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September is a hugely busy month in the buying department at Golden Acres, we’re busy prepping for next Spring and reviewing the past year as well as ensuring we have the best stock available for Autumn. Last week I went to a large plant show in Cheshire where I caught up with some of our current suppliers and found some exciting new suppliers and plants to stock next season. One of whom is just down the road from H/O at Lymington. I’m off to another show in the Midlands next week then to Italy the following week to look at larger specimens and olive trees. Phew!

Part of my role as a buyer is to look at consumer trends and one thing I have really noticed over the past fifteen years is that less people are buying shrubs and trees to plant in the Autumn time. This is sad to me as it is actually the best time of year to get hardy plants into the ground. The soil is still relatively warm so although the plants aren’t doing much above the ground they’re getting their roots established underground ready to take up all the water and nutrients they need to grow well once the weather starts to warm up in the Spring. So if you find your plants don’t really take off when you plant them in summer try some Autumn planting, you may be pleasantly surprised by the result!

Emma

   

My garden has been a little haven for the last week whilst I was on holiday, it was wonderful to be able to sit back and watch the Red Arrows display en-route to the Bournemouth Airshow!! We had a day trip over to Guernsey and outside the restaurant there was an amazing display of grasses, all shapes and colours, and the movement when the breeze caught them was beautiful. I think this could be my next year’s project, and grasses are very hardy for our climate!

Emma’s away this week at a Plant Trade Show and soon she’s off to a nursery in Italy! This time of year is busy for our Buying Team, Carrie our Gift Buyer is taking her team off to the Speciality & Fine Food Fayre, hopefully bringing us back some yummy samples that will be stocked in some of the Garden Centres Food Areas. After that she’ll be off to The Autumn Gift Fair and both Carrie and Emma will be at Glee searching for new ideas for next years ranges, we’re all really looking forward to seeing what they come back with!!

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

I’ve got this week off and it’s time to start clearing in the garden, my sweet peas have really started to look leggy and mildewy so they will be put onto the compost heap.  I’ll be keeping some off the seeds for next year’s crop.

 One of the cucumber plants that I planted from seed seems to be a rogue and we’ve called it ‘Audrey’ after the Little Shop of Horrors, She’s already grown 10ft and has produced one huge gourd! Can’t wait to see just how large she gets!!

I’m really pleased with an ‘orange’ bed I developed this year, it’s done really well throughout the summer with Day Lilies, Campanula & Dahlia’s and it just coming into it’s Autumn bloom now with Crocosmia, Osteospermum, Tagettes and a beautiful variegated orange Geranium. Now’s the time to keep dead-heading and hopefully get a new flush of flowers until the first frosts.

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

Exciting news, I’ve just been asked by Radio Solent to take part in a feature about a brand new variety of Apple called Little Pax, that we will be stocking in all our Garden Centres this Autumn.

It’s a wonderful story about a rare original tree that was gifted to the Nuns at St Cecilia’s, a Benedictine Abbey in the Isle of Wight. It had grown and flourished for many years there and Frank Matthews, one of our favourite British Tree growers have now propagated enough to enable us to offer them for sale.

The Little Pax is a perfect late season delicious sweet dessert apple with hints of melon and champagne!! It produces an abundance of orchid – like pink and vivid white flowers in Spring, making it perfect for attracting bees and wildlife into your garden. During the Summer it develops rich reddish pink apples with rose red flecks and gradually turns in Autumn with shades of soft yellow. For every plant sold a charitable donation will be made to help with the upkeep of St Cecilia’s Abbey.

The feature will be going out on Sunday the 24^th August in the morning, so have a listen!

Emma

The last week we’ve noticed a nip in the air at night which is prompting thoughts of Autumn... The summer bedding has nearly sold out and we’re starting to see some of our favourite Autumn bedding plants become available. It does seem early but I have found if you get them planted by the end of September they have plenty of time to grow into stronger, larger plants whilst it’s still warm and as a result flower much better throughout the winter. I was really impressed (even if I do say so myself!) with our Belgian Chrysanthemums this year, they are really chunky plants and look almost like box topiary balls their habit is so neat.

We will also be taking delivery of the first spring flowering bulbs in the next few weeks. These packed bulbs are the most economical way of getting a beautiful display in the spring. I love planting them in Autumn, forgetting about them then enjoying the surprises as they flower from January through to May. My favourites are the miniature daffodils, my husband loves the dwarf irises.

Emma

I’m loving reaping the rewards of my veggie patch at the moment, I’ve been busy collecting french and borlotti beans, beetroots, salad leaves, tomatoes and courgettes for the last few weeks now and scouring my cookbooks for different ideas!!

Over the last few months I’ve been hunting in the local charity shops and car-boot sales for colanders and have made them into my herb hanging baskets.

Looking through a gardening magazine it’s given me a wonderful idea of how to carry on the baskets through the winter by planting up with swiss & ruby chards, leeks,  Cavolo Nero spinach and beetroots for striking colour and still keeping me fed through the winter months by picking the baby leaves. I’ve already planted the seeds and will wait until September to plant them into the baskets when my summer herbs have died off.

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

Last week our lovely Plant manager from Landford, Toni, & I went to see some bedding plant trials near Banbury. It was great to see the plants at full maturity & get a chance to vote on our favourite plants that had been bred this year!

As you can see by the photos it was a riot of colour & we were reminded how well some of our old favourites do. The humble marigold was looking the healthiest out of all the bedding plants. I forget what a good doer they are coping well with all the hot weather we’ve had this summer.

We loved the display gardens, they show so well what you can do with just bedding plants. Ideal if you have limited space or live in rented accommodation & don’t want to spend a fortune on plants but enjoy a pretty display.

Emma B

Look at the visitor I had to my fishpond this week, what a beauty, it’s a Southern Hawker dragonfly, with it’s recognisable colourings and marks and one of the largest of the dragonfly family, they only live as adults for about two months so I’m very lucky to see it!

I’m thoroughly enjoying sitting back and watching all the pollinating insects buzzing around the garden and pleased to see the amount of bees busily coming and going. I’m popping into Cadnam Garden Centre on Saturday 2^nd August as a local bee keeper is visiting with a contained bee hive and demonstating the working life of a bee and how honey is made, should be really interesting!!

Lin

our keen amateur gardener!

After watching the highlights from the Hampton Court Flower Show last week I was given the idea to revamp an old sink I’ve had in the garden for years and have collected various stone, slate and flint and put them diagonally, bedded in sand. I’ve planted assorted coloured Sempervivums (Houseleeks) and some succulents and used some moss to cover the cracks! I’m really looking forward to seeing this develop and the plants creep over the stones, and the added bonus I will not need to water it regularly!! 

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

Thank goodness for the bit of rain we’ve had over the past week, even though we had a torrential downpour I still have to go out most evenings to water and keep an eye on all my containers and pots and top them up.

Nicotiana

Jasmine

Night Scented Stocks

Last year I planted a white jasmine which I am training over a rose arch, it will take a few years to cover but this week it has finally flowered and the scent is intoxicating as the sun goes down. I’ve also planted an Evening Primrose, Nicotiana and some Night Scented Stocks around our seating area to get full perfume in the evenings whilst sitting out and enjoying a glass of wine!!

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

Having a conversation with Judi our Marketing Manager, she was telling me that she went round to a friends at the weekend and they had Artichokes which were simply boiled in water and served with butter and black pepper, yummy!! I’ve been growing Artichokes for a few years now and never actually eaten them, always left them too long and just enjoyed the huge purple flowers and seeing all the bees and insects buzzing over them.

They are an amazing vegetable, one of the highest sources of antioxidants which are excellent for reducing cholesterol, aiding indigestion, kidney and gall bladder function and I.B.S!! They are even made into herbal teas and a liqueur! 

Guess what I’ll be cooking at the weekend!! 

Lin  

Our keen amateur gardener!

As you know we are always looking for exciting new products to offer our customers at Golden Acres. This week I attended my favourite plant trade show of the year. I came away with some great new ideas - a lovely new range of roses, some miniature fruit trees & some new ranges of houseplants in lovely pots & planters amongst other things. Watch this space for the stock coming in soon!

Emma B

What a busy time I’m having in the garden, with this wonderful weather we’ve been having I’ve had lots of time to enjoy it all! I’ve planted up some terracotta pots with Mediterranean herbs and put them next to the barbeque so the next time we eat ‘al fresco’ they will be on hand to sprinkle over meats and salads!

 

I’ve also dedicated a border to sensory plants and have Fennel, Lemon Verbena, Sages, Thymes and my Geraniums that I had overwintered in the greenhouse which have just started flowering in abundance and the fragrance every time I brush past is amazing!

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

I’ve been back from maternity leave for a few weeks now & have been very busy visiting nurseries & seeing suppliers to ensure we have the yummiest plants around in stock. What a choice we have this year. Our growers are as enthusiastic as we are about plants & it’s been so nice to catch up with them & all the lovely new varieties of plants they have been busy propagating.

I think my favourites the last couple of weeks have been the English garden classics, herbaceous Geraniums & the more exotic Salvias.

My little girl appears to be taking after me, she loves being outside & is fascinated by plants & flowers so I’m looking forward to teaching her all about plants & how to grow them.

Emma B

Back in March I put up a ‘living wall’ by using 5 drain pipes and fixings, I then planted it with strawberries and mixed lettuce leaves, here’s the before and after shots, I’m really pleased with it as it's been slug free and have been picking the leaves for the past few weeks, the strawberries are just about ripe for the picking!!!

Emma’s now back from her maternity leave and can’t wait to let you all know some of her news, so next week will be Emma’s blog again, between us we’ll be keeping you up to date with all our gardening experiences!!

Lin 

Our keen amateur gardener!

Hope you’ve all had a lovely Easter break and been out in your gardens, we made use of our Chimenea and sat out until late evening wrapped up in blankets drinking hot chocolate and star gazing!

In my veggie patch I’ve decided to use one of my raised beds purely for Oriental Vegetables. I’ve sown Pak Choi, Mooli (a large radish ideal for stir-frying) Chinese cabbage, Kohl Rabi, Mizuna, Mustard leaves, Baby Sweetcorn, Okra and Red spring onions. I’ve also found a Vietnamese Coriander to plant in my herb patch and have planted Chilli's in the greenhouse. Can’t wait to be able to just pick leaves and enjoy my own Asian cuisine!

Lin 

Our keen amateur gardener!

All my winter containers are starting to look a bit tired so I’m deadhead daffodils and narcissi and hyacinths and giving them a liquid feed. I’m not going to cut back the leaves as the bulb needs the nutrients for next year and will just let them die down.

I’ve added a few extra spring bedding plants such as Violas and Dianthus as an interim until I decide what colour theme I’m doing for summer. Check that your container plants are not drying out as this warm weather will quickly affect soil moisture levels, but please remember there’s still a chance of frosts so make sure your new bedding is protected either by covering with fleece or putting them in your greenhouse overnight.

Lin

Our keen amateur gardener!

My fig tree has started to creep nearer to my conservatory so it’s time for me to prune it back. I’ll make sure I don’t prune too harshly and leave this year’s figs that have formed. Pruning back too far will mean loosing any fruit this year.

A few weeks back I transplanted a Clematis that was in a shady spot and being eaten by slugs as soon as the poor thing started to leaf up, it’s now growing up the Fig tree and putting on lots of growth so will need to be tied in to support it. It will give the area some colour for a month before the Fig starts to vigorously green up!

Lin 

Our keen amateur gardener!

The clocks have gone forward and finally we can look forward to warmer weather and lighter evenings, but I’m sure we will still get the inevitable ‘April Showers’ as well as night frosts. My greenhouse has started to overflow with tiny seedlings and it’s all to easy to get carried away and want to plant them into my Veggie Garden but they all need hardening off for at least a month, although I have planted out my Sweet Peas on a south facing wall where they have been basking in the morning sun and already started to climb.



At the weekend I noticed a few asparagus spears poking through the soil, I was very excited at the thought of picking my first crop as I have waited 3 years for the bed to establish. The next morning they had been annihilated by slugs and snails!! So now is the time to wage war on slugs and snails, I’ve been keeping a daily eye out for them and been picking them off and my Chickens have been having a feast! 

Lin
Our keen amateur gardener!