Tea Room Re-opening on 26th April
You will be delighted to know that the tea room will re-open for sitting in on the 26th April in line with the Government timetable. Due to social distancing measures we will have limited capacity within the tearoom, so we are happy to accept bookings for indoor seating from the 26th onwards. There is plenty of space outdoors for sitting in the garden, and we have spread out the picnic tables to give you all more room. You can also bring your own folding chairs if you wish.
Take Away Service
In the meantime our tea room is open for takeaways, so you can enjoy soups, sandwiches, cakes, traybakes, scones, and hot and cold drinks, as well as daily specials such as pork pies or quiche. As the takeaway service has been so popular, we will continue be continuing to offer this service to customers even when the indoor space is open.
Tea Room staff required
We are looking for a new member of staff to join our hard-working tearoom team. Ideally we would like to recruit someone with cafe experience, but more important is the ability to quickly adapt to learn new skills, good customer care qualities, flexibility to work any days required and a cheerful manner. You’ll need to be available to work regular shifts which will include both some weekdays and weekends, and have a willingness to cover for holidays and staff sickness. A good level of fitness is also a requirement – you’ll be on your feet all day! If you are interested give me a call on 01835 830315 for a quick chat with either myself or Helen and we’ll take it from there. If we are busy, the answerphone will pick up – please do leave a message with your name and number so we can call you back.
Aquatics Department Now Open
We were delighted to be able to open to the public again on the 5th April and to be able to launch our new aquatics department in the walled garden area. You can now buy pond pumps and filters, coldwater fish food, pond plants and oxygenators, pond treatments and pond lighting. Pond liner should be in stock by the end of this week and coldwater fish will be available later this month.
Birdhouse Tearoom
The tea room is now open for takeaways, so you can enjoy our delicious cakes, scones, traybakes, soups and sandwiches with hot or cold drinks.
We have some plenty to tempt you in the plant centre too: roses, peonies, rockery plants, trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, herbs, climbers, seeds and much more. Don’t forfet our stoneware, including statues and bird baths or our Errington pots and planters for added interest in your garden this summer.
Grocery Store
Following the success of our grocery shop over the last 6 months, we are now committed to keeping this opne daily. Items include fresh fruit, salads and vegetables, frozen ready meals, lentils, split peas, organic stock cubes, naan breads, curry sauces, dried fruit, nuts, free range eggs, local honey, dried mushrooms, brioche baguettes, oatmeal, polenta, semolina, gnocchi and much more.
Remember that we get freshly baked sourdough bread every Wednesday and Saturday.
We still have to stick to the rules regarding Covid-19, so please:
- Wear a face covering in all indoor areas
- Maintain 2m social distancing
- Sanitise your hands on arrival
Please be patient with us – you may have to queue during your visit as we will be limiting the amount of people in at any time. We also have two new members of plant centre staff, a new till, new products and a new lay-out, so things will take a bit of getting used to!
We are very pleased to be welcoming you back to Woodside, and we hope you have a relaxing, enjoyable and safe visit.
Garden Centre Opening on 5th April
Good news at last! The Garden Centre will be re-opening on 5th April, so we are now busy making sure that your return to Woodside will be the best possible experience. We have been busy unpacking new stock for some weeks now. To allow us to fully prepare, the call and collect service will be ending on 31st March. However the grocery shop will be open every day, including all the Easter weekend. From 5th April we will also be offering a takeaway service from the tea room for drinks, cakes, scones, sandwiches and soup. Our summer opening hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm will also start on 5th April.
Garden centre stock
We are delighted to be offering an extended range of potting shed essentials this summer – these include the new range of bamboo pots and seed trays – an excellent sustainable alternative to plastic plant pots that will last approximately 5 years and are then compostable. Another new product are the Vigoroot planters – these are fabric planters that enourage vigorous rooting, helping them be resistant to harsh weather, pests and diseases.
We have also had a delivery of pots and planters from Errington, Reay and Mims and it will be so much easier for you to chose the perfect pot once the garden centre has re-opened. Last year we introduced a range of Green Man wall plaques which were so popular we have extended the choice this year.
We have some excellent starter shrubs in stock as well as rockery plants, bedding plants, bulbs and seed potatoes.
If you would like to receive regular updates on new stock as it arrives, plus offers, please sign up to the newsletter.
Ornamental Trees For Sale
This coming week is a big one for us as Spring arrives and new stock of plants are arriving daily. I’ll be sending out emails as and when stock arrives, so if you would like to receive this information please sign up to the newsletter if you haven’t already done so.
The current varieties of ornamental trees for sale are listed below. Please note some trees we only have 1 per variety, so once its’ gone that’s it. Our garden centre is temporarily closed due to Government Covid Restrictions, so please phone in all orders on 01835 830315 and have your card details ready.
Acer griseum £44.99 (Paperbark maple)
Acer pensylvanium £44.99
Amelanchier Snow Flakes £44.99
Amelanchier Ballerina multistem £125.00
Betula dalecarlica £54.99
Betula jacquemontii £54.99 (White stemmed Birch)
Betula Snow Queen £54.99
Castanea sativa £44.99 (Sweet Chestnut)
Cedrus deodara Klondyke £49.99
Fagus Dawyck Gold £65.99
Fagus Dawyck Purple £65.99
Ilex argentea marginata £42.99 (self-fertile female holly)
Ilex aquifolia £42.99 (Common holly)
Ilex Handsworth New Silver £44.99 (self-fertile female holly)
Malus Crimson cascade £49.99 (Weeping Crabapple)
Malus Golden Hornet £39.99
Malus Gorgeous £49.99
Malus Indian Magic £49.99
Malus Royalty £49.99
Physocarpus Diablo (tree form) £52.99
Prunus amanogowa £49.99 (Flagpole Cherry)
Prunus avium £44.99
Prunus padus £44.99
Prunus Hokusai £49.99 (Classic Japanese Cherry)
Prunus Jaqueline £44.99
Prunus Trailblazer £44.99
Prunus tibetica £44.99 (Snalebark Cherry)
Sorbus aucuparia £49.99 (Native Rowan)
Sorbus Croft Coral £49.99
Sorbus Eastern promise £49.99
Sorbus Glendoick Spire £49.99
Sorbus Red Bird £49.99
Sorbus Sunshine £49.99
Sorbus Rose Queen £49.99
Special Offer Alnus glutinosa were £44.99 now £29.99 – last years stock and needing to be planted out.
Also in Stock
We have had a new delivery of seed potatoes and onion sets. For vegetable and flower seeds please ‘phone us with your list and we will put together your order.
We have a full range of compost and fertilisers for you to start preparing the garden for spring.
To order any garden centre item including trees, compost and seed potatoes please call 01835 830315 and have your card details ready for payment – we can then make a timed appointment for you to safely collect your order. We cannot accept orders via email or social media – phone orders only please.
**Please don’t just turn up for garden centre items- we cannot serve you at this time and there is no access to the plant centre**
Spring Flowering Bulbs
Add some colour to your life with our spring flowering bulbs – £2.50 each or any 5 for £10.
- Anemone blanda Blue
- Chionodoxa luciliae Blue, Pink or White
- Crocus Cream, purple, or yellow
- Dwarf Daffodil Rip Van Winkle, February Gold, Jetfire, Minnow or Tete a tete
- Daffodil WP Milner
- Fritillaria uva vulpis or meleagris (Snake’s Head Fritilliary)
- Hyacinth City of Haarlem (Primrose yellow), Delft Blue, Miss Saigon (violet purple) or Pink Pearl
- Dwarf Iris reticulata Cantab, Harmony or JS Djit
- Muscaro armeniacum (Grape Hyacinth)
- Scilla white or blue
- Tulip Calypso, Candy Prince, Flair, Kikomachi, Purissima, Purple Prince or Tarda.
- Winter Aconite
These are all suitable for planting directly out into the garden or into pots and tubs, or you could bring them indoors to brighten up your home.
New spring flowering bulbs this week
- 6 pack of dwarf daffodil Tete-a-Tete £5.99
- Carry packs and pots of bluebells – £4.99
Compost Update
In stock now:
- Multi-purpose Compost with Added John Innes £6.99
- Ericaceous Compost £7.99
- Tree and Shrub Planting Compost £7.99
- John Innes Numbers 1,2 & 3 £4.99
- Standard growbags £3.25
- Organic Farmyard manure £5.99
- Decorative Mini Bark £6.99
- Dalefoot Wool Potting Compost £7.99 (Peat Free)
- Dalefoot Wool Double Strength Compost £8.99 (Peat Free)
- Dalefoot Wool Tomato Compost £7.99 (Peat Free)
- Dalefoot Wool Compost for Salads and Vegetables £7.99 (Peat Free)
- Dalefoot Seed Compost £5.99 (Peat Free)
- Dalefoot Lakeland Gold Claybuster £7.99 (Peat Free)
New Horizon Peat Free Multi-purpose Compost will be with us next week, so we can take advance orders for that. If you have already ordered this, we will phone you to let you know when it comes in.
As all Scottish Garden Centres are currently closed to visitors, please use our Call & Collect service to order all bulbs, plants, seeds, seed potatoes and compost –
01835 830315
Feeding the Birds – hints and tips
Although frost and snow may be pretty for us, our garden birds have to endure these chilly nights and by feeding the birds we can give a helping hand to make sure they are receiving enough energy through their food to keep them warm. Here are a few hints and tips as to what is best for our feathered friends.
- 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. 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 a seed mix 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. Our new bird food range includes a mealworm feast mix which is perfect for ground feeders or table feeders.
- 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. Peanuts should always be placed in a mesh feeder to avoid birds and fledglings choking on whole nuts.
- Bring birds up to your window to give you something to do and watch during lockdown. Our stick-on window feeders or high strength window hook will enable you to watch the birds up close.
- Why not get the whole family involved in spotting the birds feeding in your garden. Our garden birds species guide for just £1.25 will help you recognise some of our most regular visiting birds.
Feeding the Birds with Woodside Bird Food mixes
We are working with a company called Red Barn to produce a new range of Woodside branded bird food, and our range will include:
Woodside “Honeysuckle” Mix which contains: kibbled maize, micronized naked oats, sunflower hearts, white millet, red millet, black sunflower seeds, red dari, pinhead oatmeal, cut wheat, chopped nuts, micronised maize, raisins, hemp seed, banana chips and soya bean oil. This deluxe mix is suitable for a tube feeder or bird table, and we anticipate it will be a best seller due to the variety of ingredients in the mix to attract a wide range of garden birds.
Woodside Blue Tit Feast which contains: white dari, red dari, white millet, red millet, black rapeseed, mealworms, suet pellets and sunfllower hearts. This is suitable for a tube feeder and will attract not only blue tits, but also other small billed birds such as coal tits, great tits, long tailed tits and finches. This replaces the product we used to sell as Feeder Seed.
Woodside Robin & Blackbird Giant Mealworm Feast which contains: mealworms, giant mealworms, micronized naked oats, pinhead oatmeal, naked oats, sunflower hearts, kibbled maize, micronized wheat, raisins, chopped nuts, millet, micronized maize, hemp seed, soya bean oil, berry suet, insect suet and nut suet. This is for ground feeding or for bird tables, and is for blackbirds, robins and thrushes.
We will also be doing our own brand range of peanuts, niger seed, fat balls, mealworms, sunflower hearts, black sunflower seeds, suet pellets and suet logs, with feeders to match for each of them if required. We’ll also be stocking “flutter butter” which is a peanut butter with no salt specifically developed for wild birds, and packed with energy.
Please remember our plant centre is currently closed due to Scottish Government restrictions on trading, so all garden centre items, including Bird Care can only be sold through our “Call and Collect” service. Please phone your orders any day 10am – 4pm on 01835 830315 and have your card ready to make payment. We will then organise a suitable time for you to collect. Only phone orders can be taken, – we cannot accept email orders or by social media due to limited staff.
Seed Potatoes and other gardening stock now available
Some of our deliveries for new gardening stock have arrived earlier than expected, so we are pleased to be able to take telephone orders for delivery or collection. There is no access to the garden centre at present, so we can only accept phone orders: call 01835 830315 – please leave a message if there is no answer. The grocery shop remains open daily, 10:00 to 16:00
Seed Potatoes:
We now have the following available at £3.99 per bag (apologies that we can’t split bags at this time)
Arran Pilot – 1st Early with white flesh and a firm waxy texture which holds its shape when cooking
Duke of York – 1st Early with a dry mealy texture. A very popular variety for Scottish growers
Epicure – 1st Early which matures early and makes renowned “new potatoes”
International Kidney – 1st early also known as Jersey Royal
Pentland Javelin – 1st Early waxy new potato for salad use and boiling
Rocket – 1st Early which matures early and has good disease resistance
Sharpes Express – 1st Early with pale lemon flesh which is excellent boiled as a new potato
Organic Colleen – 1st Early with good natural disease resistance making it suitable for organic gardening
Charlotte – 2nd Early which is our best selling variety, suitable for a wide range of uses, and is well known to all cooks
Estima – 2nd Early and one of the most popular all round UK varieties, makes good baking potatoes
Nadine – 2nd Early – one of my favourites for picking early for new potatoes or leaving longer for a good all-rounder
Vegetable Seeds:
Our 2021 range of vegetable, herb and green manure seeds is now in stock. There are too many varieties to list, so the best thing to do is to call on 01835 830315 and tell me your list and I’ll let you know what varieties we have and will pull an order together for you. Please note that I’m still waiting for my delivery of onion and shallot sets but hope these will be in soon.
Fruit trees:
Fruit trees are going to be very difficult to get hold of this year, but I’ve managed to get hold of a batch to keep us going for a while:
Apple Bramley
Apple Charles Ross
Apple Katy
Apple Discovery
All apples are on a M26 semi-dwarf rootstock
Damson Merryweather
Gage Cambridge
Gage Oullins Golden
Pear Conference
Pear Concorde
Pear Catillac
All pears are on a QA semi-dwarf rootstock
Plum Czar (St Julian A)
Plum Opal (St Julian A)
Plum Victoria (St Julian A)
Plum Victoria (Pixy)
These are all lovely looking trees and are ready to be planted out, once the ground conditions improve.
Compost
Our new season delivery of compost is due in next Monday (weather permitting) and I have ordered a bigger load than usual so that we don’t end up running out like we did last year. Demand is likely to be strong again this year, as we are all champing at the bit to get growing and get gardening, so I’m happy to take pre-orders. I know it seems early for items like growbags and seed compost, but I do recommend purchasing in good time so that you’re all ready to make a start once spring arrives.
We will have:
Peat free multi-purpose compost
Multi-purpose compost with added John Innes
Ericaceous compost for acid loving plants
Seed compost
Dalefoot Wool seed compost (Peat Free)
Farmyard Manure
Growbags – 2 different sizes
Dalefoot wool compost (peat free)
Dalefoot wool compost tomato planters (peat free)
Dalefoot wool compost for salads and vegetables (peat free)
Vegetable compost
Tree and shrub planting and potting compost
Decorative mini bark
Composted bark for mulching
Soil Improver
Lakeland Gold Claybuster
Eco-Friendly Firelighters and Coffee Logs
In addition to logs and kindling we have extended our sustainable fuels to include coffee logs and eco-friendly firelighters.
Eco-Friendly Firelighters
Many of our customers have been requesting these, so we are now stocking eco-friendly firelighters from manufacturer Dr Heat. These are made out of a grass called Miscanthus, and combined with waste candle wax, they make super efficient firelighters. Here is some information about them:
Miscanthus is a high yielding grass grown specifically for energy production. These crops are grown in Somerset and harvested in the Spring when they are naturally ripe. Therefore, reducing the need for further drying, and removing the use of fossil fuels to do so, unlike some other wood firelighter products on the market.
Each tonne of Miscanthus burnt, in replacement of coal, will prevent the emission of up to two tonnes of carbon dioxide. An additional benefit of growing Miscanthus is its ability to actively sequester carbon within the crop’s roots.
Miscanthus is recognised as the number one energy crop by the biggest power producers in the UK, as a carbon neutral replacement to coal.
- High dry matter yield
- Efficient use of available nutrients
- Efficient water usage due to deep rooting
- No recognised pests or diseases
- Requires no Pesticides or chemical fertilisers
Coffee Logs
Coffee logs are made from waste coffee grounds collected from cafes across the UK, and turned into compact “logs” with a long burn time, intense heat and good flame, along with a slight coffee scent when you open the bag. These are for use on closed stoves and burners only and are not suitable for firepits or open fires.
The Grocery
Our fresh batch of fruit and vegetables has just been delivered, along with stock cupboard food items, such as curry sauces, naan breads, brioche baguettes and rolls, driied mushrooms (NEW), gnocchi, basmati rice, olive oil, granulated sugar, local honey, free range eggs, polenta, semolina, organic oatflakes, lentils, split peas, dried fruits and chocolate ginger and much more. We also have frozen ready meals available too, just in case you fancy a break from cooking!
January is the time for marmalade making and we have Seville oranges in stock now.
Call & Collect Update:
As I’m sure you are aware, all garden centres and cafes across Scotland are currently closed, and new restrictions have now been put in place for collection services. However I’m pleased to say that garden centres and plant nurseries are still permitted to offer collection services, and you can still place your orders by calling 01835 830315 10am – 4pm daily (just leave a message on the answerphone if no reply). Please note that I cannot accept orders through social media, so phone calls only please for all garden centre products, including wild bird feed, RHS Wildlife Flower seed mixes, and our fabulous SHOWA range of garden gloves. Don’t forget you can collect items when shopping for our groceries too.
New Opening Arrangements
I’m sure that you’re all still reeling from the weekend’s shock announcement that tighter restrictions will be in place throughout mainland Scotland from Boxing Day, meaning that all non-essential shops, pubs, and cafes must close, along with other businesses.
The good news is that Garden Centres have been reclassified since the initial March 2020 lockdown, and are now in the list of essential shops, which means that Woodside Plant Centre can stay open!
The bad news is of course, that our delightful tearoom must close from Christmas until restrictions are lifted again. Currently we do not plan to offer a takeaway service as we feel that this would have very limited appeal in mid-winter, but we will keep this constantly under review, and we may change this decision if we feel that there is sufficient customer demand.
For now though, it is “business as usual” until we close for our Christmas Break on Christmas Eve, so do come along this coming week to support us. Here are our revised opening times.
Until Christmas Eve, our tearoom is offering the usual range of soups, sandwiches, fresh scones, cakes, baked potatoes, pigs in blankets rolls, mulled non-alcoholic wine, and hot and cold drinks.
Our Plant Centre is well stocked with Christmas decorations, wild bird food (and we’ve just had a delivery of feeders too), garden tools, garden ornaments, and plants. Don’t forget that we stock a good range of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as dried food products. Our current highlights are – pomegranites, fresh cranberries, figs, chestnuts, Pink Fir apple potatoes, Conference pears, red cabbage, Bramley apples, chocolate coated peanuts, raisins and ginger and much more. Shopping for food at Woodside is a much nicer experience than supermarket shopping, particularly at this time of year, so do come and have a look at what we do.
Last Minute Christmas Presents from Woodside
With only a few days left until Christmas, we thought you might appreciate some last minute Christmas shopping ideas (or even better you could treat yourself!).
Emma’s TOP 10 Present ideas for 20201.
- Encourage wildlife into the garden with a Ladybird & Insect Tower £12.99
- Bring some colour into the home with a deep red Amaryllis £8.99
- Get ready for propagating in the Spring with a Wooden Cold Frame Kit £79.99. NEW at Woodside
- Add a feature to the garden with a Cast Iron Fairy – prices from £39.99 – £132.99
- Enjoy watching the birds bathing in a Birdbath – various styles available from £29.99
- Get out and about wearing one of our cheerful and comfortable Facemasks or Snoods from £4.99. A very 2020 gift!
- Keep the children busy with our Kids Garden Tools from £6.99. Our range includes spades, forks, trowels, hand forks and rakes
- Appreciate some winter flowers in the garden with a Hellebore (Christmas/Lenten Rose) from £14.99. All our Hellebores are either flowering now or have plenty of buds.
- Plant up a Slate Planter with flowers of your choice – planters start at £12.99
- Get digging with a really good Spade – £19.99 & £22.99
Hopefully this will give you a few ideas for that last bit of Christmas Shopping for this year.
This year the plant centre will be open between Christmas and New Year as we will be getting a delivery of fresh vegetables on the Tuesday. See all our opening times below.
