Blog Archives

Spotlight on seeds!

26/2/2022

Start planning your gardening year ahead with our new selection of seeds! Including annuals, perennials, vegetables, salads and herbs.

At Katie's Garden we like gardening to be as easy as possible. Our handpicked selection is made up of easy-to-grow seeds which can be started off on the windowsill. Growing them should be child’s play!

Whatever your age, the satisfaction of nurturing something from seed to plant is hard to beat. All our seeds are from Suffolk’s own Thompson & Morgan and come with their 100% satisfaction guarantee.

GROWING TIPS

Always use new or thoroughly cleaned seed trays and cells to avoid spread of disease. You can also use recycled items such as yogurt pots and ready-meal trays - remember to add drainage holes.

Use a seed or multipurpose compost and use your hands to elimate any lumps so you get a fine crumb texture.

Once seed trays/cells are filled firm them down gently then soak them in water before sowing. Soil should be moist but not sodden when sowing seeds

Different seeds have different needs so make sure you read the information on the seed packet for advice on how densely to sow and what temperatures are needed (generally between 16-21c).

Some seeds need light to germinate so don’t cover these with compost - the seed packet will tell you if they should be scattered on the soil surface rather than buried.

If you don’t have a heated bench and only have a small number of pots then a windowsill can work very well. Make sure you cover your pot with a transparent plastic bag kept in place with a rubber band. Remove the bag once seedlings appear.

Water seed trays and cells from below - especially if using a heated bench - to avoid build up of conditions that can cause damping off. This is especially important if you are using a peat-free compost. Sit them in trays of water for about 30 minutes, rather than watering from above using watering cans.

Some seeds to sow this month indoors include calendula, cornflower, tomato, parsley.

Click to order seeds

Our order books are open for summer hanging baskets!

24/2/2022

Get to the front of the queue for our hugely popular basket filling service!

We can plant up your hanging baskets and lightweight pots to your own specification, or plant up new ones for you.

Depending on the weather we hope to start planting first baskets from mid-April with first baskets ready from early May.

Head to our online shop to place your order now!

Click to order hanging baskets

"Storm-proof" hedging - excellent for wildlife!

22/2/2022

If Dudley, Eunice or Franklin gave your fences a battering, this could be the perfect opportunity to plant a hedge in their place.

Hedges fare much better in high winds, and they are fantastic for wildlife too.

Because they slow the wind rather than blocking it - like solid fences do - they are much less likely to get blown over.

Their role as natural windbreaks makes them brilliant for butterflies and other little insects that struggle to fly in exposed areas (and of course makes it nicer for you to sit out in your garden too).

Hedges can provide habitat for hedgehogs, birds and myriad other creatures, as well as food for all sorts of wildlife from their leaves, flowers and berries.

Unless you want the perfect geometric privet hedge, you should only need to trim once a year, and your hedge could last you a lifetime – not bad compared with the maintenance and replacement needed by wooden fences.

Plant now, and your young hedging plants should be settled in before any hot, dry weather we might get in summer.

Take a look at what we have our online shop. If you have any requests please get them in sooner rather than later as hedging season ends in March!

If you need any planting tips click here for our advice page and video tutorial.

Click to order hedging

*If any of your plants have suffered damaged shoots, stems or branches, cut back below the damage and immediately above a "joint".

This could be to just above a leaf, above a side shoot, or you might just be looking for a subtle bulged ring around the stem.

*If any plants have been blown out of the ground, treat them like a fresh planting.

Dig clear any detached roots from the ground to make a decent sized planting hole.

You might want to add root builders such as bonemeal or micorrhizal fungi.

Place the plant and backfill the hole with composts or manures, firm in and water well.

The more root has been lost the more top growth you will need to trim back, ie if half the root system has broken away you should ideally cut the plant by half; if there is no real damage to the roots a light trim on top should suffice.

Keep watering your plant for the next few weeks and hopefully it should re-establish.

*If any fences have blown down with climbers attached, it should not harm the climbers if you have to cut them back, although you might lose this years' flowers.

Storm Eunice

17/2/2022

For the safety of staff and customers, Katie's Garden will be CLOSED on Friday 18th February.

With windspeeds of up to 80mph forecast during Storm Eunice we cannot have anyone on site due to the risk of damage to our glasshouses.

We hope to be able to reopen 10am Saturday 19th February.

Spring Cheer packs are back!

7/2/2022

Available exclusively online! Get over £40 of seasonal bedding & bulbs for just £30!

Cheer up your beds, borders, pots & containers. Select from spring bedding, spring bulbs, a mix of both, or a selection of potted Alliums.

Collect from the nursery or have them delivered to your door for no extra charge - or to the door of a friend or loved one if they live in our delivery area.

Plants you could receive include primroses, wallflowers, pansies, violas, daffodils, tulips, alliums, muscari and many others. Many are bee-friendly and will be much appreciated by pollinators at a time when there is not much for them to choose from.

Click to order now!

Job vacancies at Katie's Garden

1/2/2022

Come and work with us in 2022!

We are advertising for several positions on indeed.com - including Horticultural Nursery Worker; Horticultural Assistant - Sales Outreach Team; Gardener/Handyperson/Driver.

For more information and to apply click here.

Please note we are not accepting applications via any other methods.

Spotlight on seeds!

GROWING TIPS

Our order books are open for summer hanging baskets!

"Storm-proof" hedging - excellent for wildlife!

Storm Eunice

Spring Cheer packs are back!

Job vacancies at Katie's Garden

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