Garden Plants for October

For me October has to be one of the busiest months of the year to be a gardener. You have the seasonal problem of raking the leaves - do you do it as they fall or do you wait and leave it until all the leaves have fallen from the trees in November?

I always have the best intentions of raking as you go and generally end up doing it when I can no longer see where the lawn finishes and the beds start!

Click here to read the full article on 5 of the best plants for October.

Wild about your garden - Week 2

Featured plants - Week 2 Wednesday 26th November



Anemone Honorine Jobert

Single pure white flowers with a golden centre.

More on the Anemone Hon Jobert




Aster x frikartii Monch `Michaelmas Daisy`

Yellow centered, clear lavender blue flowers - With an elegantly branching habit

More on the Aster x frikartii Monch `Michaelmas Daisy`

BBC's Wild About Your Garden

Wild About Your Garden is using Plants supplied by Coblands Best4plants.co.uk for it's ground breaking new series.

Each week we will be keeping you updated with the plants used in each of the featured gardens.

Week 1 - Wednesday 19th November


Helleborus orientalis

Large saucer shaped flowers varying in colour from blush-white to plum-purple.

More on the Helleborus orientalis



Salvia x Sylvestris (Mainacht) `May Night`

Rich spikes of deep violet, near black flowers. Selected Perennial Plant of the year in 1997, it makes an attractive accent all summer long.


More on the Salvia x Sylvestris Mainacht `May Night'





For more detailed information please email info@best4plants.co.uk

Top 4 Winter garden Plants

Five of the best garden plants for instant impact in a dull winters garden.

Skimmia x confusa Kew Green


Shiny green leaves with fragrant greenish-yellow flowers. Great for under trees in partial shade, drought tolerant.








Skimmia japonica Rubella


Floppy dark green leaves. Flower heads red in bud opening to white petals and red stalks, a free flowering male form sweetly scented.






Mahonia x Media Charity

Long spiny pinnate leaves with long racemes of bright yellow fragrant flowers.







Choisya ternata Sundance


A rounded dense shrub, evergreen with bright yellow-green glossy leaves. Scented white star shaped flowers in clusters in late spring.

Best4plants Website gets great review at Webuser.co.uk

The best4plants website has received a great review at the much respected Webuser.co.uk.

"The team has put as much attention to detail into its website as you would expect from a prize-winning garden. Navigation is pleasantly straightforward and there are top quality photos of all the different perennials, shrubs and other foliage."

To read the full review please visit the Webuser website.

Free Directory of Plants - Best4plants Catalogue

This fantastic directory of plants is now available to download totally free of charge! With detailed information on thousands of different plant varieties, this invaluable plant directory can help you select just the right plant for the right place!



With information on shrubs, herbaceous perennials, grasses, bamboo, ferns, climbers, roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, conifers, hedging and even trees, the Coblands plant directory is your one stop shop for all your gardening needs.

Click here to Download your copy today!

Planting Advice Step-by-step

Soil Conditions for Planting

At the time of planting the soil should be moist and friable and not frozen, excessively dry, or water-logged.



Planting Requirements

The excavated hole should be of sufficient size to accommodate the spread of roots and the stock should be planted so that after any settlement it is at the same depth as it was grown on the nursery. If the sides of the planting hole become smeared during digging, particularly on heavy clay soils, the smearing should be broken up before planting.


Stabilising Support and Protection

Most plants above 1m high will need a support to hold them secure at ground level either by stakes or by cables for very large stock. Stakes or stout canes should be inserted before planting.

Plants should be held secure against the stake by the use of a proprietary tie, or similar method, ensuring that the stem does not chafe against the stake and there is space for stem expansion.

Short stakes to hold the base of the stem are preferable but individual guards or shelters may be needed to protect against physical damage by vandals, cattle or rabbits, mowers or strimmers.


Treatment of Plants immediately Prior to Planting

Bare Root Plants should be kept in polythene bags until immediately before planting. They should be kept out of direct sunlight. Similarly all containers and wrapping, unless fully bio-degradable, should be removed at the latest point before planting.


Back-filling

The backfill (excavated soil, fertilizer and organic compost mix) should then be returned to the hole and gently firmed around the root system. Gentle but firm pressure can be applied to the backfill material around the plant by boot heals or by treading, but the soil must not be compacted.

Each plant must then be well watered at least one watering can of water per plant, apply slowly to allow the water to soak in and not just run off.

We recommend that all plants are then mulched with either bark mulch or another organic material. Remember to check the plant regularly and water as required, especially in the summer months.

View How to plant garden plants online