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We're delighted to be working with Silver Birch Care Home of Ipswich on a project to replant both our own displays at Katie's Garden, and the residents' garden at Silver Birch. The ethos at Silver Birch is 'Keeping Families Connected' and they work to provide activities such as gardening which residents can enjoy alongside relatives and friends. Jackie and Lauren visited the care home with a 'mini Katie's Garden' selection, and helped residents plant up a selection of baskets and planters for the summer season. One of the main beds at Silver Birch was transformed in just a few weeks by Lauren and Jackie. They planted a selection of perennials and grasses, to provide a colourful walkway and some cut flowers to bring the garden indoors. And now our own display garden in Newbourne has been replanted, sponsored by Silver Birch Care Home. It is still blazing with colour as we move into autumn. We hope visitors to Katie's Garden will take a few minutes there to sit and reflect, chat with a friend, find new ideas for your own garden. Find out more about our Silver Birch Garden here: https://www.katiesgarden.co.uk/silver-birch-garden.html  At the end of July, a large area of Minsmere's rare heathland habitat near Dunwich, so important to many species, was destroyed by fire. It will take years to return it to its full glory, but the RSPB are determined to achieve this.
We are supporting their appeal with a donation from our sales of heaths and heathers this autumn going towards restoration of the heathland. Callunas (heathers) and Ericas (heaths!) make fantastic garden plants, and thrive in the light sandy soils of east Suffolk. They are particularly useful from autumn through to spring, bringing colour to beds and containers, and providing food for nectar-loving insects. All are drought-tolerant and low maintenance, so there are lots of reasons to add them to your garden now! The Callunas will need acid conditions (or suitable ericaceous compost) but the Ericas will tolerate a wider range of alkaline or heavier soils. Fun and games afoot in Newbourne this weekend with the village's first Scarecrow event.
Pop into the nursery to meet our new helpers! Mabel, Mick & Sukie and 'Legs' are in the carpark to welcome you, while you'll find 2 more inside! An after-hours event at the nursery always has a special feel to it, none more so when we welcomed a group of dedicated gardeners and plant-lovers this week to celebrate St Elizabeth Hospice's 2026 Great Garden Trail. As plant partners again to this crucial fundraising programme, Katie's Garden has donated hundreds of plants and provided plant stalls throughout this year's calendar of openings which are now drawing to a close. As is becoming tradition we invited all those who shared their gardens to Newbourne for a nursery tour and private shopping while the Hospice community fundraising team laid on delicious cakes and refreshments. We were also grateful to be able to add our thanks to the Hospice volunteers who transport, display and sell our plants at key venues. We look forward to hearing the final amount raised this year, rumoured to be a record-breaker!  Katie's Garden was on national radio today, as owner Susie Davis spoke about the impact of repeated heatwaves, droughts and now hosepipe bans on plants, nurseries and customers.
Special mention was made of nursery staff too with the Katie's Garden team cited for their resilience and much appreciated cheerfulness during the challenging weather! We're happy to have loaded up our final plants grown for the new RHS Sandringham show (22-26 July 2026). They are headed for Joe and Laura Carey's design, The RHS Pollywiggle Garden. Read more about this Feature Garden, https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-sandringham-flower-show/gardens/2026/rhs-pollywiggle-garden  A whopping 18 trolleys of plants left Newbourne today headed to RHS Sandringham. Grown specifically for Stark Strand Garden Design they will feature in their Norfolk inspired garden at the new RHS show at the end of July.
Grown, nurtured and watered by Susie, Rick and the production team headed by Gill and Tabitha, the naturalistic, meadow-inspired plants were loaded very early this morning by Jane and Claire before being finally counted, checked off and wrapped by Rick for their short cross-border trip to Norfolk! Take care of yourselves / 'Moined 'ow yer go' ! Read more about this 'RHS Crafted from Nature' design https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-sandringham-flower-show/gardens/2026/rhs-crafted-from-nature-garden Read more about our projects growing for RHS Shows https://www.katiesgarden.co.uk/rhs-shows---growers  Katie's Garden today launched its Helping Hands Heatwave Appeal. For 7 days all 10.5cm Pelargoniums (geraniums) are on sale at just £1 each (usual price £3.59). Owner Susie Davis says "100% of the sales are being donated to Helping Hands Suffolk, a local support group for the homeless and people in need in the Ipswich area. Our team has shown great fortitude working outside in this week's extreme temperatures and we are very mindful of others in our community less fortunate who cannot retreat to a cool space at the end of the day. Customers and staff have helped Katie's Garden fundraise for this volunteer group for several years and we are putting a call out hoping they feel able to support us again'.' Pelargoniums are heat and drought tolerant annuals which with regular deadheading will continue to flower in the autumn, and can often also be overwintered by sheltering over the colder/wetter months. The fundraiser features a wide and colourful choice of both upright and trailing varieties, with no limit on the number that can be bought. Cash sales preferred. Sale ends Friday 3rd July 2026, or while stocks last.
As 'flaming June' comes to a scorching end this weekend, we're supporting 3 garden-related events that are long standing fixtures in our events calendar.
The delivery of our plant stall to Felixstowe Garden Club's Annual Flower & Produce Show on Saturday is always met with great excitement to see what treats are on board! On Sunday 28th June we are running a stall at the bi-annual Coddenham Open Gardens & Scarecrows, where there is so much to see for all the family; while across the weekend Katie's Garden plants will also be on sale at the Blaxhall Patronal Flower Festival. All events are fundraising for specific local projects.We're delighted to have once again been invited to participate with each one again and wish all the volunteers and gardeners a very successful, and hopefully slightly cooler, time! An entirely new range of pots has arrived at the nursery this week. The selection includes both terracotta and glazed designs, in a wide choice of colours and sizes. Several lines are priced at 50% off, and of course Flourish loyalty club members receive 10% off all new pot prices. What's not to love!  A big Thank You to all our customers and staff who supported our 3rd annual 'Spring Clean Your Shed' fundraiser earlier this year.
The results are now in and we're delighted to have raised a tremendous £646.54 for Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Charlotte Gammons visited Susie at the nursery to present a fundraiser certificate. Donating unwanted garden tools and pots for purchase by others has proven to be a very rewarding way of both recycling and fundraising - a win win!
 Katie's Garden has also won Best in Show for the best trade stand in the Flower Show Here's Gill with the Perpetual Challenge Trophy !
Our colourful display is all set up in the Flower and Garden zone at the Suffolk Show and we're looking forward to the next two days! Several members of the Katie's Garden team will be taking turns as Stewards at our display and plant stall - other colleagues are still working hard back at the nursery which is still open - with plenty of plants to water! Our display features a wide variety of plants we grow, presented this year in border-like settings to showcase perennials and shrubs ideal for different popular scenarios such as a shady spot, or an all-whites look. Plus of course stunning samples of our popular annuals in patio pots and of course our famous hanging baskets! If you're at the Suffolk Show please do come and say hello, We'd love to see your photos too Facebook: @katiesgardenplantcentre; Insta: @katiesgardenplants |
