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Here’s how to get your garden staycation-ready and some great ideas for holiday fun on your own doorstep.&nbsp;

This summer, don’t spend your precious holiday time stuck in traffic or standing in airport queues. Step outside to your own garden and have a fantastic stress-free staycation at home. Here’s how to get your garden staycation-ready and some great ideas for holiday fun on your own doorstep.&nbsp;
<h2>Ideas for a holiday at home</h2>
<ul>
<li>
Before your holiday starts, set aside a few hours to prepare your staycation garden space. Think of all that time you’re saving on not being stuck in holiday traffic or at an airport, and use some of it to get your staycation space ready instead. Tidy away any stray garden tools and other bits and pieces lying about the garden. Schedule a trip to your local recycling centre to get rid of things you no longer need. Mow the lawn so that it’s off your conscience. Once you’re on holiday, you don’t want to be reminded of work!&nbsp;
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Do some grocery shopping to have a good supply of your favourite holiday snacks, and check out some delivery options to have a favourite meal delivered. Italian one night, Chinese the next – your staycation virtual travel budget knows no limits!
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If you have the space, set aside an area of the garden for your staycation, where no work is allowed. Choose somewhere with easy access to the kitchen for essential holiday snacks and cool drinks from the fridge. Set up deckchairs, string a hammock between trees or just lay out a rug and some cushions, and you’re all set for your staycation.
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Turn your seating area into your favourite holiday destination. Add a Mediterranean touch with colourful geraniums in terracotta pots, or go for a seaside destination with blue and white throws on the furniture and candle lanterns on the tables. Add a few strings of fairy lights to give those long summer evenings a magical feel.
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<li>
Go camping in your own backyard. Set up tents in the garden, dig out the barbeque or splash out on a fire pit and sit around the fire in the evening toasting marshmallows and stargazing before snuggling up in your sleeping bags for the night. And there’s no need to queue for the loo in the morning!
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Hire a projector and set up your own outdoor cinema. A white sheet fixed to a wall or fence makes a perfect screen. Fill bowls with your favourite popcorn flavour and invite a few friends to enjoy movie night!
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Keep the kids entertained with a treasure hunt through the garden, and fill up a paddling pool, so they have somewhere to cool off on sunny days. You might enjoy it yourselves as well!
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Create your own sports tournament. There’s no shortage of sports to pick, from darts and badminton to croquet, quoits or even Twister! Don’t forget the awards ceremony and a bottle of something fizzy for the winners’ celebrations.
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</ul>
Our centre is packed with ideas for summer fun in the garden, so visit us today and get the holiday started!

Garden staycation ideas

Try incorporating some grasses into your garden with one of these tall grass varieties.&nbsp;

These top 5 tall grass varieties will add height, texture, sound and beauty to your garden and will look great growing alone or as part of a bigger planting scheme. Grasses can grow in containers with the right care and thrive for many years. Some of the most beautiful garden schemes are planted with grasses, from prairie planting to formal borders. Grasses give interest most of the year, and some will even flower as well. Try incorporating some grasses into your garden with one of these tall varieties.&nbsp;
<h2>Five tall grass varieties</h2>
<ol>
<li>Miscanthus sinensis (Silvergrass)&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
This grass has tall, upright stems and big fluffy flowers. It grows as a clump and can be split to make more plants. The good thing about Silvergrass is that there are actually many varieties to choose from, including some with stripes on the leaves, various colours and more flowers. It means there is one for every gardener. Silvergrass will need full sun and grow in most fertile soils up to about 1.8m tall.
<ol start="2">
<li>Stipa gigantia (Giant oat grass)</li>
</ol>
This plant is named Giant oat grass because the flowers look like oat flower heads but giant! They grow above the mound of green foliage and rustle in the wind. Grow them in borders, but towards the back, as it can grow to 2.5m in height as long as it is planted in full sun.&nbsp;
<ol start="3">
<li>Cortaderia (Pampass Grass)</li>
</ol>
Probably the best known of all grasses, the Pampas grass was a must-have in the 70s and is still grown in large gardens today. It is a clump-forming evergreen with tall, silvery recognisable flowers. It has been used as a focal point or in borders and needs fertile soil and full sun. It will grow up to 2.5m tall. There are more compact varieties, such as Cortaderia pumila, which is more compact.
<ol start="4">
<li>Carex (Sedge Grass)</li>
</ol>
This is an excellent grass for growing in pots and containers and borders because there are so many to choose from. Mostly evergreen, they are available in a variety of colours from green to bronze with variegated options as well. Plant Carex in fertile, moist soil and they will grow up to 1.2m tall depending on the variety and where it is planted.
<ol start="5">
<li>Pennisetum (Fountain Grass)</li>
</ol>
With a whole mix of colours to choose from, Fountain grasses can have pink or purple, green or white flowers that look feathery and appear in summer to autumn from green foliage. They can look dramatic on a border or a large container. They tend to grow best in free draining soil that isn’t too wet.&nbsp;
Find our selection of grasses in store when you visit us next.

Top 5 tall grass varieties

We’ve listed six of our favourite drought-tolerant perennials, which prove that tough plants can still be beautiful!

With summers getting hotter and drier, we need to find ways of gardening more sustainably. That includes finding&nbsp;plants that can cope with dry conditions&nbsp;so that there’s less need to spend precious water resources on watering the garden. We’ve listed six of our favourite drought-tolerant perennials, which prove that tough plants can still be beautiful!
<h2>Tips for making a drought-tolerant garden</h2>
Choosing drought-tolerant plants is just one of the ways you can help your garden cope with dry weather. Here are our top tips for drought-tolerant gardening.
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Mulch beds annually in autumn with a 5cm (2in) layer of compost, leaf mould or well-rotted farmyard manure. This improves soil structure and helps soils retain moisture, reducing the need to water in dry periods.
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Water in the evening or early morning to reduce water loss through evaporation.
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Avoid watering little and often, as this encourages plant roots to stay shallow and more prone to drying out in hot weather. Instead, a thorough soaking every two to three days encourages the roots to grow deep in search of water, making the plant more able to survive periods of drought.
</li>
</ul>
<h2 dir="ltr">Drought-tolerant perennials</h2>
Many of our familiar garden plants originally come from hot, dry climates and are well adapted to cope with drought conditions. Here are six of our favourites:
<ol>
<li aria-level="1" dir="ltr">
Stachys byzantina is also known as Lamb’s ear because of its furry silver leaves. The woolly covering reduces evaporation from the leaf surface, and this sturdy perennial makes a beautiful groundcover plant for a hot, sunny spot.
</li>
<li aria-level="1" dir="ltr">
Sedums (ice plants), now renamed as Hylotelephiums, have fleshy leaves that store water, allowing them to thrive in dry conditions. Their flowers appear in mid and late summer and are very popular with pollinators.
</li>
<li aria-level="1" dir="ltr">
Eryngium (sea holly) is a unique-looking perennial with spiny leaves and thistle-like flowers surrounded by spiky bracts. It’s fantastic for attracting bees, and the striking flowers also look great in dried flower arrangements.
</li>
<li aria-level="1" dir="ltr">
Euphorbia (spurge) are very drought tolerant once established, and with their distinctive form and colourful flowerheads, they make a significant impact on a sunny border. They contain a milky sap which can irritate the skin, so always wear gloves when working with them and avoid getting the liquid on your skin.
</li>
<li aria-level="1" dir="ltr">
Echinops (globe thistle) is an excellent choice for a pollinator-friendly garden, as bees love the spiky round blue flowers on their tall stems. With their unique form, the flowers are also ideal for cutting.
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<li aria-level="1" dir="ltr">
Achillea (yarrow) is instantly recognisable, with its flattened flowerheads and feathery foliage. Achilleas are available in a wide range of stunning colours that look great on any sunny border, and these drought-tolerant perennials do best in well-drained soil.
</li>
</ol>
Whatever your garden needs, you’ll find it in our centre, so visit us soon to see what’s in store!

Drought-tolerants perennial plants

This beginner’s guide to landscaping will help you to design and landscape your garden just as you want it.

This beginner’s guide to landscaping will help you to design and landscape your garden just as you want it. The crucial parts of landscaping are knowing how you want to use your garden, what the aspect is, what is already there and what you would like to replace or add in. Let’s take a closer look so you can get started on your dream garden.
<h2>Know how you want to use the space</h2>
Imagine your garden exactly as it would be if it was your dream space. Will it be entertaining, will your dog be playing ball, will it be a haven of peace and reflection where you have your morning coffee? When you know what you will be using it for, you can start to build up a picture of how you would like to proceed. Try to make a sketch or share your thought with&nbsp;a drafter to get an image of what’s possible.
<h2>Know&nbsp;the aspect</h2>
Observing what areas in the garden are sun or shade is essential. You might look out the window and see the sun, but is there a shady corner also? Where does the sun shine throughout the day? Leave a piece of paper by your window, and every time you look outside, draw a line as to where the sun and shade are and the time of day. This will help when you start laying your lawn or buying your plants.&nbsp;
Draw a diagram of what you can already see&nbsp;
On a piece of paper, net down where there is a shed or greenhouse, anything permanent, electricity cables and any other services, drains and everything you can see. You can decide if you want to remove something and know where to avoid it if there are cables. The hard landscaping should always come first, so get all of that in place before you plant up.
<h2>Know your soil and plants&nbsp;</h2>
When you start to landscape with plants is when the garden really comes together. It’s exciting, and you’ll see your vision coming to life.
<ul>
<li>Firstly know your soil type and pH. You can test with soil test kits and by feeling the consistency of the soil. This will help you choose the right plants for the right place. If your soil needs replenishing, now is the time to do that with some soil improver or other organic matter.</li>
<li>When your soil is ready, start planting. Visit our garden centre for plants for full sun, plants for shade, plants for acid soil and plants for neutral ground. Our staff’s happy to help you out.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Maintenance is key to landscaping&nbsp;</h2>
When you are landscaping, think about how you will access your garden, garden paths to sheds or around beds and how you will keep them clean. Will you be able to clean decking or reach tall plants? Do you love mowing the lawn, or is it too big? All of these will help you to enjoy your landscaped garden thoroughly.&nbsp;
We are happy to advise you in store, come in and visit us.

A beginner's guide to landscaping

On the Blog

Harvesting vegetables from your garden is hugely satisfying, and you&#39;ll revolutionise your tastebuds:&nbsp;food picked just minutes before it&#39;s on your plate has a colour, flavour and crunchiness that have to be&nbsp;experienced to be believed.

We have everything in our %locations%&nbsp;garden centre to turn your garden into a haven of productivity: here&#39;s a selection&nbsp;to get you started.

Seeds: most veg are grown from seeds, from tomatoes to carrots and lettuces. Take your pick from the huge&nbsp;range in our garden centre; we&#39;ve also got ready-spaced seed tapes and delicious heritage vegetables for&nbsp;you to try.

Sets and seed potatoes: from early spring we stock seed potatoes, plus onions, shallots and garlic from&nbsp;sets &ndash; easy-to-handle baby bulbs to plant straight into the ground.

Plug plants: for the ultimate in convenience we also stock plug plants -baby veg plants ready to go straight&nbsp;into containers or out into the garden.

Perennial vegetables: great value for money, these include some real delicacies: in our garden centre you&#39;ll&nbsp;find asparagus crowns, able to crop for 20 years, and stately globe artichokes looking as good as they taste.

Please ask the staff in our garden centre in %locations%for more information and advice about growing vegetables.

*please be advised a variety of our products are seasonal. And can only be found at certain points of the year.

Vegetables

When you're just starting out, full of enthusiasm and keen to get going, it can seem an age to wait before you pick the first fruits of all your hard work. And it's true that some crops, like purple-sprouting broccoli or parsnips, can take all year to mature to harvesting stage – mind you, it's w

Speedy veg

Clear away any dying leaves from tomato, melon and cucumber plants promptly: they'll attract fungal diseases such as botrytis which will go on to infect healthy foliage. You can also remove leaves which are shading fruit, though don't take off too many as the plant still needs to photosynthesise.

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