Garden Centre and Café Sign up to our free e-newsletter Scan the QR code and register to receive regular updates on what’s on at Ashbrook as well as a heads up on what to look out for on your next visit. Garden Centre: Open daily, 9am - 5pm Contact: enquiries@ashbrooknursery.co.uk | 01241 873 408 (option 1)
2024 has seen significant changes to our garden centre, not least with the construction of our new shop building.
We have long needed a proper indoor space in which to trade, and it is great to finally now have it! What’s more, this is all additional retail space, meaning we can offer a greater range of products. We have expanded our houseplant selection and have a brilliant range of gifts including books, homeware and a children’s section, which we will expand in the lead up to Christmas.
We have also undertaken lots of groundworks; additional paths have been laid to make our outdoor plant area easier to navigate while other touches have helped to improve the overall feel of the place. An extra canopy has been erected too, creating even more retail space.
Our before and after photos show the changes that have been made over the past year.
Autumn is a great time to start planning your garden for next year. It is nature’s planting season, so the ideal time for you to get planting too. Whether it is trees, shrubs or herbaceous perennials, if you get them in the ground now, it will help them establish themselves better come next year.
Adding some mycorrhizal fungi when you plant your shrubs or trees will colonise the root systems allowing it to tap nutrients from an area up to 700 x the trees own root system, helping it establish more quickly and be more resistant to pests and disease. The fungi also help stabilise soil structure and aid carbon capture.
We always associate the beautiful fiery hues of the turning leaves with Autumn, but of course, there are still plenty of late flowering perennials that will help prolong the feeling of summer, such as Sedum, Persicaria, Hesperantha, and daisies like Helenium, Rudbeckia and Asters. Heuchara and Houttuynia also offer colourful foliage interest.
Our Ashbrook grown cut flowers last well into Autumn so be sure to pick up a ‘posy’ whenever you are in.
We offer a huge range of spring flowering bulbs. Many sold loose so that you can ‘pick and mix’ as well as pre-packs of more ‘choice’ varieties. Plant them in Autumn or winter, forget about them, and then get a wonderful surprise in Spring seeing them emerge and burst into colour.
This year we are promoting ‘naturalising’ bulbs such as snowdrops, aconites, bluebells, pheasant eye, wild garlic and Fritillaries. These are ideal for less formal planting under grass, between shrubs or in a semi-shady area.
Something a little different, making a bulb lasagne can be a good way to encourage the kids to help in the garden, and is quite easy to do. Take a large terracotta pot and quarter fill with multi-purpose compost. Select a mix of bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, and crocuses, or whatever takes your fancy. Plant them in layers up to the top, (typically with the larger bulbs deepest) and cover each layer with compost as you go. This will provide a longer flowering period of interest and an original display.
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Prolong the flowering displays of your summer hanging baskets and planters by continuing to deadhead and feed.
With warmth still in the soil and moisture abundant, Autumn is a good time to reseed bare patches of the lawn. You could even go the whole hog and create a new lawn from scratch. The weather conditions allow for the even germination of seedlings and their resilience to build for winter. Ensure you choose an appropriate seed mix and consider methods to prevent the birds feeding on the grass seed!
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Many plants are also a great source of food and shelter for garden birds. Fruit trees and shrubs with berries such as Holly, Hawthorn, Honeysuckle, Rowan and Cotoneaster are great for the birds, and pleasing to the eye. Generally, a diverse garden will mean a rich ecosystem with plenty of insects that will draw in birds to feed. Ivy is one of the latest plants to flower and can provide a much needed source of nectar and pollen for insects late in the season. The berries which follow are much appreciated by the birds in midwinter when little else is available.
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Trim hedges in early Autumn so that the cut stems can heal over before the frosts do them damage.
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Late Autumn is a good time of year to lift and replant evergreen shrubs. Before lifting, make a decision on the replanting site, dig the hole and cultivate the soil. Using a sharp digging spade and a pair of loppers, dig around the skirt of the shrub and cut any large roots. Do ensure there are no ragged cut edges by clean cutting the roots with a pair of secateurs. Any pruning of dead, diseased or broken branches can be dealt with at this time.
Look after the birds through winter by keeping those feeders full! We have a good range of bird care including, food, feeders, bird tables and baths.
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It’s always good to give your garden a good tidy up in the autumn, and this may include cutting back herbaceous plants and applying a mulch to borders. Mulching, helps keep water and nutrients in the soil over winter, it can protect plants against frost and will limit the regrowth of weeds making things easier in the spring. Use of a mulch like Strulch ® – made with composted straw – can also keep the slugs at bay as they do not like the scratchy texture. You can find this under our canopy alongside the compost & aggregates.
Another option is to leave cutting back herbaceous plants until the spring. The top growth can protect the plants against severe cold, the seed heads provide food for birds and insects and can look very attractive on frosty mornings.
Many people tend to forget about their garden over winter, but there is still plenty life and colour to be found. Some winter favourites include;
Viburnum - clusters of often fragrant white/pink flowers, followed by berries
Cornus - brightly coloured stems
Willow - beautiful furry catkins
Holly - glossy foliage and bright red berries
Hamamelis - dainty and bright lemon scented flowers
Skimmia - bright red berries or clusters of buds which flower in Spring
Cyclamen - heart shaped leaves and pretty flowers
Hellebores - long lasting, elegant flowers
Bulbs – Snowdrops and winter Aconites are some of the earliest flowering if you get them in the ground during the Autumn
Hardy Bedding – Grown at Ashbrook, our range of hardy bedding will bring a welcome splash of colour. Ideal for planters or hanging baskets, they will flower right through the winter
This Christmas is set to be the best yet at Ashbrook. Our new building means that we can offer a greatly improved Christmas shopping experience with a much more extensive range of gifts.
A family trip to choose your Christmas tree is always a fun activity, especially for the children. With our creative festive displays in the garden centre, cosy café, and Woodland Wander, you can really make a day of it at Ashbrook!
You will be sure to find a perfect gift for any member of the family amongst our tasteful range of books, jigsaws, children’s toys, jewellery, toiletries, homeware, cards and much more! Remember our café is also still stocked with a selection of gifts too.
If you just can’t think what to get someone, one of our vouchers is a failsafe! They can be used in the garden centre or café, so even if they don’t have green fingers, they’re bound to like cake! We also offer HTA vouchers which can be used in any participating garden centre.
Our vast range of holly wreaths and ‘festive foliage’ decorations are all hand made by our team with locally sourced greenery. We have over 50 variations of wreath on display, and are also able to make them up to suit your taste. An Ashbrook wreath will provide a wonderful festive statement in your home, and they are also popular for remembrance of loved ones.
Our table centres can really complete the Christmas dining table and our festive foliage arrangements are a great alternative if you don’t have room for a Christmas tree.
Our standing display of Scottish grown Christmas trees allows you to easily select your favourite. We have pot grown trees as well as cut ones, including Nordmann Firs, Korean Firs, Fraser Firs, Norway Spruce and Blue Spruce.
Get into the spirit of Christmas and book onto one of our wreath making classes or Breakfast with Santa or the Grinch. Sign up to our e-newsletter to get first access to booking. Event information will also be published on our website and social media channels.
In The Café @ Ashbrook, we take pride in the quality of our food, using fresh ingredients and local suppliers. We do all our cooking and baking in-house and have developed a reputation for good quality, well presented, and hearty food.
Book in to enjoy a selection of our tastiest sweet and savoury offerings from the Café @ Ashbrook! These are served weekdays at 3pm but booking is required 48hrs in advance, and tables are limited. They are also available for takeaway. Call 01241 873 408 (option 2) or email thecafe@ashbrooknursery.co.uk to book.
Every week we offer delicious Sunday roasts, served from midday. Our meat is sourced from Fleming Butchers and is served with seasonal vegetables.
Just pop in or give us a call to pre-order – 01241 873 408 (option 2). We can also do large sandwich/party platters if booked in advance – give us a call to discuss your requirements.
Our ‘Woodland Wander’ is a hidden gem at Ashbrook, tucked away just behind the café. Our team have developed this area over recent years and customers young or old are welcome to enjoy whenever you visit!
It includes a Stumpery and a Shade Border to demonstrate what plants can do well with limited sunlight, while there are many bulbs scattered throughout. It is also great fun for kids to explore with a stone circle, a Bug Hotel, and various Fairy doors hidden amongst the trees. Look out for spooky additions during Halloween!
We were delighted to receive a 4 Star ‘Excellent’ rating from Visit Scotland following an inspection earlier in 2024 as part of their quality assurance scheme.
It takes a real team effort to make Ashbrook the place it is, so huge credit must go to all our staff for their endless hard work. And thanks also to you - our customers - for your continuing support!
We have various events held throughout the year including for Halloween and Easter, wreath making classes, Breakfast with Santa or the Grinch, Christmas shopping nights and more.
To get first access to tickets, sign up for free to our e-newsletter where event details will be published, and special garden centre offers promoted.
Scan the QR code and register for our e-newsletter or visit our website and follow the relevant link.
www.ashbrooknursery.co.uk
We have hosted various local groups, family birthdays, and even a hen party in the Café @ Ashbrook.
If you would like to arrange an ‘out of hours’ function, please get in touch by phone call or by emailing cafemanagement@ashbrooknursery.co.uk and we can discuss your requirements.
Anything we sell, we can also deliver – just ask at the till or give us a call if you would like this arranged.
If something is too heavy or awkward for you to manage to your car, just ask a member of staff and we will help.
We have wheelchairs available to borrow if you need help to get around. Available from our tills or by asking a member of staff.
If there is a plant which we do not stock, we will do our best to source it - or even try to grow it for you!
If you would like us to refresh your existing containers, please bring them in and we can give them a new lease of life!
Our Ashbrook vouchers can be used in either our garden centre or café so are the perfect gift for any garden lover or foodie! They can be made out to any amount you choose. We also issue and accept HTA gift cards which can be used in any participating garden centre.
Sign up to our loyalty scheme, and as a thank you for supporting your local business, you will get 2% of your spend back in loyalty points. It is free to join, and you will be rewarded with points for spending in both our garden centre and café. We have had over 8,500 customers join our loyalty scheme since it began in 2021!
Before our café or even our garden centre existed, Ashbrook was first and foremost a Nursery – growing our own plants and cut flowers for wholesale and at local farmers markets. While our retail area has expanded over the years, we have remained true to our roots and still have growing at the heart of our business. We are an increasingly rare breed of garden centre that actually grows it own plants – this means we know that the plants we are selling are top quality and will thrive when planted in your own garden.
Over 2000 varieties of plant are grown on site allowing us to offer a huge variety of seasonal bedding and patio plants, vegetable plants, baskets and planters, alpines, grasses, and herbaceous perennials. Our cut flower ‘posies’ are grown and bunched at Ashbrook too! We supplement this with a good range of trees, shrubs, roses, heathers, conifers and houseplants using Scottish suppliers as much as possible.
Our commitment to growing extends beyond just the quality of our plant stock – it provides skilled local employment and helps minimise our carbon footprint - 1 lorries worth of supplies allows us to produce plants that would take more than 10 lorries to deliver fully grown and ready to sell plants. We also grow our plants ‘hard’ - with minimal heat - thereby saving more energy and producing hardy plants that are well able to withstand the rigours of life in a Scottish garden!
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Scan the QR code to register or visit our website and follow the relevant link. www.ashbrooknursery.co.uk
