Blog
Tins for the next three days, fruit trees for the next thirty years
Why bare-root season is the time to start growing your own fruit A stack of tins will see you through three days…
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Blog
Blog
Hedging and plants for animals and children: what’s safe, what’s poisonous, what to plant
A hedge is something animals eat Most people choose a hedge by looking at it. If you keep horses, sheep, goats or…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apple Day 2026: Grow Your Own Piece of Orchard History
Apple Day is 21 October, marking Britain's apple diversity since 1990. Plant a fruit tree this autumn and grow your own piece of orchard history.
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Bulbs
Planting Bulbs Under Trees and Hedges
The dusty strip under the birch and the bare ground along the hedge are where snowdrops, cyclamen and bluebells grow wild, and where they do best in a garden. Here’s which bulbs to plant under trees and hedges, and how to get them in among the roots.
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Bulbs
Paperwhites for Christmas, Hyacinths for the New Year: Forcing Bulbs Indoors
How to force bulbs for flowers indoors this winter. A bowl of paperwhites on the table at Christmas fills a room with…
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Bulbs
How to Store Flower Bulbs Before Planting
Your bulbs have arrived, the weekend is five days off and the forecast says rain. Don't fret. A dry bulb is a…
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Bulbs
What to Plant in September for Spring Colour
Plant bluebells, snowdrops and daffodils this September for the best spring display. Depths, spacing and planting tips for UK gardens.
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Gardening
How This Summer’s Drought Will Affect Your Autumn Planting
71% of England was in drought this summer and reservoirs are still below average. Here's what it means for autumn planting UK-wide.
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Blog
Help! My Bareroot Plants Look Dead – What Should I Do?
It's the email (or rather, the panicked photo) we get every single year: a bundle of twigs, looking about as lively as…
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Bedding
When to Plant Sweet Peas | Ashridge Trees
Find out exactly when to plant sweet peas in the UK — autumn or spring sowing, planting out dates by region, and plug plant timing. Advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Bedding
Sweet Pea Supports & Training Guide | Ashridge Trees
Choose the best sweet pea supports for UK gardens: wigwams, cordon canes, pea sticks, netting and more. Expert training advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Trees
How to Plant a Tree: Complete UK Guide | Ashridge Trees
Learn how to plant a tree correctly in UK gardens — choosing the right species, digging depth, staking, watering, and aftercare. Expert advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Soft Fruit: Beginner’s Complete Guide
Everything beginners need for growing soft fruit in the UK — planting, soil prep, pruning, feeding and harvesting raspberries, currants, blueberries and blackberries.
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Trees
Flowering Cherry Trees: Best Varieties for UK Gardens
Discover the best flowering cherry tree varieties for UK gardens. Expert advice on planting, pruning, soil, size, and seasonal interest from Ashridge Trees.
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Bedding
Best Sweet Pea Varieties — UK Buying Guide
Discover the best sweet pea varieties for fragrance, cutting, and colour. Expert UK guide covering Spencer, grandiflora, and heritage types with honest variety reviews.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Best Soft Fruit to Grow in the UK | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best soft fruit to grow in the UK: expert variety picks, seasonal planning, and growing tips for raspberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, and more.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning Fruit Trees — Complete UK Guide
Learn how and when to prune fruit trees correctly — apples, pears, plums, cherries, quinces and more. Expert UK advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Grow Fruit Trees — Complete UK Guide
Learn how to grow fruit trees in the UK: rootstocks, planting, pruning, pollination, and variety advice for apples, pears, plums, cherries, and quinces.
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Trees
Best Trees for Small Gardens — Buying Guide
Discover the best trees for small gardens in the UK. Expert advice on compact varieties, clay soils, containers, and columnar trees from Ashridge Trees.
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Trees
Best Trees for Autumn Colour | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best trees for autumn colour in UK gardens. Expert advice on maples, rowans, cherries & more — with variety comparisons and planting tips from Ashridge Trees.
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Bulbs
When to Plant Bulbs: Daffodils, Tulips, Alliums & More
When to plant bulbs in the UK: daffodils, crocus and hyacinths in October, tulips in November, alliums in between. Calendar, late planting and storage.
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Hedge Plants
Native Hedging Plants — Mixed Species Guide
Choose the best native hedging plants for your garden or field boundary. Species mixes, planting densities, wildlife value, and aftercare — UK expert guide.
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Hedge Plants
How to Grow a Hedge — The Complete Guide
Learn how to grow a hedge in the UK: choosing species, planting times, spacing, soil prep, aftercare and pruning — a complete guide from Ashridge Trees.
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Bulbs
How to Grow Tulips — Complete UK Guide
Learn how to grow tulips in the UK: when and how deep to plant, best varieties, container tips, aftercare, and solving common problems. Expert advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Hedge Plants
Evergreen Hedging Plants — Complete UK Guide
Discover the best evergreen hedging plants for UK gardens. Expert advice on privacy, shade, wildlife, formal hedges, spacing, planting and trimming from Ashridge Trees.
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Hedge Plants
Best Hedging Plants — UK Buying Guide | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best hedging plants for every UK garden — evergreen, native, wildlife, security and formal hedges. Expert buying guide from Ashridge Trees nursery.
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Garden Plants
Low Maintenance Shrubs for Borders | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best low maintenance shrubs for UK borders — Ceanothus, Choisya, Euonymus, Hebe and Hydrangea — with variety tables, care tips and planting advice.
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Garden Plants
Low Maintenance Perennials for Borders | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best low maintenance perennials for UK borders. Expert advice on agapanthus, heuchera, salvia, grasses and more from Ashridge Trees.
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Shrubs — Complete UK Guide | Ashridge Trees
Learn how to grow shrubs in UK gardens: soil prep, planting steps, pruning timing, watering, feeding, and the best varieties for every site and season.
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Garden Plants
Best Shrubs for Shade | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best shrubs for shade in UK gardens. Expert advice on Euonymus, Choisya, Hydrangea, Elder & more — with variety comparisons and planting tips.
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Garden Plants
Best Perennials for Shade | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best perennials for shade — from hostas and heucheras to dry-shade survivors. Expert UK planting advice and variety recommendations from Ashridge Trees.
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Bedding
What to Plant with Cosmos — Companion Planting Guide
Discover what to plant with cosmos for beautiful borders. Companion planting ideas with dahlias, salvias, zinnias and more, plus Ashridge variety recommendations.
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Perennials — Complete UK Guide
Learn how to grow perennials in the UK: soil prep, planting, feeding, dividing, and the best varieties for sun, shade, and pots. Expert advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Garden Plants
What to Plant with Dahlias — Companion Planting Guide
Discover the best companion plants for dahlias — annuals, perennials, grasses and foliage plants — with colour-themed ideas and specific variety recommendations from Ashridge Trees.
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Bedding
Cosmos Cut Flowers: Harvesting & Arranging Guide
Learn how to harvest and arrange cosmos cut flowers for maximum vase life. UK expert advice on timing, conditioning, best varieties, and colour palette planning.
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Passion Flower in the UK | Ashridge Trees
Learn how to grow passion flower in the UK — hardy varieties, winter care, fruiting, pruning and planting tips from Ashridge Trees. Expert advice for all regions.
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Jasmine — Common, Star & Winter Compared
How to grow jasmine in the UK: compare common jasmine, star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) and winter jasmine — planting, pruning, feeding and training explained.
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Roses
Roses in Pots: Varieties, Compost & Care Guide
Grow beautiful roses in pots with expert advice on the best varieties, compost, pot sizes, watering, feeding and winter care from Ashridge Trees.
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Garden Plants
Fast Growing Climbing Plants — Quickest Climbers for Cover
Discover the fastest growing climbing plants for UK gardens — Clematis montana, Russian vine, golden hop, akebia and vigorous honeysuckle compared with honest advice.
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Roses
Best Roses to Buy — Walls, Shade, Scent & Cutting
Find the best roses for your garden: walls, shade, scent, cutting, small spaces and hedging — with variety comparisons and honest advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Garden Plants
Best Lavender: Which Variety to Choose | Ashridge Trees
Find the best lavender for hedging, pots, cooking, scent, bees or colour. Expert variety-by-variety guide from Ashridge Trees, with honest UK growing advice.
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Roses
When to Feed Roses — Spring, Summer & Autumn Guide
Learn exactly when to feed roses in the UK, with a complete spring, summer and autumn feeding programme, deficiency guide and variety-specific advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Roses
Types of Roses Explained — Climbing, Shrub & More
Discover all types of roses — climbing, rambling, shrub, floribunda, hybrid tea and old roses — with expert advice on choosing the right variety for your garden.
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Garden Plants
How to Plant a Lavender Hedge | Spacing & Varieties
Learn how to plant a lavender hedge: correct spacing (40–45 cm), best varieties for formal and informal lines, and expert tips for a solid hedge in year one.
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Garden Plants
Lavender in Pots: Varieties, Compost & Care Guide
Grow lavender in pots successfully with the right varieties, the Downderry compost recipe, and expert watering and pruning advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Garden Plants
Best Hardy Perennials for UK Gardens | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best hardy perennials for UK gardens — agapanthus, heucheras, hostas, salvia and more. Expert advice on varieties, planting, and care from Ashridge Trees.
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Garden Plants
Best Ground Cover Perennials for UK Gardens
Discover the best ground cover perennials for UK gardens — from hostas in shade to agapanthus in sun. Expert advice on planting, spacing, and variety selection.
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Garden Plants
Best Evergreen Shrubs for UK Gardens | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best evergreen shrubs for UK gardens — from hardy Euonymus to fragrant Choisya and vivid Ceanothus. Expert advice on varieties, planting & care.
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Garden Plants
Best Dahlias to Grow — UK Buying Guide
Discover the best dahlias to grow in UK gardens. Expert variety recommendations by type, colour and use, with comparison tables and named tubers from Ashridge Trees.
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Garden Plants
Best Climbing Plants for Walls, Fences, Scent & Shade
Discover the best climbing plants for every situation — sunny walls, shady fences, scent, speed and year-round cover. Expert UK advice from Ashridge Trees.
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Bedding
Best Cosmos Varieties to Grow in the UK | Ashridge Trees
Discover the best cosmos varieties for UK gardens. Compare colours, heights & uses — from classic whites to apricot & double-flowered types. Buy as plug plants.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Best Fruiting Cherry Trees UK: Varieties & Growing Guide
Discover the best fruiting cherry tree varieties for UK gardens. Expert advice on sweet vs sour cherries, self-fertile varieties, rootstocks & growing tips.
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Bulbs
Best Bulbs to Plant — Expert Buying Guide | Ashridge
Discover the best bulbs to plant for your garden with our comprehensive guide. Expert advice on spring, summer and shade bulbs, plus container varieties.
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Honeysuckle: Complete UK Planting Guide
Learn how to grow honeysuckle successfully in UK gardens. Expert advice on planting, training, pruning and choosing the most fragrant varieties for your space.
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Clematis: Complete Planting & Care Guide
Expert guide on how to grow clematis successfully. Learn correct planting depth, soil preparation, watering, feeding and first-year care for healthy climbing plants.
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Garden Plants
Best Evergreen Climbers for Year-Round Garden Coverage
Expert guide to evergreen climbers including Clematis armandii, star jasmine, ivy and honeysuckle. Year-round screening solutions for walls and fences.
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Blog
Chelsea Flower Show 2026: The Plants to Know – And How to Grow Them at Home
Chelsea Flower Show 2026 has opened its gates and the early reports are gloriously colourful – roses, clematis, salvias and delphiniums in abundance. We take a look at the biggest plant trends, the Plant of the Year winner, and how to bring a little Chelsea magic into your own garden.
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Garden Plants
Which Clematis should I Grow?
Not sure which clematis to grow? We compare nearly 100 varieties. By situation, north-facing, pots, growing up roses, winter interest , colour, sise & scent. Written by someone who has grown clematis all his life.
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Bedding
Growing Cosmos in Pots
Growing Cosmos in Pots Which cosmos varieties work best in containers, what size pot you need, how to plant, water, feed, and support them, and four planting schemes to try. Everything you need to grow cosmos well in pots, from a single Xanthos in a terracotta bowl to a full-height mixed planter.
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Wisteria.
A complete guide to growing wisteria, covering the three main species in the Ashridge range, why grafted plants matter, wall training, pruning, feeding for flowers, and the most common reasons wisteria fails to bloom.
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Garden Plants
Clematis Wilt
Clematis Wilt: What It Is & What to Do Clematis wilt is dramatic — a healthy plant can collapse and blacken within days. But it's less common than most gardeners fear, and most plants recover if you act quickly and planted them deep enough. This guide explains how to tell true wilt from drought, slug damage, and other causes; which varieties are resistant; and the six things you can do to reduce the risk.
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Garden Plants
Evergreen Clematis
Most clematis are deciduous, bare through winter and in flower for a few weeks in spring or summer. But three groups stay…
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Garden Plants
When to Prune Clematis
When and How to Prune Clematis: All Three Pruning Groups Explained Every clematis belongs to one of three pruning groups; unsurprisingly numbered…
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Bulbs
How to grow Bulbs in Pots
Growing Bulbs in Pots and Containers If you have a patio, a balcony, a front step, or a windowsill, you should grow…
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Bulbs
How to Grow Bulbs
Spring bulbs are among the most forgiving things you can grow. Plant most at two to three times their own height, tulips deeper and later, and even a bulb planted late beats one left in its bag.
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Bulbs
How to Plant Daffodils In The Green
Learn how to plant wild daffodils in the green for faster establishment and beautiful naturalised spring displays. Discover why Narcissus pseudonarcissus ‘Lobularis’ is perfect for lawns, meadows and woodland gardens, plus expert growing tips for long-lasting results.
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Bedding
How to Grow Cosmos
Cosmos are the easiest cut flowers you can grow. Plant our hardened-off plugs after the last frost, give them sun and poor soil — seriously, don't feed them — and they'll flower from July until October. Pinch out the tips early for bushy plants covered in blooms, then cut for the vase as often as you like. The more you pick, the more they flower. This guide covers planting, pinching, deadheading, container growing, and a month-by-month calendar to keep you on track all season.
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Bedding
Growing Sweet Peas in Pots: The Complete Guide to Containers, Watering & Care
Sweet peas thrive in pots if you get the basics right. This guide covers everything specific to container growing — pot size and depth, the ideal compost mix, how often to water (more than you'd think), when to feed, and why picking regularly is the secret to flowers all summer long.
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Blog
Ashridge Wins Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for Outstanding Customer Service
Ashridge has been awarded the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for outstanding customer service, thanks to genuine reviews from our wonderful customers and three consecutive years of Gold Standard recognition.
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Bedding
How to Grow Sweet Peas
Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) are hardy annual climbers in the legume family, reaching 1.5–2m on simple supports and flowering from June until…
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Roses
How to Grow Shrub Roses
Related guidesBest Rose Varieties for Shady GardensWhich rose should I buy? Choosing the right rose for walls, borders, scent, shade and cuttingRoses…
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Roses
How to Grow Floribunda Roses: Planting, Pruning and Care
Floribunda roses are cluster-flowered, repeat-blooming roses that flower from June until the first frosts. They're hardier and more disease-resistant than hybrid teas, making them ideal for UK gardens. Plant bareroot roses from November to March in full sun and good soil. Prune in late winter, cutting stems back to 30–40cm. Feed in spring and fortnightly through summer with high-potash fertiliser. Compact varieties do well in large pots. Deadhead regularly for continuous flowering.
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Roses
Shop the bare-root roses seen on TikTok
Rose supremo Gardener Ben has been busy reviewing some of our favourite bare-root roses on TikTok! From classic hybrid teas to show-stopping floribundas, he’s hand-picked a selection from our 160+ UK-grown varieties – just in time for prime bare-root planting between November and March. Ashridge has been supplying premium bare-root roses since 1949 , so we know our roses, and with our 1-year plant guarantee and Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025 rating, you can trust us to help your garden bloom beautifully.
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Hedge Plants
Don’t Fence It, Hedge It!
Looking for fast-growing hedges that provide privacy, beauty, and long-term value? Our hedging specialists , supplying quality hedging since 1949, have a wide range of options—from speedy rootball yew and Cherry Laurel to architectural box and berried cotoneaster. Hedges aren’t just practical; they’re wildlife-friendly, sustainable, and get lovelier with age. Whether you prefer formal or informal styles, mixed or single varieties, our expert guidance ensures your garden’s living screen will be a transformational addition. Don’t fence it— hedge it!
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Gardening
Villains of Variegation
Have your variegated plants started producing plain green leaves? Find out why this common garden rebellion happens and what it means for your plant’s survival. Learn from the plant experts how light, chlorophyll, and a process called reversion can quietly transform your foliage - and discover the simple trick that keeps those striking patterns from disappearing for good.
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Trees
Storm-Proofing Your Trees: Expert Advice from Tree Specialists
Curious about which trees are most likely to fall during a storm? Experts from Ashridge share their insights on identifying at-risk trees and explain practical steps you can take to reduce the risk. From proper maintenance to knowing warning signs, learn how to protect your property and keep your surroundings safe during severe weather.
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Trees
Ash Die Back Disease
A serious tree disease is spreading fast across Europe and the UK, raising urgent questions for anyone who cares about our woodlands. Stay informed with guidance shaped by Experts in Bareroot Plants who understand the stakes for our native species.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Preserved Pears Recipe for Christmas
There’s something wonderfully comforting about turning a modest harvest into handmade Christmas gifts. A simple, cosy kitchen moment—shared with the warmth you’d expect from Planting Advice since 1949.
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Trees
Identify Sudden Oak Death
A new plant disease has been reshaping parts of our landscape, affecting species you might not expect. Stay informed with insight from Professional Plant Suppliers who keep a close eye on emerging threats.
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Trees
Ten Years After The Impact of Planting Trees.
Ten years after planting a simple copse of bare-root whips, what was once a corner of a field is now a thriving young wood—proof of how quickly nature responds when given space. A story shared with the insight of Professional Growers who’ve watched countless plantings mature.
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Hedge Plants
Rabbits eating your plants
Rabbits caused havoc in our standing-out area, chewing through fencing and feasting on Elaeagnus ‘Limelight’—a useful reminder, from Ashridge – the Voice of Experience, of what not to plant in rabbit-prone gardens.
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Hedge Plants
To Fedge or Not to Fedge? Living Willow Hedges
Wondering whether to fedge or not to fedge? In this guide, we explore the appeal of living willow hedges, how they’re created, and why winter is the perfect time to plant bareroot hedging. As trusted suppliers of bareroot hedging since 1949, we share expert advice to help you decide if a willow fedge is the right choice for your garden.
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Blog
🎄 Christmas Elf Competition
Spot the Christmas Elf for your chance to win £1,000 in Ashridge vouchers! From 1st–25th December, our festive elf will be hiding somewhere on the Ashridge website. Find him each day and enter the competition for your chance to win £1,000 in Ashridge vouchers!
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Trees
National Tree Week 2025
National Tree Week is the perfect time to get planting! From single trees to orchards and hedgerows, every tree helps create a greener, happier future. With Planting Advice since 1949, our experts share tips on choosing, planting, and caring for your trees and hedging. Read more to make your garden part of this important celebration.
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Hedge Plants
Best Hedges For Shade
Looking for the best hedge plants for shady areas? From evergreen favourites like Yew and Holly to deciduous options like Hornbeam and Hazel, our plant experts guide you to lush, thriving hedges even in low light. Read more to discover top tips for creating dense, healthy hedges that transform your garden.
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Roses
Stop and Smell the Roses
From the soft rustle of autumn leaves to the velvety promise of winter buds, there’s so much wonder in a garden. With planting advice since 1949, our experts share tips to help you notice the little joys and nurture a garden that thrives. Read more and explore how the right plants and mindful moments can transform your outdoor space.
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Roses
Social climbers
Clematis bring a social flair to any garden, climbing fences, scrambling through shrubs, or festooning arches with ease. These versatile climbers flourish with a shaded root and yearly pruning, making them perfect for Experts in Bareroot Plants . Want to see the best planting tips and stunning clematis combinations? Read more to discover how to make your garden bloom with style.
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Roses
Our Top Tips For The Season: no.5
Ready to create a show-stopping rose garden? Discover how planting bare-root roses at the right time, with expert tips on watering, pruning, and avoiding replant disorder, can give you stunning blooms year after year. Read more to unlock the secrets to roses that truly thrive in any garden.
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Roses
Best Rose Varieties For Shady Gardens
Even with limited sunlight, your garden can flourish with carefully chosen shade-tolerant roses. From Old Rose Shrubs to climbing Iceberg and Hybrid Tea varieties, these resilient plants are guaranteed to thrive in your garden, bringing colour and life to shaded corners. Read more to discover which roses will transform even the gloomiest spots into a blooming delight.
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Roses
Coming up Roses part 3: Fabulous Floribundas and Super Shrubs
Whether you’re a first-time gardener or a seasoned rosarian, Floribunda and Shrub roses bring effortless beauty to mixed borders, paths, and containers, offering abundant blooms that are guaranteed to thrive in your garden. Read more to uncover tips and tricks for keeping your roses healthy, vibrant, and blooming year after year.
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Roses
Coming up Roses Part 2
Say it with a rose! Hybrid Tea roses are the ultimate gift for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, offering stunning blooms, intoxicating fragrance, and years of garden enjoyment. From romantic reds like ‘My Valentine’ to award-winning pinks such as ‘Mum in a Million’, these classic roses are easy to grow, endlessly rewarding, and perfect for bouquets or borders.
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Roses
Coming up Roses
Dreaming of summer in the middle of winter? Learn how climbing and rambling roses like ‘Phyllis Bide’, ‘Rambling Rector’, and ‘Lilac Bouquet’ can add vertical beauty, fragrance, and charm to your garden. From screening sheds to twining through trees or garlanding a front door, these roses offer year-round inspiration and months of glorious blooms.
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Roses
Rose update
From choosing the perfect pot to daily watering and foliar feeds, discover how to care for a bare-root Bathsheba rose in a terracotta container. With guidance from David Austin, this gardener shares practical tips and lessons learned to keep roses healthy, fragrant, and flowering beautifully.
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Roses
“What a lovely thing a rose is”
From scented climbing roses to massed displays of vibrant pinks, explore the joy and therapeutic ritual of caring for roses. Tips on deadheading, choosing varieties, and blending colours make every garden a blooming success.
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Roses
Ramblings on roses
From a sunny yellow kitchen to a chilly winter patio, discover how one gardener brings the magic of roses right to her doorstep. Tips on choosing, planting, and supporting climbers make it easy to enjoy colour and scent all year round.
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Roses
David Austin Roses
A rose that blooms like a living painting, a scent that stops you in your tracks—some flowers just have a magic all their own. Read on to see which varieties have gardeners enchanted year after year.
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Roses
Roses for the Cutting Garden
There’s a certain joy in discovering that the most luxurious bouquet might already be growing in your garden. Beyond the climbers and ramblers, think of roses as your own supply of cut flowers — rich with scent, colour, and romance. From deep damasks to glowing hybrid teas, a rose or two can transform even the most disciplined garden design into something softer, more human. Learn how to choose and care for roses that keep on giving — shared with the confidence of Professional Plant Suppliers who understand what makes beauty last.
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Roses
Roses – to climb or to ramble?
Sometimes the best gardening lessons arrive as unexpected gifts. A handful of bare root roses — some thriving, one not — turned into a reminder that success in the garden is all about harmony between plant and place. Discover how a mix of ramblers, climbers, and companions can transform your garden walls and trees into a tapestry of scent and colour. Explore this story of growth and discovery, shared with the quiet confidence of Ashridge – The Voice of Experience.
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Roses
Coming up… roses!
From wild hedgerow roses to elegant modern hybrids, this most beloved bloom has shaped our gardens and imaginations for centuries. Journey through its remarkable story and uncover what makes the rose timeless — told with insight from Ashridge – The Voice of Experience .
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Roses
Organic care of roses
Every gardener has their own rose-growing secret — but some methods are more surprising than others. Discover the unusual companion that helps roses thrive naturally and keeps pests at bay. For the Best Advice on healthy, beautiful blooms, read more…
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Roses
Gardens of the Rose Courses
There’s a quiet corner of St Albans where the air is filled with the promise of roses — and where gardeners gather to learn from true masters of their craft. Led by seasoned tutors, these courses embody Ashridge – The Voice of Experience , offering insight that turns pruning into an art form.
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Hedge Plants
Millionaire Sustainable Hedgerow Living
Discover how Cornwall is leading the way with public edible hedges. Advice from Ashridge experts shows how you can create your own productive hedges at home.
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Hedge Plants
Beech: A national treasure!
Beech trees are a gardener’s delight, offering year-round interest, structural elegance, and rich autumnal colour. Experts in bareroot plants reveal how these versatile trees and hedges can thrive.
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Hedge Plants
How to Keep a Box Hedge
Box hedges are a gardener’s delight when properly cared for. By following simple steps—you can enjoy a vibrant, long-lasting hedge. With Guaranteed Plants That Grow, even new gardeners can achieve elegant, evergreen structure that withstands disease and rewards your effort year after year.
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Trees
Bareroot Tree or Hedge Whips
A tree or hedge whip might be small, but it holds enormous potential. Nurseries like us cultivate fields full of whips, serving everyone from foresters tackling large projects to gardeners looking to add instant impact at home. With guaranteed plants that grow, you can plant with confidence.
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Trees
Plant a Tree in Cornwall this Winter
If you fancy a fun winter trip and a chance to give young trees a better life, the National Trust Tree Planting Events at Penrose, Cornwall, are not to be missed. Running from November 26th to January 19th, these free events are perfect for those who love the countryside and don’t mind getting their hands muddy. Whether you’re a seasoned volunteer or new to tree planting, Ashridge – The Voice of Experience reminds you that helping trees thrive is a joy worth sharing.
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Hedge Plants
Watering your Hedging and Trees
New hedging and young trees need careful attention to thrive. Follow our planting advice since 1949: soak the soil deeply at the base of each plant, water early or late in the day, and use rainwater wherever possible to encourage deep roots and healthy growth.
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Trees
Trees for Autumn and Winter Colour
From the fiery leaves of acers to the deep mahogany bark of Tibetan cherry, autumn trees bring colour, texture, and interest to every garden. With guaranteed plants that grow, you can enjoy vibrant foliage, striking berries, and decorative bark without worry, making autumn and winter gardening a true delight.
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Hedge Plants
Hedgelaying
Hedges and trees are more than decoration—they’re a vital part of the British countryside, supporting wildlife and creating lasting garden structure. With guaranteed plants that grow, now is the perfect time to plant bareroot trees and hedging that will flourish for years to come.
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Hedge Plants
Hedges and trees
Hedges and trees are the backbone of the British countryside, offering shelter, food, and beauty for generations of wildlife. Experts in bareroot plants recommend planting from now until March, whether it’s a majestic oak, a flowering cherry, or a protective beech hedge.
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Trees
Falling for leaves
November’s autumnal colours offer a moment to pause and appreciate the garden’s small wonders. With advice from experts, it’s easy to choose the right trees—like acers, mountain ash, or cercis—that will bring vibrant foliage and seasonal interest year after year.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Remember Bareroots in November..
Whether you’re filling a gap in the hedge, planting a show-stopping cherry, or creating a cosy “room” with copper beech, our Guaranteed Plants That Grow make it easy.
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Hedge Plants
How to choose the right hedge
Choosing the right hedge for your garden, orchard, or farmland can seem daunting, but with our Advice from Experts, you’ll know exactly which plants to select, how to position them, and how to maintain a healthy, wildlife-friendly hedge for years to come.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
A guide to fruit tree pollination
Pollination is key to a bumper fruit crop, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Benefit from Advice from Experts and Guaranteed Plants That Grow to make your orchard thrive.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Choose Rootstocks for Fruit Trees
Rootstocks shape how fruit trees grow, and with our expertise, you don’t need to worry. From Bushes and Half Standards to Maidens and Cordons, we provide guaranteed plants that grow and guidance from Plant Experts to ensure every tree thrives in your garden or orchard.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Fruit Trees and the Mile High Club
Can you grow apple trees above 500 feet? Absolutely — with the right site and care. Learn how slope, wind, soil, and shelter affect fruit trees in higher altitudes, and how to avoid frost damage while keeping your orchard thriving. Reliable, down-to-earth advice from Professional Plant Suppliers at Ashridge.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Which Size, O Starter Fruit Tree?
Choosing the right size fruit tree makes all the difference to your harvest. Whether you’re planting a compact Bush tree for a small garden, a grand Half-Standard for open space, or training a Maiden into an espalier or cordon, we’ll help you pick the perfect fit. Step-by-step guidance from Experts in Bareroot Plants at Ashridge ensures success from the start.
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Trees
UK ash tree die back
Ash dieback has spread across the UK since its discovery in 2012, leaving many tree owners worried. Learn how to identify the symptoms, distinguish natural leaf loss from infection, and take practical steps to protect your trees. Clear, science-based Planting Advice since 1949 from Ashridge helps you care for your ash trees with confidence.
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Trees
Planting trees beyond your lifetime…
Planting trees isn’t just good for the planet — it can be a long-term investment too. Discover how oaks, walnuts, and other valuable timber trees can grow into a legacy worth thousands, even decades after you’re gone. Future-focused insight from Ashridge – The Voice of Experience , helping you plant wealth that lasts.
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Trees
Black Walnut Tree Attacks!
If your shrubs or trees are struggling near a Black Walnut (Juglans nigra), the culprit may be juglone — a natural chemical that can stunt or kill sensitive plants. Learn how juglone works, why Black Walnuts use it, and which trees and shrubs can safely thrive nearby. Relax — Guaranteed Plants That Grow from Ashridge mean you can always replant with confidence and success.
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Trees
British native tree controversy
Britain’s native woodlands inspire deep affection — and for good reason. Yet as our climate shifts, can these beloved trees survive the changes ahead? Explore what makes a tree truly “native,” from post-Ice Age pioneers to apomictic Whitebeams, and discover why our forests may need a helping hand to thrive in a warmer, drier future. Thoughtful insight and planting advice from Ashridge – Professional Plant Suppliers since 1949.
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Trees
When to prune trees? Winter-Summer
Pruning a tree is not as simple as trimming a hedge — timing and technique are everything. From young ornamental trees needing a light shape-up to mature trees requiring careful sawing, knowing when to prune makes all the difference. Discover expert advice on the best time to prune your trees, avoid sap bleed and disease, and keep your garden thriving all year round. Ashridge – The Voice of Experience, offering planting advice since 1949.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Bareroot Trees & Shrubs are Best
Whether for hedging or forestry, bare-root stock outperforms container-grown plants in almost every way. Ashridge Nurseries explains why planting dormant, field-grown hedging and trees during the winter months saves money, benefits the environment, and produces stronger, more vigorous plants. From superior root development to easier planting and reduced risk of pests, discover why Ashridge – The Voice of Experience recommends bare-root stock for lasting success in your garden.
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Hedge Plants
Beech hedging
Just planted a beech hedge? Discover how to transform a bare patch of garden into a beautiful, structured space. Our guide shares tips on soil preparation, planting, watering, and mulching to help your hedge thrive.
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Hedge Plants
Choosing and planting potted hedging
Container-grown hedging plants are perfect for planting all year round, providing instant privacy, security, or a splash of greenery. Plant, water, prune, and enjoy your growing hedge!
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Hedge Plants
When to clip, trim & prune hedges?
Remove dead or diseased wood as needed, with planting advice since 1949 to guide you, and enjoy healthy, well-shaped plants all year round.
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Hedge Plants
101 uses for your Beech Hedge…
If you fancy your own (unofficial) weather-forecasting hedge, you can always plant a beech or two from our bare-root collection before the season ends, with guaranteed plants that grow . Relax, enjoy, and watch your garden grow.
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Hedge Plants
Hawthorn: Hedge Plant Portraits
At Ashridge Nurseries, we’ve sold millions of hedging plants over the years, and hawthorn remains a firm favourite for its resilience, beauty, and charm. Trimmed and tended, it’s equally stunning, forming a dense, elegant boundary hedge that’s a joy in any season, offered by professional growers you can trust. If you’ve space in your garden and haven’t planted one yet, it might be time to discover why the humble hawthorn hedge is such a classic.
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Hedge Plants
Hawthorn Hedge Planting – Tip 1
Thinking of planting a hawthorn hedge? Forget the weedkiller — there’s a better way. No chemicals, no constant weeding — just healthy, happy hawthorn, supported by experts in bareroot plants . Sit back, relax, and watch your hedge grow.
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Hedge Plants
The Best Beech Hedge
If you’re planting a new beech hedge, don’t be afraid to prune confidently, watch it fill out, and enjoy the transformation year after year.
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Hedge Plants
Hedges and Life (Low and high)
Continuing our ode to hedging — and why it’s a thoroughly Good Thing. Hedges do far more than mark boundaries; they shelter wildlife, protect gardens from wind and frost, deter intruders (even the two-legged kind!), and bring life, colour, and song to your outdoor space. Plant one, watch it grow, and enjoy the difference, with professional plant suppliers guiding you every step of the way.
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Hedge Plants
In the beginning…. there was Hedging
Ashridge Nurseries is our family business — we grow and sell around two million plants every year. Hedging is our speciality, but we also offer ornamental and fruit trees, roses, bulbs, soft fruit, and every hedging accessory you could need.
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Hedge Plants
Hedging as an Investment Strategy
Planting a hedge has a number of obvious environmental benefits. Less obvious may be the financial advantages of cost and value add...
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Hedge Plants
A Thorny Issue – best plants to use in a privacy hedge
An expert list of thorny plants ideal for town and country hedges from a professional grower
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Bulbs
What is the best time to plant Tulips?
Advice on the best time to plant tulips having regard to their flowering seasons.
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Bulbs
Where can you plant your tulip bulbs?
Advice from a professional grower on the best places to plant tulip bulbs
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Hedge Plants
Hedge Plants
Hedge Aftercare: First Year Care and Maintenance Guide
Proper aftercare in the first year is critical for establishing a healthy, thriving hedge that grows strongly in subsequent years. The Five…
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Trees
Ash Tree Dieback Disease Hits Somerset
It Doesn't Seem Real Until it Happens to You Yes, folks, it finally happened to us. We had a good run, but…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Elderflower Cordial Recipe
Homemade Elderflower Cordial RecipeLate May - June is Elderflower time!Elderflower cordial in the shops is expensive and can be a bit sickly…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Cooking with Cider this Christmas?
How about pheasant with caramelised apple and cider sauce!Pheasant cosies up with a fruity double act of apples and cider for a…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Hedgerow Jelly Recipe
Make a unique Jelly from Country Hedges & Wild PlantsThis recipe uses fruit commonly found in mixed hedges and wild plants (identify…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Elderflower Champagne Recipe
When you have enough Elderflower Cordial you might like to think about Elderflower Champagne. By the way, it is a good excuse…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Elderberry Syrup Recipe
Homemade Elderberry SyrupThe Recipe:This is our family recipe, and we think it makes the best elderberry syrup we have ever tasted.Pick the…
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Gardening
Rootgrow by Empathy: RHS Approved Mycorrhizae AKA “Friendly Fungi”
Mycorrhizae fungi coexist with plant root systems in a sharing relationship underground The fungi give the plant water and soil nutrients in…
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Trees
The Best Trees Suitable for Heavy Clay Soils
Most trees are happy growing in heavy clay soil, as long as it does not get waterlogged in WinterClay soil is fertile…
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Garden Plants
Trim Lavender Around Late February / March
Lavender is best given a light trim in late February or early March, before it starts into growth. Done at the right…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Fruit Trees at High Altitude
We get lots of enquiries about growing fruit trees in the UK at altitude, often from people who have seen the magnificent…
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Garden Plants
Photinia Leaf Spot – Don’t Panic!
Photinia Red Robin makes a really photogenic hedge plant, with blazing red young leaves that can be persuaded to reappear all summer…
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Garden Plants
Lavender Diseases and Pests — Common Problems and How to Treat Them
Lavender has an undeserved reputation for being disease-free — but it isn't, and one problem in particular kills far more plants than gardeners realise. While its aromatic oils do offer some natural protection, lavender can still fall victim to Alfalfa Mosaic Virus, Shab dieback disease, sap-sucking froghoppers and capsids, and — the real culprit behind most losses — root rot from poor drainage. This guide explains how to spot each problem, which ones are usually harmless, and why getting the drainage right is the single most important thing standing between your lavender and an unexplained collapse after a wet winter.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to prune Cordon Fruit Trees
This is just about pruning cordons - there is a much longer piece on growing cordon fruit trees if you would like…
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Trees
Saving a Tree that is Falling Over
It crossed my mind this morning that we are in August. September is the other month of the equinox (exactly half a…
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Gardening
Latin Names of Plants
"Latin" plant names are the scientific, botanical way of classifying species They aren't really Latin, as in the language of the Roman…
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Gardening
Freezing weather & bareroot plants
Most of the damage caused to bareroot plants in cold, freezing conditions is to the delicate roots themselves.The roots are fine, fibrous…
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Gardening
Best Plants for A Winter Garden
Tiny marvels dispel winter gloom: the uplifting power of nature! As I filled up the bird feeders yesterday, I noticed the intense…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Foraged Blackberry & Apple Crumble
Do you have a freezer full of blackberries? If not, then ignore the blackberry & enjoy your apple crumble! This time of…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apple Orchard Wassailing
Orchard wassailing is an indigenous English ritual with records dating back as far as the 11th century, and is still performed by…
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Hedge Plants
Best Plants for a Small Garden Wildlife Hedge
A good hedge is an invaluable addition to any garden. It delineates and disguises boundaries, providing privacy for humans and habitats for…
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Bulbs
What Does “Bulbs in the Green” Mean?
There are two ways to buy and/or transplant flower bulbs: either when they dry and dormant, or when they are in growth,…
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Bulbs
When do Snowdrops Bloom in the UK?
Who doesn’t love snowdrops? People who don't read this article!
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Bulbs
How and When to Deadhead Daffodils
Daffodils and Narcissi are undoubtedly among our most cherished and adored spring flowers, and they form a large part of our collection…
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Gardening
Pruning Jobs to do now: Coppicing
Requiring only a sharp saw or secateurs and the courage of your convictions, coppicing is a straightforward and satisfying winter job.This short…
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Gardening
Garden Plants for Winter Colour
Colour from bark, leaves and some flowers will light up your winter garden
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
What’s the difference between hazelnuts and cobnuts?
What is the difference between a cobnut and a filbert? Are they the same thing, with regional variations of nomenclature? Quick Answers…
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Blog
Royal Horticultural Society Wisley Winter Walk
In January, gardeners stare longingly at soggy patches of lawn and bare trees, scouring the earth for the tender spear of a…
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Blog
Christmas Presents for Gardeners
There are so many things a gardener wants to find under the tree on Christmas morning. But not another decorative fork and…
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Roses
Rose Hips are Pretty & Good to Eat
Rose hips are mostly an ornamental second display from Autumn into Winter, but all rose hips are edible if you want to…
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Trees
Why Willows and Drains do not Mix…
A video on why willows and drains should not be too close together...
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Gardening
Soft Edges in Urban Garden Design
Modern buildings and roads tend to create stark boundaries: all structure with no life Well-thought-out planting will soften these hard lines and…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Urban Fruit Growing: Soft Fruit Edition
Wiltshire-based garden designer Dan Combes wonders why there aren't more berries, especially in urban areas and their small gardens where a fruit…
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Gardening
Honey Fungus: The Tree Killer
What is Honey Fungus? Honey fungus is a spreading, parasitic fungus that live yeah s on trees, woody shrubs, and occasionally herbaceous…
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Bulbs
When do Daffodils Bloom in the UK?
The first wild Daffodil to bloom in the UK, as measured by a car park in Somerset, was 11th February 2024. This…
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Bulbs
When Should You Cut Back Your Spent Bulbs?
Is there anything more restorative than the first flowers of spring? Apart from spring flowers plus kittens wearing watermelon helmets, obviously? I…
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Bulbs
Why Didn’t My Daffodils Flower this Year?
Daffodils (Narcissus) are perennial bulbs whose lifespan varies depending on the particular species and cultivar, the growing conditions and care, or lack…
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Bulbs
Britain’s Favourite Spring Flowering Bulbs
There's a special thrill that comes with burying your dry bulbs in Autumn & early Winter, followed by months of anticipation till…
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Garden Plants
Growing Dahlias in Pots and Patio Containers
Growing Dahlias in Pots: Everything You Need to Know Dahlias are brilliant in pots. A single tuber in a decent-sized container will…
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Gardening
Tidying Up Your Borders at the End of Winter
At some point between Autumn and the end of Winter, when the flowers and foliage have died down, it's commonly held best…
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Garden Plants
Cutting Back Buddleja Bushes in Early Spring
Or: How to Record a Gardening Video Using a Potato I am sorry everyone, really. I genuinely didn't realise how bad the…
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Gardening
Do Woodchips Make Soil Acidic, or Take Nitrogen from the Soil?
The short answer is no, woodchip mulch does not make soil acidic. However, if you are gardening on alkaline soil like chalk,…
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Garden Plants
How to Prune Wisteria
January-February is the ideal time to prune your Wisteria - have you?
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Gardening
January-February Garden Tasks: Our Favourite Online Gardeners Share Their Tips
It's almost February: time to do January garden jobs!
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Gardening
Why John Lord’s Gardening Films Are The Best
More people have taken the plunge into gardening with a floral shirt and a medium pickaxe thanks to John Lord than any…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Why Steven Edholm’s Fruit Tree Pruning Films are Better Than Ours
As a company, we have invested billions (approximately) in producing nicely edited videos about planting and pruning fruit trees Rodney, local movie…
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Trees
6 Common Bay Tree Problems & Solutions
Broadly speaking, bay laurel plants, Laurus nobilis, are easygoing, low maintenance, aromatic evergreens that are a joy to grow.There are a handful…
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Trees
15 Ideal Trees for Growing in Pots
According to the proverb, ‘To be happy for a year, get married; to be happy for life, plant a garden.'The right tree,…
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Trees
Everything You Need to Know about Yew Trees
One of only 3 conifers native to the United Kingdom (along with Scots pine and juniper), yew is a familiar feature of…
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Trees
Your Guide to Oak Trees: Facts, Types & Essential Information
It’s no exaggeration to describe oak trees as the national tree of Great Britain. They have been integral to our countryside for…
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Trees
The best of bareroot trees
We’re slap-bang in the middle of bareroot planting season. And that’s something worth celebrating when you love trees and shrubs but are…
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Trees
Britain’s Other Greatest Trees
In what can only be a direct response to our post on the Skippinish Oak being made the Woodland Trust’s Tree of…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Homemade Fig Jam Recipe
With Homegrown FigsThere’s nothing quite as jammy as the satisfaction of your own fig jam crafted from fig you grew yourself in…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apple Muffins Recipe
There’s Nothing Quite Like Baking with Home-Grown Apples in your Apple Muffin Recipe. Their fresh, crisp flavour brings out the best in…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Raspberry Macarons Recipe
There’s nothing quite like the fresh, tangy flavour of home-grown raspberries, and what better way to enjoy them than in delicious raspberry…
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Bulbs
Flower Bulbs in Winter Hanging Baskets
Long-suffering visitors to this website may remember that we gave selling hanging baskets a whirl a few years ago. We stopped because…
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Blog
Homes & Gardens Outdated Garden Trends
Homes & Gardens has so many interesting articles, we really should steal them more often. This pair of articles about outdated back…
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Blog
Restoring Scottish Montane Flora & Bees for High Altitude Fruit Trees
Montane habitats are at the top of and above the treeline, where the last wind-blasted trees and shrubs grow, below the even…
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Gardening
Mowing Your Lawn & Autumn Leaves
Autumn leaves on your lawn have to be dealt with, or they will ruin it. Likewise, your lovely stone, brick, and concrete…
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Gardening
Free Plants Forever: Pay With Your Lives!
The garden centre industry is a wonderful one, full of great people working in it and great customers intent on making their…
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Garden Plants
Fine Dining al Fresco: Shrubbery for Two
The other day we mentioned Cornwall’s Million Pound edible hedge project, and, we assume in response, the RHS updated their list of…
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Gardening
Using Epsom Salts in the Garden
Don’t bother. Using Epsom Salts in the garden is a waste of time and money: may my grandparents (and renowned scientific journals…
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Gardening
Good Growing October Weather
October’s forecast is looking mild, with nights mostly over 7C (the temperature under which plants generally stop growing) right until the end…
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Roses
Best Roses for Buttonholes
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Gardening
What Are the Plants of Christmas?
Traditional is what you make it at the end of the day, but green and red is the classic theme, and in…
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Hedge Plants
You Won’t Believe the Difference Between These Hedges
At home, we are used to formal evergreen hedges exactly like this yew one: @longleatofficialOur grounds team are hard at work trimming…
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Hedge Plants
The Hedge Laying Down With A Lamb
Hedge laying is pretty important to anyone with an old country hedge: it’s uncommon to see a garden hedge laid, but most…
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Hedge Plants
Habitat Aid Hedge Planting Video
Habitat Aid is our all-time favourite, award-winning, impact driven, Somerset based business founded in 2008, and their hedge planting video is educationally…
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Gardening
How to Rake Gravel Masterclass
Being a Rake-y Master in the garden looks easy when you see a professional Irishman on the job, but it’s a gravely…
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Trees
Forestry Commission Agroforestry Tree Species Guide
Agroforestry is primarily practised by farmers, but elements are increasingly applied to homesteads and large gardens If agroforestry is new to you,…
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Blog
HortWeek Releases the Final Two Parts of Their Peat-Free Garden Podcast
The Coolest Name in the Industry Saves the Best for Last Read our musings on parts 1 & 2. Full disclosure: peat bans…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Lazy Sunday Fruit Tree & Rootstock Grafting Videos
Grafting is one of Mankind’s ancient technologies, generally done in Spring onto rootstocks planted a full year ago, or mature trees Grafting…
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Gardening
What Garden Zone Am I In?
Great Britain has one “temperate oceanic / maritime” climate and isn’t very big, but she is still varied enough that it helps…
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Blog
HortWeek ‘End of Peat’ Podcast Series 1 & 2
HortWeek, the coolest name in the industry, produces 4 part peat-free garden podcast extravaganza Ashridge went through the Peat Free Thing on…
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Trees
Garden Plants
How to Prune Lavender
Lavender is the most underpruned plant in the UK — and it's costing gardeners years of good growth. Most people give their lavender a nervous little trim with the kitchen scissors, terrified of cutting into brown wood. The result? A hedge that goes scrawny within a couple of years and needs replacing in four or five, when it should easily last fifteen to twenty. This guide breaks down the "three eights" rule, why English, Dutch, and French lavender all need pruning at completely different times of year, and how to tell the difference between wood that will regrow and wood that won't. Don't be afraid to cut hard — it's the single most important thing you can do for your lavender's longevity.
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Lavender
There are three groups of lavender grown in UK gardens. English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the hardiest, longest-lived, and best-scented — the right choice for most gardens, hedging, and cooking. Dutch lavender (Lavandula × intermedia) is larger, later-flowering, and has a more complex camphor scent prized for oils. French butterfly lavender (Lavandula stoechas) is the showiest but least hardy — best grown in a pot you can bring under cover in winter. Drainage and an annual hard prune in August are the two things that most determine how long any lavender lasts.
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Gardening
Year Round Guide To Essential Garden Jobs
January Hedging Gently brush snow off evergreen hedging with an upward motion. Erect temporary windbreaks for new evergreen hedges. Wind loosens recently…
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Gardening
How to Scarify Your Lawn
Scarifying Your Lawn is Easy With a Springy Garden RakeLawn scarification in the UK is done in Autumn or Spring, about every…
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Gardening
How To Make Leaf Mould
What is Leaf Mould?Raking up leaves is part of a gardener’s life. The best way to make use of all those leaves…
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Gardening
How To Use Horticultural Fleece on Pots
Wrap up outdoor potted plants to protect them from frost for WinterWhen Winter frosts are on their way, sensitive plants that aren’t…
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Gardening
How to Aerate Your Lawn With A Garden Fork
Using a trusty garden fork to aerate your lawn is suitable for most gardens. It’s a nice, gentle workout that you can…
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Blog
Ashridge Nurseries Reviews 2024-25
Feefo, the gold standard of customer review platforms, has awarded us their 2025 Platinum Trusted Service Award Thank you very much to…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Self-Fertile Apple Trees That Pollinate Themselves
Apple pollination is usually not a concern in the UK, because there are so many orchard and crab apple trees around However,…
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Blog
Ashridge: A Rural Nightmare Audiodrama
Tony Walker’s chilling series of supernatural stories is set in the probably fictional town of Ashridge, which we hope doesn’t exist just…
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Trees
Making Bonsai from Your Bareroot Trees
Somerset Bonsai Society is our absolute favourite Bonsai Society in Somerset. We love them so much that whenever they visit us, we…
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Bulbs
Lifting and Storing Garden Bulbs Over Summer
Traditionally, many spring flowering bulbs, especially Tulips, were lifted (dug up) after flowering every year, stored over Summer when they are dormant,…
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Bulbs
Winter Planting Snowdrops In The Green
Snowdrops in the green are lifted while they are growing: in leaf and quite possibly in flower.This is done because, providing they…
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Bulbs
How to Plant Flower Bulbs at the Correct Depths
This video shows the right depths in pots or in the soil, and planting using a bulb planter tool.Read our how to…
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Bulbs
How to Make a Bulb Lasagne
A bulb lasagne is a pot of flower bulbs planted in layers for successive flowering all Spring. A 30cm (12”) deep pot…
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Bulbs
How to Plant and Grow Daffodil Bulbs
Daffodils and narcissi are the most popular flower bulbs grown in Britain: good value, very tough, and coming in a wide range…
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Bulbs
When do Different Bulbs Flower?
When Do Bulbs Flower? Start with snowdrops in January and you can have bulbs in flower right through to drumstick alliums in July — six months of colour from plants that need almost no maintenance. Our month-by-month chart shows exactly when each variety flowers in an average UK season, from the first crocus in a mild spell to the last tulips in May. With links to every variety we sell, it is the simplest way to plan a succession with no gaps. Read the full flowering chart →
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Blog
Garden Plants
Dividing Herbaceous Perennials
Digging up and dividing most summer-flowering herbaceous perennial plants is an excellent way to perk them up when they’re looking tired, giving…
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Garden Plants
Dahlia Tuber Parts: Eyes and Crowns
Dahlia Tuber Eyes and Crowns: Understanding What You've Received You've just received your dahlia tuber from us. It looks like a wrinkly…
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Garden Plants
How to Dig Up & Store Dahlia Tubers Overwinter
Overwintering Dahlias: How to Store Tubers and Protect Them Through Winter Dahlias are tender perennials. The tubers survive from year to year…
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Garden Plants
How To Start Dahlia Tubers In Spring
Start dahlias indoors in March–April for a 2–3 week head start, but it's often unnecessary — Ashridge's experts recommend direct planting in May for most UK gardeners, with blooms from July to November.
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Bulbs
How to Plant and Grow Allium Bulbs
Allium bulbs produce spectacular starburst flowers in late Spring and Summer, after the main flush of spring flowering bulbs.Planting Allium BulbsWhen to…
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Bulbs
Growing & Planting Tulip Bulbs Guide
Tulip bulbs bring some of the most stunning Spring colours of any plant grown in Britain. They come with a guarantee to…
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Hedge Plants
Planting A Bareroot Mixed Native Country Hedge
How to Slit Plant bareroot whips like Hawthorn in mixed native hedges
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Gardening
How to Apply Rootgrow Fungi With Gel
When you buy woody plants from us, our basket butler calculates the amount of Rootgrow granules your order needs, and offers it…
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Roses
Rose Replant Disease
What is rose replant disease? Rose replant disease is probably the most common example of specific replant disease, which can affect several…
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Roses
Climbing Roses Vs Rambling Roses
What are the Differences Between Climbers & Ramblers?Rambling roses are much more wild in their DNA than Climbing roses, and this shows…
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Garden Plants
How to Plant & Begin Training Climbing Honeysuckle
This video applies to all climbing honeysuckle varieties. Here, we are planting a 3 litre Lonicera, but it’s the same for any…
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Garden Plants
Best Climbing Plants For Shade
Shade Loving Climbers for North Facing WallsThe North Wall is tricky for growing plants up because it gets no direct sun. This…
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Clematis
How to Plant Clematis in Open Ground Clematis will grow well practically anywhere if you give them five things: soil preparation, correct…
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Hedge Plants
Box Blight Disease
Box Blight refers to two separate fungi that attack Common Box and Dwarf Box.It does not affect Box-Leaf Holly, nor Sweet Box.The…
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Trees
Horse Chestnut Tree Canker Disease
Horse Chestnut Canker, caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv aesculi, is the most serious disease affecting trees in the Aesculus family.…
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Trees
Horse Chestnut Leaf Blotch
What are these brown spots on my conker tree’s leaves?Horse Chestnut Leaf Blotch is a fungal condition called Guignardia aesculi that affects…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Silver Leaf Diagnosis & Treatment
There is no need to be afraid of Silver Leaf disease, which rarely affects Cherry and Plum trees in gardens, and even…
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Gardening
Powdery Mildew Disease
What is this White Fungus on my Trees and Hedges?Powdery Mildew is caused by a group of fungi that form a grey-white…
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Hedge Plants
Laurel Leave “Shot Hole” Disease
Why Are There Holes in My Laurel Leaves?If it looks like something is eating Swiss cheese style holes in your cherry laurel…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apple Scab & Pear Scab Disease
What is Apple Scab and Pear Scab?Apple Scab and Pear Scab are functionally the same, although the specific fungus is different: Apple…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Quince Leaf Blight Disease
What are these brown spots on my quince tree’s leaves and fruit? Quince Leaf Blight is the fungus Diplocarpon mespili, which ruin…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Plum Fruit Split
Plum Fruit split is a condition, not a disease, where the fruit is damaged by splits in the skin. Although they tend…
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Gardening
Coral Spot Fungus Disease
Coral Spot IdentificationCoral spot’s small orange-pink pustules are very distinctive. The fungus is active and producing spores almost year round, but you…
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Roses
Rose Black Spot Disease
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Roses
Rose Pests and Diseases
Deer love the top shoots, buds and foliageLeaving ragged stems and bare branches as they go. They are particularly attracted to new…
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Roses
Deadhead Repeat Flowering Roses
How to Deadhead a Repeating Rose Bush, With Some Summer PruningIn this example, we are using the vigorous, repeat flowering rambler, Narrow…
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Roses
Pruning A Climbing Rose
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Roses
Pruning & Trimming Bush Roses
Climbing roses are pruned differently, into a framework of long, ideally winding canes that cover its supports. Related guidesBest Rose Varieties for…
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Roses
Planting Rose Bushes
Rose bushes are British gardeners’ favourite plant. In this complete guide to planting rose bushes, find out the best conditions for roses,…
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Roses
Old Roses VS Antique Roses
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Grow Raspberry Bushes
Intro to Raspberry GrowingThese point apply to almost all our raspberry plants: They fruit very heavily. Their fruit has an extremely high…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Pot Up Bareroot Strawberry Plants
When you order bareroot strawberry plants from us, you can either plant them straight outside in your strawberry beds and planters, or…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Rhubarb
Rhubarb plants are perfect for beginners & low-maintenance lovers. For best results, we recommend that you dig your patch over at least…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Redcurrants & Whitecurrants
Currants are some of the most easily grown, and also pretty, little soft fruit bushes. Red & whitecurrants are grown differently from…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning Gooseberries & Red/White Currants
Gooseberry bushes are pruned almost exactly the same way as Red & Whitecurrant bushes.Pruning is so important for getting good crops of…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Grow Blackcurrant Bushes
How to Grow Blackcurrants BushesBlackcurrants are simple to grow, and the pruning regime is a bit different from pruning Red & Whitecurrants.…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Train & Prune Blackberry Bushes
Blackberry bushes are easy to cut back, this page is not here to overcomplicate things.It’s just a matter of choosing what works…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Planting Blackberries & Wire Training
Planting Blackberries Blackberry bushes tolerate most growing conditions found in the UK, and benefit greatly from anything to grow on for support,…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Blueberries in the UK
How to Grow BlueberriesBlueberry plants require acidic soil, pH 5.5 or below, that is moist yet free draining, with lots of rich…
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Gardening
Preparing Clay Soil
Why Clay Soil is Special Most soils are aquiferous: water can flow through them quite freely. When you observe a puddle on…
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Hedge Plants
Prepare Soil For Planting Trees, Shrubs & Hedges
This article is primarily about preparing soil before planting trees (ornamental or fruiting), hedging, roses, and other shrubs.It won’t consider vegetable beds,…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Can I Grow A Fruit Tree From Seed?
Yes, but…Yes, you can grow a fruit tree from a seed or stone obtained from fruit in the supermarket, but you will…
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Hedge Plants
Which Plants To Use in a Mixed Native Hedge
Most mixed native hedges are mainly hawthorn or blackthorn
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Fruit Tree Pollination Group Charts
Two Ways to Find Pollination Partners The main Pollination Checker Tool makes it easy for you to find partners for individual fruit…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Looking After Fruit Trees
Essential Aftercare & Maintenance for Good CropsClean Up Leaves & PruningsWhen the crop is in, and winter is knocking on the door,…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How To Grow ‘Brown Turkey’ Figs
The most popular fig variety in the UK for getting fruit from is the ‘Brown Turkey’ fig.The instructions for ‘Brown Turkey’ apply…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Applying Winter Wash Fruit Tree Insecticide
How to Apply Winter Wash to Fruit TreesIt’s good to apply winter wash to your fruit and ornamental trees in the winter…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apply Fruit Tree Grease Bands to Protect them against Moths
Grease Bands are Convenient on Young Fruit TreesIf you apply grease bands to your young fruit trees, it will help prevent winter…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apply Grease to Fruit Trees to Protect them against Moths
Applying fruit tree grease from November onwards is used to trap a wide variety of winter moths before they can lay their…
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Trees
Transplanting Evergreen Trees & Shrubs
Moving Evergreens Without Killing ThemThis article is all about moving evergreens like box, yew or pyracantha.Moving plants is not complicated, but by…
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Hedge Plants
Best Time To Plant Hedges & Trees In the UK
“Which month is best for planting?” is an age-old debate!You can plant trees or hedges at any time of year. There are…
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Trees
How To Pleach A Flat-Head Lime Tree
How to pleach a flat-headed Lime treePleaching trees creates a “hedge on stilts”. Many trees are suitable, and limes are ideal pleached…
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Trees
How to Plant a Tree With a Stake
Planting with a stake is optional but highly recommended.
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Trees
Black Walnut Tree Tolerant Plants
Do Black Walnut Trees Kill Other Plants?The allelopathic (harmful to other plants) nature of Juglans nigra, Black Walnut, is widely thought to…
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Trees
Poplar & Willow Short Rotation Biomass
Planting Willow & Poplar for Biomass Wood FuelDetails on many biomass related subjects.Biomass fuel is living or recently dead organic matter, such…
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Trees
Native British Trees List
You can find all the native British trees listed here, and we grow and sell most of them. Definition of native VS…
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Trees
Dutch Elm Disease
Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by Ophiostoma novo-ulmi and Ophiostoma ulmi fungi, which primarily attack members of the Ulmus family (Elm…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning A Crab apple Tree
When to Prune Crab Apple TreesThis video demonstrates a crab apple tree, and the same principles apply to a lot of other…
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Trees
Looking After a Bay Tree Care Guide
Laurus nobilis, Sweet Bay or Bay Laurel, is a smart evergreen tree, easy to clip as a hedge, ideal for training into…
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Trees
Will Tree Roots Grow Through Concrete?
Tree roots will not grow through anything that is solid enough, including the concrete foundations of a modern building. Consider that tree…
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Gardening
Slit Planting Vs Planting In A Trench Or Hole
Compare Slit Planting VS Trench Planting Slit Planting Used for bareroot hedging & trees under 80cm Mainly for country hedges & forestry…
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Trees
Buying Mature Trees
What Size Mature Tree Are You Looking For?When people want to buy a mature tree, they are usually thinking of the largest…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Best Cold Hardy Apple Trees For The North & Scotland
Apple Tree Varieties Suitable for Scotland & the NorthApple trees are incredibly hardy, however, their flowers can be damaged in freezing weather,…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Making Your Own Cider
Can I make cider from eating and cooking apples?Yes, all apples make cider, but the flavours from cider apples are better: most…
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Hedge Plants
Best fast-growing hedge plants for blocking the neighbour’s view!
Browse these fast growing evergreens for privacy hedges.If your neighbours are seeing too much for comfort, a mature hedge between you is…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning New Fruit Trees
Formative pruning of new, freestanding fruit trees, starts with either unbranched Maidens, or young Bushes or Half Standards with a further year’s…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning Tip Bearing Apple Trees
Most Apples are spur bearing; partial tips are like spursMost apples and pears are spur bearing: they are pruned “normally”, and are…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning Plum Trees In The UK
The Best Plum Tree Pruning VideosPlums are vigorous trees and respond well to pruning. If they are not pruned, they quickly get…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Cordon Fruit Trees
Cordons are compact wire trained fruit trees, usually apple or pear
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Choose the Right Pear Trees for Your Garden
Grow Conference, then Comice, then Concorde.
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Trees
What do Bareroot Trees Look Like?
Bareroot trees look like sticks! Compare standard & sapling sizes
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Plant A Fruit Tree
Fruit Tree PlantingWatch our step-by-step video showing you how to plant bush or half-standard sized fruit tree with a small 120cm tree…
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Gardening
Building Wire Supports To Grow Fruit On Walls, Fences & Posts
This post concentrates on fruiting plants, but the same principles apply to an ornamental “wall shrub”.How to start training fruit trees on…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Best Apple Tree Varieties to Grow in the UK
The British climate makes for ideal apple territory.They like well drained, fertile soil including clay, and with shelter can grow inland at…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Types of Fruit Tree Rootstock
To graft your own fruit trees, you can buy Apple, Pear, Cherry, and Plum rootstocks from us.Grafting is the only way to…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Cherry Tree Pollination Groups Chart UK
We grow a good range of self fertile sweet cherry trees that do not need to be pollinated. However, more than half…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apple Tree Pollination Groups Chart UK
Pollinating your Apple Trees Increases your crop Size Most apple trees need to be pollinated in order to bear fruit, and even…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Plum Tree Pollination Groups Chart UK
Many Plums Are Reliably Self FertileMost plums are either reliably self fertile or partially self fertile, so pollination is much less of…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pear Tree Pollination Groups Chart UK
Choosing Pollination Partners for Pear Trees Use our easy pollination checking tool to quickly find pollination partners for a given pear tree,…
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Gardening
Are My Plants Dead?
Bareroot plants can be very late coming into leaf & evergreens can drop their leaves
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Gardening
What Are Bare Root Plants?
Bareroot means delivered dormant in Winter with no soil around the roots.
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Gardening
March Weather: Happy Bareroot Planting Days
March 2025 is looking to be an exceptionally good bareroot planting month
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Trees
How to Say Coppice and Coppicing
The managed woodland is a copse (coppice), the pruning action is to coppice
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Hedge Plants
Best Plants For Low, Small, Narrow Hedges
The Best Plants for Small HedgesLow Ornamental & Border Hedges Plants Low hedging is roughly shin to waist high, approximately 30cm to…
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Blog
Fruit Trees & Bushes
Get As Many Fruit Varieties As Possible From A Small Area
Cordon apples & pears are even better suited to grafting than freestanding trees
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Hedge Plants
Trimming Country Hedge Season & Cycle
Unlike garden hedges, country hedges are typically trimmed every 2-3 years
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Hedge Plants
Hedge Plants
Hedge Plants
Countryside Stewardship Hedge Grants
The Countryside Stewardship new hedge grant BN11 covers the cost of a native hedge
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Gardening
“Heeling In” Bareroot Trees & Plants
The best way to store bareroot plants is also usually too much work
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Gardening
Gardening
Planting in Frosty Weather & Frozen Ground
You can't plant in frozen soil, and bare roots should not be moved when frozen anyway
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Hedge Plants
Formative Pruning New Hedges
Pruning Young Hedges While Growing to Mature SizeFormative pruning of a new hedge is handled differently from trimming a mature hedge.Because you…
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Hedge Plants
How to Trim a Garden Hedge
Trimming a Hedge Means Two Different ThingsTrimming a Mature Hedge: Cut off practically all the new growth (less than a year old),…
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Hedge Plants
Double Staggered Row Hedge Planting Distance
Double row native hedges are great for wildlife 6 Plants Per Metre required for Countryside Stewardship grants Easily order the right plants…
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Hedge Plants
How to Plant Rootballed Yew Hedging
Yew is the King of Hedges for good reason, but it grows steadily rather than vigorously, so a new Yew hedge takes…
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Gardening
What Is Mulch & Why It’s Important for New Plants
What Does Mulch Do?Mulch covers the soil around a plant in order to: Keep the sun off Trap moisture while allowing water…
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Gardening
Watering Newly Planted Trees & Hedging
Most new plants that fail are killed by underwatering. Proper watering is crucial for all new plants while they are establishing, even…
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Trees
Why We Don’t Sell Isaac Newton’s Apple Tree
It’s not a very good apple tree. Simple as that. Several years ago, we sold “Isaac Newton’s apple tree”, which is already…
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Garden Plants
What are Shrubs?
A shrub is a woody, freestanding plant that naturally has multiple main stems. Through pruning, many shrubs can be grown as a tree…
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Blog
Garden Plants
How to Water Lavender — When, How Often, and How Much
Water your lavender plants, just don't overdo it.
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Garden Plants
Harvesting Lavender Flowers
Harvest lavender at the wrong moment and you'll lose either the scent or the shape — timing is everything, and it's different depending on what you're making. For oil, wait until first bloom starts to fade, when the flowers hold the most oil. For dried bunches, pick earlier, while half the buds are still closed, so the heads stay intact. And the "best" variety isn't one-size-fits-all: Grosso leads for oil, Hidcote is the standout for drying and moth-proof lavender bags, and Munstead is unbeatable in the kitchen. This guide covers exactly when and how to harvest for each purpose.
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Garden Plants
Differences between English, Dutch, and French Butterfly Lavenders
English, Dutch, and French — three lavenders, three very different personalities, and choosing the wrong one for your garden is an easy mistake to make. English Lavender is the toughest and best-scented, happy as a hedge in almost any UK soil. Dutch Lavender (Lavandin) is bigger, bolder, and carries the camphor-edged scent found in soaps and candles. French Lavender is the showiest, with its distinctive "rabbit ears," but it hates wet feet and does best in a pot you can move under cover for winter. Drawing on twenty years of growing all three, this guide breaks down which lavender suits which spot in your garden — for hedging, pots, cooking, oil, or simply the best display — and clears up the real differences in hardiness, scent, and flowering season along the way.
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Gardening
How to Hide My Fence Without Growing Plants Over It?
If you can’t use climbing plants and wall shrubs to beautify your fence, that leaves either painting / staining it, or fixing…
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Garden Plants
Is Lavender Native to the UK?
Despite the name, English lavender isn't actually English — so how did a Mediterranean plant become one of the most quintessentially British garden fixtures? Lavender arrived with the Romans over 1,500 years ago, spread through monastery gardens by the medieval period, and became a fixture of English kitchen gardens by the 17th century. This guide traces that journey — from Roman bathwater to the perfumed lavender fields of Norfolk and Surrey — and explains why "English lavender" refers not to where the plant is from, but to the variety bred and selected over centuries to thrive in Britain's cold, damp winters.
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Garden Plants
How Deep Do I Plant a Clematis?
Most people plant their Clematis vines a little deep, the British Clematis Society says: “Ensure that the surface of the root ball…
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Gardening
How Big is a P9 Pot & What No One Tells You!
A P9 pot is 9cm wide at the top, containing about half a litre of soilIt would be clearer if P9s were…
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Gardening
3 Steps to Set Up an Amazon grade Polytunnel like a Pro
Polytunnels are amazing if they are yours, somewhat unattractive if they are your neighbour’s (a hedge in between might help), and most…
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Hedge Plants
Why Are My Cherry Laurel Leaves Turning Yellow?
It is true that Cherry Laurel, Prunus laurocerasus, is a trooper and will grow almost anywhere, but that is not the same…
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Trees
Backseat Driving: Do I Need To Stake A Tree?
Picking on Huw Richards Inspires Us to Make Better Tree Planting VideosAt Ashridge, we feel a bit responsible for how well people…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Partial Self Fertility in Fruit Trees Like Summer Sun
One of our customers, M, got in touch with a fruit tree pollination question, asking about the difference between: Not self-fertile Partially…
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Hedge Plants
Can I Slit Plant Bareroot Hedge & Tree Whips into Grass?
Establishing trees & hedges should be kept clear of grass & weeds
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Trees
Standard Tree Definition
What is a Standard Tree? A standard tree is measured by its girth in CM at 1m above the ground, not by…
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Gardening
The Key Last Step When Planting Potted Plants
After you plant a potted plant like Lavender out in your garden or a larger container, the top of the potting soil…
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Garden Plants
Lavender Plants are Safe for Cats & Dogs
Worried about your lavender hedge around cats or dogs? You can stop worrying — the plant itself is one of the safest things growing in your garden. There's a real distinction between the lavender you grow outside and the concentrated essential oil sold in bottles, and the two get conflated far too often. This guide sets the record straight on what's actually safe, where the genuine caution around lavender oil comes from, and why, despite decades of keeping dogs of every temperament, not one has ever so much as nibbled at the lavender.
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Garden Plants
Herbaceous Perennial Planting Seasons
When is the Best Time to Plant Perennials UK? Mid-Spring and early Autumn are best. Summer is fine, especially in the shade.…
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Garden Plants
Perennial Plants: Flower Borders & Bedding
What are Perennial Plants? A perennial plantlives for three plus years. Trees and shrubs are woody perennials.In everyday garden use, perennial refers…
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Garden Plants
Growing Dahlias
The Ashridge Guide to Growing Dahlias Dahlias are the most generous flowers in the summer garden — plant a single tuber in…
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Garden Plants
Types of Dahlia
Types of Dahlia Decorative, ball, cactus, pompon, waterlily, collarette, peony and more. Our guide explains every dahlia flower form with photos, Ashridge variety picks, and links to each collection. Useful whether you're choosing your first tuber or identifying one already in your garden.
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Garden Plants
Do climbing plants damage walls?
Gutters, Pipes & Fittings are Always VulnerableMost climbing plants can damage, block, or push guttering, drainpipes and other external fittings off the…
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Hedge Plants
Getting a Word in Hedgewise
Here at Ashridge the ‘dormant season’ is anything but – in fact it’s our busiest time of the year. But we’re not…
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Hedge Plants
A Yew Supplier’s Thoughts for Yew
We say 3 things about Yew - quick growing when young, likes clay on the dry side & is very durable.
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Hedge Plants
How Not to Plant a Beech Hedge… But Did It Matter?
My friend Rachel is a passionate if impatient gardener. Vegetables are really her thing, probably because they germinate and grow before she…
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Hedge Plants
How to Propagate Hardwood Hedge Cuttings in Late Winter
Right now is an ideal time to try, when the soil is nice and damp and not-frozen.
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Hedge Plants
Why is my Yew Hedge Dying?
This is a blog post covering the reasons for yew hedge deaths and identifying possible cures and remediation
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Hedge Plants
RHS Dead Hedge In The City Video
The RHS has produced a dear little video that very sweetly promotes hedges over fences on the basis of their usefullness and…
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Hedge Plants
Cutting A Chamfer Into Your Hedge When Trimming
An angled cut along the top corner of a hedge lets more light in
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Hedge Plants
Cutting Back A Pyracantha Hedge Hard
Pyracantha, like almost any broadleaf, hardwood hedge plant, can be hard pruned as needed to reduce its size and keep it tidy.…
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Hedge Plants
How Many Hedge Plants Per Metre?
A single row with 3 plants per metre, 33cm apart along the row, is standard for a garden hedge. Most garden hedges…
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Hedge Plants
Opening Packs of Spiral Guards
Open rabbit spirals quickly like a pro, smoothly separating rolls out into 5 individual guards Hedge spirals, rabbit guards, are manufactured in…
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Hedge Plants
Trimming & Hard Pruning Yew Hedges
Best Time to Trim Yew Hedges To keep a mature yew hedge tidy with only one cut per year, the ideal time…
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Hedge Plants
Planting A Box Hedge
Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) is a tough little evergreen, one of the relatively few hedge plants that is genuinely happy in shade. Once…
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Hedge Plants
Planting a Garden Hedge Like Beech, Yew, Laurel
How to Trench Plant a garden hedge like Privet, Beech, L:aurel, or Yew in well dug soil
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Hedge Plants
Hedgelaying in the UK
Hedgelaying Services & Grants To hire a hedgelayer to work on your hedge, use the National Hedgelaying Society’s map. To find a…
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Hedge Plants
Backseat Hedge Planting: RHS Edition
There is only one thing I love more than the RHS, and that is sitting with my old feet up, enjoying a…
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Hedge Plants
Does Silver Birch Make a Good Hedge Plant?
No, silver birch does not make a good clipped hedge plant. It will serve, but it’s a somewhat sad sightHowever, it is…
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Hedge Plants
Cut Hedges in October
Cut cut cut: that’s what it’s all about being a hedge owner. With a typical hedge plant such as Hawthorn, Beech, or…
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Hedge Plants
Cutting Back Overgrown Elderflower in a Mixed Hedge
Elderflower, Sambucus nigra, inevitably finds its way into a country hedge sooner or later, and it's far from unheard of to add…
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Hedge Plants
How to Prune Trees VS Clipping Hedges
Pruning woody plants is a big part of a gardener's life, and winter is when a lot of it gets done -…
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Hedge Plants
Many Layers of a Shrub Honeysuckle Hedge
This Lonicera nitida hedge in a local Somerset car park is a prime example of how good this hedge plant looks despite…
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