Christmas

I’m Dreaming of a Sustainable Christmas
Christmas is a time of celebration, family and good cheer, but it can also be consumerist, wasteful and exhausting. With shops, the internet and the media advocating the purchase of more and more presents, mounds of plastic and wrapping paper...
Win A Free Christmas Tree Competition
We're starting to think about Christmas, which is a while away, but we wanted to give our readers an opportunity to win a Christmas tree. All you need to do is email marketing@ashridgetrees.co.uk with the subject line: FREE CHRISTMAS TREE. The...
UK Grown Plants
Many of our customers ask us whether our plants are grown in the UK. Ashridge Nurseries can say that "by number of different species of plant sold - the vast majority are UK grown". In terms of a percentage...
All I want for Christmas ...
Christmas presents can be an emotive subject for gardeners. There are always so many things a gardener wants to find under the tree on Christmas morning. But, please, not another fork and trowel set (with obligatory floral design). And no...
Christmas trees - last chance!
It is the last chance saloon for those in denial about the imminent onset of Christmas. To save on traipsing around, children in tow and ice on the road, the answer to "Where do we get a lovely, non-droppy-needle, symmetrical...
Forewarned is fair warning...
Christmas is not quite upon us but its promoters warm up earlier every year. So, if you looked at half the magazines out there you might think it was only a few days away. And of course, in a sense...
Hips and Haws
Rosa rugosa makes a truly decorative hedge on its own or mixed with other hedge plants, especially if the plants are in the sun so that they flower well. Choose vibrant pink or purest white flowers for your summer interest...
The Threes Cs - and yes, one is for Christmas
At this time of year so full of cheer, rather than linger on the 3 Ds (relevant and on the rise at Christmas time but hardly the stuff of a Yuletide (b)log …sorry…) one can take a single step back to...
Winter 2014/15 - Photo Competition

Our Winter 2014 photo competition is open for entries!

Winter is coming and autumn colours become richer. It is a late autumn and the hedgerows still have leaf and berry (and even flowers). But we may get snow, and surely frost. Birds will be coming closer to human dwellings hunting through hedging looking for food and water as will badgers, foxes, squirrels not to mention Heffalumps and Woozles...

Water looks great at this time of year and black and white photography comes into its own as we get closer to Christmas. Oh - did someone mention c-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s ? A whole bunch of photo opportunities there.

So our Winter photo competition aims to capture all of the above – the themes this time are:

"A Spirit of Christmas..." or "A Winter's Tale"

The closing date for entries is midnight on Valentine's Day, 14th February 2015. The three winners will be contacted via email by 20th February.

There's nearly £200 in vouchers up for grabs so give it a shot!
Continue reading →
Our Top Tips Of The Season: no.11

We love viburnums

Like many gardeners, we love viburnums and have even uprooted and taken various viburnum plants with us on the odd occasion we have moved house. Continue reading →
Our Top Tips For The Season: no.10

Beautiful Bark

One of the main attributes of Birch trees are the various colours of bark. Continue reading →
Our Top Tips For The Season: No.9
Hawthorns are prolific Because Hawthorns are so prolific, terribly tough and will grow pretty much anywhere except on deeply boggy soil, we supply them in bundles of 50 and as part of a mixed native hedge We also offer them...
Our Top Tips For The Season: no. 8

A really useful addition to any garden

A box hedge is a really useful addition to any garden and has the advantage of being evergreen. Some of the most fabulous gardens in the country are winter ones and have acres of box hedging in them. Continue reading →
Our Top Tips For The Season: No. 7

Raspberries sprout up like weeds!

If left to their own devices, raspberries will sprout up like weeds. So plant the canes in rows leaving enough of a channel so that you can walk in between the bushes and pick the fruit. And every time you seem one growing in between the rows or sprouting elsewhere, pull it up if it is in the way. Continue reading →
Our Top Tips For the Season: no. 6

Rowans: Choose your area carefully

When planting a Rowan Tree, choose your area carefully. They like open un-shaded areas with lots of sunshine but they don’t enjoy too much heat. They are a tree that grows everywhere in the UK but is particularly prolific in Scotland, so much so that some people would like to see it designated as Scotland’s national tree.

Continue reading →
Our Top Tips For The Season: no.5

When should I plant bare-root roses?

Bareroot roses can last a long time and be incredibly good value as plants if cared for well. Plant bare-root varieties in late autumn to early spring. Never plant during a severe winter frost. It doesn’t really matter when you put containerised roses out, but plant them out as soon as you have purchased them.

Continue reading →
Our Top Tips For The Season: no. 4

Love cats and want a bird friendly hedge?

If you love cats and want to create a bird-friendly hedge, make sure you have a few thorny plants included, which we have done in our bird friendly hedging. Once the hedge is mature, most birds will be happy to build a nest in it and the cats will play elsewhere rather than risk pricking themselves on thorns.

Continue reading →
Our Top Tips For The Season: no. 3
Keeping your Christmas Tree fresh To keep your Christmas Tree as long as possible, avoid putting it too near a radiator or fireplace. The hotter the interior the more likely it will be to start shedding its needles – part...
Our Top Tips For The Season: no. 2
Why isn't Holly prickly at the top? If you want to cut holly for wreaths, mantelpieces and other decorations, get out your ladder and cut from branches higher up in the tree. You will avoid puncturing yourself too much...
Our Top Tips For The Season
Prune your apples and pears It’s time to prune apples and pears to ensure a good crop of fruit for the following year. The aim is to create a goblet type shape. Here's a video on how to prune...