7 minute read
Blooming Times
Brilliant BULBS
When planting bulbs for indoor displays, choose the containers carefully – they’ll be on show just as much as their contents. Don’t limit yourself to conventional flowerpots. Flea markets and charity shops are great hunting grounds for quirky containers; search out vintage ceramic bowls, teacups and tureens – even forlorn teapots with missing lids can be repurposed!
Note the potential height of the bulbs. Larger and taller plants require bigger containers – for aesthetic appearance and also practical stability. Some containers aren’t reliably watertight. Use glazed saucers and protective mats on vulnerable surfaces, or group several containers together on a waterproof tray. Top-dressing the soil with coloured gravel gives a sleek, contemporary look, or use moss or chipped bark to create a rustic theme. Heavy-headed hyacinths and tall narcissi will require support from bamboo canes or twigs.
If the container has drainage holes, use ordinary multi-purpose potting compost, adding a handful of grit to aid drainage. For those without holes, bulb fibre is preferable. This super-absorbent The autumnal days are here, yet a succession of potted indoor bulbs will give your home colour and cheer throughout winter, writes Flo Whitaker
material is made from shredded coir and wood. It provides a uniformly moist growing medium that prevents water ‘pooling’ around the bulbs and damaging the roots.
Some bulb packets, (typically narcissi and hyacinths) are labelled, ‘prepared’. This means the bulbs have been artificially subjected to a period of cold in an industrial chiller. Prechilling manipulates the growth cycle; the bulbs think winter has already occurred
and start into rapid ‘springtime’ growth when planted. Prepared bulbs will reliably flower around Christmas time. They’re expensive, but don’t assume you can save money by purchasing standard bulbs and administering the cold treatment yourself. A domestic fridge has a damp atmosphere and the bulbs will probably rot. There’s nothing worse than the stench of rotting bulbs – the aroma lingers for days. Trust me…
With forward planning, you can have a succession of bulbs from December through to April. Following on from the ‘prepared’ types, choose narcissi that are naturally early to flower. Try ‘Cragford’,
‘Soleil D’or’, ‘Avalanche’ and
the aptly-named ‘Erlicheer’ for colour throughout January and February. For later blooms, ‘Silver Chimes’, ‘Cheerfulness’ and the gorgeous, but stupidlynamed ‘Geranium’ extend the season to Easter and beyond.
Tiny containers will hold enough soil for a cyclamen corm, or a few muscari, snowdrop or crocus bulbs. These dainty spring beauties cannot easily be forced. Once potted, keep them outside in a sheltered spot and bring indoors when they are on the point of flowering.
An indoor environment is challenging for spring bulbs, but they’ll stoically cope, so long as they’re kept away from direct heat sources. After flowering, take them outside and feed with a general-purpose fertiliser. When the foliage has died down, they can be planted out into a border, where they will continue to provide colour for years to come. l With forward planning, you can have a succession of bulbs from December – April
LET’S CREATE THE LAWN WE BOTH LOVE
SAVE UP TO 30%
ON OUR ULTIMATE PROGRAMME*
SAVE UP TO 18%
ON OUR STANDARD PROGRAMME*
PREPARE YOUR LAWN NOW
*Save up to 30% with our Ultimate Programme and up to 18% with our Standard Programme when you pay by Direct Debit.
Autumn is a very important season for your grass. Lush green lawns in spring don’t just appear overnight, the preparation starts now. Revolutionise your lawn with annual machine work paired with our unique Spring Ready Treatment applied from January - working wonders across the nation’s lawns.
EVERY LAWN BENEFITS FROM MACHINE WORK
Lawns have a natural build-up of thatch. Thatch creates an environment irresistible to moss. Aeration and Scarification reduce thatch, thus reducing moss. Simple!
Book your machine work in today - your lawn will thank you for it!
Join our nation of Lawn Lovers today. Visit: greenthumb.co.uk Mid Sussex: Call our Henfield office on 01273 491099 or email haywardsheath@greenthumb.co.uk East Sussex: Call our Brighton office on 01273 020720 or email lewes@greenthumb.co.uk
Mike Millis, Middleton On Sea
SUBSIDIES AVAILABLE
*Quote Ref SLE1021
There are many reasons to change your conservatory roof with Green Space UK
LATER THAT DAY
BEFORE
INSTALLED IN 1 DAY
“ What a difference a day makes as the saying goes, and yes, that’s all it took to install.”
Mr & Mrs Barber, Wells
WARMER IN WINTER
“ There is no doubt that the conservatory is much warmer than previously, and no, the room is not darker either!”
David Birch,Chichester
USABLE ALL YEAR ROUND
“ The conservatory is now used throughout all seasons of the year and is far more comfortable to sit in whatever the weather outside.”
Mr & Mrs Gibson,Portishead
MOULD & CONDENSATION
“ This is the best thing we have done in this house. Used to run with condensation and now zero.”
Karen Thomas, Chippenham
COOLER IN SUMMER
“ You could have fried an egg on the table in there in the summer, I now look upon the conservatory as a new room. It is quiet, restful and cosy.”
Carol Doyle,Surrey
REDUCES ENERGY BILLS
“ I’ve already turned the underfloor heating down. Lovely job guys, thank you!”
Anne Bird,Bristol
QUIETER IN BAD WEATHER
“ For the first time in 10 years we do not have to close the door to the conservatory when it rains, as the noise is minimal and before I found it difficult to hear the TV over the loudness of the rain on the old roof.”
Mr & Mrs Bailey-Webb, Warsash
We can offercontact-free installations, and perform these in less than a day!
C O N S E R V A T O R Y R O O F S Get a price for your conservatory roof
0800 08 03 202
www.greenspaceconservatories.co.uk
*Finance subject to status. Terms and Conditions apply. Green Space UK, Unit 8 BH24 1PD & Registered No. 8542786, as shown on FCA authorisation, trading as Green Space UK, is a credit broker and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Credit is provided by Hitachi Personal Finance, a trading style of Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Register no 704348). Subsidies are limited by area and not guaranteed. Putting off your enquiry could reduce the potential subsidy available to you.
Money Maker: Sell your jewellery/watches at auction
The past year of general financial uncertainty has brought a fresh legion of bidders to auction rooms.
People looking for alternative ways of investing are increasingly finding auctions a fun and affordable way of spending their money, and it’s jewellery and watches that seem to generate the most interest.
Gold prices have steadily increased recently, pushing the prices of jewellery and gold coins to an all-time high.
Burstow and Hewett Auctioneers, a family business based in Battle since 1790, found that during the lockdown it was jewellery and watches that had a massive following at their online auction sales.
Will Ellin, the fourth generation of the Ellin family to run the auction rooms, is a qualified buyers know exactly what they are bidding for and can bid with confidence. Will tests, grades and analyses diamonds and precious stones, so that they can have an accurate catalogue description.
So if you have any jewellery or watches that you’ve been thinking about selling, or would just like to find out what it might be worth, then Battle is the place to go.
The beauty of selling anything at auction is that your items are seen by a worldwide audience, but sold for you by a trusted local firm which has been in Sussex for generations. Come and say hello.
gemmologist and is enthusiastic and excited for the future. “The live online bidding has really come alive over the past year, and there’s huge demand for good wristwatches. Not just the premium names but also military watches, retro style, and pocket watches. Collectors can now bid live on our own website, so it’s much easier to get involved in an auction than ever before.”
The jewellery and watch section of the auction has quadrupled in size over the past year and the sale usually offers 600-800 lots every 4 weeks. Every lot has multiple photos and a full condition report so that
