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Tea Room open again

Our Tea Room is open again

discover our wide range at our garden centre

Hydrangeas

Plant all kinds of Hydrangeas

with our top-5 favourite flowers, plants and herbs

Bee-friendly garden

Design a bee-friendly garden

New lawn

Now it's the perfect time

Discover our newest&nbsp;mashed and baked potato seeds

Plant seed potatoes

It's springtime!

Welcome to Trowbridge

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Composts

Trowbridge Garden Centre

Shady gardens are sometimes seen as a problem, but this doesn&rsquo;t have to be true. Shady gardens can be just as beautiful as those blessed with sunshine. The emphasis is all on foliage shapes, textures, and the subtle colours of shade-loving plants in the shade. With the right plants, you can turn a shady garden into a cool, tranquil haven to relax in.&nbsp;

Shady gardens are sometimes seen as a problem, but this doesn&rsquo;t have to be true. Shady gardens can be just as beautiful as those blessed with sunshine. The emphasis is all on foliage shapes, textures, and the subtle colours of shade-loving plants in the shade. With the right plants, you can turn a shady garden into a cool, tranquil haven to relax in.&nbsp;

<h2>Perennials for shade</h2>

Perennials add colour to shady spots through both flowers and leaves. Here are some of our favourite perennials for shade.

<ul>
	<li>Brunnera &lsquo;Jack Frost&rsquo; produces delicate sprays of blue forget-me-not flowers in spring, but the real attraction is the silver-marbled leaves that grow larger through spring and summer, lighting up shady areas.</li>
	<li>Heuchera &lsquo;Key Lime Pie&rsquo; and &lsquo;Lime Marmalade&rsquo; both do well in the shade, with vivid lime-green foliage that works well as an accent in the border all year round.</li>
	<li>Hellebores are a must for every shady garden. They flower in the depths of winter, producing nodding flowers in a range of shades from pale pastels to rich maroon and deep purple. The lobed evergreen leaves make good groundcover all year round.</li>
	<li>Hostas have bold, textured leaves and as well as green-leaved varieties. There are also hostas with blue, golden-yellow and variegated foliage. They combine beautifully with the softer foliage of ferns. The thicker-leaved hosta varieties like &lsquo;Halcyon&rsquo; and &lsquo;Blue Mouse Ears&rsquo; are slightly more resistant to slug attacks.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Shrubs for shade</h2>

Shrubs provide structure in the border, and they&rsquo;re great for low-maintenance gardens. These reliable shrubs will grow happily in the shade:

<ul>
	<li>Sarcococca &ndash; an unassuming evergreen shrub that flowers in January, producing modest, small white flowers with an incredibly sweet scent.</li>
	<li>Euonymus &#39;Emerald Gaiety&#39; &ndash; a tough, reliable low-growing shrub with variegated green and white evergreen leaves that take on touches of pink in winter. It can be trained as an informal climber or left to grow as a groundcover shrub.</li>
	<li>Hydrangeas &ndash; well known for their big mophead or lacecap flowers that add colour to shady spots in mid and late summer. For blue flowers, plant mophead hydrangeas in acid soil; for pink, grow them in alkaline soils.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Ferns for shade</h2>

Ferns are ideal for shady gardens, adding texture and architectural interest with their long, delicate fronds. Our top ferns for a shady garden are:

<ul>
	<li>Polystichum &lsquo;Herrenhausen&rsquo; &ndash; a spreading evergreen fern with intricately frilled fronds, happy in full shade.</li>
	<li>Dryopteris erythrosora &ndash; deciduous, producing gorgeous copper-coloured new fronds each spring that turn green as they mature. It does best in partial shade.</li>
	<li>Athyrium nipponicum, the Japanese painted fern &ndash; perfect for damp, shady soil, with green fronds delicately dusted with silver and maroon mid-ribs.</li>
</ul>

Whatever your garden conditions, we have the right plants to suit them. Visit our centre soon and choose the perfect plants for your garden.

Plants for shady gardens

It&rsquo;s almost time to get your young herb, fruit and veg seedlings outside. After the last chance of frost is gone, we can plant our seedlings in the kitchen garden. Although the season has started yet with indoor sowing, this is the time that gardening in the kitchen gardening gets more fun. If you&rsquo;ve sown beans, lettuce, courgettes, tomatoes and strawberries inside, it&rsquo;s now time to plant them in the ground. Here are the plants that are ready to go outdoors. Read our kitchen garden guide and continue growing vegs, fruit and herbs outside.

It&rsquo;s almost time to get your young herb, fruit and veg seedlings outside. After the last chance of frost is gone, we can plant our seedlings in the kitchen garden. Although the season has started yet with indoor sowing, this is the time that gardening in the kitchen gardening gets more fun. If you&rsquo;ve sown beans, lettuce, courgettes, tomatoes and strawberries inside, it&rsquo;s now time to plant them in the ground. Here are the plants that are ready to go outdoors. Read our kitchen garden guide and continue growing vegs, fruit and herbs outside.

<h2>When to transplant seedlings</h2>

When you&rsquo;ve started growing vegs, fruit and herbs indoors from mid-May, it&rsquo;s time to transplant them. First, you transplant your seedlings to a larger container. Dig out the seedling, shake off all of the soil around the roots and place it in the larger container filled with potting mix. Water the transplant right away. About ten days before the seedlings are ready to go outside, harden them off. Hardening off seedlings helps them to withstand bright sun and cooler temperatures. Stop fertilizing your seedlings and place them outdoors to get used to the bright light (don&rsquo;t do this when you have shade-loving seedlings).

<img alt="Seedlings - Trowbridge" src="https://www.trowbridgegardencentre.co.uk/files/images/Seedlings%20-%20Trowbridge.jpg" style="width: 100%;" title="Seedlings - Trowbridge" />

<h2>How to transplant seedlings</h2>

The common question is, &lsquo;How do I know when my seedlings are big enough to plant out in my garden?&rsquo; There is no rule of thumb or no hard and fast rule to how tall a plant should be. All different herbs, vegs and fruit have different heights. The amount of light influences the growth as well. The best way to judge whether a seedling is large enough to plant out in the garden is to look at the number of true leaves.

The first leaves that appear after you&rsquo;ve sown the seed are the cotyledons. True leaves grow shortly after the cotyledons. When a seedling has three or four true leaves, it&rsquo;s large enough to go outside. When your seedling reaches at least three to four true leaves, you can harden it off and plant it out in the ground.

<h2>Harden off seedlings</h2>

One to two weeks before you want to plant your seedlings in their permanent homes outdoors, start bringing them outdoors to acclimate. Hardening off seedlings is like preparing your young sprouts for the harsher environment outdoors. To help them build up a defence, you should expose your seedlings to bright light and temperature differences.

<ul>
	<li>Place your seedlings in a semi-shady position for a few hours a day</li>
	<li>Make sure you protect your seedlings from the wind since they have experienced indoor conditions only.</li>
	<li>Be sure to take your seedlings in every night.</li>
	<li>Slowly build up the amount of sunlight and hours of outdoor time each day.</li>
	<li>Move your seedlings to a more sunny spot in the garden up until they have been outside for at least six hours in full sun.</li>
	<li>Now they&rsquo;re ready to be planted out in the ground.</li>
</ul>

Don&rsquo;t take the importance of hardening off your seedlings for granted. This will help them establish a strong root system and thrive outside. This whole process should take just a little longer than one week. Good luck!

<img alt="Seedlings - Trowbridge" src="https://www.trowbridgegardencentre.co.uk/files/images/Seedlings%20-%20Trowbridge%20(2).jpg" style="width: 100%;" title="Seedlings - Trowbridge" />

<h2>Plant out herb seedlings</h2>

Herbs are extremely easy to grow in the garden. Even if you don&rsquo;t have a green thumb, you will enjoy growing herbs with the warm sun on your back. Herbs don&rsquo;t care about soil type, how much sunlight they get or any waterings. The only thing you should look out for is to pick the leaves if they&rsquo;re ripe. Herb leaves are ready to eat if you find the size good enough. As soon as the stems start to grow leaves, it has their lovely taste. Herbs spread a lovely scent, too. So, what are you waiting for? Get started with these 5 easy herbs:

<ul>
	<li>Basil (sow basil seeds directly in the ground when the soil has warmed sufficiently and nights are staying consistently warm in the spring)</li>
	<li>Dill (low-maintenance herb, sow directly in the ground, dill doesn&rsquo;t like to be transplanted)</li>
	<li>Oregano (comes back year after year and doesn&rsquo;t need much water)</li>
	<li>Parsley (takes a long time to germinate, so start growing indoors about 6-8 weeks before you plan to transplant them outdoors)</li>
	<li>Rosemary (firstly grown indoors and then transplanted outdoors after the danger of frost has passed)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Transplant veg seedlings</h2>

Have you started growing seedlings indoors yet? No? This is probably your last chance of sowing Brussels sprouts if you want them ready by the end of the year. Also, cauliflowers and cabbage need to be sown indoor by now. Some veg seedlings are ready to be planted out just when the danger of frost is over. Plant out these seedlings to continue strong growth:

<ul>
	<li>Courgette</li>
	<li>Pumpkin</li>
	<li>Peas</li>
	<li>Cabbage</li>
	<li>Brocolli</li>
	<li>Kale</li>
	<li>Sprouts</li>
</ul>

<h2>Trowbridge&nbsp;Garden Centre seedlings</h2>

Visit our garden centre for all that&rsquo;s needed to plant out seedlings. We have seed trays, potting soil, containers, watering cans, fertilizers. Come and visit our garden centre and get started by hardening off and transplanting your seedlings. Well, look after your plants and care for them&nbsp;to maintain a lovely harvest in Summer. If you have any questions regarding your seedlings, don&rsquo;t hesitate to ask our friendly staff. They&rsquo;re always smiling and always willing to help.

Seedlings

Want a beautiful garden but don&rsquo;t have hours to spend looking after it? Go for&nbsp;low maintenance garden landscaping. Choose your plants and materials carefully, and you can still have a garden that looks good all year round.

Want a beautiful garden but don&rsquo;t have hours to spend looking after it? Go for&nbsp;low maintenance garden landscaping. Choose your plants and materials carefully, and you can still have a garden that looks good all year round.

<h2>Hard landscaping</h2>

Hard landscaping, such as paving, decking, and gravel, takes less than a lawn, but it still needs some regular maintenance to keep it looking good and functioning well. Decking and paving both need annual cleaning to get rid of grime and moss, and algae can build up over winter and make surfaces slippery. Many decking types also need an annual treatment with a preservative like oil to stop the wood from rotting. Research your preferred paving or decking materials before you put them in to make sure you know how to look after them.&nbsp;

Gravel is a cheaper alternative to paving and decking and is very easy to use. Put down a weed-suppressing membrane before laying gravel to stop perennial weeds like dandelions and bindweed growing through from below. Gravel areas will still need occasional weeding, as annual weed seed will be blown in on the wind and germinate in the gravel.

<h2>Reducing weeds in borders</h2>

Weed suppressing fabric is an effective way to reduce the number of weeds in flower beds. It&rsquo;s best used when planting new areas. Before planting, cover the bare soil with the weed-suppressing membrane and peg it down. To plant through this membrane, use scissors or a knife to make an X-shaped cut in the fabric where a plant is to go, then scoop out the soil through this hole, pop in the plant, backfill with soil and settle the fabric back around the base of the plant. After everything is planted, spread a layer of bark chippings over the bed to hide the membrane.

Groundcover plants can also be very effective at suppressing weeds in borders, producing dense foliage mats that block the light from weed seedlings and smother them before they can grow.&nbsp; Useful groundcover plants include:

<ul>
	<li>Geranium macrorrhizum</li>
	<li>Pachysandra terminalis</li>
	<li>Bergenia</li>
	<li>Alchemilla mollis</li>
</ul>

<h2>Low maintenance planting</h2>

Low maintenance planting doesn&rsquo;t have to be dull. Evergreen shrubs look good all year, and many have beautiful flowers too. All they need is an annual trim to keep them in shape. This list of evergreen shrubs is ideal for low maintenance landscaping:

<ul>
	<li>Hebe</li>
	<li>Choisya</li>
	<li>Holly</li>
	<li>Yew&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Nandina domestica</li>
	<li>Rosemary</li>
	<li>Thyme</li>
	<li>Lavender</li>
</ul>

And for the ultimate in low-maintenance gardening, plant spring bulbs.&nbsp;Once established, they will come back year after year with practically no effort required on your part. Deadheading them will help preserve the plants&rsquo; energies for next year&rsquo;s flowers, but if you don&rsquo;t manage to get around to do this, they&rsquo;ll still produce a spectacular display the following spring.&nbsp; Daffodils, bluebells and crocuses are particularly reliable, flowering year after year.

Need advice on low-maintenance gardening? Our friendly staff are on hand to help you, so visit us soon.

Welcome to Trowbridge

Tea Room

Vegetables

Fruit

Garden birds

Seeds

Hand tools

Containers

Houseplants

Gifts

Subscribe to our newsletter

Composts

Trowbridge Garden Centre

Tea Room

Latest news

Plants for shady gardens

Seedlings

Low maintenance landscaping

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