Barry Cuff | Voice of the Allotment

Summertime. But The Living’s Not Always Easy.

Keeping up with the watering at Thorngrove during a hot and dry spell is a huge task. Top tip for your own garden - if there’s been no rain, water early in the morning or early evening.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!... yes, okay, people usually say that at Christmas, but for us at Thorngrove, it rings true as we move deep in to Summer!

We see the culmination of results from earlier planting, and there’s no getting around it, this time of year is the most diverse when it comes to choices for your garden in terms of flowers and their colour. The Roses are of course taking centre stage right now, but the variety on display with the bedding plants, in the glasshouses, and the shrubs. We often see a huge surge in demand from customers as they take advantage of the good weather, but the new-found appreciation for our gardens over the last year, means now more than ever we have people coming to Thorngrove wanting advice on how they can make their garden space, baskets or planters the best they can possibly be.

Our staff have also been working hard to fulfil orders from our larger customers, providing 100s of planters, baskets, and barrels for spaces in the local and wider communities. All meticulously put together by hand with the quality and expertise you can expect from our staff. “Even though this can be one of our busiest times of the year, I really enjoy it because there’s so much pride to be taken in seeing the plants leave the glasshouses and go out into the courtyard. Especially after the late arrival of the warmer weather - we had extra work to do to make sure we didn’t lose many plants to the extended period of cold weather we had in May” says Glasshouse assistant Diane Francis.

The hot weather did finally arrive, which then creates its own problems; the plant watering has rapidly increased on site. A huge undertaking when you consider the size of Thorngrove! Don’t forget to water your own plants as they’ll be using water more. Every day if there’s been no rain, early in the morning or early evening are the most efficient times for this.

So as we say, it IS the most wonderful time of the year at Thorngrove, even if it’s all hands on deck. Stop by and see the results of out work for yourself, enjoy lunch at The Secret Garden Café, and say hello to staff who would love to hear about your Summer garden.