As the song says - absolutely nothing. Or are they? Wells as it turns out they are an excellent food source for wildlife and have an important role in the ecosystem by eating decaying plant matter and fungi. However they also prefer tastier fare such as our prize hostas lupins and seedlings. …

Spring is here at last and now is the time everything is “full steam ahead” in the garden. We have so much to see in store and online so come in and get inspired. Here’s a reminder of what you can do in the garden right now: Plan and plant a colourful herbaceous border with our amazing 9cm pot perennials at a ridiculously low price of only £1.49 each or 6 for £7.99 (promo in store only). There’s plenty to choose from- lupins to lavender, delphiniums to dianthus. Plants in groups of 3 or 5 of each variety for maximum impact at minimum cost! Dahlias – with colours to suit every taste, dahlia’s have come back into fashion and are fantastic for late summer colour in your borders or containers. They make great cut flowers and varieties with single flowers are excellent for pollinating insects. Plant in a sunny position. Baby bedding plants- basket and container plants for spectacular summer colour – our Perfect Choice 7cm pot range is now in store! Over a hundred varieties to choose from. Priced at only 79p each, get a head start on growing on your summer bedding. Please note: these plants are tender (i.e not frost hardy) and will need to be grown in a greenhouse or bright frost free place and gradually potted on to larger sized pots. Once the summer comes you’ll be able to place outdoors for a dazzling display. Click here to find out more. Window boxes and container plants for spring colour: potted spring bulbs – many varieties available for instant impact. Narcissi, tulips, iris plus many more. Bedding packs of spring flowering plants such as viola, pansy, polyanthus (primula) Add to your borders or containers for a pop of spring colour. Spruce up your rockery: we have a range of 1 litre pot alpines – a snip at 4 for only £10! Aubrieta, Saxifrages and Dianthus are looking superb. These perennial plants are also useful for ground cover in sunny, well drained borders, or filling an empty space in a container. Heathers are also in – in bud and flower – 9cm pot £1.49 or 11cm £2.49. Available throughout the year, there’s a heather variety for every month, and early spring flowering heathers are nectar rich so a magnet to bees. Best planted in groups of 3 or 5 to make a good show of colour. Most prefer acidic soil (ericaceous) but Erica carnea types are lime tolerant (can be planted in alkaline or chalky soils). Spring- flowering shrubs: we have so many to choose from it’s hard to know where to start but here are a few favourites: Camellia -fabulous plants full of bud from small to large pot size, spring -flowering fragrant Viburnums such as Viburnum ‘Anne Russell’, V. carcephalum ‘Juddii’ or Viburnum carlesii. Early spring favourites such as forsythia and flowering currant -Ribes ‘King Edward VII’. Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’ has the most delicious fragrance with the added bonus of evergreen foliage. Magnolia’s – some good-sized plants with plenty of flower buds. Now’s the time to grow early seed potatoes – we have a large range in stock. Start them off (sprout or chit them) in a seed tray in a brightly lit frost-free place spot. Find out more on our guide by clicking here. Plant onion sets- as soon as the ground is “workable”, to have a crop ready in late summer to early autumn. Plant 5-10cm (2-4in) apart with the rows 25-30cm (10in-1ft) apart. Depth of planting 2cm (¾ in). Only the tips of the onion sets should be showing. You may need to net the crop or cover with fleece to stop birds damaging the onions, until they are established. Protect young shoots of perennial plants from slug or snail damage – we have a vast range of products to help you win the battle! From organic remedies like slug traps, physical barriers such as copper tape, or Growing Success Slug Stop granules, to a Slug Bell in which to put pellets out of harm’s way. The latest showerproof slug pellets from Westland Eraza, to Growing Success Slug Killer (organic) -we have all bases covered. Lily bulbs are now in stock! There’s no finer fragrance on a warm summers’ evening, than lilies growing in your garden. If your soil is too wet and heavy, why not grow in containers and plunge into the border - better still in pots on the patio so you can enjoy them close-up. Click the image below for our guide on getting the best from planting lily bulbs in pots: …

As a change from containers that brim with colourful, generally annual plants, your display could include or indeed consist of, containers with plants that are grown primarily for their foliage interest. These plants generally flower, giving a few weeks of extra beauty, however they are mostly grown for the pleasure of enjoying their long-lasting foliage effects. The following suggestions are all for plants that have large leaves. In containers filled with small-leaved annuals, the foliage masses of these suggestions will provide a pleasing contrast. Hosta 'Silver Spray' The first choice is Hostas. These come in a range of sizes from the tiny to the huge, but the following selections are hostas that are mid-sized. Try something blue with Hosta 'Blue Danube' This serene plant has conical leaves that are coloured blue-green. This would look nice against a ferment of red pelargoniums (often called annual geraniums). For blue and silver elegance try Hosta ‘Silver Spray’ cool and crisp with fat leaves edged in silver, which is good with vibrant blue Lobelia. For subtle chartreuse and gold try the broad leaves of Hosta ‘Guacamole’, matched with lush Petunias. Hostas are prone to attack by slugs and snails. When grown in a container on their own a copper band placed around the container provides an excellent slug deterrent, provided the slugs can’t climb onto the hosta from another plant. The second choice is Heuchera and x Heucherella. These are well-suited to containers where they often seem to do better than in a busy flower border. They often make slightly tiered mounds of foliage and can result in a good block of colour that combines well with annuals. These plants come in a variety of forms, some having very ruffled foliage. The forms with smoother leaves generally look better when placed near busy annuals. For something dark and delicious try Heuchera ‘Obsidian’ dark, shiny and black. Heuchera 'Autumn Leaves' Heuchera 'Autumn Leaves' changes colour through the seasons going from pinkish red through tan to orange. For lime green, and having slightly ruffled edges to otherwise smooth leaves, try Heuchera Key Lime Pie = 'Tnheu042' (Dolce Series). It pays to treat potted Heuchera forms (and indeed all container plants) with a vine weevil killer as vine weevils can completely separate a plant from its roots before one notices. Finally, grey-foliaged plants are always appealing and the light, silver grey oblong leaves of Brachyglottis (Dunedin Group) 'Drysdale' is beautiful with purple and orange flowered annuals. Cut off the yellow flowers for a pure foliage effect. This needs a sunny position to give of its best. All these plants are perennial which means they can be used in future years. Alternately, they can be planted out in the garden so that a whole new series of plant combinations can be tried in your containers next year. Enjoy! This blog post was contributed by Susan A. Tindall …