter and hangs over the edges of a basket with its gold and yellow leaves. The only thing to consider is that it will eventually take over the whole basket but can easily be divided and planted somewhere else.&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>Calibrachoa (Million Bells)&nbsp;</strong><br />
Think of these as mini Petunias. They have smaller flowers with masses of colour. They are available in many different colours and can fill a hanging basket independently.&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>Geranium&nbsp;</strong><br />
Another popular choice with many different colours available. They add beautiful pops of colour to baskets and can be treated the same as other bedding plants.</li>
<li><strong>Nemesia</strong><br />
Nemesia has some of the most incredible fragrances, is very sweet and can easily be caught in the breeze as you walk by. Pretty tiny flowers in various colours, sometimes even two-tone.&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>Nasturtium&nbsp;</strong><br />
These are easy to grow from seed or plug plants, and the whole plant is edible. So if you are looking for a hanging basket with plenty of brightly coloured flowers that you can eat, Nasturtiums are the ones to grow.&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>Strawberry</strong><br />
Strawberry flowers are so pretty, and the plants grow well in hanging baskets. Just pinch a strawberry as you walk by!&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>Tumbling tomato</strong><br />
Another edible for a hanging basket. Both the pretty little yellow flowers are lovely to see, but there’s nothing more exciting than watching the red fruit grow.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
<p>Visit us in the store to fill your hanging baskets with colourful flowers.</p>

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Thursday	09:00 - 16:30
Friday	09:00 - 16:30
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Colourful spring plants

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