In hot weather we welcome the benefits of trees for shade.

Tilia - Limes for shade

In many cities parks are popular for all the right reasons - playtime, exercise or just sitting and watching the world go by - and trees enhance the park landscape.

We reap the benefits of inspired tree planters of years ago. London's Plane trees in Hyde Park and Manchester's Poplars in St. John's Garden have survived polluted conditions to offer cooling effects in summer, improve the air quality and help reduce traffic noise. Street trees improve the look of the built environment making cities a more pleasant place to live and work.

Large trees such as limes (Tilia species), Norway Maples (Acer platanoides species), Oaks (Quercus) and Planes (Platanus x hispanica) are some of the  obvious examples of trees that offer shade - trees that grow to 15m and more and have dense canopies.

Medium sized trees include Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), Sweet Gum (Liquidambar), Alder (Alnus), and Field Maple (Acer campestre).

Smaller trees that have dense canopies such as hawthorns (Crataegus) are useful for shade aswell as June berry (Amelanchiers) and Cotoneaster. Trees that can be pruned to restrict their size in small gardens include Indian bean tree (Catalpa) and the silver willow leaved weaping pear Pyrus salicifolia Pendula.

Gardens small and large benefit from some shade in the summer, and if the garden is too small for a tree there are other options to get 'green infrastructure'. Vines can be trained over pergolas for example and Wisteria can be grown on a stem with a pruned 'crown'.

It is not the best time for planting in the heat of the summer, but it is a great time to enjoy the benefits of trees!

We hope you are enjoying the summer and don't forget to continue to water newly planted trees, shrubs and climbers in the hot weather!

June brings sunny days and lush foliage.

While it is not ideal tree planting weather just now it is a great time to take a good look around at foliage shape and colour and plan for the autumn. Planting in containers can be done at any time of year and a great candidate for growing in a pot is Nandina domestica - it is evergreen, slow growing and has colourful foliage as well as flowers followed by red berries - it loves a sunny site and looks great in terracotta.

While herbaceous plants are obvious summer stars there are also many shrubs in flower that add structure and height to a mixed border. Philadelphus is a stunning deciduous shrub with white scented flowers, there are several varieties  - Belle Etoile is compact and highly scented.

Also coming into flower now are Hydrangeas that will bloom away happily during the summer.

On hot sunny days ornamental vines flourish, they can be trained over pergolas and other structures and can provide shade for seating areas. They can also be grown as short or long stem 'trees' cutting the foliage back to create a 'crown'. Mature vines grown this way can look very effective in containers on paved areas.

Happy Summer !

Come and visit for some more ideas...

Star of the show today !

Cornus Venus is an elegant shrub or small tree reaching 5m high ultimately and 4m wide.  It has showy flowers which are actually white petal like bracts surrounding small green yellow flowers.

Flowering in May - June they make a stunning specimen. It is a cross between Cornus kousa var. Chinensis and Cornus nuttallii and makes a hardy tree.

Cornus Venus

On mature specimens red fruits follow flowers and it has spectacular autumn leaf colour too.

It suits most soil types and thrives in sun or partial shade.

Something special for any size garden

We hope you have a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend - don't forget to water your newly planted trees and shrubs in the hot weather.

It's a great time to visit and see trees in blossom and with new spring foliage...

Prunus Shirofugen - One of the best

ornamental cherries in flower end of April through to May. Looking great in the nursery today.

A real show stopper! Double white flowers start pink in bud and fade to shell pink. The young foliage is copper coloured, then turns green and has good autumn colour too.

Ultimate height and spread is approximately 8m.
It prefers a sunny site and can cope with clay and chalk.

50% OFF USUAL PRICE THIS WEEK !

Available until the end of April while stocks last:

quality hedge plants that have been field grown, pruned and supplied with soil round the roots protected by  hessian.

Evergreen Yew - Taxus baccata is available from 60-80cm tall up to 150-175cm tall (and sizes in between) from £15 (10+ rate for smallest size). A classic for traditional hedges and topiary, a beautiful backdrop to herbaceous borders and ideal on well-drained soil.

Evergreen Western Red Cedar - Thuja plicata - more tolerant of heavy clay soils than Yew, clips just as well and tolerates some shade. Available in sizes from 150cm tall to 225cm from £34.80 (10+ rate for smallest) depending on quantity.

Rootballed hedge plants

Prunus Umineko - Snow Goose

In flower now, beautiful white ornamental Japanese cherry - Prunus Umineko. Reaching approximately 6-8m in maturity it is an upright shape when young maturing into a vase shape when older. Pure white single flowers and good autumn colour makes this a lovely tree as a single specimen or for an avenue.

Available in the nursery as a small standard approximately 150-175cm tall or as standards approximately 300-350cm tall.

April is a wonderful month for flowering cherries.

We will be featuring some of these during the next few weeks. There is an ornamental cherry for every garden - small to large trees, upright or spreading in shape. The only decision to make is what colour flower you prefer and what ultimate height is suitable for your garden.

Prunus cerasifera nigra or cherry plum is one of the earliest flowering varieties starting in late March and early April.

It has dense purple foliage in summer and pale pink single flowers in early spring. It reaches approximately 8m ultimately. Tolerant of most soil types including chalk, it prefers a sunny site.

It is available either as single stem trees or multi-stem (in the nursery) up to 3m tall.

It may be a cold and wet Bank Holiday but there is lots to look forward to this month in the garden!

Magnolias are in bud and some are starting to flower already. Magnolia Stellata is one of the first, with white star-like flowers, it is a hardy shrub and reaches approximately 2.5-3m ultimately.  They are tolerant of most soils except shallow chalk.

Magnolia Stellata

We stock Magnolia Stellata in three sizes of established shrubs from 60-80cm tall in a 10 litre pot for £38.40 . Please phone us for details of the largest size.

After that the star of the show is Magnolia soulangeana, the classic pale pink flower with the dark pink/purple base. It reaches approximately 4-8m ultimately.  It tolerates clay soils as long as they are not waterlogged. Both Magnolias thrive in full sun or partial shade.

Magnolia soulangeana

We stock Magnolia soulangeana starting at £38.40 for a 80-100cm tall plant in a 10 litre pot and more established specimens at £144 for a 150-175cm tall plant.

And there'll be more flowers when the ornamental cherries start to blossom, more information to follow about them next week ! ...

We re-open in the nursery on Tuesday 3rd April at 8am after the Bank Holiday weekend. 

*** We are closed Good Friday and Easter Monday ***

Open Easter Saturday as usual 8am to 4pm

(Closed Easter Sunday as usual)

Last month for bare root hedge plants!

Are you planning to gap up a hedge or plant a new one? We can supply  bare root hedge plants up to the end of March (and maybe just into April depending on demand). So don't leave it too late if you want to order this season. We are happy to advise about species and quantities or you can browse our website.

We are offering our convenient hedge packs of 25 mixed native species at a special price while stocks last £31 for 60-80cm plants (normally £36) and £43 for the 90-120cm plants (normally £48) - a special incentive to get planting!

We advise you to telephone prior to collection to check the plants you want are available.

 10% off Plant of the Month - Camellias 

Evergreen...Hardy...  Autumn/winter and spring flowering varieties....Prefers neutral to acid soil....Red, white or pink flowers

C. japonica varieties in the nursery include Purity (white), Mrs Tingley (Pink), Black Lace (Dark Pink), Nuccio's Pearl (white with a pink edge), Kramer's Supreme (Red). Sizes from 60cm tall to 3m!

C. sasanqua include Hiryu (Red) and pink.

Large specimens include multi-stem and half- standard Camellia japonica and bonsai Camellia sansaqua.