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Happy Easter and Happy Spring from all of us at Riverside! We love this time of year and hope that we can help you make the most of this exciting time in the garden. Read on for news, fun happenings, garden guidance and more top tips from us...
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Easter at Riverside
For many, Easter means some extra time off, and it's the perfect opportunity to get some gardening done! If you want to come and see us, we will be open as normal except for Easter Sunday when we will be closed due to trading laws. However, when we reopen on Easter Monday (1st April - no fooling) we will have moved over to our summer opening hours - which means you will have until 5:30pm to shop with us.
During your visit you might like to take part in our family Easter egg hunt - with a twist. We will have some special spring characters hiding around the garden centre. Find them all over the Easter weekend to win a chocolate prize!
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Basket bedding is now in!
The first delivery of our summer basket bedding range has just dropped! We have everything you need to create gorgeous hanging baskets and potted arrangements to take you right through the spring and summer. Some of our favourites include 'Surfinia' Petunias, which give massive cascades of flowers; Nemesia with its delicate scent and non-stop blooms; and trailing Lobelia, which flowers its socks off even in partial shade. If you need help choosing, our staff are always happy to advise!
Remember these plants are not fully hardy so will still need protection from dips in temperature at this time of year.
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Spring houseplant care
Spring is an ideal time to re-pot any houseplants that are getting too big for their pots. You can often tell very easily when a plant is pot bound but if in doubt have a look at the base of the pot for roots growing through. Use a houseplant compost, or a specialist mix for alpines, cacti or orchids, and a pot with a diameter about 5cm more than the old one.
Now is also a good time to start feeding your houseplants to help them put on lots of growth over the warmer months. We have a range of houseplant feeds and composts in our shop, as well as pots and decorative pot covers.
To learn more about houseplant care and how to deal with common problems, pick up a copy of our 'Introduction to Houseplants' leaflet in the shop. You can also have a look at it on our website.
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Alpines for spring blooms
One of our top picks for planting out now are the Alpines. These plants are easy to care for, as long as they get some sun and have well drained soil. They don't require a lot of space or depth of soil, so are ideal for rockeries, along paths and in other tricky places in the garden. Best of all, most are spring flowering so will start to make a visual impact fast! They are also a great source of food for pollinators.
We have a wide range of Alpines in our 9cm range (a bargain at £2.99 each), as well as a few selected varieties in larger pots for an even bigger splash of colour.
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Jobs in the garden for early spring
Plant potatoes
Late March and April is the time for getting your seed potatoes into the ground. Learn more about potato planting on our blog.
Sow seeds - flowers and edibles
Now that the days are getting longer there are many more things that you can safely sow now. Refer to our Growing Guides for March and April to find out more about which vegetables, herbs and flowers can be started off. You may also find our online Growing Calendar useful.
Start a strawberry or herb bed
This is a perfect time to plant up a strawberry patch or a herb bed - and Riverside is well stocked in both right now! Or combine the two by introducing some clever companion planting. Many herbs, including coriander, mint and sage, are thought to be good 'friends' to strawberries, helping to keep pests at bay.
Plant summer flowering bulbs
April is the time when we can start planting up Dahlias, Begonias, Freesias and other summer flowering bulbs and tubers. Start them off in pots in a frost-free place.
Finish dividing summer flowering perennials
If some of your perennials have become quite large you can often divide them, creating new plants for your garden (or to share with others). March to May is a perfect time to do this with those plants that flower in summer.
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Happy to help.
If you have any questions at all then please feel free to contact us, we'd love to hear from you!
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