Posts by Emma Emmerson

October  is the perfect time to plant Autumn onion sets and garlic. In this post I will share how to plant autumn onions.

We have two  varieties of onion in stock for you:
Autumn Champion – a brown onion which is one of the best autumn and winter varieties, producing high yields which store well. A good all purpose cooking variety.

Red Winter – a red tinged skin with good flavour and excellent keeping qualities. Crisp and sweet and perfect for stir fries and salads.

We also have Elephant Garlic ready and these can also be planted now. The Garlic variety Kingsland Wight is due in soon. This always sells out very quickly so if you’d like us to reserve any for you please contact the shop on 01835 830315.

If you need advice on how to grow garlic please check out our “How To Grow Garlic Guide” here.

If you’ve never tried growing autumn onions before – just read on….

How to Grow Autumn Onions

Onion sets are small immature onions, which have been grown from seed in the previous year, and then harvested early so that they can be planted out a later date. Autumn planted sets will provide the grower with a distinct advantage of an early harvest in the following year.

Growing in containers

Onions can be grown in beds or containers. Growing onions from sets in containers is ideal for those who want a small, steady supply of bulbs as and when needed, with any surplus being dried and stored for later use. Make sure that the posts selected have good drainage holes, and raise them up on pot feet to prevent waterlogging. Fill large pots or containers with good quality compost such as Growmoor Vegetable Compost. Firm the soil surface and apply water with a watering can and rose attachment. Use a dibber or gently push the sets into the soil, at 10cm spacing, so that only the tips are visible. Place the container in a sunny position.

Growing in beds

Prepare planting beds, usually after other main crop vegetables have been harvested, and incorporate plenty of organic matter. Onions will grow best in well-drained soil in a sunny position. Rake the surface soil to a fine tilth and firm with the back of a rake. Push the sets into the soil so only the tips are showing. Space each set at 10cm apart in the rows and 30cm between the rows. If the birds pull them out, just keep pushing them back in until the roots are sufficiently formed to anchor them on place.

General aftercare

If the autumn is mild then the sets will begin to show signs of growth with green shoots appearing. Onions are very hardy but if early hard frosts are forecast then ensure these young shoots are protected with frost fleece. Water sparingly and only if the soil dries out, otherwise they should over winter without any problems. Water as normal when temperatures rise during late spring.

Pests and diseases

Over winter, the onions will be dormant and pests and diseases will be less troublesome. Come the spring, look out for signs of yellowing leaves, rust, mildew and mould.  Avoid feeding young plants with nitrogen-rich fertilisers. Onion fly is a known pest but rarely affects plants grown from sets.

Harvesting and storage

Autumn planted onion sets should be ready for harvesting from early June in the following year, which is 2-3 months ahead of spring planted sets. Store in a cool dry place.

We have had several deliveries of new plants this week, including ornamental trees, to get us all stocked up ready for the autumn planting season.

How to Plant Ornamental Trees

Sarah and Joanne have  unloaded our main delivery of ornamental and fruit trees, and these are  ready for their new homes. Now is a great time to plant whilst there is still a bit of warmth in the ground and also plenty of moisture. Trees should be planted with compost to improve the soil structure, a handful of Bonemeal as fertiliser and Rootgrow to aid establishment. You’ll also need a stake and tie to secure them, and consider a tree guard if rabbits and deer are likely to be a problem. Remember to water them in well, and keep an eye on them for supplementary watering during dry spells of weather – particularly in their first spring as they are becoming established. Its a huge delivery we’ve just had, so too many to list, but particular highlights are:

Fruit trees

• Apple trees
• Damsons (Farleigh’s Prolific, Merryweather, Shropshire Prune, Sweet Prune)
• Gages (Dennistons Superb, Cambridge)
• Pears
• Plums (Victoria, Marjories Seedling, Jubilee)
• Quince Vranja
• Fan trained fruit trees available for smaller spaces, for growing against a fence or wall, or for screening.

Recommended Ornamental Trees

• Amelanchiers – these are really lovely trees suitable for smaller gardens. They have really pretty white blossom in spring and develop good autumn colour. The varieties Obelisk and Glenform Rainbow Pillar are upright varieties so are great for a feature plant or a small space, and Amelanchier laevis “Snowflakes” is a stunning small tree with white flowers appearing at the same time as the coppery coloured leaves in spring.
• Betula (Birch) – very hardy trees with attractive bark and providing excellent wildlife habitat for insects and birds. Dalecarlica, also known as the Swedish Birch, has dissected feather-like leaves and white bark, Jaquemontii (Himalayan Birch) is one of the best birches for its white bark and graceful habit, and albosinensis Pink Champagne has distinctive pale pink peeling bark
• Malus (Crab Apples) – these are great trees with so much to offer: flowers in springtime, edible and attractive fruits in late summer, and good autumn colour
• Parrotia (Persian Ironwood). Persian Spire is a narrow upright form with purple emerging leaves in spring, which develop into green with purple edges in summer, finally providing a display of oranges and yellows in autumn. These are fully hardy and do well in sun or partial shade in a moist, but well-drained soil.
• Sorbus (Rowans, Mountain Ash) . Superb trees with spring flowers, late summer berries that can persist right through into early winter, and good autumn leaf colour. Super hardy, and does well in difficult sites. We have plenty of varieties available with a choice of berry colour – red, pink, white and yellow.
• Styrax japonicus – (Snowball). A small tree with spreading branches, with small white bell-shaped white flowers in summer. Plant in acid soil or ericaceous compost in a spot sheltered from the cold north-easterly winds
• Ulmus x hollandia Wredei (Upright Golden Elm) . An upright form of elm with crinkled edged leaves that are yellow where exposed to the sun, and greener in the shaded parts giving an interesting textured appearance. Tolerant of most soils and a good feature tree.
• Xanthocyparis nootkatensis Pendula. This is a large growing weeping conifer with a shaggy habit and grey-green foliage. A superb specimen tree for a large garden or parkland
  Firstly we have a fresh batch of bedding plants for you, including wallflowers, primroses, polyanthus, violas, pansies and myositis. These are all perfect for replanting tired looking containers and for filling up autumn gaps in the garden.

Winter Bedding Plants

Firstly we have a fresh batch of bedding plants for you, including wallflowers, primroses, polyanthus, violas, pansies and myositis. These are all perfect for replanting tired looking containers and for filling up autumn gaps in the garden.

We’ve also had a batch of Hellebores delivered. Some of you will know what a fan I am of these hardy garden plants. Whilst they’re not the cheapest of purchases, they offer such good value for money as they flower for months on end. One Hellebore in my own garden flowered from October right through until May, and then I cut it back and it’s flowering again! I think there has only been about two months in the last year when it hasn’t had any flowers. Plant Hellebores in partial shade in a humus rich soil. Add some garden mulch to enrich your soil if it’s a bit thin and poor. They do really well under deciduous trees and shrubs as long as it doesn’t dry out too much.

Choice of Hellebores

Our choice of Hellebores this week is mainly from the “Viv” series. These have been bred specifically for their long flowering period and their abundance of blooms. They are very hardy and hold their flowers facing outward (rather than downward like many traditional Hellebore varieties) so you can really appreciate their beauty.
Varieties we have in now are:
Amalia – A crisp double white with a lemon green centre
Dorisa – White single flowers with distinctive red speckles
Luisa – Rich maroon red double flowers
Maeva – Pale yellow with red speckles
Serafina – Striking pale lemon/white petals with a strong purple red blotch
Victoria – Opens as cherry red and matures to aubergine purple.
In addition we also have two other popular varietes:
Walberton’s Ivory Prince – Creamy flowers flushed with pink and green
Walberton’s Rosemary – Gorgeous dusky pink

Autumn is always a lovely time in the garden as you replenish pots and beds for all around colour and for planning ahead to next summer.

Our first batch of Spring bulbs have just arrived! Despite the fact we hardly seem to have had a summer, these are all ready for planting now to give a wonderful display next spring.

You can plant directly into the garden, or many of them look great in containers too, especially when combined with bedding plants such as pansies and violas. I had a lovely display of Tulip Red Riding Hood, with blue Myosotis in my tubs last spring which looked really good, so will probably do again this season. Don’t forget to plant up with specialist bulb compost for best results.

The range includes Tulips, Crocus, Alliums and Narcissus, with more varieties still to come.

We also have some particularly interesting spring bulbs:
Eranthis ciliata (Winter Aconite) That joyful little yellow flower that blooms with the snowdrops
Allium Ambassador – a giant headed variety
Colchicums (Autumn Crocus) – an Autumn flowering bulb with large crocus shaped flowers
Erythronium dens-canis (Dog Toothed Violet) a British native with pretty mauve/ purple flowers
Puschkinia scilliodes libanotica – that’s the fabulous carpeting bulb we have up near the tearoom which is always much admired.

We also have indoor (prepared) hyacinths ready at 99p each, which can be planted up ready for an indoor winter display.

We are delighted that live music will be returning to Woodside on Saturday 24th August when 11 year-old singer Rosie Angus will be back again at 1pm. She will then be joined at 1:30 by her singing group, The Rivertones for a further 30 minutes. They will be part of our August fundraising for the Margaret Kerr Unit.

She performed for nearly 1 hour last week, raising £140 for the unit. Her programme included folk songs, modern pop and classic pop – so something for everyone. Do come along and support her if you can.

Here is what to expect:

You are invited to visit our tearoom and view the exhibition by August artist, Marjorie Keys. Marjorie has exhibited at Woodside before and is always one of our most popular artists with her local scenes.

Throughout August Marjorie is very kindly donating 50% of her sales to the Margaret Kerr Unit at the Borders General Hospital in response to the wonderful level of care Emma received there during her recent stay. The exhibition started this morning, and one piece has already sold, so hopefully we will be able to give a significant donation by the end of the month.

Well, what a difference a couple of weeks has made with the weather! We are now in full bedding plant mode and we’re well stocked up, although they are selling fast!  I’ve checked the weather forecast and there doesn’t seem to be any frosts looming, but obviously do keep checking and cover bedding plants with fleece if required.

So, NEW in this week, we have TRIXIES. These are 3 plants grown as one, and are simply brilliant for hanging baskets and containers. Just plant them as one plant and watch them grow. We have four different Trixie mixes available. Also NEW this week are Argyranthemums (Marguerites). These are big daisy flowering bedding plants with attractive feathery foliage, and we have these in white, pink or pale yellow. Look out too for another batch of Osteospermums and Nemesias, which will flower all summer long if regularly fed with a liquid fertiliser, and dead-headed.

Packs of bedding plants

In our bedding plants pack range, which are all great value at £3.99 each or 4 for £14 (cheaper than last year!) we have Lobelia, Alyssum, Nicotiana, Begonia semps, Petunias, Salvias, Verbenas, Viola, Dianthus, Mesembryanthemum, and Marigolds. We also have bedding Geraniums in packs, although these are a different price and not included in the multibuy offer.

In the garden plant range we have the ever popular Verbena bonariensis. I treat this as an annual in my garden as I hardly ever can get it to over-winter, but we sell it as little plants at just £3.99 at this time of year, so it’s well worth planting fresh each year. Other very popular plants are the thistly Circium, the rich red flowered Astrantia Star of Love, the almost black leaved Cimicifuga actea Atropurpurea, funky looking Farfugium Wavy Gravy, gorgeous Hostas, Liatris Floristan Violet, and Liriope muscari Big Blue.

We’re open 9am – 5 pm every day, and we look forward to seeing you soon. Please remember the best way to get in touch is to phone us on 01835 830315. Emails and social media messages may get missed as we are all “hands-on” serving.

Our aquatics section is now fully open for the summer, with a great range of fresh pond plants. These include marginals, deep water plants, water lilies and potted oxygenators.

We have also had our first delivery of pond fish for the season:
Goldfish
Sarasa Comets
Shubunkins
Albino Grass Carp
Long-nosed Sturgeon
Golden Orfe
Blue Orfe
Koi Carp

In addition our Water Gardening Shop is also fully stocked with a good range of pond pumps (including solar powered pumps), self-contained water features, filters, pond liner and underlay, fish food and much more.

The Water Gardening Shop is open every day 9am – 5pm, but if you require specialist advice on ponds please call us on 01835 830315 and ask to make an appointment with Stephen.

It’s been a very busy week with ornamental and fruit trees now in stock.

Look out for the delicious honey-scented Sarcococca, which is in flower just now and filling the air with it’s gorgeous perfume, and we also have 2 different varieties of Daphne, also smelling very sweet. Our Hamamelis (Witchhazels) are in bud and flower, and you can choose from 5 varieties – Rubin, Aphrodite, Arnold Promise, Pallida and Diane. We also have a handful of really bushy Camellias in stock, which are all bursting with buds and the promise of flamboyant flowers – Nikisi Kerin, Nuccio’s Pearl, Kick Off and Marie Williams are our current varieties.

Ornamental and Fruit Trees

With the new delivery we now have over 300 ornamental and fruit trees to choose from.

My favourites are:

• Acer tataricum Hot Wings – an very ornamental Maple with winged scarlet seeds in autumn
• Betula jaquemontii – one of the very best white stemmed birches
• Betula albosinensis China Rose – a birch with shiny copper peeling bark
• Cercidiphyllum japonicum – the Katsura tree, which has spectacular autumn foliage which smells of candyfloss
• Fagus sylvatica Midnight Feather – a weeping birch with feathery purple/black leaves
• Liquid amber – beautiful trees with Maple shaped leaves
• Malus – Crab apples. We have a choice of 10 different varieties, all with attractive autumn fruits
• Nyssa Red Rage – shiny dark green leaves that turn a fiery red in autumn
• Quince – these are the proper fruiting quinces, not the ornamental Japanese quince (Chaenomeles), and we have 3 different varieties – Meech’s Prolific, Serbian Gold, and Vranja
• Sorbus – Rowans, or Mountain Ash. 10 different varieties to choose from.

These are just my personal recommended trees – we have many more in stock, all suitable for growing in this area. They do sell quickly and it might be autumn before another batch comes in, so if you’d like anything reserving just call 01835 830315, or better still, come in and see the full range for yourself.

You can see some plant highlights on our Facebook page, by clicking here.