by Holly Taylor | Sep 28, 2015 | Gardening Posts
2016 has been officially declared as ‘The Year of the Cosmos’! Throughout 2016, we expect gardeners up and down the country to be plugging gaps in their borders, in fact planting up whole borders, with these ethereal gems! And, what better way to launch the year than with the most incredible YELLOW ‘Xanthos’! But that’s not all, indulge yourself with our blog, highlighting the cream of the crop!
Cosmos ‘Xanthos’ – Flower of the Year 2016
Firstly, back to Cosmos ‘Xanthos’, a colour that was for many years the enigma of the plant world. An old, old variety called ‘Yellow Garden’ was haphazardly available, but it only bloomed during late September, which is no good for our often brief UK summers! ‘Xanthos’ now blooms from June all the way through, and with slightly smaller blooms than most Cosmos, but there’s more of them! The plants are so neat and branching too; in fact you can even grow them in a patio pot!
Cosmos ‘Sweet Sixteen’ is also another favourite of mine! The blooms are like a work of art; candy striped petals and an inner crest! As with most Cosmos, ‘Sweet Sixteen’ is lovely big, frothy plant, which fills a bed or border quickly and easily, and looks great even before the flowers start to open! They will also work fantastically as a cut flower too, and you’ll never see them in the florists I can assure you!
For a taste of almost every type, try the ‘All Sorts Mixed’, which brings together single, picotee, double and quilled formations, across a full colour palette too! Cosmos can be purchased either as seed or (for some varieties) as plants. Growing your own seed is easy though; you can even scatter straight outdoors where you intend them to flower, I think that’s known as ‘throw and sow’!
(L-R) Cosmos ‘Sweet Sixteen’, Cosmos ‘All Sorts Mixed’ and Cosmos ‘Brightness Mixed’
If you want something completely different though, go for Cosmos ‘Brightness Mixed’. This is a ‘sulphureus’ type Cosmos, which has an entirely different appearance, and colour palette to the everyday Cosmos varieties! Give it a try, it makes a good alternative to Marigolds, why not ring the changes in your garden!
So, that’s just a snapshot of how we think you can use Cosmos in your own garden! I personally think that everyone will be ‘cosmossing’ in 2016, so I’d recommend that you get your seeds ordered now!
by Holly Taylor | Sep 23, 2015 | Gardening Posts, Michael Perry's Gardening Blog
Michael Perry gives us his top 5 seed varieties for 2016!
Cosmos Xanthos
For many years, the YELLOW Cosmos has been a myth, and indeed a variety did exist. However, it never flowered until almost September, which is no good for home gardens! Then, from nowhere, Dutch breeders came up with Xanthos, an acid yellow Cosmos which didn’t just flower from June to September, but also offered a shorter, branching habit, with more flowers than you’ve ever seen on a Cosmos! Top tip, grow it in patio pots for a show stopping display.
Zinnia Zinderella Peach
Zinnia have also changed a lot over the years; evolving from a Californian annual which thrived in hot summers to a versatile annual that can now put up with the English climate! The Zinderella Series is a work of art as well, as the crested blooms shimmer with peachy tones, punctuated with hints of lime green. Zinnia can be used as a cut flower too, lasting an impressive 2 weeks in a vase!
Eschscholzia XL Yellow
Californian Poppies will literally thrive on neglect; requiring hardly any water and putting up with baking sun all day long! We selected this beauty for its large, frilly, bright flowers. As a hardy annual, Eschscholzia are a simple ‘throw and sow’ specimen, so you can scatter the seed straight outdoors where they are to flower!
Nasturtium Cream Troika
The perfect hanging basket Nasturtium, with restrained growth and a gently tumbling habit! Easy to grow by sowing the seed directly into the basket, this has the potential to be the easiest hanging display you’ll have ever grown! Cream Troika is a beaut, with buttery yellow dotted blooms and icy variegated foliage.
Phlox ‘Cherry Caromel’
Who’d have thought something so beautiful would be so easy to grow? This startling little Phlox can be sown directly outside! You won’t be able to resist the fantastically rich caramel flowers with vibrant cherry centres! I don’t expect stock of this one to stick around for long though, so be quick!
by Holly Taylor | Jul 2, 2015 | Gardening Posts
So, judging by the weather it looks like I jinxed it when I shouted summer is here, it has lasted all of a week! The occasional down pour is actually quite important for plants. The rain will encourage leafy growth, meaning you get even bushier plants, with the potential for more blooms! As long as it doesn’t stick around, I will be happy.
We are sure it will return just when you are jetting off on your summer holidays so it is important to invest in watering systems to keep your garden looking its best whilst you are away.
Whilst the rain will keep your borders hydrated, it doesn’t always manage to get into patio pots. If your patio container plants have a dense canopy of leaves means, rainfall will often bounce off, so watering by hand (or setting up an irrigation system) can’t be beaten. There are some really efficient systems now available, often with computerised timers, so you won’t have to forgo those weekends away!
You could consider asking a neighbour to water them for you! When you go away try to move the plants into a shaded area, this will cause them to dry out a little less. Remember how thirsty tomato plants can be. Plenty of water and feed will give you bumper crops. Try to be consistent though, to avoid problems with fruit set. Our tomato auto-watering collars are a great way of getting water directly to the plant roots. This is especially useful in grow bags, where water runoff can be an issue.
Feed is so important! A top dressing of Incredibloom® RIGHT NOW will give the effect of your plants supping an energy drink! But will last much longer. Remember that Incredibloom® gives more bountiful growth, more stems, more leaves, AND more flowers!!
How do you keep your plants watered during summer and holiday periods?
by Holly Taylor | Jun 18, 2015 | Gardening Posts
I’m getting so excited right now, as it’s almost time to cut the ribbon on our new Thompson & Morgan trials garden at the world famous Jimmy’s Farm.
Keen customers of Thompson & Morgan will have noticed that we stopped holding our annual open weekend a few years ago. We became short of space when we built a bigger warehouse at our main HQ, and our new trials site was located so deep in the countryside nobody would be able to find it.
However, the brainwave of teaming up with Jimmy’s Farm meant we could again show off our plants to the public. There’s nothing better than being able to see plants for real! We do our best with the photography in our catalogues, but it can be difficult to show scale and the true beauty of some flowers. Now, you can visit our Thompson & Morgan garden, with our best-sellers such as Begonia Apricot Shades and climbing Petunia Tidal Wave; also get the first look at brand new 2016 varieties. But, I’m not giving anything away, you’ll have to come and see for yourself!
Behind the scenes we are putting the finishing touches to the site; to ensure you’ll be able to enjoy flowers and vegetables throughout July and August. Although we are opening the garden from 1st July, I’d advise you to hold on a week or two though. A few more weeks of warm weather will really get those beds filling out, and the pots billowing with colour, and occasionally fragrance. Why not come and smell our fragrant Begonias for real?!
So, the invitation is there. Come and spend the summer with us in the Thompson & Morgan garden. Once you’re there, we’ll tell you how to share your favourite flowers on social media too, and you’ve got the chance to win a prize.
See you soon!
by Holly Taylor | May 16, 2015 | Gardening News, Gardening Posts
When you know there’s a chance that Her Majesty The Queen might visit your Fresh garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the last thing you want is a gaping hole where your centrepiece plants should be on display. That was the situation faced by Fernando Gonzalez Garden Design, when UK
Thompson & Morgan’s Digitalis Illumination Apricot
stocks of Digitalis ‘Illumination Apricot’ failed to flower in time for display in the Pure Land
Foundation Garden, already being flagged as the most prestigious show gardens at this year’s event. With just four days to finish before the Queen’s annual visit to the world’s most prominent gardening event, a nationwide hunt for flowering plants threw up no leads. The plant’s creator, mail order seed and plant specialist Thompson & Morgan, stepped in to widen the search, calling on growers across Europe. Plants in perfect bloom were quickly tracked down at a nursery outside Barcelona, Spain, more than 1,500km from its Ipswich HQ!
New Product Development Manager, Michael Perry said: “Knowing our ‘Illumination Apricot’ was playing a major part in this cutting-edge show garden, we just had to help out.”At end of play Thursday it called on 250 staff, seeking a volunteer to make the mad-dash 3,000km round trip to get the plants on UK soil in time for Saturday’s big garden build. Up stepped marketing assistant Terri Overett, letting herself in for a 4am start and an 18-hour journey to get the plants to the UK in time.
First a plane ride to Barcelona El Prat, a taxi to the nursery an hour east of the city, then back to the airport to face the worry of getting them safely back to the UK in a cold cargo hold.
Terri Overett arriving at Stansted relieved to find plants had stayed in perfect condition during the flight from Barcelona.
A very relieved chaperone found the plants in good condition once through customs, where colleagues were on hand to rush the plants into London in time to put finishing touches to the Pure Land Foundation Garden on Royal Hospital Way.
Michael Perry delivering the precious cargo to the Gonzalez Garden Design garden
The design team’s Director, Thang Vo-Ta said: “Fernando and I are so grateful for all the effort put in by the team – they definitely thought outside the box to help get the plants in place on time. It was the company’s Chelsea Flower of the Year Award for Digitalis ‘Illumination Pink’ in 2012, that inspired us to use the new sister line “Illumination Apricot” in our garden. We can’t wait for the public to see the finished design in its full glory with stunning apricot foxgloves as a planting focal point of our Pure Land Foundation garden. Fingers crossed Her Majesty The Queen just might honour us with a visit and enjoy everyone’s efforts.”
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