Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is just an overrated commercialized day and we don’t celebrate it our family …. Said no mother ever!

Mother’s Day is all about celebrating all the wonderful things your mum has done for you and forgetting about the things that niggle at you. Because don’t forget many of us are mothers too and I’m sure our children feel the same way if not now definitely in the future!

I heard an advert on the radio the other day that basically went like this “if your mum told you she doesn’t want a present this year, just time with you is present enough”, means you aren’t the best gift chooser and please don’t waste money on something I don’t want.

Now days it seems like we are spoilt for choice in the present department. Years ago a pot of chrysanthemums was the only choice you had for Mother’s Day. 

You know what? It’s still a darn good choice.

Chrysanthemums are traditionally given at Mother’s Day as they flower profusely during autumn and they contain the word mum! 

They are so many varieties of chrysanthemums available today; there is surely one to suit every mum. 

The US National Chrysanthemum Society has derived that there are 13 different types of flower forms and over 100 different colours.

Chrysanthemums are honestly one of the easiest plants to grow and are a perfect gift for green or brown fingered mums! Chrysanthemums have long lasting flowers and are relatively pest and disease free. 

Potted chrysanthemums can flower for several weeks indoors but thrive best if placed in full sun. They can be grown in pots or in the garden. To keep them looking fantastic and to promote more flowers all spent flowers and discoloured leaves should be removed and liquid fertilised fortnightly. After flowering chrysanthemums should be cut back to about 15cm (6") high and be given some organic link complete organic fertiliser. They can have up to three flowerings a year.

If you don’t like the traditional Chrysanthemum, Trevallan Lifestyle Centre is overflowing with living flowering gifts. Cyclamens, azaleas, pansies, anthruiums, orchids, camellias, roses are all in bloom, look fantastic and are easy to care for – even brown thumb mums should enjoy all of these! 

Team any of these plants with a beautiful planter and you have the perfect present even if your mum doesn’t have a garden. Planters are a little different from normal pots in that they don’t have a hole in the bottom. With a planter you just place the plant inside the planter, no potting. They are great for indoors as you can still give your plants a good drink without having the water running everywhere problem. Just don’t over water!

With every present you give though, don’t forget to give a little of your time as well. Even though we are adults we are still our mum’s children. She just wants the best for us – so ignore the so called mothering insanity and give her a hug and kiss and let you know you love her. Because while a mother’s love is unconditional we as children need to reassure them that our love is unconditional too!

Best Cut Flowers

I love the cooler weather. I know the days are still warm but the nights have that glorious cool tinge.

All the plants I love to surround myself with are now in bloom or coming into bloom.

I love gift giving at this time of year. I don’t do cut flowers, of course! I want my gifts to last a little longer but I also know not everyone has a green finger so I don’t want them to stress about my gift.

Which is why I always love giving
Cyclamens.

Cyclamens are the perfect indoor or shade plant for the cooler months. They have a long continuous flowering period – usually from April until October. They are available in a rich tapestry of colours ranging from white to pink, red and mauve, some are even bi-coloured. The leaves are even pretty coming in a range of shapes - from broad to rounded, kidney, or heart shaped. They may be blotched, patterned, or even marbled on the upper surface.

Cyclamens aren’t fussy which is why they are the perfect gift.

I always tell people “treat them cold keep them beautiful!”

Even though cyclamens grow fantastically indoors they love the cold; it seems to refresh and revitalise them. Every few days you should give your cyclamens a drink, wetting soil and foliage and put them outside for the night. They will appreciate the cold frosty morning!

I find just a good watering every few days is fine. I always like to place my cyclamens in a planter. Planters are a little different from normal pots in that they don’t have a hole in the bottom. With a planter you just place the plant inside the planter, no potting. They are great for indoors as you can still give your plants a good drink without having the water running everywhere problem. Just don’t over water.

Cyclamens appreciate a regular liquid fertilise. I alternate every fortnight between Triple Boost and Silica and Potash Liquid fertilisers. The Triple Boost keeps them healthy and the Silica and Potash keeps them flowering. It is a good idea to remove the spent flowers. A spent cyclamen flower should never be cut off. Instead, remove tired blooms and stems by gently twisting off at the base and pulling them away from the main tuber.

Cyclamens grow from a tuber and tend to die down during our hot humid summer. If you are lucky though and find a cool, dry, shady spot in the garden (that isn’t taken by you) they can continue to grow. If your cyclamens do die down keep them in a cool, dry, shady position and water sparingly and hope they reappear in the cool months again. If they don’t regrow think about it like this – A bunch of cut flowers that lasted over three months. Wow now that’s value for money!

A cyclamen will warm your soul even on the coldest morning. So don’t forget to spread the love this weekend.

Roses are Red

The rose has long been a source of fascination and meaningfulness for cultures around the world.

Cleopatra was believed to have covered the floor of her palace room with roses before Mark Antony visited for in those times anything which was said "under the rose" was deemed to be a secret.

For many of us Queenslanders though how to keep roses looking amazing feels like a state secret. 

I often stare in awe at the pictures in magazines of roses elsewhere in Australia. How dare they have the climatic conditions to grow these plants successfully? I suppose we can’t have everything – at least the maroons can play football!

I have never claimed to know the secrets of growing roses in a climate where for about six months of the year we have what feels like 100% humidity.

Many rose growers out there will probably have a small heart attack at my way of growing roses but that’s ok, my way is the right way for me and maybe if you’ve never had any success in the past it may become the right way for you. 

The first thing I needed to realise was that my roses may never look like they do elsewhere. The humidity we suffer is the cause of most rose problems. No amount of sprays, fertilisers or correct planting techniques will change the problems humidity brings.

To combat most of the rose problems such as black spot, fungus, bud worm that occur during the warmer months I’d trim and fertilise. 

I don’t spray. 

During the really humid months most of my roses look like bare thorny sticks. 

I find removing all the affected leaves, trimming back the plant and then fertilising with a slow release complete organic fertiliser like Organic Link works fantastically. 

I always trim my roses like I am cutting the flowers off for a long stemmed vase. I personally can’t stand long straggly bushes so I make sure all my roses get a good prune continuously throughout the year.

After pruning you can use a product like Steriprune which is designed to protect wounds against infections and die back.

Come the cooler months and my roses are thick and lush and full of flowers. 

The few leaves that do get black spot or mould just get pulled off and when the flowers die, I still trim the stem right back like I am cutting it for a long stemmed vase.

During the cooIer months I might sometimes spray with a pyrethrum based spray for insects or Searles' Rose Pro Black Spot & Insect Killer which takes care of a myriad of insects and diseases. 

My roses are in full sun in pots and in the ground.  

They get fertilised numerous times throughout the year with Organic Link and I’d try to regularly liquid fertilise them with Rose Triple Boost.

Having great roses and plants in general isn’t a state secret.

 

Which is why we are excited to have Des Warnock, our Fertiliser Guru, talking us through the ‘Secrets to a Healthy Garden, Organically’ at Trevallan Lifestyle Centre on Wednesday 30th April. Tickets are essential phone 3021 8630 for more details.

 

Talking Dirty

Last week on Trevallan Lifestyle Centre's Facebook page I posed the question "what gardening terms do you use that people think you've made up, don't understand or have a little giggle at your expense?"

There were some great examples given and I thought I'd enlighten you all with some gardening terms that I find I use and  people think I have started to talk in my own special language.

Deciduous

Deciduous, pronounced dih-sij-oo-uhs, is the term I am most often asked to explain. Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and it is typically used when talking about plants that lose their leaves seasonally. Many plants especially in cooler regions drop their leaves in autumn, have a dormant period through the winter and then come alive again in the spring. In some subtropical and arid regions plants lose their leaves during the dry season and have a dormant period until the wet season begins.

Active Constituent

Active constituents are the substance/s in an agvet (agricultural and veterinary) chemical product primarily responsible for a product's biological or other effects.

For example Glyphosate is the active constituent in most weed killers. In horticulture, companies register products with different trade names but you will often find the active constituent is the same. Trade names such as Yates Zero, Searles Dead Weed, Brunnings Weedkill all contain the same active constituent - glyphosate. When dealing with chemicals in gardening know your active constituents and you'll never have to rely on trade names again.

This next one can cause a few giggles - Bisexuality and plants

A Bisexual flower or perfect flower is when flower has both the essential whorls i.e., androecium and gynoecium (male and female reproductive units). Some examples are Lilies, Roses, Sweet Peas.

When it comes to fruit and vegetables we generally use the term bisexual plant. So the plant has male and female flowers on it. You do not need two separate plants. For example a pumpkin will usually produce both male and female flowers and then hopefully insects pollinate the females and your pumpkins grow big and strong.

Self-watering pots

Now unless you have gnomes in your garden doing all your dirty work there is no such thing as a self-watering pot. When you buy a self-watering pot you still have to water.

In a self-watering pot you have a very large saucer or water well and the soil is held above the water well with a false bottom. The water well and the soil are usually connected by a wick of some sort.

As water is used by the plant, capillary action draws more water up from below, exactly as much as is needed and no more. The soil has just the right amount of water all the time, but also maintains air pockets, which the plant roots also need. This is great for plants that don't like over watered as you just fill the bottom chamber.

While self-watering pots are great I find they only really work once the plant has an established root ball.

This weekend talk dirty with someone and show off your new gardening knowledge.

Brighten your Garden with Oranges, Yellows and Pinks.

Ixoras.

This is an I love it or I hate it plant.

My mum loves them. I must admit I verge on the opposing side. Why on earth would I write about them if they are on my not so favourite list?

Well as with many things these plants have grown on me over the years and as with many plants there seems to be a time and a place for them.

Ixoras are native to the tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, with many of them in Tropical Asia. These plants typically can't handle frosts so if you are in a frost prone area these may not be for you. Some Ixoras are more prone to being cold affected while others can handle a little bit of cold.

Ixoras have dark green leathery leaves and produce large clusters of tiny flowers in the summer and autumn. The more common Ixoras usually have orange, gold, pink or red flowers. Ixoras prefer acidic soil and usually like a little shelter from our blazing summer sun. In saying that I have seen many gorgeous Ixoras growing in full sun and full shade.  They don't mind being in pots or the ground.

I find the four most popular Ixoras are 'Prince of Orange', 'Pink Malay', dwarf orange and dwarf gold. Ixora williamsii is also popular as it has red flowers but it really dislikes the cold so is not commonly grown in Ipswich.

Prince of Orange has fiery orange flowers and can grow around two meters tall. The dwarf orange and yellow grow to around 1/2 metre. These look amazing in pots but I have seen them in gardens  trimmed into a hedge and they look stunning when in flower. You can hardly see their green leaves.

My favourite Ixora is Pink Malay. Why do I love it? Not just because it gets covered in pink flowers but because it is so hardy. This Ixora is absolutely amazing; growing to around a metre it can handle full sun and shade. It can grow in pots or the garden and I have seen it successfully growing in a shopping centre car park. Yes that's right, a shopping centre car park. A place that has no good soil, no mulch, no care, only rain fall and it looks glorious. This is why I love this plant.

Ixoras like all my plants get fertilised with Organic Link and Triple Boost. I use Searles' Peat 80 potting mix for pots and Searles' garden soil for gardens.

There is a grub that likes to destroy your Ixora flower heads. There are a few ways to combat this - You can mix neem oil in with your fortnightly Triple Boost or I sometimes use Searles' Bug Beater. Eco-oil would also work. Sooty mould can also form on the leaves. This can be caused by scale and ants. Give your plant a really good soil drench and use a soil wetter if necessary. Fertilise and spray with Eco-oil. In a fortnight or so you should be able to hose off the soot and hopefully the ants would have dissipated.

This autumn brighten up your dull spots with shades of orange, yellow and pink.

Gardens and Unicorns

Did you make a New Year's resolution? Have you kept it?

I read a funny saying the other day about New Year's resolutions. It read "My New Years resolution is to become a unicorn". I think many of us tend to over exaggerate our expectations of ourselves. In doing this our New Years resolutions become a bit of a fantasy.

For this reason I don't make New Years resolutions anymore.

I like to say instead - I have set my intentions for the year ahead.

So if right now you had to set your intentions for year ahead, what would they be?

Would any of those intentions be green orientated?

Is this the year for that vegetable patch or to start landscaping the back yard. Maybe it's something really simple like this year I intend to start caring for my plants more.

Nothing too over the top - we don't want yards full of unicorns!

I think the first step is being honest with ourselves. So many of us don't like being wrong. I of course don't have a problem with being wrong because I'm always right......

I find my biggest hurdle in sharing gardening knowledge is asking people to be honest about their soil.

In theory we all water well and fertilise our plants. But how much of this water and fertiliser is really getting into our soils and how much is the plant really getting?

With this continued horrible heat we are experiencing our plants will dry out much sooner than we think. Plus this heat and wind has a tendency to suck any excess moisture out of the soil and foliage of the plants.

Soils can become hydrophobic so quickly and this hydrophobia can lead to unhealthy plants and sometimes even the death of a plant. Even if you think you are a great waterer - hydrophobic soil can strike anywhere, anytime. It can happen in gardens, lawns and pots.

The problem with hydrophobic soil is that it doesn't just stop water from getting to your plant it can also stop fertilisers from penetrating the soil.

While mulching and composts can help, I find the quickest and easiest way to combat hydrophobic soil is with a soil wetter.

I know I've mentioned this before but I see this being a common problem. I also know from experience what a difference soil wetters can make. I use Searles Penetraide at Trevallan Lifestyle Centre and at home. There is a granular and a liquid. I prefer the liquid, my mother and sister prefer the granules. Both do a fantastic job.

Another product I love to use in this heat is my liquid fertiliser 'Silica and Potash'.

Regular use of Silica and Potash Foliar Spray reduces heat and frost damage as well as wind burn. It improves plant growth, flowering and fruit count. It also makes plants physically tougher – tough plants are more resistant to pest and fungal attack.

This weekend get rid of the unicorns and get a healthy thriving garden instead.

Don't Blame it on the Sunshine

What type of gardener are you?

I’m the one that has 15 minutes to spare so I’ll try to get as much done as possible. I don’t care what day, month or year it is. Things get trimmed, fertilised, sprayed and planted when I say so.  

Are you more of a follower of the rules, like only plant your sweet peas on St Patricks Day?’

Are you a seasonal gardener, only plant in the spring, trim in the summer and rest in the cooler months?

No matter what type of gardener you are does it ever feel like you are just unlucky in the garden and then once in a blue moon you hit jackpot and everything goes according to plan? Or are you always lucky and once in awhile things go astray and you just can’t explain it.

Have you ever tried to germinate seeds and sometimes you get 90% success rate and other times not one measlyseed grows yet you did nothing different?

It’s not just you. It happens to everyone.

The good thing is The Jackson 5 and myself may be able to explain it.

Don’t blame it on the sunshine,

Don’t blame it on the gardener,

Don’t blame it on the good soil,

Blame it on the Moon!

For thousands of years people have been practicing Moon Planting.  

Moon planting is based on the synodic period of the Moon from one New Moon to the next, an average period of 29.5 days.

 

Over this time, farmers observed that all aspects of farming seemed to be affected by the interaction of the gravitational forces between the Sun, the Moon and Earth. The plant geeks, scientists, have found variations in sap flow, biological functions in plants and the subtle changes in Earth’s electro-magnetic fields correspond to the Moon’s gravitational pull. For us non plant geeks just as the moon influences the seas tides, it also affects the motion of water in plants and soil. The ebb and flow of this water can have an impact on seed germination, flower development and fruit production.

Ok, so how do we unlock the secrets to moon planting? With a Moon Planting Calendar of course.

Moon Planting Calendars can help unlock the secrets of the lunar cycles with easy-to-follow directions on the right time to plant, when to fertilise, when to cultivate, when to harvest and when is best to time preserve fruit.  

My grandfather swears by Thomas Zimmer’s Moon Planting calendar. It is produced in Australia for Australian conditions.

This moon planting calendar is a detailed chart that gives the correct lunar and astrological planting times forfruiting and leafy vegetables and covers the best times to weed, transplant seedlings, prune, harvest and irrigate.There are even instructions for those new to gardening by the moon.  The calendar also contains astrological information such as moon phase, equinox, solstice and eclipse dates and times, including annual planting by the moon guides as well as an astrological commentary on the year to come.

2014 - who knows what it will bring but I’m sure if you follow Thomas Zimmer Moon Calendar your garden will be bountiful. I also promise when you come into Trevallan Lifestyle Centre to get your moon calendar I won’t serenade you with my Jackson 5 song!

Who am I?

Every Wednesday on Trevallan's Facebook page is "Ask it Wednesday?" A day I leave the page open to any questions the followers can throw at me and I attempt to answer them.

It's become a much anticipated day with many people tuning in to see what has been asked and of course what I've answered.

I have developed such a great personal rapport with so many of Trevallan's followers that I forget to some I am just a business on a computer screen.

This became evident when a few weeks ago on "Ask it Wednesday?" I was asked "What's my Horticultural background?"

I realised at this point that so many of you may not realise who I am - the face behind Trevallan's web presence.

I am me.

How to describe me, well first you need to know my family.

I come from a family of gardeners. My knowledge is book based but most comes from being surrounded by it all my life. It's amazing what you can learn just by listening.

My grandparents were gardeners. Their vegetable patch sustained the family, so no outside food had to be bought in apart from meat. My grandfather also loved to fiddle. His true love lay with camellias and azaleas and he self taught himself to cross breed, graft and do cuttings. He was also a lawn fanatic. Think bowling green, see my grandfathers lawn!

My parents before going into retail had a successful landscaping business 'Trevallan Landscapes' that would have been in operation for about 30 years today had my father not died in 2000. Trevallan Landscapes was high in demand and I remember my father travelling all over Queensland doing landscaping work - private and commercial. Working for him was also a great way for me to earn pocket money as I grew up.

I finished my bachelor business degree in 1999 and after my father died began working at Trevallan Lifestyle Centre full time.

Since than my pieces of paper have increased - I have a Certificate III in horticulture, am a Certified Nursery Professional, am chemcert qualified, have been a national finalist for Young Horticulturalist of year and been a HAL emerging Leader. I am also a member of the Horticultural Media Association Qld and am a committee member for local garden club 'Glebe Garden Club'.

As quickly as my pieces of paper increase so does my workload. I now write a weekly gardening column for Ipswich's local paper "The Queensland Times", I write for the gardening magazine 'About the Garden'. I write this blog, manage Trevallan's social media - Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and this blog plus work at Trevallan. Lucky for all of us Trevallan is run by my mum who works there tirelessly so I can do all this other fun stuff! I also love giving gardening related talks to social and gardening clubs.

While I've been paper collecting so has Trevallan - over the years Trevallan has won a few awards, one I am most proud of is Best Small Garden Centre in Qld in 2010.

As many of us know knowledge isn't gained just from reading a few books. Knowledge is made up of a lifetime of asking questions and determining what you believe is right answer.

I attend as many industry run events and read as much as I can so I can try to stay onto of new information, plant releases. I also try to take the time to listen to my customers, my growers, my suppliers as I find they've tried and tested many things I wouldn't get a chance to try in my lifetime.

Basically I Live it breathe it!

But horticulture isn't my only love - aromatherapy is another passion. In between all my paper getting for horticulture I also completed - Certificate Four Massage Therapy, which included Aromatherapy I.

In October 2012 I won a world wide competition to create my own essential oil blend. This blend 'wisdom' is produced by internationally renowned aromatherapy company Perfect Potion and sold at Trevallan as well as world wide via Perfect potion stores and online trading.

Life isn't just about fertilising and sweet smells because in-between all that I'm nurturing a young family with three children six and under.

So that's me.

The girl behind the computer screen.

 

The Secret

I have discovered the secret to great looking plants.

 

Trace Elements.

 

Trace Elements isn’t some brand spanking new fertiliser on the block. It’s an essential item to healthy soils.

 

Most gardeners are going ‘pfft’ - I so knew that.

 

Well you might know it but how many of you use a complete trace element mix on your gardens at least once a year? What about your pots, at least twice a year?

 

It seems everyone fertilises and expects to see results. What happens when you do all the right things but you don’t see the results you want? 

A common question is – “I’ve given my plants all the TLC they can handle, I’ve fertilised, watered well, even checked the pH level and it's perfect.  What could possibly be wrong with my plants?

Trace elements.

 

Most of us are aware that plants require mineral nutrients for their growth and development. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the macro elements, the names that usually appear on fertilizer packages, whether you use organic or chemical fertilizers.  It is sometimes assumed that they are the "important" nutrients.  These macro elements are just consumed by the plants in large quantities. Trace elements, micro nutrients can often be forgotten about as they are required in minuscule quantities.

When it comes to macro elements being the most important nutrients, nothing could be further from the truth. Trace elements like Manganese, Iron, Zinc, and Copper, are every bit as vital to the plants metabolism as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous. They have essential functions and so a deficiency in even one element will adversely affect the healthy growth of the plant. Strangely enough some trace elements when present in excessive concentrations are actually poisonous for plants.

Common gardening practices (such as liming acid soils) can contribute to widespread occurrence of micronutrient deficiencies in plants by decreasing the availability of the micronutrients present in the soil. Also, extensive use of glyphosate (most common weed killer) is increasingly suspected to impair micronutrient uptake by plants, especially with regard to manganese, iron and zinc.

So how do we pinpoint the problems in our soil? We can get a leaf or soil analysis.  Yeah right! I couldn’t be bothered with all that.

So what do I do?

I use Plant of Health’s Bio Trace. It has a blend of the key micronutrients (e.g. iron, cobalt and manganese) supported by macro elements. It is also contains fulvic acid to further enhance growth and health.

The best thing about Plant of Health’s Bio Trace, you mix some up in a watering can and pour it over the plants foliage or as a soil drench. Done. Couldn’t have been easier.

Go on breathe some life into your garden and use Plant of Health’s Bio Trace.

Careful though, when you see the difference it makes you’ll be buying it in bulk like I do now!

Dirty Clothes lead to Healthy Garden

Strangely enough I’ve found that gardening infiltrates itself into nearly all aspects of my life.

 

My job is gardening, one of my many interests is gardening, some of my food comes from the garden, even many of my outfits and shoes are gardening friendly.  Even my morning relax time with a coffee gets extended sometimes with weed pulling and tomato gathering.

 

 

Even my laundry is garden orientated.

 

Laundry. Garden?

 

Well it all started with the water restrictions years ago.  I had a baby in cloth nappies, a yard that needed watering and severe skin reactions to NapiSan.  So the hunt began for a product that could

• Keep my nappies white and clothes clean

• Be used in a front loader with cold water

• Not lead to skin reactions

• Cost effective

• Wouldn’t damage my washing machine and

• Most importantly the water from the washing machine could be used in my garden

 

Finally after much confusion – the laundry powders take up almost a full aisle in Woolworths, and research - trial and error, I found a solution.

 

 

What I discovered was that not all powders dissolve totally in the water.  Go on go and get your laundry powder, mix it in cold water, leave it for twenty mins and see what the water looks like. I bet there is undissolved particles in it, well there was for me with most of the detergents I tried.  These undissolved particles are called fillers. These fillers can not only affect your washing, they can corrode your machine and even affect our health.  These fillers can also affect your septic tanks and cause problems with your grey water.

 

Many detergents also contain salt (sodium sulphate) that can cause major environmental problems in our gardens and waterways.

 

For me I found that most detergents contained chlorine and synthetic perfumes that are used to sanitise and make our clothes smell pretty. The ones that didn’t contain them didn’t get my clothes clean and didn’t smell as nice. Unfortunately it was the chlorine and synthetic perfumes that were causing my skin problems.  For some the chlorine and synthetic perfumes can even trigger bronchial sensitivities.

 

But then finally I found a product that exceeded all my expectations, lucky for me Trevallan Lifestyle Centre now stocks it.

 

The product In discovered is the Euca Laundry Detergent Range. The range has a laundry powder, laundry liquid, a soaker and a fabric conditioner.

The range is based  entirely on Australian Eucalyptus oil. The Eucalyptus oil helps deodorise and sanitise without the need for harsh chemicals, so no more skin or bronchial sensitivities.

 

Euca has no fillers and on average 35 times less sodium sulphate (salt) than other brands of laundry powder.  So the waterways, gardens and septic systems are safe.

 

It can be used in front and top loaders with warm or cold water, it’s cost effective and most importantly my clothes are clean, look clean and smell clean.

 

Not only this I can use Euca to clean my shower and mop the floors so all my water can be reused out in my garden.

 

Never again can I complain about the washing as it’s all going to a good cause – My Garden!

Got Milk

Why is it so hard just to buy milk? You all know the advert on TV with the guy who just wants milk but the shop assistant rattles off about twenty different choices. All he wants is milk that tastes like milk! In the end the relief on his face when the shop assistant just gives him what he wants is priceless.

I’m not a huge fan of being overloaded on choice.  Electronic equipment, like computers and their programs, is one area where I’d rather there is no choice just a simple answer.  I’m not a person that likes to spend hours trolling the internet and magazines looking for the best computer program for my needs. I appreciate going to a specialist computer shop, talking to an expert and them recommending me the best program for my needs.

I feel the same about gardening.  Gardening shouldn’t be hard – back breaking maybe but not hard. Getting good gardening advice shouldn’t be confusing either.   If you have a problem with your plants, need some general gardening advice or even just need to buy a living gift, I recommend you go to a specialist garden centre as they have expert staff on hand at all times ready to help.

Have you ever been confused and overloaded by the choice of gardening products on the market, I know I do sometimes.  I often wonder just how many versions of trace element mix can there be!  Every gardening magazine, lifestyle show and the guy next door all have their favourite gardening tips. 

If confusion and past not so ‘good tips and helpful hints’ have stopped you enjoying the great outdoors, it’s time to take control and visit an expert – your local garden centre, like Trevallan Lifestyle Centre.

Your local garden centre’s staff are the gardening experts – they should be able to listen to your needs and recommend the right product. Good garden centres shouldn’t need to offer a large choice especially in insecticides and pesticides. You don’t need to know that there are ten brands on the market that kill slugs and are safe for dogs.  You just need one and one that works. So a garden centre need only stock the one brand that they as experts perceive is the best.  Sometimes a small range of similar products (for example potting mixes)  is necessary as people’s needs are different. The garden centre’s experts should then be able to inform you of the differences and recommend the best one suited to your needs.

Your local garden centre is not only staffed by experts but those experts are usually local and have all suffered the same gardening problems that you are currently suffering.  Garden centre staff enjoy helping you through your gardening problems, taking the confusion away and giving you back the joy of gardening.

Next time you decide to improve your plant life balance and give your life some TLC make sure you visit the gardening experts - Trevallan Lifestyle Centre - your local garden centre.