'In like a lion, out like a lamb'

As the saying goes, we hope this is true of March this year - we can certainly feel a gathering warmth here in North Devon and we're looking forward to more sunnier spells as the month progresses.

To start this newsletter we would like to thank all our customers old and new for their support over the past couple of months. We have sent plants out to all parts of the UK and further afield into Europe, with some lovely comments which are much appreciated. Although we don’t usually attend any shows besides Malvern Spring Festival, we are attending an Alpine Garden Society one day show on 1^st April at RHS Garden Rosemoor and would be happy to bring any March orders to the show for collection. Choose 'collect from nursery' at the checkout and give us a call to arrange.

Things are moving on apace in the garden after a slow rainy start to the year. Many plants are emerging after their winter hibernation with Uvularia and Erythronium really starting to push through ready to come into flower after the daffodils have finished. Long awaited for colour is now appearing everywhere, the camelias, magnolias and Prunus are doing a sterling job to lighten the spirits. With so many plants wanting to steal the limelight it is hard to choose just a few to include here.

The encrusted saxifrages are worth their weight in gold at this time of the year, with Saxifraga ‘Love Me’, S. ‘Peach Melba’ and S. apiculata ‘Gregor Mendel’ all putting on quite a show. For those of you who may shy away from these very hardy but delicate looking plants, an ideal way to grow them is in a terracotta pan using a lovely gritty mix. We use a mixture of flint chick grit and fine oyster grit with our usual compost and to cover the top. This pan of Saxifraga 'Peach Melba' (above) lives on the outside window sill of the cottage and thrives in this mix.

An old favourite that never fails to delight with its wonderful white blooms is Ipheion 'Alberto Castillo', we have had this plant for many years and although other colours are available the pureness of the flowers on this cultivar is stunning.

Just starting to come into flower is Scopolia carniolica ‘Zwanenburg’ whose maroon-purple bells appear almost as soon as the foliage has emerged. It is an easy plant, given a little shade, and will build up very nicely without ever taking over.

The fern-like foliage of Dicentra cucularia 'Little Angels', is beginning to push through and will soon be in full flower. The seed-like corms develop very well and are not long in building up to give a small carpet of these dwarf dutchman's breeches.

Morisia monantha is also a plant worth mentioning this month because of the length of time it flowers. It makes a glorious early splash of sunshine in any rock garden, trough or container and is easy enough to look after given a well-drained soil.

Anemone apennina ‘Petrovac’, a dainty plant which when established is covered with deep blue starry flowers.

Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’ is a great stalwart of the spring garden providing early colour with delicate purple buds opening to blue.

And last but never least is the ever-popular Soldanella carpatica. This fringed snowbell, which is very hardy and easy to grow, will not fail to delight you as it comes into flower each spring.

DON'T FORGET!
Mother's Day is Sunday 26 March
We offer gift vouchers for Mother's Day or alternatively can send a box of plants packed and wrapped, including a gift card, at no extra cost other than the normal postage charge.

Shop Now

Forward

BUYING FROM US IS EASY AND SECURE

We accept online orders from across the UK and many European countries. Postage and packaging will be added automatically at the checkout and you can find out more about our pricing here. We understand the cost of postage is high and are constantly looking for alternative providers who can help us reduce costs. For most of the UK we offer a 24 hour postage service and for Northern Ireland, the north of Scotland and Highlands & Islands we aim for plants to arrive within 48 hours. We will pass on any cost savings to customers as and when we can. Read about what customers say about us here.

You can purchase our plants securely online via PayPal but please note you do not require a PayPal account to do this. PayPal will give you the option of paying by credit or debit card at the checkout stage. However, if you are not comfortable buying online, or are having any problems with PayPal, please contact us. We are happy to accept a cheque as payment for your order, and we can take orders via telephone. If you live locally or are going to be travelling to North Devon, we are happy to arrange for you to collect your order from the nursery. However, please note we are not generally open to the public.

Forward