SEED POTATOES NOW IN!

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Welcome to Charlton Park News and Events

On this page you will find information about the activities we run at Charlton Park Garden Centre, many of which are free. During the course of 2009 we have welcomed the Vale & Downland Bee Keepers (and their bees), the RSPB, David Austin Roses... There are a number of specialist workshops during the year and events, such as Plant a Pizza Garden, organised for kids. You will also find our regular Gardening Column. Please call 01235 772700 or click, on the contact us tab, if you would like more information. 

Gardening Column for January 2010

Even though the weather is not very encouraging to go out and go gardening there are still things that can be done. Sow seeds of antirrhinums, geraniums and lobelias. Start sweet peas as well. Sow these in to deep pots or pea tubes or Rootrainers as they like a long root run. They don’t need a lot of heat to germinate so keep them somewhere cool. 

Seed potatoes are now available. Start these off in egg trays and allow to shoot or chit. Again keep these cool but frost free. When the time comes for planting out try growing two or three in a bucket if space is limited. Make sure your container has drainage holes.

Empty out ice from bird baths and keep topped up with fresh clean water. Knock snow off conifers and evergreen shrubs to avoid broken branches.

From the comfort of your warm living room it is a good time to make new plans for your garden. There are many good books available to provide inspiration. How about including some winter flowering plants? I think that having something that flowers in the garden at this time of year is very welcome. Winter flowering heathers or Ericas may not be the most fashionable plant but they are reliable and the flowers don’t mind frost and snow. Cut them back in the spring to stop them getting straggly.

If you have room in your garden, a shrub worth growing is the wintersweet or Chimonanthus. It has masses of small yellow sweetly scented flowers in December and January. The winter flowering cherry tree Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ flowers any time from November through to the spring. It grows about 15 to 20ft and has a similar spread.

Witch hazels are a favourite of mine. There are red, yellow and orange flowering varieties which have a citrus like scent and tolerate frost on them. They also have good autumn leaf colour. Cut a stem or two of any of the aforementioned to bring in to the house.

There are also some winter flowering clematis such as Clematis cirrhosa ‘Wisley Cream’ and ‘Freckles’ which are also evergreen. They look good when planted on a pergola or grown through a tree.

Jonathan.  Charlton Park Garden Centre

Free Events

Kids Events

Thursdays in March 4-5pm  

Make newspaper pots,

Plant sunflower seeds to take home

or Plant runner beans to take home

Veg Growing Workshop

With Grove Horticultural Society

Saturday 27th March 2-4pm

Meet Vale & Downland Bee Keepers

Saturday April 24th 2-4pm