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  • Christmas at Coolings

    Christmas is nearly amongst us and we have lots of fun things planned at Coolings to celebrate the festivities.

     

    Enchanted Grotto (19th November – 24th December 2022)

    Introducing our Enchanted Grotto at Coolings Lifestyle – it’s out of this world!

    We have been working hard with Santa and his little helpers to ensure we provide good boys and girls with a truly memorable Christmas experience.  Our Christmas grotto will run from 19th November – 24th December 2022, with tickets going on sale from Monday 29th August! 

    Read more on this years grotto theme here.

     

     

     

    Visit our Christmas Shops

    Our Christmas Shops open in October and are open 7 days a week at Coolings Lifestyle (Knockholt) and Coolings Wych Cross Garden Centre (Forest Row). Pop down to browse through our wonderful collection of Christmas ornaments and gifts.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Pre-order your Christmas Tree

    Get £10 or more* back when you pre-order a premium grown Nordmann Christmas Tree online before Sunday 6th November 2022.

    *20% of tree price will be put on a gift card and delivered with your tree.

    Pre-Order Your Christmas Tree Now

     

     

     

     

     

    Celebrate the Festive Season

    From three course Christmas dinners to themed afternoon teas, we’ll help you celebrate at one of our three catering facilities.

     

  • Nature’s time to plant

    Autumn is the perfect time to plant! The soil is still warm which allows roots to grow ready to support healthy top growth in the spring. Now is the ideal time to renovate borders or create spaces for additional planting. Here are some reliable choices to pop into newly created spaces for year-round interest.

     

     

     

    Build your all season planter…

    Autumn is a great time to create hardy planters that will provide a full year of interest. We have a great range of over 40 hardy evergreen patio and container plants in 11cm pots ideal to create lasting impact through the seasons. Here is a planter we created last autumn and photographed in the spring to inspire you to try yourself.

     

     

  • Feel Good Houseplants

    Our Feel Good Gardens promote the wellbeing benefits of outdoor gardening, but did you know indoor gardening can be just as good? Caring for houseplants is not only an enjoyable experience, but studies have shown houseplants can help improve concentration levels, increase productivity, reduce stress levels and even improve air quality!

     

     

     

     

    These plants like to be kept moist preferably using rainwater, leave Venus fly traps sitting in water. Re-pot them using carnivorous plant compost as this has no other nutrients in it. They do not need feeding as they gain this from digesting flies and by photosynthesis.

     

     

  • 100 Days of Colour

    Ensure a long season of colour in your garden with our choices of bulbs to plant in the autumn that will flower after one another from March, right through to July.

  • August Feel Good Gardens

    August is here! From hedgehogs to lady birds, we have designed this month’s garden to encourage new visitors into your outdoor space.  Get even closer to our local wildlife by making your back garden a safe haven for nature. Scroll down to find out nine things you can do in your garden to help insects, birds and animals.

  • In Bloom 2022 Winners Announced!

     

    As devoted supporters of local community projects, including ‘In Bloom’, since the 1970s, Coolings are excited to be engaging local residents with the joy of gardening and supporting the essence of the competition, which is to help transform areas into better places to live and work, and to make residents, businesses and communities proud of their town.

    Thank you to everyone that entered, and a heartfelt congratulations to all the winners. It is always a joy seeing your lovely hard work.

  • Coolings Family Offers for August 2022

    Summer is officially here! To celebrate we have some fantastic offers available to exclusively to our Coolings Family cardholders. Offers are available in-store and online. *Please note individual varieties may vary across all four of our centres and online shop.

    Not a member? Join now and start saving on a whole range of plants, gardening products and much more.
    To find out more or to join click here.

    Coolings Family members’ can take advantage of these fantastic June offers:

    Offers are only available in-store & online| Discover your nearest centre.

     

     

    *We offer a delivery service for both online and in-store orders. A minimum order value of £30 applies to all orders. Orders over the value of £80 qualify for free delivery. To view all postcodes available for delivery please click here. 

     

     

  • Our Summer Watering Guide…

    During a drought it can be difficult to know where you should focus your efforts in the garden. Follow our summer watering guide to find out which plants need more attention during a heatwave while still being conscious of water usage. ☀🌱

     

    Best times to water your garden…

    Keep your plants happy and healthy by watering them at the best time. Watering in the morning before the day warms up allows the water to run through the soil and down to the roots before the midday heat. If you can’t water first thing, the next best option is late afternoon when plants are out of direct sunlight.

     

    When to water these plants…

    Every day or two… Seedlings, cuttings and young plants. Other thirsty plants are those recently planted or those potted in a greenhouse / conservatory such as tomatoes and cucumbers.

    • Tomatoes
    • Cucumbers
    • Garden Peas
    • Tree Ferns

     

    Once a week… Next come plants with shallow root systems, including bedding plants, large sub-tropical plants and ferns. Moisture loving perennials and veg crops like spinach, lettuce and celery should also be prioritised.

    • Brassicas (Cabbage, Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts)
    • Lettuce
    • Spinach
    • Celery – Water twice a week if dry

     

    Once a fortnight… Plants like Clematis and Roses can fend for themselves by soaking them thoroughly once a fortnight. Fruit trees, shallow rooted shrubs and plantings from last Autumn can also be watered in this way.

    • Roses
    • Ornamental willows (Tolerant but will suffer if left dry for too long)
    • Clematis
    • Eupatorium

     

    Avoid watering these plants to save water..

    Some parts of the garden can be left un-watered to allow the tougher plants to thrive. Avoid watering mature trees, shrubs or hedges as this can be a waste of water. Lawns can also be left un-watered, if they start to go brown, don’t panic! They will recover as soon as rain arrives.

    • Cordylines
    • Verbascum (Thrives in dry soil where others can’)
    • Periwinkle
    • Aeoniums
    • Agave

     

     

     

  • Garden Centre Award Winners

    Team members across our four sites in Kent and East Sussex were delighted to attend and be presented with seven awards at the Garden Centre Association (GCA) South Thames meeting, held at Ruxley Manor in Kent on Thursday 14th July 2022.

  • Choosing the Perfect Rose

    Roses are regularly voted the nation’s favourite plant, creating a showstopping sight in the garden. We grow over 400 varieties of roses on our nursery at Coolings Wych Cross, giving you a wealth of choice and allowing you to find the perfect rose for your garden! We have put together this short guide to help you choose your rose.

    When choosing the type of rose for your garden you need to consider a few key factors, such as sunlight levels, positioning, exposure to wind, space available. If you have a small garden, a huge rambling rose might not be ideal! If you are planning to plant your rose in a container, you need to ensure the container is an appropriate size and that the rose is suitable to grow in a container. Don’t forget, our team of experts are always on hand to offer advice and answer any questions you may have.

     

    TYPES OF ROSES

    Patio – Bred to produce plants that are compact, low maintenance and ideal to grow in containers in smaller gardens or balconies.

     

     

     

     

     

    Shrub – Generally, these are easy to grow and tolerate a wide variety of conditions. Perfect for growing in garden borders or planted in groups to create sensational l displays.

     

     

     

     

     

    Climbers  – Not to be confused with rambling roses. Unlike ramblers, most climbers will repeat flower providing colour throughout the summer months. Great for growing against a wall of a house. Prune climbing roses in the early spring as they flower on this seasons growth.

    Ramblers – Much more vigorous than climbing roses. Many rambling roses provide a single, prolific flush of flowers during early to mid-summer. Perfect for growing over arches and trellis’. Prune Rambling roses directly after flowering in summer as they flower on previous seasons growth.

    Groundcover – These varieties grow wider than they do taller. Great for filling large beds and under-planting in borders.

     

     

     

    Floribunda – The name Floribunda means ‘many flowers’ in Latin, as they produce clusters of flowers on each stem, providing a long-lasting colour display. A cross between Hybrid Tea and Polyantha Roses.

     

     

     

     

     

    Hybrid Teas – The most popular type, easily recognised by their large beautiful flowers on single stems that are produced from early summer to the first autumn frosts. Most are fragranced and ideal for cut flowers.

     

     

     

     

     

    David Austin – Although not officially recognised as a separate type of rose, David Austin roses are sometimes called English roses. Combining the charm, elegance, beautiful flower shape and disease resistance of Old Roses, with the repeat flowering capability and colour range of Hybrid Tea and Floribunda Roses.

     

     

     

     

     

    You can browse our large selection of roses in-store (excluding Coolings Lifestyle), or on our online shop.