Posts by Emma Emmerson
How to Choose Plants for Your Pond
Here at Woodside we have decided to stock water plants, after so many customers have asked us to, so I thought I’d tell you a bit about water gardening and how to choose plants for your pond
Wildlife Habitat
Ponds make a wonderful addition to the garden – as well as creating extra habitats for wildlife, it also provides different planting conditions for a whole host of plants. The most successful ponds tend to have a boggy area next to them to allow moisture loving plants to grow there and to make a smooth transition from pond to garden. Not only that, but the sound of moving water is very relaxing, and the presence of fish in the pond gives an extra dimension to your enjoyment of your garden. Ponds are generally sited in sunny spots, which makes plant growth stronger, but also encourages algae growth.
Water Lilies
Ideally a pond should have 30-40% of its surface area covered with plant leaves, using plants such as Water Lilies, and other deep water marginals like the very pretty Water Hawthorn (Aponogeton) and the Yellow Fringed Lily, which isn’t strictly speaking a lily at all, but a close relative (Nymphoides Peltata). This will help shade the water from the sun and reduce algae growth. Water lilies prefer still water to moving water, so be sure to site them away from fountains and inlet streams, and read the label carefully to make sure they are at the right depth within the pond. Miniature Water Lilies can be submerged in large water-tight containers if you don’t have space for a pond.
Oxygenators
Oygenators and floating plants are vital for the health of the pond. Oxgenating plants grow and photosynthesise under water, releasing oxygen into the water which is essential for water dwelling animals as well as for keeping the water full of healthy bacteria to help keep it clean. Crystal Confetti (Hydrocotyl) is one of the most attractive oxygenators and should be submerged in the pond. Floating plants, such as Water Soldiers (Stratiotes) can simply be thrown into the pond, making them the easiest plant in gardening to actually plant! Barley straw products also help keep pond clear and they act as an algae inhibitor – the product we currently have in stock treats up to 2000 gallons and last approx. 6 months.
Height and Structure
A selection of tall, grass like plants are useful for height, structure and for allowing emerging larvae of dragonflies to hatch. Recommended varieties are Lesser Bulrush (Typha Angustifolia) and any of the water loving Irises. Other marginal plants provide colour and texture.
Bog Garden
By creating a bog garden you give yourself the opportunity to plant a whole range of plants from the beautiful green foliage of Hostas and Ferns to the bright colourful flowers of Candelabra Primroses.
We have a good selection of water plants available, so why not drop by if your are planning to create your own pond from scratch or re-stock your existing one.
More Vegetable Plants in Stock
If you are planning to grow your own vegetables this summer, now is the time to get planting. We have some varieties home-grown from seed and ready to plan on. Varieties currently available include lettuce, garlic kale, scarlet kale, courgette and calabrese. Also a good range of greenhouse vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
Local Vegetable Plants
We are pleased that we can work with other local suppliers too, enabling us to bring you a wider selection. Further choices includes: runner beans, leeks, french beans, sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, parsley, peas, sweetcorn and swede.
Have a peek through the greenhouse door and you’ll see I’ve got plenty more coming on, including broad beans, climbing courgettes and coriander.
How to Grow Clematis
The most colourful of all climbing plants are Clematis. They give a delightful extra dimension to the garden and with a good selection of different varieties can provide colour throughout the summer.
They are easy to grow if you have the right conditions and prepare the ground well. Clematis dislike a waterlogged soil, so make sure drainage is adequate, particularly if planting in a pot, and take care not to overwater. Remember the golden rule “Feet in the Shade, Heads in the Sun”, meaning the roots enjoy shade, and the stem and foliage need sun. Clematis require a support of some sort, and a common mistake is to plant too close to a fence, wall or tree, so be sure to leave a minimum of 12” distance. If growing up an obelisk then you can plant directly against it.
Planting Tips
When planting dig the planting hole much bigger and deeper than the size of the flower pot; 18” diameter and depth is ideal. Break up the soil in the bottom of the planting hole and add compost. The best compost for clematis is John Innes No.3. Sprinkle a good handful of Bonemeal into the hole and mix into the loosened soil. Add a scoop of Rootgrow and sprinkle at the bottom of the planting hole (don’t mix it in). Remove the pot the place the plant carefully in the hole making sure that the top of the root ball is buried about 3” (8cm) deeper than it was in its pot and re-fill the hole with a mixture of soil and compost, firming down well. Lean the cane towards the support.
You can also plant clematis in a pot, which needs to be at least 20”deep and with good drainage holes. If growing in a pot you may need to provide additional shading for the roots, and remember not to over-water, particularly in winter.
Provide Shade
Clematis planted by a wall, fence, tree or shrub, may need regular watering especially in its first year but be careful not to overdo it if planting in the autumn.
If your clematis is planted in a hot position, where the base of the plant will be baked by the sun for a large part of the day, place bark chippings or mulch around the base to provide shade for the root system. This will help to keep the roots cool and moist, avoiding the plant drying out so quickly.
Choose your clematis with care
Choose your variety with care – montana types are early summer flowering and very vigorous. These are suitable for covering large expanses, such as house walls. The macropetala and alpine types flower in spring and are good for scrambling through summer flowering shrubs or climbing roses. The texensis and viticella varieties are later flowering and look good growing up an obelisk or trellis. My favourite of all is Clematis texensis “Princess of Wales” which has slender rich pinky-red flowers, but the popular variety “Nelly Moser” also takes some beating.
I’d strongly advise keeping the label of the clematis once it is planted, as this will remind you of it’s pruning requirements. Some need cutting down to about 18” each year, and some are best left alone, with just a bit of tidying up. The label will tell you the precise instructions for the variety you have purchased.
We currently have a good selection of clematis and other climbing plants in stock.
New Stock arriving at Woodside
Winter may have just crept back again this week, but here at Woodside it’s spring all the way! We’ve just taken delivery of our first potted roses of the year, and we’re delighted to introduce a range of Peter Beale’s Roses (World leaders in Classic Roses).
Here’s what Peter Beales Roses have to say about themselves –
“Since 1968, Peter Beales Roses have grown millions of roses, from shrub, climbing to modern hybrid and floribunda roses that are now growing all over the world, from small city gardens in London to hundreds of acres in Japan. All roses and plants are lovingly cared for by hand by our East Anglian based rosarians over two years before they are sold.
Many growers of roses, outsource the growing of their roses to Eastern Europe, or keep their roses in cold store late into the spring and early summer – both practises, we believe, lead to inferior roses and disappointing results. Peter Beales’ roses are all grown in East Anglia tended for by local, expert nurserymen with many years’ experience.”
We are very pleased to be stocking the following roses from the range: Sandringham, St Ethelburga (pictured), Countess of Wessex, Evelyn May (pictured), Raymond Carver, Grosvenor House (pictured), McMillan Nurse, Dunholm Massey and Churchill Rose (pictured).
Experience has taught us that although the David Austin Roses are stunning, they don’t always do so well in our cold Northern climate. Because Peter Beale’s don’t use the practice of cold storage, we have found that they do much better in this area. So, if you’ve previously tried and failed to grow Classic English roses, this could be the year to try again!
We also have lots of other roses available now, including the popular varieties English Miss, Peace, Margaret Merrill, Buff Beauty, Iceberg Climbing and American Pillar which can be seen gloriously adorning the swags in the walled garden of Floors Castle each July.
Pop into Woodside to see our full range of roses. We’re open every day 10am – 5pm.
Rose Grosvenor House
A richly fragrant hybrid tea style rose in a rich honey colour fading to creamy white at the edge of the petal.
Rose Evelyn May Named after Peter Beale’s mother, this rose produces scented blooms in shades of peach and salmon.
The Churchill Rose
A repeat flowering rose with a lovely perfume to it’s soft apricot blooms, with good disease resistance, so suitable for organic growing.
Rose St Ethelburga
Often regarded as a superior choice to the popular Gertrude Jekyll, this rose has an old fashioned, classic appearance, with scented flowers of soft pink.
Upcoming Events!
We are pleased to announce that we have scheduled an exciting program of events throughout the year and into the start of 2020. Please note that we’ll probably add to this list as new event opportunities present themselves, so keep an eye open or check our Facebook page. As you can see our first event is this Sunday, 10th March, so come along and support In-Chorus and Comic Relief if you can.
Potato Tubers Mark Start of Spring!
The new gardening season has now officially started! How do I know? Because our delivery of seed potatoes has arrived.
It may seem very early but many potatoes can be planted in March – May, and even earlier if you are growing in a polytunnel or in a greenhouse.
Chitting potatoes (encouraging them to sprout before planting) can lead to an earlier harvest than planting directly into the ground. This is done by placing the seed potatoes into an open container such as an egg box, in a light, airy and frost free position.
Traditionally potatoes have been planted in the garden around Easter time, by chitting the potatoes they will grow shoots and be ready for planting out from late March or earlier if in a frost free environment.
Tips for planting;
- Dig 5″ deep trenches
- Enriched with well-rotted manure, chicken manure pellets or other potato fertiliser
- Taking care not to damage the chitted shoots
- When the leaves start to emerge draw the earth up the sides of the plants using a draw hoe (covering the leaves)
- This will protect against late frosts and prevent light from reaching the growing potato tubers, and will encourage a higher yield
- Remember to water the plants regularly during dry spells
- Potatoes are ready for harvest in around 10 weeks
Scottish Grown First Early Potatoes available are:
Arran Pilot – A white fleshed variety with a firm waxy texture which holds together when cooked, making it a good “new” potato variety. Plant in March to harvest in July.
Athlete – Good crops of small pale yellow fleshed potatoes. A good salad potato with excellent flavour. Plant in March/April to harvest in July/August.
Duke of York – A popular variety in the Borders with a dry mealy texture and is excellent for baking. Plant in March/April to harvest in July/August.
Epicure – The original “Ayrshire new potato” and has a deep cream skin and white flesh. Great for boiling or for baking. Plant in March/April to harvest in July/August.
International Kidney – When grown on Jersey this potato is known around the world as the Jersey Royal, and is one of the best flavoured new potatoes. Quick to mature, this potato should be planted in March/April to harvest from June.
Maris Bard – A popular and widely grown variety with white waxy flesh. A good all rounder variety suitable for boiling, chipping, mashing, roasting and baking. Plant in March/April to harvest in July/August.
Pentland Javelin – A white skinned, white waxy fleshed potato which makes a good boiled potato and great for salad use. Plant in March/April to harvest in July/August.
Rocket – A quick maturing variety suited to growing in containers or in potato bags, which reliably produces high yields. Good for boiling. Plant in March/April for harvest in June/July.
Sharpes Express – A pale yellow fleshed potato with a mealy texture which holds its shape well when cooked. An excellent potato for mashing. Plant in March/April for harvest in July/August.
Organic Colleen – Excellent blight resistance makes this a suitable variety for organic gardeners. A good all rounder, suitable for boiling, chipping and baking. Plant in March/April for harvest in July/August.
Scottish Grown Second Early Potatoes available are:
Catriona – A firm mealy textured potato good for chips and baking. Plant in March/April to harvest in August/September.
Charlotte – Our best selling variety which boils well to make an outstanding salad potato. Also makes a surprisingly good baked potato if left to grow bigger. Plant in March/April to harvest in August/September.
Nadine – With cream flesh and a moist waxy texture, producing high yields. Good for boiling and for baking, and stores right through the winter. Good blight resistance. Plant in March/April to harvest in August/September. (One of our personal favourites).
Wilja – A firm, dry textured all rounder suitable for all cooking uses, but particularly useful as a baking potato. Plant in March/April to harvest in August/September.
MORE SECOND EARLY VARIETIES WILL BE AVAILABLE IN MARCH
The Scottish grown maincrop variety currently available are:
Pink Fir Apple – Producing bumper crops of knobbly long tubers with a firm flesh and strong flavour. Good drought resistance. Excellent new and salad potato that stores well. Great for chips, although they can be strangely shaped! Plant in March/April to harvest in September/October. (Another firm favourite).
Please note that we sell all the above varieties in nets, and we can also sell them as individual tubers, meaning you can buy as many, or as few as you like. Also, we will have more maincrop varieties available in March.
There are also “Taster Packs” available (in packs of 10 tubers), of the following varieties for you to try:
Carlingford – This is a second early variety which is suitable for all round use in the kitchen. It has good disease resistance and is an excellent variety for containers or potato bag planting. Plant in March/April to harvest July/September.
Inca Bella – A maincrop variety with a creamy texture and a nutty flavour, and with a speckled red skin. Good for baking and roasting. Plant in March/April to harvest August/September.
Sarpo Kifli – A maincrop variety from the Sarpo breeding programme which has excellent blight resistance. Unusually for a maincrop type it cooks fine new and salad potatoes. Plant in March/April and harvest July/September (8 tubers per pack).
Highland Burgundy – A maincrop variety with red skin and red flesh inside a white ring. Good for mashing and for chips. Plant in March/April to harvest in September/October.
There’s nothing like home grown potatoes and as always we are happy to offer our expert advice.
Hints and Tips for Feeding the Birds
In winter weather all birds need to eat around 40% of their body weight every day. They need as many calories as possible, so feed with the highest calorie foods possible.
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- The best food is sunflower seeds, either as hearts or as seed with the husks. They are quickly digested and converted into energy. Suet pellets, suet blocks and fat balls are also of the highest fat content. Peanuts are also good, but are not as efficient at converting into energy as the other choices.
- Peanuts can go “off” quickly when outside, so only put out a weeks supply at a time.
- Seed can be given all year round. We use the Feeder Seed in all our tube feeders as this attracts a good variety of birds, but remember to give high calorie foods as an extra in bad weather
- Not all birds can perch on the hanging feeders, so don’t forget to provide food for the ground feeders such as blackbirds and robins. A table seed is ideal.
- Avoid giving bread – not only does it attract vermin, but it has little or no nutritional content for the birds. Birds can actually starve to death eating bread as it fills them up and makes them too lethargic to go hunting for nutritional foods.
- Feed the birds as early in the day as possible – remember they have been huddling all night against the cold and they need a boost as early as possible to give them the energy to forage for more food.
- Feed the birds all year round as they depend on us to compensate for habitat loss. Avoid feeding whole peanuts in the Spring as fledglings can easily choke to death on them.
Here at Woodside we stock a large range of CJ Wildlife products in the shop and a good choice of feeding accessories for all gardens.
New Range of Bird Feeders
The design of bird feeders has remained unchanged for decades…..until now! We are really pleased to be offering for sale a brand new range of bird feeders from Europe made from recycled plastic and in several modern designs.
Many of them come with a velcro type band so they can easily be attached to tree trunks or even drainpipes. They all come boxed and are light weight, so ideal for posting off as Christmas presents. I would imagine they would appeal to people in more contemporary style homes, and younger people wanting a “funkier” look. Prices start at just £2.99 for a small fat ball feeder, so they are a great price too!
This seed feeder will fasten to a tree trunk or drain pipe
This feeder has two inserts – one for seed and one for nuts
This fat ball feeder comes with a velcro style fastening, so is easy to fix in place
Any type of feed can be put in this hanging feeder
November at Woodside
New In!
We have just received a delivery of delicious preserves and foodie gift boxes ready for the Christmas season! Laura is having great fun unpacking them. There are several different gift boxes to choose from, as well as individual jams and chutneys, perfect for gifts or to simply stock up your own cupboard.
Winter Opening Times
Please also note that from 1st November our opening hours change to 10-4pm, and remain at these times until next March. We stay open all winter except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the 1st & 2nd November.
Upcoming Events
It’s a busy season for us at Woodside and there’s plenty to get involved in! We’ve got some exciting events coming up which you can find out more about here: https://woodsidegarden.co.uk/events. We have lots of opportunities to volunteer in out wildlife garden and you can even bring your tools in to us to sharpen!
For your own garden, it’s the season to place your orders for bare-rooted fruit trees and hedging plants. Christmas Wreaths are also available to order, and, on the topic of Christmas, we have a Christmas Evening menu on the 14th December!
For more information about any of these things, just ask a member of shop staff for details.
We have added some lines to our half price clearance sale!
These ‘Topiary Planters’ are beautiful frost-proof pots in green or dark brown with an attractive topiary motif. A variety of sizes are available with prices starting at £3.99 – so at half price you would only pay £2. They are perfect for planting bulbs! For best results use Dalefoot Bulb Planting Compost.
Our quirky metallic hedgehogs are just desperate for a new home! These are also half price and were £34.99 meaning they are now just £17.50. Perhaps a fun Christmas present for someone who is hedgehog mad?
That’s all for now!
Equestrian Theatre performance in the Woodside garden
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Yes, it’s nearly time for our annual Equestrian Theatre performance in the Woodside garden.
This year’s performance is ” The Age of Nottingham”, so I’m guessing lots of goodies, baddies, highwaymen and references to Robin Hood! The event takes place on 14th July at 7pm (gates open 6.15pm) and tickets can be booked by phoning 01835 830315. The prices are; Adult £18, Under 16 £12, Family (2+3) £50, under 3’s free. Your ticket also includes a two-course buffet supper.
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Naomi’s amazing Summer Pimms cake
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