Category: Plants

(Originally published 28/3/2016, prices correct at time of publication)

Coolings is full to bursting with wonderful plants and products.  Here, our staff pick a few personal favourites.

Jon 
Our Horticultural Manager

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’.  I love this sweetly scented variety for its beautiful soft pink flowers and reliability.  Growing to 1m tall, it is perfect when contained by an elegant Tom Chambers Herbaceous support.

Annika
Our Assistant Shop Manager

Smart Honeycombe glass jar lantern (£19.99).  This looks really effective when the bottom is filled with silver sand (which is heat resistant) and a large church candle is placed inside.

Tracey
Our Outdoor Visual Merchandiser

Climbing rose Maid of Kent.  This is my favourite rose.  In my garden it flowers from Summer until Autumn, with big clusters of semi-double soft pink flowers.  I encourage repeat flowering by removing faded blooms with my Burgon & Ball pocket pruners.  These are really neat, and give powerful cutting for people with smaller hands.

Nicky
Our Houseplant and Bulb Expert

I adore Champagne Begonias for the unique beauty of their long-lasting summer display.  I plant three into a Tom Chambers 14″ metal hanging basket (£15.99 including liner) and this is the seasonal plant that people most admire.

Brian
Our Shop Manager

Kent & Stowe digging fork and spade (£29.99 each).  They say the answer lies in the soil, and to improve my borders I could not be without these when digging in well-rotted Farmyard Manure (£4.99 per sack, 4 for £10), which is an ideal natural source of nutrients and organic matter.

Garry 
Our Hardy Plant Expert

The lovely golds of Spiraea japonica ‘Golden Princess’ underplanted with Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Westray’ really brings out the colour of the two plants and gives some great colour in spring.

Looking for a fresh start this year?  A change of job in order?  Why not join our team at Coolings?

We currently have a number of part and full time vacancies for the coming season (permanent and seasonal positions) in our Plant Sales, Shop, Production Nursery and Catering Teams.

If you are interested in finding out more about us and the positions we have available both at Coolings The Gardener’s Garden Centre on Rushmore Hill and Coolings Green & Pleasant on Main Road Please click on the link below:

http://localhost.coolings0909.com/about/work-for-us

Remembering a special person, anniversary or happy event.  Celebrating a brilliant day, a lovely thought, romantic valentine or meaningful poem …our plaques are a very special way to say something to the people you love or to hold a happy memory.

Displayed in pride of place in our relaxing and picturesque restaurant garden covering nearly one acre, you will be able to enjoy that special memory, or person, time and time again whilst enjoying the hundreds of plants in the garden, listening to the birds and enjoying your favourite treat in Arthurs.

They are such an original gift and provide a wonderful surprise or memento of your visits to us – past, present and future.

If you’d like to have your own private little piece of Arthurs Garden we have two sizes of plaque available:

• 75 x 50 mm.
  A maximum of 4 engraved lines, with a maximum of 12 characters including spaces per line.
• 150 x 50 mm.
  A maximum of 4 engraved lines, with a maximum of 25 characters including spaces per line.

For more information and to order please visit Coolings Online.

Now its the time of year to look after our feathered friends and help them survive the winter months.  Why not pop in and see our new and improved, larger range of Birdcare.

Birds don’t hibernate like mammals do, so they puff themslves up and keep active to stay warm in the bitter cold. Expending all this energy means that birds need the right food to keep their strength up.  Birds need the right food to keep their strength up.  Birdseed alone won’t do it – birds need fat and protein, too.

The obvious choice for this is suet, which we sell in a variety of forms including fat balls and suet cakes.  We also have a variety of suet pellets which can be put into a peanut feeder.  They come in four different flavours – Insect, Mealworm, Berry Nice and Nice Nuts.

Nyjer Nibbles by Tom Chambers are a favourite of Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Siskins and Redpolls.  Peanuts are another great food to offer birds in the wintertime.  Peanuts have high protein and fat levels and are often an ingredient in suet products, and are especially loved by Blue Tits.

For ground-feeding birds, Rockin’ Robin Feast containing chopped oats, peanuts and sunflower hearts is a good choice and is great for attracting not only Robins, but Blue Tits, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Goldfinch and Great Tits.

We also offer a variety of other bird food to make sure which ever feathered friend you have in your garden they will be kept fed, watered, warm and in healthy condition, throughout autumn and winter, vital for breeding in spring.

Tom Chambers Rockin Robin 1.88kg 25% FREE – £4.99

Tom Chambers Nyjer Nibbles 2kg 33% FREE – £6.99

Tom Chambers Insect Suet Treat – £1.49

Tom Chambers Insect Suet Pellets 2kg – £8.99

Give them a home!

Why not attract birds into your garden with a bird box?  They do not need to be up a tree, a suitable wall or building will do.  Bird boxes are best put up in the autumn.  Many birds will enter bird boxes during autumn and winter, looking for a great home to roost or perhaps to feed in.  These bird boxes are often then used for nesting again in spring.  Why not get a bird box now for National Nest Box week 2016 14-21 February).

If you want something different, we have bird boxes inspired by real buildings found around the world, along with the more traditional look.  You can even get a replica lighthouse or pub!

Police Telephone Box Feeder – £29.99

Traditional Telephone Box Feeder – £29.99

Printed Saltbox – Printed Series – £19.99

Cotswold Cottage – Best of British Series – £52.99

Blue Cottage – Mood Collection – £29.99

Jacobi jayne Cedar Plus Modern Officiatl National Nest Box Week, Bird Box – £23.99

Tom Chambers Oakwell Nest Box – £12.99

Having been lucky enough to again visit the world famous Keukenhof Gardens in Holland this spring, I came back brimming with enthusiasm for all the beautiful bulbs. The colour and planting combinations made me hungry to try lots of new ideas, there were many schemes to give a really long display of colour, starting with crocus going right through to late flowering tulips and elegant alliums.

My favourite combination was fairly subtle containing Frittilaria Persica and Ivory bells with Hyacinth Woodstock, tulips Purissima and Negrita. Another one to try, Hyacinth Woodstock, Pink Pearl, Muscari Armeniacum, Tulips Negrita and Passionale.

A number of combinations could be adapted to planting in pots, you don\’t need a massive flower bed to create a good effect. Plant in layers, in what is called lasagne planting, with late flowering tulips at the bottom, a few not too tall alliums next, then narcissi followed by hyacinths and finally crocus near the top; this will give nearly 100 days of colour.

My favourite tulips for this year are Brown Sugar, Van Eijk, Exotic Emporer, Negrita Purissima and El nino. Brown Sugar looks lovely planted with narcissus actaea.

Purissima with narcissus Sir Winston Churchill is a good combination. If I had to choose one variety of narcissi to grow it would have to be the very elegant thalia, with multi-headed pure white flowers, they look great when partnered with lily flowered tulip Purple Dream.

Visit our bulb store for lots of ideas and great offers.  See our biggest ever range of loose tulips in our pick n mix range.

If you haven’t yet grown a hydrangea in your garden, it is time to give this big blooming plant a try.

Hydrangeas offer big beautiful leaves and large clusters of long lasting, spectacular flowers in white, pink, red and blue from mid to late summer, gradually fading in colour. With their wonderful texture and blooms, hydrangeas are lush, attractive and once established, easy to care for, generally they are garden showstoppers!

Hydrangea macrophylla (big-leaf hydrangea) are undoubtedly the most popular. The big-leaf hydrangea is the familiar “mop-headed” blue, pink or white species that is frequently seen. Its enormous flower clusters look like pom-poms and remain attractive even after blooming, because the flower clusters – being composed of sepals and not petals – do not fall but remain on the plant until early winter. They often change to lovely shades of red, pink and green, and can easily be cut and dried for indoor use.

A special category of big-leaf hydrangea and gaining in popularity is the lacecap. Their flat heads feature a central area of tiny fertile flowers surrounded by a “lace” of large, flat, showy sterile ones.

An interesting aspect of hydrangeas is the soil pH often determines flower colour. Blue flowers are produced in acid soil and pink in alkaline soils. For example, a pink hydrangea planted in acid soil would change to blue and visa versa. However, some hydrangeas, such as the white flowering types, often retail their flower colour regardless of the soil pH. A colourant would help you fight mother nature, such as Vitax Hydrangea Colourant 250g £3.25, but regular application is necessary. All hydrangeas need a moist, well-drained soil, generously enriched with compost (an ericaceous feed would be suitable for blue hydrangeas).

Caring for your hydrangea is very easy. Fertilise with a balanced fertiliser or amend soil to change flower colour if desired. Watch out for chlorosis, yellow/very pale leaves caused by iron deficiency, we recommend applying Vitax Epsom Salts 1.25kg £5.50 if needed. Take cuttings to start new plants in summer months. In October, cut all stems that have bloomed to 6 or 8 inches to control growth and promote more flowers.

We have 100’s of large hydrangeas in bud that we have grown on site. Hydrangeas are hardy, reliable and can be an outstanding addition to any garden. Our Hydrangeas are looking superb and if looked after, will provide years of enjoyment for everyone, from novice to expert gardener.

What makes a good plant? It should have strong growth, attractive flowers and foliage, and perhaps a good scent. Here are a few of our tried and tested favourites:

The Berberis family has a plant for most situations, including the evergreen Berberis Darwinii, and the Berberis Rocket series, available in red, orange, yellow or rose (pink and cream variegation).

Berberis Darwinii

Cistus x pulverulentus ‘Sunset’ (AGM), also called the Rock Rose, has rosy pink, almost magenta flowers with grey-green leaves and is evergreen. Given a nice sunny position it will give lots of flowers through June and July. Other varieties have different flower colours and growth habits.

Cistus x pulverulentus ‘Sunset’

A much underrated plant in my view is Potentilla. In a nice sunny position it will flower its socks off all summer and well into the autumn. It does lose its leaves in the winter but only needs a light trim with shears in the spring to remove the old flower heads and keep tidy. Potentilla fruticosa ‘Goldfinger’ is a bright sunny yellow, or try Potentilla fruticosa ‘Pink Beauty’ for a pretty pink.

Potentilla fruticosa ‘Goldfinger’

For nearly 9 months of continual interest, Spiraea japonica ‘Golden Princess’ (AGM) is hard to beat. Bronze-red new growth turns bright yellow and then red in the autumn, with purple/pink flowers in early summer.

Spiraea japonica ‘Golden Princess’

Last but not least, Weigela ‘Florida Variegata’ (AGM) has lovely green and cream leaves that turn pink and red in autumn. The flowers are pink in bud, fading to white, and will perform even in light shade. Weigela florida ‘Monet’ is similar in leaf colour but is a smaller grower with purple flowers.

Don’t Forget!
To get the best from our quality plants we recommend digging a hole 1 ½ times the size of the root ball, a small sprinkle of Vitax Q4 and then fill in the hole with a 50:50 mix of Coolings Tree & Shrub compost and your existing soil. Water in after planting and keep an eye on watering until the autumn.

Coolings are worthy winners once again. This time the recognition is for customer advice and care of our customers.

We proudly picked up three awards at The Greatest Plant Retailing Awards, but the two we are particularly proud of are:

The Greatest Plant Advice Team – Silver

The Greatest Plant Sales Team – Silver

The Greatest Plant Retailing Awards are all about teams of people, for planteria teams that excel in garden centres. The results were announced following expert judging visits to 40 nominated planteria teams across the country.

Awards organiser Trevor Pfeiffer said “from the many teams we met on our judging journeys it is clear that garden centre plant retailing standards are being pushed higher and higher – with teamwork and the drive for excellent customer service giving our customers some of the best plant buying experiences in the UK. Garden Centre plant retailing is simply GREAT!”

We are particularly chuffed with these awards as our customers are always at the heart of our business. We pride ourselves on our highly trained team of horticulturalists and our plant information centre that is manned by our dedicated plant doctor to answer any questions and queries that our customers have. Many of our team have also attended additional studies at Coolings School of Horticulture which has RHS accreditation. For more details of studying with us click here.

Well done team.