All Change

Like the seasons and a garden, everything changes and it’s all change here at Garden Divas and The Horse Diva HQ.

We will be moving to new premises (hopefully very soon) on the other side of town where we will have more space for display and will also be able to welcome local customers during the day. Alongside this our two websites are being reprogrammed to be “mobile friendly” and easier to use on a phone or tablet – Hoorah. So do keep a eye out for our new look.

As with all changes though it has not been the smoothest of starts to 2016 but we are digging deep, finding loads of new products for all you garden and horse lovers and working hard to make sure shopping with us continues to be a smooth affair!

Winter seems to be never ending and I’m longing to get back to some proper gardening but have also realised my limitations due to age (oh yes I did have a big birthday in January) and time restrictions due to the growth of the business. So there are changes afoot in the garden. Raised beds have been built in my veg patch.

 

New Raised Beds

This has obviously made the available “growing” area smaller, but easier to work with and has used up loads of homemade compost. Since I have “grown my own” in some shape or form since I was young I cannot see me ever giving up this side of gardening so this seemed a fair solution. At the moment there is rhubarb, a collection of self set Foxgloves and some wallflowers that didn’t get planted into the borders! But come the spring I will be shall be planting the usual potatoes, carrots, shallots this year instead of onions, dwarf beans I think, dwarf sunflowers for picking, some sort of brassica, mangetout peas, salad leaves plus I want to get some fresh strawberry plants soonish. Then there’s tomatoes & peppers for the greenhouse and ……………. See I can get carried away very easily!

I’m also hoping to revamp a back border introducing a little more structure with evergreens etc which can be interplanted with summer colour – more of that next time.

In the meantime we Mums should be looking forward to a little “ME” time on Mother’s Day on Sunday 6th March and if you want to make a change from giving flowers to your Mum how about giving her one of Sophie Conran’s award winning Seed Sets – choose from Edible Flower, Wildflower or Herbs. All beautifully packaged and at £9.95 per pack these will last a lot longer than a shop bought bouquet!

Sophie Conran Seed Collection

Happy Mother’s Day and Gardening to all

Gilly

PS Do let me know what changes you are making to your garden this year.

Autumn – turn over a new leaf?

AUTUMN

Don’t you just love this time of year – the colours, the fallen leaves, putting the garden to bed (that usually takes me all winter!). Surely it’s the best season of the year although by the time spring comes around I will probably say the same having endured long cold days unable to get out. Well there’s no pleasing a gardener is there – it’s either too wet, too hot, too cold, too windy but that really is the joy and challenge of it all – the working with nature, not against it, to get the best from your garden.

Now the days are getting shorter, the leaves are tumbling but the colours in the garden are still glorious.   It’s time to get out whenever you can – rake up the leaves, tidy the greenhouse or go for a walk in the countryside.

If like me you are having a sort out and popping into the garden whenever the weather or timing is right I suggest you try these fabulous garden shoes in a fun Leaf design – perfect for Autumn mornings – just make sure your feet don’t disappear amongst the leaves.

To jazz up a jumper how about our brand NEW Leaf jewellery – these are REAL gold plated leaves – choose from Oak, Aspen, Fern or we even have an acorn. They are really lightweight and add a touch of sparkle to your darker winter clothes.

Maybe your gardening gloves are a bit tatty after working outside all year – treat yourself to a new pair – we have loads to choose from. Or invest in a pair of Gold Leaf Gardening Gloves – described as probably the BEST leather gardening gloves around. The leather is soft and supple – so good in fact the gloves are extremely popular with the gardeners at Buckingham Palace! Maybe put them on your Christmas wish list.

One last thing before I leave you (excuse the pun) – apologies for no blog during September – it was an extra busy time as the lovely Horse Diva herself got married and an amazing day was had by all. We wish Katie & Simon every happiness.

Plus I’m pleased to say that the love of colour is hereditary as you can see by the glorious colours of her wedding flowers.

Now my thoughts must turn to Christmas!!!

Vegetable gardening – is it worth it??

Yes I do confess I asked myself this question earlier in the summer. Returning from a short break I discovered there had been an intruder in the garden – the young mange tout plants had all been eaten bar five plants, as had the lettuce and the tops of all my chrysanthemums plus the broad beans were covered in black fly which had then jumped across to the runner beans.

Countless spraying with soapy water didn’t get rid of the blackfly and I only had a few helpings of mange tout from the depleted plants. The cats got a scolding for not detering the rabbits but the consensus of opinion was that this time a deer had got into the garden whilst I was away and had a healthy dinner at my expense.

All that effort, all that nurturing from seed to young plant, hardening off, transplanting, watering etc etc had all been undone within the space of 5 days and I actually said to myself – is this really worth it??

I resorted to buying (yes parted with money) some ladybirds – you can get everything on the internet these days – which met with some derision from certain quarters but I have to say they did the trick and got rid of the invasion of blackfly on the beans – hooray! Now the beans aren’t setting very well so I’m out with the sugared water to attract more pollinators.

The jobs never end when growing your own crops – it is hard work at times so back to my original question – is it worth it??  Yes said my husband – he likes eating the produce you see but not necessarily the work that goes into producing it.   However when we looked back at this seasons successes it didn’t seem so bad – we’ve had rhubarb, raspberries, a few broadbeans and mangetout, courgettes, the potatoes are magnificent, the onions look fine and the baby carrots are delicious. There are plums and apples ripening on the trees and I am sure I will get a few runners. As my old Mum used to say “You can’t win them all”

So I’m not giving up – just revamping the veg plot a bit – as soon as I said “I might like some raised beds” to Mr Woodworker he was out there sawing and drilling making me some fine new raised beds – which at the moment, filled with compost from the overflowing compost heaps are just nurturing baby foxgloves, calendulas and wallflowers.

So YES I say to you all – growing fruit and veg is worth it on so many fronts – good exercise, good for the soul and good for the body – eating often mis-shapen veggies grown by yourself, harvested and on the table ready to eat in less than an hour. Don’t give up, however many problems you incur from pests large or small: there’s nothing like serving up a meal and saying “I grew that” and I tell you what, you don’t get that taste from the supermarket.

If you want to try growing something yourself, why not take advantage of 20% discount on the Growing Kits from Plant-n-Grow and get ready for next year or buy as a lovely gift for your keen gardener.   Plus keep your eye on our website for some very special seeds coming soon.

Plant-n-Grow Vegalicious Veggie Kit

Happy Gardening

Gilly

Children’s Gardening

Summer is here and it looks like loads of you will be out enjoying your gardens with little ones – our orders for children’s gardening tools and gloves have shot up over the last couple of months.

Best Seller

At the top of our best sellers is the Gruffalo Garden Tool Bag complete with 3 mini tools plus minature watering can closely followed by The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Peppa Pig tool boxes and stools. These have been flying out but sadly the VHC and Peppa Pig ranges are being discontinued so grab yours while you can.

Peppa pig stool for when you need a rest

We now also have a cute range for the slightly older child called Little Thoughtful Gardener from manufacturers Wild and Wolf Ltd. These smaller sized tools and watering cans complement the adults ” Thoughtful Gardener” tools and accessories perfectly and we offer a combined set of tools in this range for both little and large gardeners!

Little & Large Gardeners Tool Sets

Getting children involved in the garden and perhaps growing a few easy things such as carrots, lettuce, radish, beans etc is thought to be a good way to encourage them to eat more fruit and vegetables and even try different varieties. A warm tomato or two from the greenhouse, picking the peas and eating them raw or digging up potatoes to see who gets the most from just one root are always worth a try.  Plus see who can discover the funniest shaped fruit or veg like my latest strawberry.                                                                                                

I loved being outside as a youngster, climbing trees to get the tastiest apple from the top,(no health and safety then) making mud pies and serving them for “tea” – yuk. Never had a pair of gardening gloves until I was in my 30’s so always got dirty.  Did that make me a gardener?? Not really sure but it gave me an understanding of where fruit and veg came from. Sadly I read some kids today don’t have a clue!

If you don’t like the thought of your kids making mud pies with bare hands as I did, landing my mother no doubt with loads of washing, we have great gloves for little hands –The Gruffalo and Be Good to Bugs Gloves for snail hunting and Little Thoughtful Garden Gloves for weeding. Don’t forget to pop on a sunhat as your children tend to their garden – our Ladybird and Happy Hats are perfect for little heads.

So get out and enjoy your gardens with your kids or give them a patch of their own to tend to – you know they’ll love it.

I love my tool set!

Happy gardening to little and large gardeners everywhere.

Mother’s Day Gardeners!

With Mother’s Day fast approaching I think it’s time to really put on our gardening shoes (if you haven’t already done so) and get out into the garden – there are loads of jobs to be done now and even if it doesn’t feel like it today, Spring is definitely in the air!.

Pruned your roses yet?? I’ve done some of mine but now is a good time to tidy them up, cut out the dead wood and prune back by about a third of their size. You’ll need some good secateurs and we have some great examples to choose from, such as these V&A Roses secateurs, or Orla Kiely secateurs in a handy decorative pouch or, if you prefer something plainer, try The Thoughtful Gardener sturdy secateurs or  Sophie Conran’s stainless steel ones which come in a branded gift box too, a perfect present for Mothering Sunday.

I read this morning that Spring is about 2 weeks later than last year and I must say that winter seems to have gone on and on. It would be great to see a host of daffodils to brighten things up. They are trying so I am hoping with a warm weekend forecast that the garden will take on a whole new look in the next few days. A few of you may know that I am replanting some of my borders this year and giving them a good tidy up – I still have much to do and hopefully if I am allowed a few hours off on Mother’s Day most of that will be spent in the garden.  Now is a good time to divide perennials creating loads of lovely new plants for the garden, something that’s proved helpful in my front border.

The mid-handled spade from Burgon & Ball is an excellent tool for this – great for chopping through perennial geraniums etc plus it has a 10 year guarantee and is endorsed by the RHS too so you know it’s good.

I also need to clean out the bird feeders and maybe add one or two new ones – the favourite at the moment is the Squirrel Buster Bird Feeder as my garden is inundated with squirrels – black ones at that! I think a couple of those strategically placed should help my feathered friends get their fair share.

That first sortie back into the garden for any length of time can result in a few aches and pains so a long soak in a relaxing bubble bath at the end of the day could help. The Gardener’s Therapy ( I think the clue is in the name) Muscle Soak  by the Somerset Toiletry Company smells divine and certainly does the trick – I can vouch for that!!   And don’t forget to look after your hands at the start of the season = they’re probably the best tool you will ever have!   It’s always a good idea to chuck out any moth eaten looking gloves and treat yourself to a new pair – we have loads of garden gloves suitable for all tasks from pruning to weeding and potting on.

And remember if your Mum loves her garden too why not treat her to any of the items I have talked about or just view our selection of lovely garden gifts handpicked by our team – which includes Mums!

Enjoy your gardens

Gilly x

A woman in her garden – summer 2014

I’ve not had a lot of time this summer to stand (or sit) and stare in my garden – the weeks have just flown by and I began to look at what I am trying to achieve in the garden and where if poss I could cut corners.
My garden is large – about 3/4 acre and I absolutely LOVE being outside. However it is a rather like the Forth Road Bridge and by the time I have finished one bit the other is yelling out for attention!! Weed me!! Water me!!
Talking of watering I spend a lot of my evenings in the summer watering the pots and planters I have so I thought I should count them up. Do you know I have a total of 22 pots and hanging baskets, not including the pepper and aubergine plants in pots in the greenhouse!! That’s ridiculous so no wonder I am tired some evenings. My husband tends to water with the hose (when I remind him) but I like my trusty watering cans – the V&A Roses Watering Can
has helped me all summer – it is not the finest of sprays from the rose but has been great for my established pots. Rose is detachable too..

I love the stackable Keira Watering Cans
– they don’t take up too much space in the greenhouse and the elegant pouring spout is great for getting right into the pots and hanging baskets. Thankfully “his lordship” has installed an automatic watering system for my greenhouse bed which is a real time saver.

Our trip away in the summer included a stay (courtesy of the lovely Horse Diva) to Barnsley House in the Cotswolds

 

 

– this was the former home of Rosemary Verey , the internationally acclaimed garden designer who died in 2001. Rosemary designed the gardens at Barnsley House in a manner that is not grand but just the perfect place to unwind with knot gardens, statues, a Laburnum Walk, various “garden rooms” and an ornamental fruit and vegetable garden. Although well maintained they are not immaculately weed free and beyond the reach of the average gardener with limited time – a bit like me!!
If you are ever in that part of the world I urge you to make a visit – combine it with afternoon tea – it’s the perfect pick me up for tired gardeners.
Now all I have to decide is do I really need 22 pots and planters to water ??

A woman in her garden – May/June

They call it faint May – because of the changing of the seasons and the heady blossom that prevails but I believe it’s because there is just so much that needs doing in the garden during May that your head’s in a spin!! Well mine was anyway and it’s only now that I can see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
Everything grew just like topsy, except of course those things I really wanted to grow such as the mange tout seeds planted in haste back in April. Of approx 25 sown only 4 germinated and one of those is struggling still!! Don’t expect a good crop of those for our tea!! Still the parsnip seeds which I just scattered germinated really well as did the carrots .

The runner beans were so so and then I went and planted them out too soon and we had a couple of cold and windy nights so their growth is a little stunted. I spied a first flower on one though so fingers crossed they will pull through. The potatoes look good too but am thinking I should cut down on carbs!! All in all a fair result for just planting left over seeds – some over 2 years old. And luckily for me a gardener friend has bought me some young plants to fill in the gaps – 3 sweetcorn, an outdoor cucumber, a courgette and a squash plant – gardeners are generous souls.

The veggie plants I bought are all producing now – broadbeans. (not my favourite but fill a gap) and spring cabbages (yummy with mint sauce and as I did last weekend, shredded, patted dry and fried with palma ham until crispy!)

Now it’s June and the roses are out and smell gorgeous,

the sweet peas are just starting to bloom and smell equally gorgeous, the alliums are mostly over, flopping about and distributing their seeds, foxgloves are majestic but tend to be battered by those sharp thundery showers, perennial geraniums are blooming and here and there are numerous gaps that need filling either with annuals or a new perennial or two. Love hebes and heucheras so will get a few more of them I think.

Countless shrubs need trimming back into shape before they take over the borders and a decision needs to be made on the two conifers at the back of the house which are going skywards. Let alone all the other trees which surround my garden – where shall we start – my head’s in a spin again. Thank goodness for the lovely Mark who helps with the garden – am sure he will advise me or bully me into submission!

And it seems that a lot of you have been busy in the garden too with sales up on last year and the Garden Divas team being kept busy. – two of our most popular products this last few weeks are the ultra glamorous Foxgloves Garden Gloves and our extremely comfy backdoorshoes

 

 

 

 

Looks like you are all getting kitted out for a summer in the garden – lets just hope we can enjoy the fruits of our labours after these busy weeks!

Happy Gardening

 

A woman in her garden – April

I’m late, very late in my gardening diary. I’m even writing this missive about April in the garden in May!!
Unfortunately we were rocked by two family bereavements with 6 days of each other in late March and energies and time were needed to deal with that. Gardening was the last thing on the “to do” list but it was with somewhat welcome relief to spend the final two weekends of April “catching up” on those sowing and planting tasks. There is nothing like being in the garden to soothe the soul!
But it has meant I have to make some shortcuts. For the first time in ages I have bought tomato cucumber and pepper plants for the greenhouse rather than growing from seed. Seed potatoes have been quickly popped into the ground late (the advantage being tho that they were not through when we had that recent cold and frosty couple of days).

No time to buy new seeds except for some bargain Calendulas at the local supermarket which are being scattered around the garden for summer colour. Instead I have used everything in the Seed Tin – some with aged “sow by” dates and old packets with just a few remaining seeds – peas, runner beans, carrots, parsnips – they have two chances!!

I also sowed a few seeds collected from a hollyhock last year, plus zinnias and tagetes direct into the greenhouse border. Altho very late to start these off from scratch I really do object to paying £3.95 for a tray of 6 tagetes plants as seen recently – they are so easy to grow!
In the flower borders a visit to the Garden Centre provided me with some new established plants to fill in the gaps in an area I really wanted to redesign – perennial geraniums, foxgloves, geums, phlox, hebes, a daphne may all help to bring the said area together. I have also added a couple of obelisks to add height and interest.

There is still loads to do as there always is in a garden of this size but at least I have something in the ground and fingers crossed I may get results.
My late mother-in-law was a keen gardener especially of flowers and my last conversation with her was about our morning in the garden, even tho she was in the grips of dementia. Her flowers gave her such pleasure.
“We come to the earth, we return to the earth and in between we garden”

Beating the January Blues!

January – not the best month of the year is it??  Bills to pay, it’s squelchy underfoot and there is not a lot you can do in the garden without a) getting filthy as it’s so muddy or b) doing more damage than good by impacting the soil.

If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse it’s always a good idea to give it a good clear out at this time of year – wash those pots, go through your seed packets, check your tools and generally tidy up.  Then retire indoors with a cuppa and check out the catalogues to see what you would like growing in your garden next year.

Or you could just browse our Winter Sale – stocks are very limited now so be quick.  If you need a new pair of gloves then these Cressida Chic gloves from Laura Ashley are a good buy at just £7.46   (size large only)

or if you really need to make a note of your garden ideas for 2014 – then the Waterproof Notebook (Sale Price: £4.97) is always useful or how about this lovely Garden Journal (Half Price at £12.50) – a real bargain.  It’s always a good idea to stock up on twine and labels too, and there are more savings to be made here too – these pretty tins of twine are now half price as are the Eco Plants labels.  Sale will end on Friday 7th February 2014.

In the meantime we are sourcing some fab new products for you lovely gardening ladies – we will be travelling to Spring Fair next month to trawl the halls at the NEC, meeting with existing suppliers and hopefully discovering new ones as well.  Keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for details of products as they arrive.   Just to tempt you now we hope for NEW designs of garden baskets, gloves and tools from Laura Ashley, a pretty range of Garden items featuring a Julie Dodsworth design from Navigate Ltd , plus the popular Radius Hand tools in a rainbow of colours.

Watch this space – it will soon be spring!!

Garden Takeover!

Argh!!  I surrender.  My garden has won, it has beaten me into submission.  I never thought I would say this but I am beginning to tire of gardening every spare minute – yes you heard it here first!!

Why is that, you may well ask??

Well I have a large garden, 3/4 acre, which surrounds my house so looking after it is rather like painting the Forth Road Bridge – as soon as you’ve managed to go around once, where you started is overgrown with weeds!!  I confess, however, that this past year or two I have been my own worst enemy.  Seeing ideas on the telly or at Chelsea or on the web has heard me saying – ooh I can do that or we can change that or I’ld like one of those in my garden etc etc  You get the idea – I am becoming a greedy gardener.  I want to do it all but time does not permit and so gardening becomes just another chore – dangerous indeed!!

So I have stepped back, viewed the estate, seen where some better planting will keep the garden looking lovely all year through – I do like a bit of colour – done away with some of the many planters I had – I still have at least fifteen scattered about and they all need watering. got some more help in and am telling myself not to be so tempted by the fabulous display of plants at my local market – I must be his best customer as he gave me a FREE Acer this year!!

The first thing I am going to do is clear one of the raised beds and plant another plum tree giving me a nice little orchard area, two eating apple trees, one cooking apple and two plum trees.  I shall also be planting another marjoram nearby to encourage bees and butterflies etc to the garden as I noticed how much they loved it.

Then I will need to sort out a large bed at the back where my rhodos are – that definitely needs better planting with possibly introducing another acer to give added colour and form – that would make three acers and should look good.

I’m going to plant a strawberry bed, move the blueberry plant to a bigger area and promise myself that I will not grow quite so many veg crops next year – just Charlotte potatoes, some onions, runner beans, mangetout, asparagus, a row of carrots and a few tomatoes and ONE courgette plant and maybe some leeks for winter.

I know that still sounds like a lot of work but somehow having sat down and written about it, I feel energised again about the garden.  I do love it but realise that I have to do things my way and not be so influenced by what’s in the media.  It’s a beautiful garden and I am determined to enjoy it more in the following months.

So my advice to you is this- keep it simple, do it your way and don’t let your garden take over your life!!  We women can’t do it all whatever anyone says!!