OUR EXPERIENCES

On this page we have set out our own growing and flowering experiences with the plants that we sell. We are located in North Cambridgeshire and the climate is, generally, warm and dry Summers (though not for the last couple of years!)and Winters that are frosty with little snow but can be bitterly cold when the east wind blows. The soil is generally on the heavy side but very fertile. We grow the plants that are not suitable for sale to our Customers (because of their quality) in our borders, baskets and pots, although we never grow an example of every plant that we sell.

Of particular interest to us are the numbers of flowers produced by the various plants and the latest that we've seen them flowering. We deadhead regularly and each Spring we'll mulch the borders with our own compost. We use a proprietary compost for our pots and baskets and feed about once a week during the season finishing during late September.

In 2008 we had fairly poor weather. The Summer was cool, October was cold, November mild and December cold. The coldest overnight temperature has been minus 6° C.

Still in flower on Christmas Day : Osteospermum, Bacopa Gulliver Lilac, Bacopa Snowflake, Marguerite Butterfly, all trailing Pansies.

From the left to right, Fuchsia Annabel, Bacopa Gulliver Lilac and Trailing Pansy White

The Marguerites have been particularly prolific with a single plant producing up to 100 flowers!

Still in flower at the end of November : Geranium Appleblossom, Geranium Tom Cat, Fuchsia Delta's Sarah, Fuchsia Bella Rosella, Fuchsia Lady Boothby, Fuchsia Hollys Beauty, Fuchsia Genii, Fuchsia Tom West, Fuchsia Quasar, Brachycome Blue,

From the left to right, Giant Fuchsia Hollys Beauty, Geranium Appleblossom, Hardy Fuchsia Genii, Giant Fuchsia Bella Rosella and basket plant Brachycombe Blue.

All our bulbs did very well, particularly the Chionodoxa which we planted in full sun and when they were in flower the sunlight created a beautiful shimmering effect on the flowers.

We will update this page in January 2010 with our 2009 experiences
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