News from the nursery:

Now that we have had some sunshine to warm up the soil, as well as the rain, the plants are growing fast! It’s been a bit of a slow start for them to get going as it was a fairly chilly spring but now we have a huge selection of perennials, grasses, herbs, climbers & bedding. In fact the nursery is jam-packed with hundreds of plants to tempt you. The nursery team have been busy this week trying to find space for all of the new plants & create beautiful & colorful displays.

As your FREEEBEE this week is a bean…a game you might want to play this bank holiday weekend with your little ones is called ‘The Bean Game’. If you haven’t played before it’s quite simple. You call out the name of a type of bean and the children have to do the action associated with the bean. For example, runner bean (run on the spot), baked bean (lie on your back sunbathing), jumping bean (jump up and down), French bean (say Oh La La), broad bean (sat with your legs and arms wide), dwarf bean (curl up small) etc. The faster you say them the more chaotic the game become & the more tired they become! Happy Holidays ??

On Wednesday this week (the day it rained heavily), it was the day to plant the next generation of Jack’s beans. After soaking them we have now popped them in some pots & are eagerly waiting for the shoots to emerge. If you don’t know about Jack’s beans then here is the history behind them…

Jack’s beans are a heritage variety called Cherokee Trail of Tears - an attractive bean with purple flowers. Our son/brother Jack grew this bean on his allotment and picked the harvest during his last winter. He careful shelled & dried the beans and stored them in a box to grow in the spring. Tragically, although looking to the future, Jack became unwell & sadly died in March 2017 following a short period of mental illness. We planted the box of over 300 black shiny beans shortly afterwards. Incredibly only one single bean germinated and we grew it in a big pot on our patio. In the autumn of 2017 we had a huge crop which we again dried and stored in order to grow the next generation of beans. We are now on the 7th generation of Jack’s beans from the original single bean. When they have grown, they will be available at the nursery with a donation to the mental health charities Mind & Restore. We hope that Jack’s beans will in a small way raise awareness of mental illness & help make a kind & compassionate world ?

This week’s highlights: Philadelphus, delphiniums, stupa, dahlias, basil, lavender, salvias, alstroemerias, gaura, foxgloves & more!

Some jobs for the garden:
* Take part in ‘No Mow May’ or set aside a part of your garden to become wild
* Do the Chelsea Chop - give your perennials a trim to promote stronger healthier growth through the summer.
* Sow some annual flower seeds

Wishing you all the best
Andrew, Liz, Lucy & Simon
?❤️
P.S. We are open all of the Bank Holiday weekend 9:30am-6pm ???☕️