TIP 1
SLUGS & SNAILS 🐌
A gardener’s common foe. They are especially partial to hostas, lupins and other leafy plants.
Rather than reach for those nasty chemicals in pesticides that are often harmful to pets and other wildlife, here’s our top organic tips for keeping those pesky herbivores away.
Form a sharp, gritty repellent barrier around the plants most loved by our pesky friends. Try the following household items:
Used Ground Coffee beans
Finely Crushed Egg Shells
Grit Sand
You may want to consider other household items that will suck the moisture from the slime that slugs and snails exude as they move -stopping them in their tracks!
Alternatively why not try hunting them with the kids….ideally setting them free in a lovely new natural habitat, that’s perhaps not quite as precious as your new delphiniums! (gloves can be used for those a little more squeamish!)
Happy Gardening,
Terry
TIP 2
Terry's Top Tips presents:
🍅Tomatoes🍅
It's that time of the year to get your tomatoes ready in your greenhouses at home.
With over 40 years experience in growing plants and veg galore, Terry shares his top tips for getting your tomatoes up and running with a growing bag.
Remember - until the frosts are gone your tomatoes will need to be in a warm area like a greenhouse, polytunnel or conservatory to thrive. If you don't have access to one of these then you'll need to wait a little longer before it's warm enough for them to go outside in a nice sun spot - they really don't like the cold.
Check out my new video upload on our Facebook page
Happy Gardening
TERRY
TIP 3
👌Terry's Top Tips: 👌
🌸🌺MAKING YOUR OWN HANGING BASKET 🌺🌸
We're back with another instalment of top tips from Terry - (the T in T&S Riley). And this week is for all those greenhouse owners out there who want to get ahead of the game and get to work on their summer masterpieces.
We've added a new selection tray of basket and container plants to our shop to get you started - a tray of 18 plants will make up approx. 3x 14" hanging baskets.
So sit back and let Terry talk you through what you need to do to get that basket set up 👌
Here’s the link….
DIY Hanging Basket Tips from Terry
Happy Gardening!
Terry
TIP 4
🍅 Terry's Top Tips 🍅
It's Tomatoes - the sequel - and this time it's personal!
It's not really - we're just here to help those first timers look after their tomato plants and help them thrive.
There's nothing that pains us more than seeing a good fruit plant go to waste (or is it Vegetable plant🤔 - a debate we can clear up another day...)
Here, Terry talks you through trimming off those pesky side shoots which will continue to grow throughout the season - getting rid of them will ensure you get a good crop.
Sit back and let Terry talk you through it.
Tomatoes Part II - Tips from Terry
To purchase your tomatoes just head to our online shop:
TERRY
🌸 TERRY'S TOP TIPS - MAKING UP PLANTERS 🌸
We're back for another Terry's Top Tips. We've been getting a lot of questions about how to build up your own planters and containers so we thought we'd make up some to show you.
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Everyone has they're own style - whether that is specific colour schemes, preference to upright or trailing plants or a good mixture of everything with a good scent too. So there's no right or wrong answer to making up your own creative showpiece - it literally is a case of personal preference. For those who like moss containers we have a selection of welsh moss on our shop too.
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Here we've gone for a whispy, cottage type creation in a 10" pot. Fill with multipurpose compost but don't pack it in too much. Lay out your plants to make sure you're happy with your layout.
Here we've got Laurentia for the centre piece which is upright. Then Nemesia - 2 different varities which bring a lovely scent to the piece, Calibrachoa (Million Bells) Orange for vibrant colour, Brachyscome White and Brasco Violet for those pretty blooms and Diascia that will trail nicely down the sides.
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Once you've finalised your creation, lightly water it (not too much) and let the roots establish in the compost. After a week or so start to feed your planter once a week to make sure it's getting all those nutrients often washed away by water. Avoid watering your plants in direct sunlight as this can scorch them - try and get in to a routine of morning or early evening watering 👍🏻
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The plants featured in this video are all available on our online shop for you to purchase. We also have a 'Basket and Container' Mix tray which comes with a good mix of plants featured in this video ready for you to get creating. Shop our Mixes Here
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Why not get the kids involved too and they can watch their masterpiece bloom throughout the summer holidays. 👌🏻
Happy Gardening!
Team T&S
TIP 5
🌼TERRY'S TOP TIPS - LARGE PLANTER CREATION🌼
To give you a different perspective here is a larger planter - about 14" and we're using upright, zonal geraniums this time - the 'Tango' and 'Bunny' variety.
We've gone for a rainbow mix of colours - lovely, bright and vibrant coloured Zonal Geraniums (Pelargoniums) that are amazing for high-density showpieces and are renowned for their premium flowering throughout the season.
Have a go and feel free to send us some photos - we love to see all of your creations!
Again - all the plants and gardening products such as feed, compost etc featured in our videos can be purchased on our online shop and delivered to you for free within 10 miles of Knutsford.
Team T&S
TIP 6
Let’s whisper this in case summer hears us and goes away completely. But... Autumn is coming!
We know, how did that happen right? But gardening is all about planning and most importantly timing! So whilst we enjoy what we have left of the British summer sun, it’s time to turn our attentions to how we want our gardens to look throughout the autumn and winter.
Don’t believe those who say you can’t have colour in winter - it’s not true, it’s easy and putting in some effort now will allow you to gaze out on those bleak, cold, rainy days and see sunshine in your borders, tub planters, containers, hanging baskets etc.
The trick is to plant your winter plants in warm soil (get them rooted in and settled before the weather turns is what we recommend). So if you want your gardens full of low maintenance, hardy plants with a stunning array of colour - just head to our online shop for free delivery within a 10 mile radius or pop down to the nursery.
An example of what we have that will be great to refresh those planters, baskets and/or borders:
Pansies
Trailing pansies (in the next week)
Violas
Cyclamen
Wallflowers
Ivies
Dianthus
Polyanthus
Adjuga
Thyme
Lamium
And a great selection of pre-made winter hanging baskets!
Happy Gardening!