Very few people actually have traditional beds of annuals nowadays but brighten up their gardens with easily cared for tubs and containers. Many of the basket plants are in fact tender perennials. The virtue of the whole crop, annual and perennial, is that the plants flower all summer long. A...
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Downside update April 2019
We are busy producing the tender bedding crop. There is no hurry to plant out. We used to say mid-May was about as early as you could risk planting out around here – later if you are in a frost pocket – but the weather has gone a bit mad...
Read moreDownside News 09 March 2019
The British weather never ceases to astonish us. Last year’s spring was cold and late; this year we had that wonderful burst of warm weather and now back to rain and hail. We are still getting cold nights, though, which is a good thing because it stops plants getting too...
Read moreNew shrubs available at Downside Nurseries
Plant highlights with approx HxS sizes Acca sellowiana (1.5-2.5 x 1.5-2.5m) – this is one we do ourselves, but it takes months to root, so we were glad to get extra. Evergreen, with Hypericum-like red and white flowers, it does need a really sunny position to flower well. Akebia quinate...
Read moreVegetables at Downside Nurseries
When we checked our vegetable list against ‘Gardening Which’s’ list of recommended varieties, we were pleased to find most of the varieties we grow on it. Those that are not are all top-quality commercial varieties not generally available as seed for amateurs so outside their remit. This year we have...
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