Father's Day
This Sunday is the big day for Dads. We don’t seem to make as much of a fuss over our Fathers as we do our Mums on Mothers day. At Golden Acres we think our Dads deserve a bit of recognition for all the great stuff they do for us. Dad is always the one we call when something breaks or we bite off a bit more in the DIY stakes than we can chew and mine's pretty good with the tea and sympathy too. The trouble is it can be tricky to find a good gift for your Dad; flowers don’t generally go down well! Having a look round our Garden Centres has opened my eyes to a whole new Dad-gift world. Tools always go down well and if he’s a gardener, plants will always put a smile on his face. Barbeque accessories have got Fathers day, Birthday and Christmas covered for me and Carrie has bought in some lovely mugs, games and books that are great for Dads if you’re stuck for ideas.
We’re determined to enjoy June despite the rain, wind and cold! At John Browns we’re creating our own cheery summery displays. My favourite one the plant team have put together uses succulents around a beach theme. Succulents are a group of plants that come from hot arid climates. They are dependent on their ability to store water, usually in the leaves, which makes them appear fat and fleshy and quite unusual. These plants do really well in containers and as they don’t like getting too wet growing them like this enables you to bring them into a sheltered area over winter when the climate is damper.
The unusually damp weather has led to a population explosion of slugs and snails. I was most disappointed to come home to find my beans that had been so full of promise now looking chewed and rather sorry for themselves despite being in a gro bag and in the middle of my decking. I don’t like to use too many chemicals in the garden but its either slug pellets or an empty gro bag and they do work. I am careful where I place them and ensure that I clear up any of the dead wee beasties once the pellets have done their stuff so that other animals don’t come to harm if they eat them. There is a school of thought that birds find pelleted slugs and snails dry and unpalatable but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
