Hertfordshire Garden Centre Magazine

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Garden Centre Magazine for The Hertfordshire Garden Centre,

Inside this edition you can find a plentiful amount of information on what you can find instore, including a section on monthly garden tips. With knowledgeable and friendly staff on hand in store to help with advice or inspiration, complemented by the huge variety of stock available, you will be sure to find what you need for your upcoming garden and/or home projects. This edition also includes many different informative editorials and alongside you will find local businesses whose services may just be what you are looking for.

We have also launched a digital copy of the magazine, available to view on your smart phone instantly. Please scan the QR code, featured at the bottom of this page, and this will bring up the publication for you to view. One of the most exciting features of our digital publication is that you can interact with the garden centre's social media or connect with local business websites with just a quick tap on your device.

As always, we welcome feedback on our magazine, if you have any comments you'd like to add, we would love to hear them. Please email: info@yhgmedia.co.uk

Kind regards and happy reading!

Johnathan Beveridge Magazine Editor

The Hertfordshire Garden Centre was previously Godlys Roses, a small rose grower in Redbourn. In 2009, Graham Armstrong took over the site and developed it into the shop you see today. Since then, the centre has grown in size considerably and now offers a huge range of plants, pots, and landscaping products. Now incorporating a friendly cafe and gift area offering affordable items such as posy vases and candles, we are an independent family run business with that personal touch.

In homage to the previous usage of the site, our on-site café is named The Rose Garden Café. Offering freshly cooked food all day, we change our menu often and many of our cakes are baked in house by our pastry chef, Sophie. What’s more, Afternoon Tea, seated in your own private hut, is available Friday-Sunday.

A friendly local Garden Centre

We always source our products from reputable suppliers. We offer a hardy plant guarantee to ensure you won’t be disappointed and we trace our bulk compost & fertilisers back to the farmers so we know you will be getting a product we are proud to supply.

One of our friendly team is always available to help. You’ll often find the owner, Graham Armstrong, in the shop helping customers. This personal service is the reason our loyal customers keep returning!

Delivery Service

The Hertfordshire Garden Centre provides a delivery service Monday-Friday using our own fleet and drivers. We will always help where we can and can often deliver next day to home or site. We have an online shop for bulk bags of soil, fertiliser and aggregates that can be delivered so you can order from home and wait for your order to arrive.

Bedding Plants

Bedding plants, also known as annuals, have one growing season. Most summer annuals enjoy moist soil and a sunny spot and are, for the most part, fairly easy to grow. They develop quickly so are perfect to bulk out borders, containers and hanging baskets. Bright and colourful, they can often be grown from seed and with a little bit of care can continue flowering throughout the season. Once the Autumn arrives, we get a lovely selection of winter bedding such as cyclamen and primroses.

The Hertfordshire Garden Centre has a huge choice to add instant colour to your garden. Sought-after examples include sweet peas, fuchsias, geraniums and lobelia. They are a popular choice for gardeners looking to add colour, texture, and variety to their outdoor spaces. These plants tend to have brightly coloured flowers which is ideal for attracting pollinators. This helps to build strong plants and is vital for the local ecosystem.

Finding the right spot for your plants can give them the best start in your garden. The amount of sunlight, drainage and type of soil you have is key to how successful your plants settle into their new surroundings.

Kitchen Garden

You don’t need a huge garden or allotment to be able to grow your own kitchen garden plants. Sometimes a small container or grobag is enough to plant a few plugs or seeds that will produce plenty of strawberries, beans, or tomatoes.

Whether you want to grow directly into the ground or in containers, we have a good selection of high quality growing matter in stock. Bulk bags are available for home delivery and smaller bags can be loaded carefully into your car. We regularly have new ranges of outdoor pots and containers into the store. We also stock a selection of VegTrug products – designed to make growing vegetables easier.

For larger spaces, we have a large variety of plants available as the seasons dictate. Herbs can take up very little space in the kitchen garden, often better suited to pots to ensure they do not take over borders. The majority of our herbs come from Farplants.

Roses

Roses are a plant close to our hearts! The Hertfordshire Garden Centre started off life as Godly’s Nursery – a specialist grower solely for the cultivation of roses. Considered to be the most popular flower in Britain and the national flower of England, the rose is a stunning addition to any garden.

Whether you have large beds to fill, fences to cover or small containers to add a splash of colour, the rose is a failsafe plant to choose. Roses prefer a lot of sun so bear this in mind when planting them in your garden. Place them in well-draining, nutrient rich soil and feed them throughout the growing season and these plants will flower year after year. After a feed, a good layer of mulch should be applied to retain moisture. Lastly, prune in late winter or early spring to get the best out of your plant for the year ahead.

Most varieties have a lovely strong scent. Paired with a decorative posy vase, these gorgeous flowers can make a lovely addition inside the home.

Our on-site café has a breakfast & lunch menu which changes seasonally & offers delicious, freshly made food available every day. Along with speciality coffee & homemade cakes, there’s something appealing for all appetites, including gluten & dairy free.

The friendly staff at The Rose Garden Café are here to make your dining experience enjoyable. Whether you want a cooked meal or just a little sweet treat, we have an ever-changing menu to tempt your tastebuds.

Farm Shop

We have some lovely products for sale within The Rose Garden Café:

Woodstock Honey • Campfire Gin • Hawkshead Relish Company

Chiltern Cold Pressed – Hertfordshire cold pressed rapeseed oil

Two Farmers Hand-Cooked Crisps – delicious crisps sold in 100% plastic free compostable packets

Afternoon Tea

Why not join us for an indulgent Afternoon Tea in one of our beautifully rustic huts, where you will enjoy a memorable experience in your own private space. Our three huts allow seating for up to 6 people in each & you can book yours for any special occasion or just…because!

We have a range of Afternoon Teas for adults and children, as well as vegetarian, vegan & gluten free. All of these offer delicate sandwiches & exquisite cakes and pastries all freshly prepared to perfection by our Pastry Chef, Sophie. Why not add a glass of prosecco for an additional treat!

For all enquiries, please email hello@therosegardencafe.com or call 01582 353 619

Gift Shop

Whilst you are in store, you might like to pick up something from our gift shop. Candles and reed diffusers are available from local suppliers such as Potters Crouch and Markyate based Bloomspa. We also stock delicious honey from Berkhamsted Bees. A range of hand painted glowpots and vases from Strawsilk Art by Tim Lee, glass posy and bud vases from Gisella Graham and glass pocket tokens from Niko Brown top off our gift shop area.

We are constantly replenishing our stock of indoor pots. Perfect to complement your new houseplant, we have something to suit all tastes. Seasonal gifts, such as paint your own gifts for the kids or wreaths and garlands often make an appearance throughout the shop.

Outdoor Buildings

Whether you are looking for a small potting shed or a larger greenhouse, The Hertfordshire Garden Centre has a solution for your outdoor building needs. We use suppliers that are well known and established within their industry in order to guarantee satisfaction. Our bespoke sheds come from Albany Sheds and high quality greenhouses are supplied to us by Halls Greenhouses. If you are looking for a small, easy to construct garden office then PodKit might be just the solution.

Our knowledgeable team can help design your perfect outside building, ensuring you get exactly what you want.

Wildlife

Having an offering for birds not only helps the wildlife but it enhances the enjoyment of a garden. It is especially important to keep feeders full through the winter and spring months when consumption is high. We have lots of tasty treats for garden birds, with clever squirrel proof solutions. From fat balls and suet blocks to peanuts and seeds we can help attract birds to your garden.

Bird houses, bug hotels and hedgehog homes are readily available to really encourage local wildlife to thrive.

We work closely with Wild About Redbourn, a local initiative to help wildlife in the area.

Its been a busy time for Wild About Redbourn and in a short time, since

it’s concept, much has been achieved!

There are so many things that we can all do to encourage and support wildlife into our gardens. Even the smallest change can have a positive effect. Wildlife just needs three things…..food, water and shelter. We can all provide food, berries, fruit, seeds, nectar and pollen. There is an enormous choice of pollinators. Choose open flowers and it helps wildlife if you have something in flower all year around.

One of the best things you can do to attract wildlife is to create a pond. This can be as simple as burying a washing up bowl or a tin bath but making sure there is a ramp of some sort for small mammals to escape. It won’t be long before you have newts, frogs and dragonflies. Water also needs to be available at ground level for hedgehogs and pollinators.

Shelter can be provided by trees and shrubs. Maybe leave a pile of logs in the corner for hedgehogs and small mammals to use. Make a small hole in your fence (CD size) for hedgehogs to move around.

Wild About Redbourn is a working party of Redbourn Parish Council and do get in touch if you would like to join us (for free).

We have a Facebook page and can be contacted at wildaboutredbourn@redbourn-pc.gov.uk

• Our ‘Loyalty Card’ rewards for your purchases made in-store

• Save your points and treat yourself, or just use your points as you go and enjoy regular savings

• Points are awarded for every pound spent

• Each point has a value of 1p and can be redeemed against future purchases

• To redeem points – Any amount at one time can be deducted from your bill total