Hot off the trowel
Everything you need to grow...
Virus update
We have made an announcement regarding future events in light of COVID-19. Please visit the Newsletter section of the site to download and read our updates.
In these times, visiting nature has never been more important, so we hope you're able to enjoy your gardens and the great outdoors. We hope you can all enjoy its abundance and beauty.
Stay safe.
MGC x
Gardens to gander
Many of the NT Gardens are opening and further information can be found on their website.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
The NGS now have lots of gardens opening again. None of the gardens will be serving refreshments and all booking have to be made online. Please go onto their website for further
information.
West Dean is also now open. Please check their website for details as you can only book online or telephone..
Insector Clueso!
An invasion of Asian hornets could hit English shores, after the number of nests found on Jersey rose by almost a third this year.
Since 2018 the Jersey Asian Hornet group have been training beekeepers who are nervous about the fact that, inevitably, the UK are going to get Asian hornets. Asian hornets eat native honey bees.
Asian hornets are distinguished by being up to 2.5cm in length, have a dark brown or black body, bordered with a fine yellow band. If you think you see an Asian hornet, take a photo and share it with the Non-Native Species Secretariat.
Email address is
Weeders Digest
RHS's Encyclopedia of Garden Design is a wonderful resource for anyone looking for new ideas for their outdoor space. It's full of excellent advice from award-winning garden designers and is perfect for experts and beginners alike.
£30.00 from RHS Website
Top gardening jobs for September
LATE SUMMER PROGRESSES INTO AUTUMN.
September is generally a cooler, gustier month that August and the days are noticeably shorter. While there is not as much to do in the ornamental garden at this time of the year, if you have a fruit or vegetable patch, you’ll be busy reaping the rewards of harvest. It’s also time to get out and start planting spring-flowering bulbs for next summer’s colour too. Make the most of the remaining warmth while you can!
1. Divide herbaceous perennials
2. Pick autumn raspberries
3. Collect and sow seed from perennials and hardy annuals
4. Dig up remaining potatoes before slug damage spoils them
5. Net ponds before leave fall gets underway
6. Keep up with watering new plants, using rain or grey water if possible
7. Start to reduce the frequency of houseplant watering
8. Clean out cold frames and greenhouses so that the are ready for use in the autumn
9. Cover leafy vegetable crops with bird-proof netting
10. Plant spring-flowering bulbs
Musings
‘Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. Philosophy is wondering if that means ketchup is a smoothie’
Unknown
‘To be happy for an hour, get drunk;
To be happy for a year, fall in love;
To be happy for live, take up gardening’
Chinese Proverb
‘By all the lovely tokens, September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather And Autumn’s best of cheer’
Helen Hunt Jackson
‘Indian summer breezes blow,
The geese are taking flight.
A softly glowing Harvest Moon
Lights up the starry night.
The special warmth and happiness
We feel throughout September
Will fill our hearts all winter long
With beauty to remember’
Unknown
‘Fall has always been my favourite season.
The time when everything bursts with it’s last beauty.
As if nature has been saving up all year for the grand finale’
Lauren Destifano Wither
‘I am such an autumn person. Give me quiet, cosy spot with a view of the changing trees on a crisp, late September day, a warm drink and a good book and I will be in all my glory’
McKenna Kaelin ‘The Mind’s Journey
