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Visit our online shop and take advantage of bird care products in our Early Bird Sale today. 

To see our extensive range of bird care products please click here.

With many species of communal garden birds in sharp decline it is now more important than ever to provide a food source during the harsher, leaner winter months. It is always advisable to plant many different plants in order to benefit a wide range of garden bird species and below you will find a few suggestions:

Thrushes including Blackbirds (berry eating species):

Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’ (Dogwood)
Great deciduous shrub known for its colourful stems in winter.

Pyracantha (Firethorn)
Makes a great wall shrub or hedge. White flowers in spring followed by red, orange or yellow berries in autumn.

Ilex aquifolium (Common Holly)
Great hedging plant that produces red berries on female plants.

Hedera varieties (Ivy)
Climber that flowers during autumn and early winter providing a valuable source of nectar when most other plants are dormant. Produces black berries adored by birds.

Starlings and other bird species

Malus (Apple and Crab Apple Trees)
Don’t be too tidy and leave a few “windfall” apples to provide a boozy feast for many species.

Seed eating species including Finches & Sparrows:

Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’ (Intense Blue)
Low-growing ornamental grass which produces seed heads attractive to birds.

Echinops ritro (Globe Thistle)
Perennial which produces attractive globe-shaped bright blue flowers over grey/green foliage and woolly stems.

Fact or fiction?

Birds prefer red berries to all other colours?
Not strictly true however, red or black berries are thought to help birds find them more easily against a contrasting foliage colour.

Birds tell each other upon discovering a good food source?
This is true in many cases because many bird species will naturally flock together during the winter months and as a result will generally find food more easily.

There is generally a hierarchy between different bird species and feeding times at the bird table? This is true in many cases where there is a natural pecking order at the bird table during feeding times.

Our biggest sale event is back for 2022, the Early Bird Sale. Kick start the new year with some of our best prices you will find all year, available in-store and online until the end of February.

If you’re a Coolings Family member you would have received your Cuttings magazine in the post or via digital download in early January, this issue is packed with all the exclusive offers you can take advantage of as a member (don’t forget to present your Coolings Family card at the till!). Our Early Bird offers are perfect to help you tackle all your gardening tasks in the new year, or an opportunity to get a head start and prepare for the growing season ahead. Plus, there are exclusive Cuttings vouchers to save money in our restaurants and tea rooms!

Not a Coolings Family member? Doesn’t mean you have to miss-out, simply join in-store and take advantage of our Early Bird Sale straight away or join online. Pick up your copy of Cuttings Early Bird in-store or click the image to view online now.

 

 

 

 

Below we have picked just 10 of our favourite plant offers in our Early Bird Sale 2022 but you will find a much wider choice in-store and online.

Buddleja ‘Bees Knees’ – part of our bee and butterfly plant bonanza, a fantastic combination of three selected Buddleja colours contrast throughout summer on silvery green leaves. Ideal for flowerbeds and borders, loved by butterflies and bees. Height and spread 60cm x 60cm, prefers full sun.

All 2 and 3 Litre Buddlejas – Now £5 – normally £10.99

 

 

 

Lupin – Mixed Varieties – always a favourite in the summer months, offering height and colour to the middle of a border throughout May and June. Available in a variety of colours in our Early Bird Sale including red, white and yellow. The bees love them too!

Buy 3 Herbaceous Perennials (1L pot) for £10 – normally £5.99 each

 

 

 

Euonymus japonicus ‘Ovatus Aureus’ – commonly known as Japanese Spindle. One of our most popular evergreen garden shrubs with superb year-round interest. Grows well in sun or partial shade and ideal for smaller gardens with a height and spread of 1.2m x 1m.

Our most popular Garden Shrubs – Only £6 Each

 

 

 

Anthurium Mixed – This is the first year that houseplants have been included in our Early Bird Sale! One of our favourites is the Anthurium with their exotic long lasting flowers available in shades of pink, white and red. They’re easy to care for and particularly good for a bathroom in a light position.

Now £9.99 – normally £13.99 each

 

 

 

Salvia ‘Joy’ – Bicoloured pale pink and dark pink flowers from late spring to summer. Scented foliage, grown on our nursery. Height and spread 60cm x 90cm.

Now £4 – normally £11.99 each

 

 

 

 

Garden Hydrangeas -Enjoy half price show-stopping hydrangeas in our Early Bird Sale, hydrangeas are hardy, reliable and can be an outstanding addition to any garden in shades of pink, white and blue. Paniculata varieties are not as fussy about soil pH as other hydrangeas with their pinkish-white flowers but must be in well-drained, fertile soil.

Half Marked Price Garden Hydrangeas

 

 

 

Pink and White English Lavender (1.5L Pot) – Did you know that English lavender is more attractive to bees than French or Spanish lavender? Choose between a pink or white variety in our Early Bird Sale.

Now £5 – normally £9.99 each

 

 

 

Prunus laurocerasus ‘Novita’ (2L Pot) – If you are looking to introduce a hedge to your outside space this year then why not take advantage of our half price Prunus offer? Commonly known at Cherry Laurel, this evergreen hedging plant is fast growing with glossy leaves and also displays upright spikes of white flowers in spring. Height and spread 5m x 4m.

Prunus laurocerasus ‘Novita’ (2L pot) – Half Price – Now £8.49 – normally £8.49

 

 

 

Festuca ‘Intense Blue’ (2L Pot) – an evergreen grass with tufts of intense blue foliage. Produces panicles of blue-green flowers in summer that look fantastic when drifted through a gravel garden, or when used in a Mediterranean-style planting scheme. Height and spread 30cm x 30cm, suitable for a sunny position.

Half Price – Now £6.49 – normally £12.99

 

 

 

 

Blueberry Vaccinium – Mixed Varieties (2L Pot) – Suitable for growing in containers on a patio or balcony, ready to pick your own delicious berries in the summer months for years to come!

Now £6.99 – Save £7 – normally £13.99

 

 

Click here to shop the full Early Bird Sale online

As the world opens up again and Covid restrictions are relaxed, we’re keen to ensure that we offer customers and staff a safe environment in which to shop, here are a few pointers to help you enjoy your visit…

• We’re mask friendly – please feel free to wear a mask if you would like.
• Please observe a 2m distance where possible when shopping. Our staff are here to help and are happy to, but please be mindful of them too and maintain a 2m distance.
• Hand sanitising stations are available throughout our centres and restaurants for your use.
• Although we are accepting cash payments, contactless and credit or debit card payments are preferred for the safety of our customers and staff. We are accepting contactless payment up to the value of £100 and Apple or Android Pay. Chip and pin machines have wipes by them.

For more information, please visit http://localhost.coolings0909.com/faqs

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We hope you enjoy your visit.

Hi, Will here from Coolings Potted Garden Nursery! I spent a fantastic day at The RHS Chelsea Flower and have plenty of inspiration to share with you! You can see my video highlights from my day over on our Instagram page (@coolingsgardencentre) or see the YouTube link at the end of this page. I have listed my top three highlights from the show below, along with the plants used in each so that you can re-create the Chelsea look in your own garden. Keep an eye out for more of my inspiration from Chelsea over the coming weeks on our Facebook pages. Happy gardening!

 

A fantastic garden based on the foothills of the Himalayas, using a selection of evergreen plants such as Rhododendrons and Bamboo to create that Oriental feel.

A wooden structure in the garden only adds to this effect along with a stone built cover to the waterways.

They use ferns, such as Dryopteris walichiana, and Rhododendrons to add different shades of green. Structure of leaf gives a real depth and natural feel to this garden with only a light smattering of colour from flowering plants such as Persicaria, Thalictrum and Actaea.

A peaceful sanctuary has been created here and you get a real feel of being in the mountains on which this is based.

 

I loved not only the concept of this garden but the planting scheme as well.

A mini woodland of Silver birch (Betula), Hawthorn (Crataegus) and Hazel (Corylus) contains a wood egg shaped hide which can be winched up to give a higher view of the garden and a space to relax and unwind.

The use of charcoal logs to create borders and barriers was really effective as the black made the flowering plants stand out and created a lovely smell around the garden.

Flowering plants like Rudbeckia, Kniphofia and Helenium were well combined to create the autumnal colours which were smattering the garden and combined with tall grasses such as Miscanthus, a wonderful prairie garden feel has been managed.

The main attraction to this garden though is that it is fully organic, which has never before been seen at Chelsea.

 

Although not a show garden, being a Fern lover, this garden made it my top 3 show highlights.

The use of different ferns to create different heights within the garden was really effective, combined with the moss, the bark and rocks you really got a sense of being in the distant past.

The tree ferns, such as Dicksonia antartica, making up the overhead canopy gave the feel of being on the edge of an ancient land and if I sat on the bench I would feel that a dinosaur could walk past at any moment!

Being among the smaller ferns, such as Dryopteris, Asplenium and Polystichum, I was reminded of my treks through the Scottish and Welsh mountains, this made me realise how much I need to go back for some more adventures!