Why sow in straight lines?

• Easier to identify the weeds
• Allows easier hoeing between rows
• Watering easier
• Get water to soil easier
• More air between plants
• Easier access to weeding as you can avoid standing on plants
• Plants need space to grow so easier to get them all space
• They look nice

Thompson & Morgan have some great offers at the moment –

Patio, Bedding and Basket Pack variety – 108 plugs – 12 of each variety £18.99
Everything you need for your beds, borders and baskets! This fabulous collection will fill your garden with colour that will last all summer long.In this great value collection you will receive 12 plugs each of Petunia ‘Frenzy Mixed’, Salvia ‘Blaze of Fire’, Verbena ‘Quartz Mixed’, Begonia ‘Organdy Mix’, Antirrhinum ‘Madame Butterfly’, Marigold ‘Zenith’, Sweet Pea ‘Sugar n Spice’™, Petunia ‘Easy Wave’ and Lobelia ‘Ultra Cascade’. See individual products for more details.

Thompson & Morgan has this amazing deal

Perennial Bumper Pack – £100 worth of perennial plants £100.00
Fill your beds and borders with this bargain perennial bumper collection. You will receive at least 18 different popular perennial varieties, with a worth value of over £100! Perennial plants will bloom year after year and they can also be cut and brought into the house for beautiful flower arrangements.Plants will be supplied as jumbo plugs.SPECIAL OFFER – To get this perennial bumper collection for just £9.99 simply add the product to your order and enter order code ‘WEB1129’ or ‘AF12031’ into the ‘Use order code’ box in your shopping basket. The discount will then be applied.Please note that this offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Limited to one pack per customer at this special price. Hurry, offer ends midnight Wednesday 29th February or whilst stocks last. Plants will be a lucky dip mix.

Everything for beginners to experts. Want a pond or already got a pond? They have tons of useful supplies available.

PondKeeper stock thousands of pond liners – all sizes
All products are high quality from top brands
discounts of up to 40% off RRPs
our products are available for immediate delivery
shopping online at pondkeeper.co.uk is 100% safe and secure
a no quibble guarantee means you can buy with confidence

Tons of amazing offers at Pond Keeper
pond liners with pond liner underlay at half price.
pond vacuums with FREE pond gloves & FREE delivery.
pond pumps summer sale – prices can’t be beat.
pond pump and filter sets boast FREE Hose & Clips
water features clearance sale, limited offer

Small Fish Pond Kit 3000 Litres £139.99
Pond liner, underlay and a complete filtration sytem to create a fish pond up to 3x2m at a depth of 0.5m (10′ x 6’6″ x 1’6″).Save £59.27 compared to buying components individually

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Getting a new garden

What do you want from your garden?

Do you want to entertain it in, have a nice seating area, have a barbeque, grow veg, grow flowers, have a nice lawn to sunbath one, have a nice garden to look at, or have lots of things to keep you busy in it? What about a pond? Do you want a washing line? A compost bin? A play area for the kids?

If you’ve got a new garden – perhaps you’ve just moved house, then you can take your time to think about what you want from it.
Assess what plants are in it before you start work. This should sensibly mean spending a whole year just looking after it as it is.
It also gives you a chance to see which area gets the most sun, or gets too hot, or is the windiest bit of the garden.
Taking your time means you will more than likely make good decisions about how to lay out the garden.
It also means you don’t waste money on something that then either needs to be moved or isn’t suitable for your garden.

Draw plans of your garden. You don’t have to be a great artist or designer. Mark on where the sun spends most of it’s time and where is always shady. You might be able to tell from clues like moss in the shaded areas. Areas by walls and fences can often be drier because the wall affects how the rain falls. You might also find there are naturally soggy areas in the garden which need drainage improving.

Whilst you might be impatient and really want to crack on changing the garden you are best assessing your garden fully to ensure you know everything about it. You can start making notes about what you want in the garden.
You’ll also get to know what wildlife comes into the garden too – whether you have neighbouring cats, hedgehogs, birds, or foxes. All these tiny details can help you create a really good garden.

Set a budget – and save up whilst you’re assessing the garden, so when you’re finally ready you have some money to help you put your plans into action.

If you want to do hard landscape changes then do you have the skills you need, or will you have to rope in family members, or pay someone to do the work? If you want a new lawn then are you able to prepare the soil yourself and lay turf, or would you prefer to sow seed?

Your lawn might look in a bad state when you move in, but regular cutting will keep weeds down. Your flower beds might need weeding but take care that you’re not pulling up plants. If you are very lucky the previous owners will have left you information about plants in the garden. If not then you’ll have to try to identify them as best you can. Often neighbours can give you information about plants – especially those with nice gardens! Most gardeners are nice and friendly and will offer you help if you have basic questions.

Of course, after a year you might decide that the garden is perfect for you and be happy to leave it as it is. This would be a good outcome! No hard work or expense planned and you’ve got a garden you can use!

If you want a new lawn mower then the best place to look is a mower expert and you’ll find that at MowDirect they have a massive range of lawn mowers of all sorts and sizes.
Here’s the top 10 lawn mower offers at the moment.

Deciding if you want a petrol or electric mower is the first thing. A petrol one needs more maintenance and requires you to get petrol for it. You can get electric start ones to take the effort out of starting them – which is nice for us more delicate things who would otherwise be worn out after pull starting a motor!
Electric ones are worth a look especially if you have a small flat lawn. If your lawn is longer than your extension lead then you’ll need a petrol mower.
A petrol mower is more rugged and will cope with damp grass where as an electric one will really struggle.

Budget wise generally electric ones are cheaper.

Sanli LS40 Petrol Push Lawnmower £129.00
An entry level machine with a cutting width of 40cm and a polypropylene deck, this superb lawnmower from new kids on the block Sanli is nevertheless a great example of high-quality, high-spec and high-end features at a low price. Very lightweight for a petrol, machine – courtesy of the PP deck – this lawnmower has a Single Cylinder 4-Stroke Air Cooled Sanli 350 Petrol Engine with an overhead valve, very unusual at this price, and delivering smoother and higher performance with more reliability and durability. There is a 55-litre collecting bag, very rare on a 40cm cutting width machine, and the bag is high quality fabric, allowing optimum airflow so avoiding clumping and blockages. This best value machine also comes with three cutting height adjustments per wheel, is smart and easy to handle and carries a two-year extended domestic guarantee.

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More low cost bedding plants at Jersey Plants Direct
Begonias are a traditional bedding plant for tubs, borders and baskets and these are very good for creating a mixed display.
They’re White, White with Rose Back, Pink, Deep Red, Yellow and Apricot Orange Shades so you get a really good mix for your garden.
They like Full sun to partial shade so will go just about anywhere in your garden. This is another reason why they make great bedding plants.

These plants are sold as plug plants which are approximately 4-8cm in height from the root of the plant to the top of the stem. They do need potting on before planting out. They are delivered from now until the end of April.

Begonia Destiny 100 Plants + 60 FREE £10.99
An established favourite with our customersOur best selling Begonia Destiny is an established favourite. This strong upright bedding plant has fully double flowers in a colourful mix of red, orange and yellow. It is a profuse flowering plant and will provide colour in your garden all summer long.

Fantastic value bedding plants today at Jersey Plants Direct!
With free delivery on every order this is the best value bedding plant offer we can find.

Geranium Parade 100 Plants + 60 FREE £9.99
This is a lovely traditional bedding plant. Geranium Parade Plug Plants are than 7p per plant!
These beautiful Geraniums will bring lasting colour to your garden throughout the summer. The large flowers in reds and pinks will brighten your borders from June to October. An old favourite and a well loved Geranium!
Order now and get the best value bedding plants available. They will need potting on but this is simple to do. You get better value buying this size plant and you can then fill your garden with amazing colour.

PR Officer for Plant Heritage
Part time

Need an interest in plants!

18 March 2012
Devon Spring Plant Fair – 18 March
Tavistock Pannier Market

Plants from specialist West Country nurseries
Event Location: Tavistock
Event Contact: Tim Ellis 01566 86641 Mark Wash (publicity) 01822 834680
Event Start Date: 18/03/2012 10:00
Event End Date: 18/03/2012 15:00
Entry Price: members free with card

info from plant heritage conservation society