Fortunately, within the last few weeks, we’ve been lucky enough to receive photos sent by recent customers, of our olive trees.  Mr and Mrs Smith of Garras, near Helston kindly sent us the below photos prior to their olive being planted out in their beautiful garden – already a haven for lovely specimens such as palms, visible in the photos.

Following this, Sara, a Garden Designer familiar to Trevena Cross, who runs gARTen design, wanted an olive for her own garden, and was kind enough to send us a photo of it as the wall was put up around it. We understand that there is more work being undertaken to make it look even more fantastic and we will post the ‘finished’ photos when we get them!

It’s great to see these fantastic specimens in their new homes, and in an environment where it has real impact and can be enjoyed and appreciated in full glory rather than getting a little lost among the masses on the garden centre floor.

For more on olives click here.

Impatiens (commonly, Busy Lizzies) have been the subject of a fungal disease called Downy Mildew, which manifests itself through yellowing leaves, leaf loss, and plant death. Whilst it has been in circulation in the UK since 2003, having most likely arrived on imported commercial propagation material (seed or cuttings), it only really became unmanageable last year.

Statutory action was initially undertaken by the Food and Environment Research Agency (fera) against confirmed outbreaks of the disease, on its discovery, but this action soon ceased.

After the wet summer of 2008, damage was much reduced by improved control practices at commercial nurseries but then in 2011 any established control failed, probably due to resistance to the commercial fungicides used. Infected plants were inadvertently sold widely, which led to the most widespread outbreak of the disease to date, with many gardens, nurseries and local authority displays affected.

Outbreaks of Downy Mildew have been confined to Impatiens walleriana, the common bedding Busy Lizzy. No cases have been found on New Guinea impatiens, or other varieites including Impatiens × hawkeri, and the few species found growing in the wild in the UK.

Attacks are most likely in spring or summer in greenhouses, and often during wet weather or damp conditions – which can often mislead people to believe that it is the moisture at the core of the problem, rather than the disease spreading spores.

We would advise against purchasing any Impatiens that may be affected by or vulnerable to Downy Mildew, instead sticking with those found to be resilient / immune, or alternatively replacing them with a selection of other bedding types, such as Begonias.

Prevelence of the disease has certainly led to us to reconsider our bedding choices, with the decision to focus more heavily on other, equally showy and colourful options this year, and keep our impatiens offering down to only unaffected New Guinea ones – a safe way to ensure quality bedding plants and help avoid further spread of this persistent killer.

With the opportunity to ‘make it your own’ and clip it to a shape that suits you over time, topiary has a unique advantage, year round interest and a year round wow factor!

Standard lollipop shapes range from £39.95 up to a couple of huge giants priced at £195.00. Our lollipops with spiral trunks – really unusual and eye-catching beauties (and my favourite!) are priced at £95.00. We also have columnar shrubs which start at £15.95, and increase in size up to giants around 8ft tall priced at £139.00. Our popular pyramids begin at just £29.00, and go up to £110.00 for a plant approximately 5ft above its pot.

For the best impression, we can’t recommend highly enough that you pay us a visit and take your time to pick the topiary gem that is right for you and you landscape!

The week is designed to get people across Britain growing, and celebrate everything about gardens and gardening. We’re in full support of any initative that encourages more people to get out in the garden and take pleasure from the wonderful, satisfying hobby of gardening.

Thousands of people across the country are coming together and getting involved to enjoy, share and celebrate everything about gardens and gardening. Check out events in your area by clicking here.

Slug Gone is a natural, environmentally friendly way to control slugs and snails in the garden. Consisting of only wool pellets – and no harmful chemicals or pesticides, they are also perfectly safe to use around children and animals.

Nursery and garden centre owner Graham, with experience of many other tried and tested methods of pest control, would use no other product (other than coffee granules!) on his hostas and other slug loving plants in the nursery at Trevena Cross. He highly recommends them as an effective, safe and ‘natural’ way to protect your plants, fruit and vegetables.

In addition, Slug Gone (by GrowAid) acts as a soil enricher, adding goodness into the soil, and in combination with soil and compost – as a fantastic mulch, absorbing and retaining moisture in the soil. A pest controller… a fertiliser… a mulch… a weed supresser – it really is a multipurpose product, not just great at meeting its primary purpose, but at meeting a whole host of others too!

For more information on Slug Gone please click here.

Whilst Sunday Trading Laws prevent us being able to sell you anything from our shop including garden sundries and our gifts and homeware on Easter Sunday, you are still able to take your pick from a HUGE selection of plants grown on site in our nursery, including a cracking new selection of veg, patio and bedding plants.

As one of the biggest garden weekends of the year we all want to make the most of the precious time we’re able to spend at home and in the garden (weather permitting – fingers crossed!) and so we’re delighted to be able to help you out with our one stop plant shop!

The Garden Kitchen Cafe will also be open throughout the entire weekend – and serving up delicious roast dinners this Easter Sunday! Save on the cooking and just enjoy!

A Very Happy Easter to you all!

1. Look at your neighbour’s coastal garden and see what is growing well – if it does well next door or within your neighbourhood, it is likely to do well in your own garden. If you’re in a really exposed position on the Cornish coast, and have no easy point of reference, we advise visiting the gardens at St Michaels Mount or Minack Garden to get a good idea of what will grow well in your own garden.

2. Know how coastal you are – there is a world of difference between the exposed gardens on top of Land’s End or Sennen Head, and the coastal gardens of St Mawes or Falmouth, which are located in a more sheltered inlet. You can grow just about anything in more sheltered coastal gardens, whereas much greater care must be taken when choosing plants for a very exposed garden.

3. Take advantage of such a wonderful position – due to the warmth of the sea that sheltered coastal gardens in particular, are exposed to, the luxury of year-round milder temperatures will permit growth of more tender plants that would struggle inland. Patio plants for example, like Gazanias and Osteospermums, can do very well in these gardens, providing wonderful colour for longer.

4. Choose the right windbreak – one of the most important features of a coastal garden is the right hedge or windbreak, so that other plants can successfully establish themselves within the garden. Our top pick is Elaeagnus Ebbingei, the hardiest, most salt-wind tolerant hedging plant that we have come across; which can be grown very close to the sea.

5. Do everything you can to avoid wind rock (destabilisation of a plant’s roots by strong winds) as this is one of the biggest dangers to plants in a coastal garden. If planting in the autumn, we recommend cutting your larger, more vulnerable new plants back to half their size. It may feel like you’re wasting half of your plant to begin with, but in reality you’re giving it a much stronger chance of survival through the winter months, and of fully establishing itself within your garden.

6. The soil in coastal gardens is usually very poor. When planting in all types of coastal garden, we recommend using a very good quality slow release fertilizer (like Trevena Cross Fertilizer), but be sure to turn over the subsoil once the fertilizer is in place before placing the plant on top – direct contact with the roots of the plant can cause them to burn should the plant become dry.

7. Be patient and persevere – it’s true that plants can sometimes take longer to establish within a coastal garden. Don’t be alarmed to see some burning on your plants while they establish. Even the hardiest, most suitable plants for salt-laden winds can burn, but they will recover. If you persevere and give them time they will come round and look their best again!

8. Bring in a touch of exotic – often Mediterranean plants and specimens will do very well by the sea, used to poor soil and constant winds/breeze. Our top palms for seaside gardens include Chamaerops Humilis and Trachycarpus Wagnerianus.

9. Mix some succulents and foliage plants into your planting, these plant groups generally do very well by the sea, and bring extra interest to the garden landscape.

10. Ask advice! Years of experience growing plants in Cornwall and by the sea has placed Cornish nurseries like Trevena Cross in the best position for giving advice on which plants will grow well in a coastal garden. There really is a huge range to choose from – you aren’t restricted by having a coastal garden, and in fact in many cases, can have a greater range of plants to choose from than most.

It’s true that the price hikes on consumables at the supermarket, and in many cases, a sharp rise in fuel costs, is leading people to dabble in the grow your own game at home, to differing degrees, and yet despite these rather negative factors spurring on households in many cases, horticulturists can see only a positive outcome to an eventual shift in a more self-sufficient lifestyle across society.

Trevena Cross Nursery and Garden Centre owner and horticulturist Graham Jeffery comments:

“Overall attitudes towards food and where it comes from will become better informed with a more hands-on approach to food production, and this will be passed to future generations, who will develop an engrained enthusiasm for such a healthy, fun and rewarding activity – growing fruit and vegetables – and then eating them!

“Our relationship with local primary schools for one, has shown that it doesn’t take much to get children excited about growing plants; and it is certainly encouraging to see that many schools are taking time to teach pupils about where their food comes from – growing produce on a school fruit and vegetable patch or herb garden, and then incorporating it into recipes cooked in school.

This ‘give it a go’ message hopes to tackle any unease or trepidation that garden novices may feel about trying to grow some fruit and veg.

Graham continues:

“We understand that for a first time grower it can be overwhelming, and a common thought can be ‘where do I start?’ but ‘grow your own’ can be conducted on any scale, from acres of allotment to a single window box of herbs – the important thing is to just give something a try, and perhaps for more confident growers, to give something new a try.

There will always be someone close-by with a wealth of knowledge to advise, whether that be a family member, friend, or your local nursery or garden centre – we certainly spend time with our customers making sure they go away feeling happy and more confident about what they’re to embark on – there is just so much satisfaction to be had from growing your own produce, we recommend everyone give it a try!

For more information about Trevena Cross, its extensive ‘grow your own’ section, or for any general questions or queries about grow your own practise, pay us a visit or give us a call on 01736 763880.

Popular old favourites including Moneymaker and Gardener’s Delight will be the first to adorn the shelves of the grow your own section/greenhouse, with many others (25+ varieties in fact!) – including less well known, but incredibly delicious ones, like Tommy Toe, Amish Paste, and Rose de Berne, on their way down in the coming weeks!

We want to hear from you with your favourite tomato varieties this season. Nursery and Garden Centre owner Graham has introduced some fantastically tasty new varieties this year, many of which you are unlikely to find elsewhere in the county, and beyond, but we want your feedback on which you rate number one!

Try something new and tell us what you think! We’ll be asking you to let us know on our Facebook page, or via email, and then we’ll use your feedback to shape the tomato selection of 2013!

Taking us a while to source, we have finally got our hands on these varieties and grown them in our nursery. This week they are making the short journey to the garden centre floor. As with most of the fruit and veg grown in the nursery, Graham, nursery and garden centre owner, has already sampled a selection of the sweet strawberries we are stocking, and is excited to hear feedback from customers following the strawberry season this year, regarding these – in our opinion – fabulous varieties.

So which ones are we talking about? Namely, Frau Mieze Schindler – with fruits that taste ‘out of this world’, syonomous with a ‘fruits of the forest’ candy flavour – a number one strawberry across much of Europe, Mara des Bois - with soft and delicious fruits that have a wonderful aromatic wild strawberry flavour, but grow much larger than the traditional wild strawberry! And Anablanca – producing unusual white, pink tinged, firm, sweet juicy fruits, with a flavour resembling pineapple!

Come and check out our strawberries, found with our complete grow your own collection!