woodland garden ... getting value for money!!

A blustery and rainy Tuesday, a dark January morning and what better way of lifting the spirits than by buying plants?
So, off to Glapwell, Mansfield to spend some of the plant fund we've built up from family and friends.

Now, I'm not a canny shopper and I have no understanding of the term 'Retail Therapy'. But the world of plant retailers is as difficult a shopping experience as any and the unwary gardener can spend much more than they need to if they are not alert.

A case in point is the large Brookfields Garden Centre on the edge of Nottingham. There, in a 'plant sale' they were discounting the price of pyrecantha (Firethorn) plants by 75%. Sounds good .. until you see that they were marked as having a pre-sale price of £20!! For a pyrecantha?! So, the price was a more reasonable £5.00.

Glapwell Nurseries is our favoured place for buying structural, non-specialist plants at more reasonable prices. Their Soleil d'Or pyrecantha's were £3.95.

In buying plants we place a lot of faith on the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Award of Garden Merit (AGM) classification and are always pleased to buy plants with these labels. So, although the plants at Glapwell were sometimes significantly less expensive than at other places, we can be assured that our plants will be what British gardeners call 'Good do-ers': they will grow well.

So, here's the 'booty' we came back with:

Chamaecyparis Lawsoniana Ellwoods Gold AGM

Chamaecyparis lawsomiama ‘Snow White’

Cornus alba (Dogwood) sibirica Westonbirt AGM x5

Cornus stoloniferia (Dogwood) Flaviramea AGM x 5

Cotoneaster frigidus Cornubia AGM x 3

Hydrangea quercifolia AGM

Ilex aquifolium (Holly) JC van Tol AGM x 3

Ilex aquifolium (Holly) ‘Silver Queen’ AGM x 3

Pyracantha (Firethorn) ‘Soleil d’Or x 3’

Pyracantha coccinea ‘Red Column’ x2

Sarcococca confusa (Christmas Box) AGM x 3

 Cost £120

So, a fully loaded car came back to Cordwood and I must now chafe until we can plant them in a couple of weeks. Hate this 'delayed gratification' thing!