Clandon Park Garden Centre
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Garden Centre Opening Hours
(Apr-Aug) Mon to Sat - 8.30am to 6pm Sun - 10am to 4pm (Sept-Mar) Mon to Sat - 8.30am to 5pm Sun - 10am to 4pm Coffee Shop Opens 8.30am weekdays and 10am Sundays Service Counter Closes 4.30pm weekdays and 4pm Sundays Pet Centre Opening Hours - Please see Pet Centre Page
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June 2010 NewsletterJune, flaming June - how can we be here so soon!Where does the time go? It surely was only last week and we were looking forward to Easter. As I write we are all a little uncertain as to what the summer will bring. Frosty weather should be a sad memory but we are still plagued. Oh well, keep smiling and think warm thoughts and the sun may listen to us all. All of a sudden summer bedding plants are ready to plant, lots of instant impact and colour for all of us …. how incredibly exciting. Remember though it's not all fun and games planting up the tubs, beds and baskets, we have to ensure the plants are well fed and, of course, well watered. Using the best available compost can help here with Westland's West+ Advanced or specialist container and basket compost, both great mediums for baskets and tubs. Adding water retaining gel and some slow release fertilizer will also help in maintaining your floral display. Remember to dead-head regularly, feed every 10-14 days with liquid feed, something like Miracle Grow or similar will do wonders for your displays ensuring healthy growth and lots of flowers. Spraying roses against Black spot, mildew and rust are priorities this month, as of course, is the control of Aphids etc. Try alternating sprays every two weeks with products like Fungus fighter and Rose Clear giving good control over pests and diseases. It is worth thinking of protecting the new fruits developing on Blueberry bushes and other soft fruits to keep our feathered friends at bay. Feed regularly to promote growth with a high potassium fertilizer like Tomorite; mulch well with garden compost or bark to maintain moisture levels to help ensure sweeter, fuller fruits. In the greenhouse it is important on those really hot days to give some form of shade to our plants. Use proper shade fabric or just spray on Coolglass for an easier alternative. Ventilate well and damp down the floor to raise humidity levels - particularly for cucumber crops. Watch out for white fly and try to use the yellow sticky traps as an organic alternative to spraying. Feed and water greenhouse crops well and ensure tomatoes are watered on a regular basis; irregular watering can cause split fruits and poor cropping. Do not be tempted to overfeed or over water as this can lessen the flavour of your fruits. One final word - please, please, please raise the blades on your lawn mowers. Scalping the lawn is cruel and very bad for your grass. The best height for a utility lawn would be about 1" or 2.5cm. Regular, light trimming is better than an all out huge cut. Try using After cut to promote good re-growth and maintain a good healthy lawn during the hopefully hot dry months to come. Any bare patches can be over sown with Lawn refresh or similar product. This is an especially nutrient coated seed with a bird repellent. Germination can be as fast as only a week, so we can all say goodbye to bald patches. I wonder if it will work on my hair! A few plants to look out for this month should be the 'volcano' Penstemons, with varieties like Etna and Vesuvius you are sure of a flaming display. Hopefully not any ash clouds though! A fairly new idea are low growing Clematis, grow in hanging baskets, tubs or as ground cover, these will give large long lasting flowers all summer long. Try varieties like 'Bijou or 'Filigree'. Look out for the lovely Dianthus around now, if you like a giggle try 'Tickled Pink 'or try the red hot variety 'Passion' sure to set the garden alight with scent and colour. Compost all your clippings, waste material and household peelings, use a compost activator to speed up this magical process to produce that "black gold" called Compost. As always I am at hand in the Garden centre for advice on almost any gardening problem that you have so please come over for a visit and a chat sometime. See you again soon. Andy |
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We sell National Garden Vouchers