Vibrant Mid Spring Colours at their best.Enjoy them while they last.

Devon & Cornwall have their fair share of spectacular scenic gardens even if there are few that can match the grandeur of the majestic gardens in other parts of the country. This weekend allowed short but rewarding visits to two different gardens at the opposite end of the spectrum although they were less than an hour’s drive from each other.

The National Trust Overbecks Garden perched on  a headland at the mouth of the Salcombe Estuary in Devon is surely one of the most beautiful if compact gardens in the South West. Covering seven acres it contains mature exotic specimen plants from all over the world and possesses some outstanding Magnolias. A visit in March this year was disappointing as the nationally renowned Magnolia Campbelli “ Overbecks” with its own cultivar name (see Blog March 2011) as all the blooms had been killed off by the severe frosts and prolonged severe weather. It was therefore a treat to see the remaining mature magnolias located in different parts of the garden in full bloom albeit somewhat late in the season. The exotic subtropical setting of the magnolias amongst Echiums and tall Chusan Palms in the warm sunshine was more reminiscent of Madeira than south Devon.

In contrast but in many ways just as spectacular was a private visit the day before to a minor Cornish garden where the rhododendrons were at their peak in the most striking of bright colours. The image shown here is of a ruby red flower which along with many other varied colours seemed much more intense than in previous years. The coming week’s weather is unlikely to be as good as that which most parts of the country have experienced recently but if these sunny days continue it will provide a short lived opportunity to see these vibrant colours in all their glory in gardens near you before the season inevitably moves on.

Make the most of it while it lasts!

Heritage Gardens' visit to RHS Cardiff Show

The RHS Cardiff Show in Bute Park in the centre of Cardiff is a small but prestigious fixture in the gardening calendar coinciding this year with National Gardening Week (15th to 19th April).

Visitors are usually rewarded with fine weather and this year was no exception. On entering the show on the first day last Friday one was greeted by a much improved show entrance area both in terms of shelter and appearance.

This year the Schools' Wheelbarrow Competition had been relocated to the Entrance Area giving it a very welcoming feel. Storytelling and craft activities for children were set against the backdrop of the vista of Cardiff Castle and surrounding parkland with magnolias and many other trees in blossom. The RHS is very keen to encourage children to become involved in gardening.

As ever there were many interesting stands both of a garden related and craft/local food nature. The RHS stand looked very professional with staff ready to assist with any enquiries - especially informative were the many leaflets of gardens across the country which one would not normally come across. The two large flower marquees were packed with flower and plant displays of the highest quality.

There were several show gardens on display exploring new and innovative ways of getting the gardening message across to the public - this one (pictured) was our favourite. Also featured was "Back to Basics", a new educational feature designed to develop skills which were demonstrated by Bridgend College students.

There appeared to be more trade stands in general  which suggested that the garden buying public are considering making the most of their garden with some well chosen new buildings or furniture that they can enjoy however the summer of 2013 turns out.

Towards the end of the day visitors were starting to make their way home pulling trolleys laden with lovely plants that they had purchased in the "Plant Village" where they had gained inspiration for new planting schemes in their own gardens.

The whole ambiance of the day was enhanced by sunshine, warmth and very good live music from the bandstand which encouraged people to linger. Let's hope that the Malvern Show next month will be equally satisfying experience.

Heritage Director, Gilbert Stedham , beside a beautiful Lutyens bench at the Show.

         Competitor price: £599         

Heritage price: £325! 

Visit https://itunes.apple.com/app/intogardens/id543857092 to download the latest intoGardens spring episode to enter our joint competition to win one for even less - free!

Heritage Gardens celebrates five years!

To celebrate five years of online trading Heritage Gardens is re-launching its popular Garden Club to give even better deals to its members and incentives to become involved with the club.

Getting things off to a good start this April we are giving away a free £10 Heritage Gardens voucher for every new member who signs up. Just e-mail us at club@heritagegardens.co.uk . All we ask is that you use your voucher on purchases of £50 or more before 31 May 2013. More exciting offers will be available throughout the 2013 season.

It may surprise you that many products in our Garden Buildings range are cheaper than giant retailers such as Argos, Homebase, Wickes & Tesco Direct. Every month we highlight some examples in our Featured Products on our Home Page. Garden Buildings & Furniture are delivered FREE direct to your home from the manufacturer so that you can be sure they are in pristine condition and have not been gathering dust in a traditional garden centre display area or warehouse!

Five years on from our modest start selling a small range of garden products on the internet Heritage Gardens now has a superb and extensive choice of traditional and contemporary products from which to choose all at competitive online prices. Some products are exclusive to us.

We hope that you will join our growing number of satisfied Customers who are all given the prompt and personal service that they deserve as opposed to the often indifferent attitudes of other online retailers. The Heritage team is always pleased to give advice prior to and post purchase on our FREEPHONE NUMBER 0800 6984 1841.

Join the Heritage Garden Club today!

True Brit spirit at Cornwall Flower Show

The Cornwall Flower Show, now in its 101st year, that took place over the past weekend certainly lived up to its reputation of being a fabulous early Spring event for the South West.

Having set up the Heritage gazebo on Friday in a prime place in the avenue leading to Boconnoc House - which won an award in 2012 for the best Historic House renovation - the weather looked set fair for the weekend. By the time the show opened at 10am on Saturday the car parks were almost full as the better-than-expected wonderful warm sunshine brought out early visitors.

One of these who passed by the Heritage stand was a lady from BBC Radio Cornwall to whom we gave a short live interview answering her query as to why Heritage was here amongst all the flower and plant exhibitors. Apart from promoting our Prize Draw to highlight the awareness of the benefits of an Online Garden Centre we said that it was a great opportunity to meet up with our friends who are Grow Your Own lifestyle exhibitors that we meet at shows around the country.

Our own Grow Your Own range of planters and mini greenhouses brought several enquiries from visitors to the Show who had purchased a wide variety of colourful and unusual plants that had been carefully nurtured through the winter. We also had lots of interest in our stylish range of well-priced summerhouses.

Near the house there was a small group of jazz musicians who played regularly throughout the day to further enhance the ambiance of a real Spring show day.

As far as refreshments are concerned these can be rather disappointing at shows as they are predominantly limited to burger bars. The Cornwall Flower Show however was an opportunity for many local food enterprises to promote their tasty products and the main marquee for food and drink was run a by a local deli who produced a first rate range of freshly made food and drinks. 

The longest queue for refreshment was the ice cream van especially during the afternoon when it warmed up even more!

In stark contrast Sunday was a very challenging day for both exhibitors and visitors as the weather returned to being like a raw January day with a bitterly cold easterly wind. Nonetheless, in the Great British spirit everyone tried to make the best of it.

The Award Ceremony and its results were very satisfying for the respected Cornish plant growers who were the main winners. The society was keen to encourage people of all ages to become involved in gardening and there were several announcements over the tanoy inviting children to participate in gardening activities and competitions.

In the Stable Yard visitors could admire the stunning camellias, magnolias and specimen daffodils that demonstrate the levels of quality experts can achieve. Even the Sunday visitors to the show looked pleased that they had made the effort to attend despite the extreme cold.

Our prize draw of a pair of Joseph Bentley Ladies Lavender Secateurs and matching Flower Snips attracted many entries and was won by a lady from Liskeard.

Cornwall Garden Society Spring Flower Show 2013

We were excited to book a last minute slot at this year's Cornwall Garden Society Spring Flower Show to show off our inspirational garden products to local and regional buyers this weekend.

All systems are go at Heritage Gardens HQ in the run up to the two-day event on Saturday and Sunday (6 and 7 April). We're gathering our best garden gifts and planters to host on our 6m x 6m stand on the lawn at Boconnoc House near Lostwithiel with a gazebo in place just in case the weather doesn't act in our favour!

The show, dubbed Cornwall's answer to the Chelsea Flower Show, attracts around 10,000 visitors and is one of the first celebrations of spring in the gardening world as buyers, retailers, landscapers and designers from all over flock to witness the spectacular offerings and gain inspiration.

Among those followers are over 100 specialist growers and trade exhibitors from across the UK, including of course Heritage Gardens. We will be nestled in alongside some very prestigious businesses from the surrounding area but expect to stand out for our forward-thinking online-only strategy and our unusual products.

We'll be looking to secure even more orders from our loyal commercial customers and also building on our trade following with plenty of orders to add to our recent furniture deal with the National Trust's Beningborough Hall near York.

There are some high profile names attending the event, which will be opened by broadcaster and horticulturalist Roy Lancaster on Saturday morning and we will as always be excited to see who wins the Garden of the Year award!

PS Make sure you make the most of our 15% discount on all Garden Plants (PLANTS15) and 10% off the entire Heritage Garden shop using HERIT10 at the checkout.

Happy Spring everyone!

The Eden Project - Early Season Visit

An opportunity recently arose to revisit the Eden Project on a mild and sunny Saturday afternoon to see in details how it has evolved over the past few years. It was a particularly pleasant experience to wander around at leisure out of season yet having a window of reasonable weather.

The project opened in 2001 after years of planning is situated in a disused China Clay quarry. The extensive range of plants, shrubs and trees which come from all over the world have matured and filled out to mirror their natural habitat. The exotic flower pictured high up in the tree was certainly one with which I am not familiar. For the brave near the top of the Tropical Biome is a metal walkway 50 metres from ground level with a viewing platform to survey the Jungle growing below !

It was a surprise to find that the complex is open until 9pm which allows visitors to experience the Biomes in the dark. With the near 30 degree heat, the clever illuminations creating atmosphere and the tropical birds tweeting it is as close to the Tropics that one can get without actually going there. In both the Tropical and Mediterranean Biomes there are boards with useful information all along the route describing plants, habitats and their history.

The Eden Project is definitely worth making a special trip for since even the expert gardener will learn something new. For the amateur gardener or horticultural student the Eden Project runs regular gardening & horticultural courses.

www.theedenproject.com

The advantages of weed control fabric

So, you desperately want to get rid of the weeds in your garden but you simply don’t have the time to spend every waking minute in the garden.

You also don’t want to infect your lovely plants with horrible herbicides.
After a bit of research, the next thing garden owners usually consider is a material called weed control fabric. But is laying down fabric in your garden a wise move?

Well, let us help you decide. Weed control fabric, which is also known as landscape fabric or geotextiles, was originally developed to replace black plastic sheeting, which is often used as a cheap substitute.

It’s made from synthetic materials like polypropylene. Unless you know the difference, you might legitimately ask why you can’t just use plastic?

When I tell you that the main advantage using weed control fabric is that it allows the soil and plants to breathe and get nutrients, it’s a different story.

By allowing air and water to pass through the fabric your cherished plants can still thrive – that’s impossible using plastic. Just to warn you though, weed control fabric is more expensive than plastic.
If you want to use it for permanent planting, you are advised to use it somewhere you won’t be doing any digging, such as like perennial borders.

It’s unwise to use it anywhere where it will prevent root development or in annual planting beds.
There are a few different types of weed control fabric so ensure you choose one that fits your gardening needs most closely. For example, some are designed specifically to control erosion and some, more heavy duty ones, are used for under decking or walkways.