Gardening

Now that spring is well and truly here (isn’t it wonderful?) our aquatics department is now open for the summer. We stock coldwater fish, pond plants, self contained water features (including solar options), pumps, liners and everything else needed to make or maintain a beautiful pond feature.

This is always our busiest time of year, so apologies that we haven’t been able to send out a decent detailed newsletter to everyone on the list – suffice to say we are having frequent deliveries to keep you well-supplied for your garden. here are some of this week’s highlights:

1. Vegetable plants are now in stock including tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and sprouts
2. New season’s climbing plants are ready – clematis, jasmines, honeysuckles and climbing hydrangea
3. A new range of garden statues and wall plaques has just been delivered.

For a list of the many jobs you can be doing in the garden this month, take a look at our guide to Gardening Tasks for April

We look forward to seeing you soon.

We are delighted that you can now buy wild flowers from the plant centre at Woodside. The wild flowers all require different growing conditions, depending on the variety, but they are all hardy varieties which should do well in the Scottish Borders.

Our wild flower selection includes:

• • Betony
  • Red & White Campion
  • Cowslip & Oxslip
  • Foxglove
  • Ragged Robin
  • Teasel
  • Honesty.

Strawberry Plants

We also have a good choice of potted Strawberry plants ready for planting out. Choose a sunny well-drained spot and make sure that it is weed free. Add plenty of well-rotted farmyard manure or compost and plant about a foot apart in rows about 2-3 feet apart. Be careful not to plant them too deep – the crowns should be level with the soil. Existing plants should be fed with Potash in Spring and you may need to net them when fruiting to prevent the birds from stealing all your fruits. Layering straw underneath the plants when they come into flower will help keep the developing fruits dry, clean and out of the reach of slugs.

Our varieties are:
Honeoye – an early variety with heavy crops of fruit that freeze well for later jam making
Cambridge Favourite –  a reliable and well-known mid-season variety
Elsanta – a mid-season abundant variety with good storage qualities
Eros – heavy cropping mid-season variety which is good and hardy
Pegasus – a mid-late variety with exceptional disease restistance, including mildew
Sophie – a late variety with delicious uniform dark red fruits
Florence – a late variety with a very sweet flavour and good disease resistance

Our strawberries are all potted with a good root system and are UK grown.

March is a funny month in the garden – sometimes it can feel like the start of spring, other years it seems like we’re still in the depths of winter. Even if it seems spring-like don’t get carried away and rush into planting seeds as we’re certainly not out of the woods yet. However, there are many gardening jobs to be getting with on days when the weather permits.

• Plant daffodils “in the green” and dead-head them as the flowers fade to keep them vigorous for next year.
• Plant out hardy summer flowering bulbs such as lilies, crocosmias, nerines and galtonias in containers or in the ground.
• Towards the end of the month you can finish pruning roses by cutting them back hard to a healthy bud. Overgrown climbing and rambling roses can have whole stems pruned to encourage new growth and flowering lower down the plant.
• Dogwoods and willows can also be hard pruned at the same time to encourage attractive new growth.
• Mulch newly pruned roses with a good layer of well-rotted farm yard manure
• Cut back Jasminum nudiflorum (Winter Jasmine) to keep it under control
• Mulch around alpine plants with horticultural grit
• Feed acid-loving (ericaceous) plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and pieris with an ericaceous fertiliser and then top-dress with ericaceous compost to maintain the acidity levels of the soil.
• Apply fertiliser such as Growmore or organic pelleted chicken manure to all non-ericaceous garden plants
• Continue tidying and weeding borders taking care not to stand on emerging bulbs
• Plant new trees and shrubs and check tree ties and stakes on existing plants
• Weed around the base of trees leaving about 1m diameter clear of grass and weeds
• Continue dead-heading spring flowers and winter bedding
• Spring clean your greenhouse using a fumigator if necessary and check that the heaters are working
• Pot up overwintering cannas into fresh compost and leave indoors until the frosts finish
• Sow wildflowers in seed trays or modules indoors
• Sow sweet peas into Root-trainers or deep pots indoors
• Plant onion and shallot sets see our handy guide on our website
• Plant Jerusalem tubers, asparagus crowns, soft fruit bushes and rhubarb plants
• Start preparing vegetable beds by weeding and hoeing
• Cut down winter grown green manures, and dig them into the soil
• Start planning a new pond to encourage wildlife and to add a whole new habitat for moisture loving and water plants
• Protect emerging Hostas, Delphiniums and other vulnerable plants from slugs using slug pellets or organic wool pellets
• Replace or repair any winter damaged plant supports and trellising
• Use a patio brush to clean between paving and Jeyes fluid to clean hard paths and patios
• Keep feeding garden birds

The start of the gardening year has officially arrived, and we now have our first batch of seed potatoes in stock, as well as onion sets, shallots and garlics.

Seed Potatoes:

We have a selection of First and Second Earlies as well as Rooster which is our most popular Maincrop variety.

First Early Seed Potatoes:

• Athlete NEW – a salad potato with good blight resistance
• Caledonian Pearl – a very early variety suitable for boiling and eating hot or cold
• Duke of York – a very popular dry mealy variety
• International Kidney – known as the Jersey Royal when grown on Jersey.
• Maris Bard – a reliable waxy textured all-rounder
• Pentland Javelin – a Scottish variety with a waxy texture
• Red Duke of York – a red skinned Heritage variety for general purpose use
• Rocket – a very early variety with excellent yields
• Sharpes Express – pale lemon coloured flesh
• Organic Colleen – medium dry matter, and good disease resistance

Second Early Seed Potatoes:

• Charlotte – our best selling variety, versatile and tasty
• Estima – firm moist texture and high yields
• Maris Peer – creamy white flesh, ideal as a salad potato
• Nadine – another top seller, a reliable all-rounder

Main Crop Seed Potatoes:

• Rooster – a red skinned variety suitable for roasting and chipping

All the current varieties are £4.99 per 2kg bag
(1.5kg for Organic Colleen, except Rooster which is £5.99 per bag.)

 Onion sets, shallots and garlics:

The varieties we have in stock are:

• Onion Centurion
• Onion Red Baron
• Onion Stuttgarter Giant
• Onion Sturon
• Shallot Golden Gourmet
• Shallot Red Sun
• Garlic Marco

If you’d like any reserved for you, just phone on 01835 830315.

Please note we are currently closed until 5th January for redecorating. We will be back open at 10am on Sunday 5th January to welcome you back to Woodside.

Happy New Year to all our customers.

Food:

We are continuing to take orders for Christmas Lunches, Christmas Afternoon Teas, and Christmas Evening Dining. You can book via the events section or phone us on 01835 830315.
The Plant Shop are also taking orders for Christmas Groceries.
Our groceries order form can be accessed here or you can collect one from the plant shop or phone us on 01835 830315.

Christmas Trees, Wreathes and Plants:

Nordmann cut Christmas Trees available. They are the non-needle drop variety, available in height from 4ft to 8ft,  and also potted live Christmas trees. This year we have Picea as growing Christmas trees – these are really neat conical trees and great for small spaces and tabletops.

Sarah and Joanne are currently making Christmas wreaths for orders and for general sale – please order by phoning us. Our beautiful fresh wreaths are suitable for doors or for graves, and we can also make garlands too if requested.

We currently have in stock a gorgeous range of Cyclamen to brighten up the festive season, and we have loads more Christmassy plants arriving next week, including Christmas Roses, Christmas Cactus and potted Hyacinths.

Christmas Treats:
Our shop is packed full of decorations, lights and Christmas gift ideas, including wild bird food and feeders, and foodie treats for humans too,  so do come in and have good browse – we may be able to solve your Christmas present buying problems!

If you’ve completely run out of ideas we also sell Woodside vouchers which can be spent in the Plant Centre or the Birdhouse Tearoom.
For all enquiries please phone us on 01835 830315 or better still, come and visit us.

Winter and spring bedding plants are just some of the gorgeous plants we now have available in the plant centre.

So, it’s time to pull out your summer bedding displays and replace with winter and spring bedding plants – we have a great selection including wallflowers, primroses, polyanthus, bellis and myosotis which will really come into their own next spring, but need planting now. We also have a good choice of colours in violas and pansies, which are flowering now and will continue to do so right through the winter. This is likely to be our last delivery of bedding plants, so once these have gone that will be it until the spring season. Underplant with spring flowering bulbs for a really showy display. These are selling fast but we do still have a good selection for you to choose from.

Recommended Plants this Week

• Hamamelis (Witch Hazel). We have some beauties in stock for you – in fact Stephen thinks the larger plants are amongst the best he’s ever seen, being well branched and full of flower buds. In the large size and costing £99.99 we have the following varieties:
  • 

    Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’

    Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’ is a large deciduous shrub of open habit. Spidery, yellow flowers are extremely frost-resistant and highly fragrant, and appear from mid-late winter. After the flowers, large green leaves open that turn vibrant shades of yellow and orange in the autumn. This is a lovely shrub for the woodland garden or as a specimen in the shrub border.

  • Hamamelis x intermedia Diane’ is a broad crowned, large deciduous shrub of open habit. One of the best reds Witch Hazels, its large spidery flowers are a striking brick red and produced between December and March. The large, green foliage turns fiery shades of red, orange and yellow in autumn.
  • Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’  also known as ‘Copper Beauty’, is an eye catching, well branched Witch Hazel. The spreading stems are cloaked in unremarkable green foliage in summer, which then turn spectacular shades of yellow, orange and red in the autumn. Majestic flowers in spectacular shades of yellow, orange and red are produced on bare branches from November to January, making them perfect for adding colour and interest to the winter garden. Flowers also release a subtle citrusy perfume.
  • Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Orange Beauty’ is a vigorous, deciduous shrub with an upright but spreading, vase shaped habit. The broad, hazel-like leaves emerge yellowish green flushed maroon, turning deep green in summer, and in autumn turn brilliant yellow and orange. From early to late winter, slightly twisted, spidery, scented flowers emerge on the bare branches, at first yellow-orange, later turning amber, orange and red, against the purple-red calyxes

We also have a selection of smaller Hamamelis plants priced at  £56.99.

• Sarcococca ( Winter Box)
  • • Sarcococca ruscifolia var chinensis ‘Dragon Gate’  is a splendid Chinese shrub with fairly narrow, lance-shaped dark green leaves and masses of sweetly scented white flowers in winter.
    • Sarcococca hookeriana “Purple Gem” is a popular and attractive, low growing evergreen shrub with slender, glossy dark green leaves and clusters of highly scented white flowers from December to March. The stems are dark purple-red in colour.

  I would recommend planting Sarcococcas near a path or house door so that you can get the full benefit of the honey scented flowers in winter. They also do well in pots – but be careful not to over-pot them.

  Other plants to add interest to a winter garden:

  • Corylus avellana contorta ( Twisted Hazel) which has attractive twisted stems
  • Viburnam bodnantense Dawn – an early spring flowering shrub which is highly fragrant and good for cutting
  • Brachyglottis greyii (used to be called Senecio greyiii) a silver leaved evergreen plant with yellow daisy-like flowers in summer
  • Fothergilla Major – A medium-sized deciduous shrub with a height upto 2m, with glossy, broadly oval leaves glaucous beneath and turning brilliant red and orange in autumn. Flowers small, white, in short spikes before or with the leaves. Quite an unusual plant
  • Garrya thuretii – This shrub produces cascades of long, silky, tassel-like catkins in January and February. It has dark evergreen leaves that have a silvery underside. Garrya can grow to a substantial size over time, but would benefit from the protection of a wall in our area.
  • Olearia macrodonta – (New Zealand Holly, Daisy Bush) )  A medium sized, evergreen shrub with large silvery-green, holly-like leaves and clusters of fragrant, white flowers in early to mid summer. The leaves are musk-scented when crushed.
  • Leucothoe White Water (NEW to Woodside) An evergreen shrub with striking, white variegated leaves on reddish young shoots. In the winter the leaves become dark red.

Our main delivery of Scottish Grown soft fruit bushes has just arrived, so settle in for a good long read as I tell you what we have to offer.
You can reserve plants by phoning Woodside on 01835 830315, or come and visit and have a look. We are open 9am – 5pm until the end of October and then from 10am – 4pm from November 1st for the winter season.

Black Currants
All our varieties are part of the “Ben” series which have been bred at the Scottish Crop Research Institute so are particularly suitable for our climate.
Ben Alder – Mid season variety cropping from mid – late July. High yields and good disease resistance
Ben Sarek – Early variety cropping from early – mid July. A compact habit, making it suitable for smaller spaces or growing in containers, It has large glossy tart fruits.
Ben Tirran – Late variety cropping late July – early August. Reliable and heavy cropper for dessert or culinary use

Red Currants
Laxton’s No 1 – A traditional favourite with good mildew resistance. It’s a late flowerer so avoids late frosts, and fruits in mid-July. The fruits are a bright red with a tart flavour suitable for culinary use.

Pink Currants
Gloire de Sablon – An old French variety which produces masses of beautiful pale pink, almost translucent berries in July, which are fragrant and juicy

White Currants
White Versailles – An early variety producing heavy crops of pale yellow/white berries in July. The fruits are very sweet and can be eaten fresh as a dessert fruit

Blackberry
Merton Thornless – a mid-season variety producing large fruits on thornless stems. It has a relatively compact growth habit so is suitable for smaller spaces on a wall or fence

Boysenberry
This is a complicated hybrid, developed in California, and is a blackberry, loganberry, dewberry and raspberry cross. It is a vigorous grower and a prolific cropper and easy to grow. The fruits are dark purple and combine the tartness of a blackberry with the sweet tanginess of a raspberry

Tayberry
Medana – A vigorous raspberry/blackberry hybrid producing fruits which can be twice the size of a large raspberry and are juicy and sweet. The stout prickly stems require the support of a wall or fence

Loganberry
A thornless raspberry/blackberry hybrid which produces long large berries from mid July, requiring the support.of a wall or fence

Jostaberry
A thornless cross between a blackcurrant and gooseberry producing the large fruits of a gooseberry and the taste of a blackcurrant. This is a large and vigorous shrub which is easy and reliable to grow

Gooseberry
Achilles – this is a NEW variety to Woodside and is a mid-season thornless variety producing masses of fruit which can be picked when green to be used in cooking and in jams, or left to ripen to a striking deep red colour and used as a sweet dessert fruit
Hinnonmaki Green – a mid-season variety producing sweet and aromatic fruits from mid-July. Bred in Finland, so good hardiness and disease resistance
Hinnonmaki Red – another Finnish variety with large sweet red berries. It has excellent mildew resistance and is a good choice for organic growers.
Invicta – a popular reliable variety producing very heavy crops of sweet fruits in late July – August. The fruits hold their shape well when cooked

Gojiberry
These originate in the Himalayan Mountains so are extremely hardy. The berries are one of the most powerful nutritional and anti-ageing foods known and are produced in late summer. The attractive fruits have a mild and sweet liquorice flavour and have more vitamin C than an orange and can be eaten fresh, or dried and added to muesli. They are easy to grow and are self fertile, meaning they don’t need a pollination partner. Grow in a sunny spot in a well drained soil that has been enriched with manure.

Honeyberry
These originate in Russia and are a member of the honeysuckle family, although they are of a shrubby habit, rather than a climber. They are very resistant to cold temperatures and they all require a pollination partner to successfully produce fruit.
Boreal Beauty – a relatively new variety, bred in 2016, this variety crops in June to July and produces attractive berries with excellent flavour
Boreal Blizzard – Heavy crops of large sweet fruits in June and July
Honey Bee – Bred in Canada as a pollinator for other varieties, it produces reliable crops of fruit rich in Vitamin C and provides a good nectar source for pollinating insects.

Blueberry
Blueberries are reliable attractive shrubs which require full sun or part shade, good drainage and an acidic soil, so if your soil is not acidic you’ll need to add ericaceous compost when planting, and top-dress annually to keep the acidic levels up. Blueberries are self-fertile, but tend to crop better when there are other blueberries to pollinate with. They are worth growing in the ornamental garden as they have attractive flowers in spring and have good autumn colour.
Jersey – a mid to late variety cropping in late July to August producing high yields of small sweet fruits
Legacy – NEW to Woodside, this is a late season variety cropping in August to September, and produces masses of medium -large fruits

Rhubarb
Victoria – this is a popular main crop variety with high yields of thick red stalks that are not tough and stringy, but juicy and sweet. Plant in a well drained position with plenty of sun and a good dose of manure

Raspberry
These are supplied in bundles of either 10 or 5 canes, which should be split and planted individually in a sunny well drained position, with a post and wire support for all summer fruiting varieties.
All Gold – a vigorous Autumn fruiting variety producing sweet yellow fruits from August until the first frosts. This is the variety we have at Woodside and is very reliable and easy to grow
Autumn Bliss – an Autumn variety which has heavy crops of rich red fruits from August until the first frosts
Glen Ample – a mid-season Scottish variety cropping from July to August. It has spine free canes, high yields and good disease resistance.
Glen Clova – an early season Scottish variety producing good yields of small, firm and flavoursome fruits in July.
Glen Ericht – a mid season Scottish variety with good disease resistance. It is almost spine free making picking easier, and the fruits have a good sharp flavour, particularly suitable for jam making.
Glen Lyon – an early season Scottish variety which has spine free canes and good disease resistance. The berries hold their shape well when frozen.
Glen Magna – a late season Scottish variety producing fruits from mid-July to mid-August. The canes are almost spine free and the berries are large and dark red.
Glen Prosen – a mid season Scottish variety with spine free canes and firm round fruits with an excellent flavour. This variety is widely used commercially due to its reliability and heavy cropping.
Malling Admiral – a mid season variety producing fruit in mid-July to August. The canes are almost spine free and the fruits are long and firm. It has excellent disease resistance so is suitable for organic growing.
Malling Jewel – a mid-season variety which is an old favourite with gardeners. It’s a reliable cropper and a good choice for all purpose use.
Malling Promise – an early variety producing fruit in July, heavy cropping and tolerant of poor soils, and with good virus resistance.
Octavia – a late variety, cropping in August, with large juicy fruits which have a superb sweet flavour
Tulameen – a Canadian late season variety which has extremely heavy crops of sweet and aromatic fruits.

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.