How to Prune Lavender

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This month our How To video is all about how to prune your Lavender plant.

This short video shows you how to prune your Lavender – Lavender bushes should be pruned back every year during winter while the plant is dormant. This stops the lavender plant getting too woody and will promote more flower growth.

If you have any further questions why not pop into our garden centre and talk to one of our staff.

November Plant of the Month – Cotinus

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Cotinus is also known as ‘smoke bush’ – shapely rounded shrubs or small trees, looking good in summer and autumn.

Known and loved for their incendiary change of leaf colour in autumn to an increasingly brilliant orange-red. In summer they are found in green and purple-leafed forms, both of which are covered with a smoky haze of soft open flower plumes.

They can tolerate a variety of positions in your garden, from full sun, to partial shade, and even some of the more shaded spots. They are hardy and can be planted in well drained/light, acidic or chalky/alkaline soils.

They grow to a height of around 600cm with a 400cm spread.

What to do in your garden in November

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As autumn progresses and we head towards winter now os the time to clean up and prepare your garden fro the harsh winter months to come. There’s plenty to do so make the most of the daylight and prepare the garden for next year: prune, sweep, mulch and plant tulips, the last of the spring bulbs.

General

  • If you haven’t done so already get your bird feeders set up and buy a good supply of wild bird food to feed your birds over winter
  • Bubblewrap or fleece round individual vulnerable plants to protect from frost damage
  • Use autumn leaves to cover bare soil and protect it from winter rains and frosts.
  • Don’t stop weeding! Weeding done now will save time in the spring
  • Plant spring bulbs as soon as possible
  • Plant trees and shrubs to give them time to settle in before spring
  • If you do need to clear beds in the garden, mulch once the soil is moist again and certainly before frosts
  • Add old crops and bedding to the compost heap
  • Spike lawns then brush grit into the holes

Vegetables

  • Plant garlic from now until late November, but the sooner the better.
  • Sow broad beans – Broad beans are traditionally sown in autumn (late October to early December) for an early summer crop.
  • Sow hardy peas – Round seeded, hardy varieties of pea can be sown now for a June crop.
  • Check your leeks for pests

Fruit

  • Continue harvesting and storing sound fruit and check apples and pears in store and remove any that are rotting
  • Check tree ties, stakes and rabbit guards on fruit trees
  • This is a good time to lift and re-plant soft fruit bushes
  • Begin planting fruit trees, bushes and canes as soon after leaf fall as possible
  • Buy fruit trees and bushes now
  • Prune vines as soon as possible after leaf fall.
  • DON’T cut down autumn fruiting raspberry canes now. Leave them till February.
  • Winter prune apples and pears between now and next March

Need more advice? Post a question on our Facebook page or pop into the garden centre and talk to a member of our experienced garden team.

White & Green Planting Scheme

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Part or full shade and fairly heavy soil would suit these plants best. You will get flowers from April through to October and although the Pulmonaria is a blue flower, the silver foliage looks good all season and nothing else is in flower at the same time.

You will get a second flowering from the Astrantia if you cut it back immediately after the first flush of flowers has finished. Protect the crown of the Zantedeschia in freezing weather by covering with straw or a thick mulch of compost. This planting scheme with white flowers is perfect for heavy soil.

Download this PDF to print out: White & Green Planting Scheme

Garden Style Garden Centre

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Garden Style, formerly known as Rhinegold Garden Centre, is a unique type of garden centre, set in the beautiful Loxley Valley, just above Damflask reservoir with it’s sailing facilities and only 1 ½ miles from the picturesque Bradfield villages. It’s origins lie as a nursery, but over the years it has expanded to include not just the unusual plants and specimens for which it is renowned but also garden furniture, wild bird care, gift ideas and of course The Old Glasshouse Café.

The centre boasts some fine specimen trees, shrubs and plants on several levels in landscaped surroundings. It is home to a large variety of wild birds which take advantage of the feeders located near the café. This is not a huge centre, but what we lack in size, we make up for in customer service, horticultural knowledge, inspirational ideas, and above all passion.

Home Interiors

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Our Home Interiors section here at Garden Style has a great range of home accessories, storage solutions, soft furnishings and much more. Why not come in to the garden centre and have look. There’s a great range of beautiful items to really brighten up you home.

What to do in your garden in November

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October continued as a mild month with just the occasional reminder that winter is fast approaching. However, as we enter November, the clocks have gone back, the nights are drawing in. It’s a good time to take stock, get those autumn jobs done and start planning for next year. Here is our rundown of things to keep you busy in your garden through out November.

General jobs to do this month

  • Clear up leaves from lawns, ponds and beds – use them to make leaf mould which will add structure and organic matter to your soil
  • Make sure that any containers and pots are raised onto pot feet to prevent water-logging as the weather gets wetter and colder.
  • Plant tulip and hyacinth bulbs for a spring display next year – this is really your last chance to do this
  • Prune roses to prevent wind-rock
  • Plant out winter bedding
  • Put insulation around outdoor containers and pots to prevent them from being damaged by frost – bubblewrap works well
  • Put grease bands around the trunks of fruit trees to prevent winter moth damage
  • This is an ideal time to put out bird food to encourage winter birds into the garden and help them through the coming months
  • Plant shrubs, roses and hedging plants sold with bare roots
  • Move deciduous trees and shrubs once they have lost their leaves
  • Take hardwood cuttings from shrubs and roses
  • Clear the moss or weeds from any areas of grass and give the grass one last feed before winter sets in, this will help it to stay alive
  • Introduce mulch or wood chippings – Laying mulch or wood chippings between plants and shrubs before winter can help to protect the soil as well as keeping in vital nutrients.

Need more advice? Post a question on our Facebook page or pop into the garden centre and talk to a member of our experienced garden team.