Autumn at Greenshutters and new exciting plants

It’s been a mixed summer, beginning wet and cool in June, warming up in July, and mostly cooling back down in August with a few hot spells breaking it up. Autumn is now here with some welcome rain. The Brugmansia in our greenhouse seem to have thrived despite the weather, bearing in mind that they were tiny seedlings in the spring, they are now huge and full of flower.

If your summer pots and hanging baskets are starting to look tired, we have plenty of autumn patio & basket plants available including mini foliage shrubs that can be mixed with cyclamen, violas, or pansies for instant colour.

Autumn is an excellent time of year to plant a tree. Not only are trees good for the environment – they absorb carbon dioxide and particulates and provide a habitat for wildlife – they can be an architectural feature in the garden and provide spring colour through their flowers and autumn colour through their leaves and berries. We have a good range of ornamental trees available. Alternatively, fruit trees can produce a late summer or autumn supply of apples, pears, plums for pies and crumbles or just for eating fresh from the tree.

But if you are looking for something a bit different, why not plant a shrub that will give you edible peppercorns, such as the Tasmanian mountain pepper (Drimys lanceolata). It is a medium sized evergreen shrub with narrow, dark green leaves with red stems. Star-like yellow flowers emerge from red buds in the spring and are fragrant. These are usually followed by black berries which, when dried, can be used as a spice. It prefers a sheltered site in partial shade and is hardy to about –10^oC. It grows best in slightly acidic, moist but well-draining soil, and grows to about 4m high and 2.5m wide.

We hope you have a good autumn and we look forward to seeing you in the garden centre.