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<p>We are open every day through lockdown as an essential retailer.</p>

Garden Centre Entrance

We are open!

<p>Cards, Presents &amp; Plants for Mums in stock now</p>

Mother's Day

Sunday 14 March

<p>Plant herbaceous perennials now and enjoy a floral treat this summer, and next... 4 for &pound;12!</p>

Long-lasting planting

Long-lasting Planting

<p>No work involved&nbsp;- just position and enjoy!</p>

Bulb boxes

Beautiful Boxes of Planted Bulbs

<p>Bring bright and cheery&nbsp;colour with&nbsp;primroses.</p>

Primroses Feb 21

Primrose promise!

<p>Easy-to-grow, with showy early flowers and lush evergreen leaves - Camellias are a winter wonder!</p>

Camellias for winter colour

<p>Delivery to your front door&nbsp;when you spend &pound;30 or more. Bulky items? We can deliver your gardening project.</p>

Free local delivery

Free delivery within 3 miles!

<p>If you haven&#39;t visited us in the last few weeks you probably won&#39;t have seen our covered seating area! Decorated with fairy lights, and with blankets provided to keep you warm, the Olive Tree garden has been transformed into a Tier 2-friendly place to meet friends from outside your household or bubble.</p>

<p><img alt="" height="500" src="https://www.ashteadpark.com/files/images/thumbnail_image0.jpg" style="width: 400px; height: 500px;" width="400" /></p>

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<p><img alt="" height="500" src="https://www.ashteadpark.com/files/images/thumbnail_image1.jpg" style="width: 400px; height: 500px;" width="400" /></p>

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Meet friends outdoors

It’s springtime, get prepared for flowering bulbs… Here's how to prepare for your spring garden: %link%

<p>Wondering <strong>how to prepare your spring garden</strong>? As your bulbs pop up through the soil, you will know that spring is definitely in the air. The birds will be singing and beginning to search for nesting spaces, and there will be more days with blue skies and warmer sunshine than we’ve seen over the winter months. Spring is truly food for the soul as we each feel like we are coming out of hibernation and getting ready for the months ahead. Here is how to prepare your spring garden.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Prepare your spring garden and check your soil&nbsp;</h2>
<p>As you start to notice your bulbs popping up through the soil, you know it’s time when the garden is ready to burst into bloom.</p>
<ul>
<li>Your soil may need some fresh nutrients to ensure it is replenished, ready for planting and growing in the seasons ahead.</li>
<li>If you didn’t give it fresh mulch in autumn, now might be the time to get a good application of well-rotted organic matter on your garden or allotment.</li>
<li>Don’t cover or much too close to young shoots.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h2>Clear away winter debris to prepare your spring garden</h2>
<p>After the wet and windy months gone by, your garden may need a tidy up. Clear away any fallen branches, leaves and other debris, plus remove any dead, diseased or old plant foliage. Not only will that get you off to a good start in spring, but also it will give your bulbs the space they need, and you’ll be able to see them blooming much better.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Prepare your spring garden with lists</h2>
<p>Before you get too far into the spring, when seedlings are sprouting, plants need planting out. All the busy garden work starts. Make sure you write your plans on lists, label your plants, including your bulbs, because that way, when they finish flowering, and the foliage dies back, you will know which bulbs were growing where and you can plant around them without accidentally digging them up.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Summer colour needed to prepare your spring garden</h2>
<p>These flower bulbs can all be planted in spring to make sure your garden is full of colour in the summer:</p>
<ul>
<li>Ranunculus,</li>
<li>Lilies,</li>
<li>Nerines,</li>
<li>Freesias.</li>
</ul>
<p>There is no need for any bulb flowering gaps if you keep on top of the planting. Bulbs can be planted in pots and containers or beds and borders and bring so much to the garden with joy, colour and fragrance. Happy spring!&nbsp;</p>
<p>Spring gardening tools, summer flowering bulbs and much more can be found in store.&nbsp;</p>


Prepare your spring garden

It’s springtime, get prepared for flowering bulbs… Here's how to prepare for your spring garden: %linkfortwitter%

Growing your own potatoes is great fun, and if you don’t have a big garden, you can even grow potatoes in pots. Read our top tips on growing and harvesting potatoes. %link%

<p>Fancy eating your own <strong>home-grown potatoes</strong> this summer? Now’s the time to start planting. And if you don’t have a big garden, you can still grow early potatoes in a pot or grow bag on a sunny patio. Here are our top tips on growing potatoes.</p>
<h2>Which potatoes to grow</h2>
<p>Potatoes are grouped into first early, second early, and maincrop potatoes.&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>First and early potatoes are planted in early spring, and second early potatoes a couple of weeks later. They are harvested in the early to mid-summer.&nbsp;</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Maincrop potatoes are planted in mid-spring and take longer to mature than the early potatoes, ready to harvest in late summer and early autumn.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Chitting potatoes</h2>
<p>It’s a good idea to ‘chit’ first and second early potatoes, as it can give you a better harvest. You don’t need to chit maincrop potatoes (although it won’t hurt them if you do). ‘Chitting’ potatoes means allowing them to sprout shoots before planting them. Here’s how it’s done:</p>
<h2>How to chit potatoes</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<p>In late February or early March, place your seed potatoes in a container with their ‘eyes’ (the bumps on the skin where shoots will sprout) pointing upwards. Egg cartons make ideal containers for chitting potatoes.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Put the container in a bright, frost-free place, like a windowsill, and leave it there for around 4-6 weeks while the potatoes sprout.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Once the shoots are about 2.5cm (1in) long, the potatoes are ready to plant. Remove all but the strongest two shoots on each potato before planting.&nbsp;</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>How to plant potatoes</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Several weeks before planting, dig well-rotted farmyard manure into the soil to improve the structure. Ideally, do this in autumn so that the soil is ready for planting in spring.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>To plant potatoes, dig trenches 15cm (6in) deep, spaced 60cm (2ft) apart for early potatoes and 75cm (2.5ft) apart for maincrops.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Place the potatoes in the trenches, with shoots pointing upwards on chitted potatoes.&nbsp;Space early potatoes 30cm (12in) apart and maincrops 40cm (16in).&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Cover over with soil.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>To plant potatoes in containers, choose a big pot at least 45cm (18in) deep. Put a 15cm (6in) layer of compost at the bottom of the container, place two or three potatoes on the compost and cover over with more compost.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Caring for potatoes</h2>
<p>As your potatoes grow, earth them up by mounding up soil around the plant stems. This stops the developing tubers from being exposed to light, which would turn them green and toxic. For container-grown potatoes, keep covering the shoots with compost as they grow until the container is full. Water potatoes well in dry periods, especially container-grown potatoes.</p>
<h2>Harvesting potatoes</h2>
<p>Harvest first early potatoes in early summer, seconds from midsummer and maincrops from late summer. Cook, grill, steam, and bake potatoes and use them in any dish! Good luck with planting potatoes.</p>
<p>Want to start growing your own vegetables this year? Visit our centre today and take your pick from our great range of vegetable seeds and seedlings.</p>


How to grow potatoes

Growing your own potatoes is great fun, and if you don’t have a big garden, you can even grow potatoes in pots. Read our top tips on growing and harvesting potatoes. %linkfortwitter%

Wondering what to gift for Mothers Day? Here are our ideas; %link%

<p>With <strong>Mothers Day</strong> approaching, it is time to treat the special person in your life and show her how much you care and love her. Sunday, March 14&nbsp;&nbsp;it's the day we say 'thank you, mom', 'I love you mom' a little more. Our <strong>gift guide</strong> will help you decide what to wrap up and gift with love to your favourite person. Even if you cannot see her, you can show her how thankful you are to her and post something special to make her day.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>1. Flowers</h2>
<p>It might be the most obvious, but it is also the most welcome! From bouquets to posies and letterbox deliveries, there are many options. But, in our opinion, there is nothing better than&nbsp;saying&nbsp;‘you are special’ with a spring bunch of Daffodils and Tulips plus a gorgeous new vase to put them in. So much colour and joy in a vase from some of our best-loved spring flowers.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>2. Scented candles</h2>
<p>Relaxing with a candle flickering is so peaceful, and maybe your special lady could do with some indulgence and time to chill. Gift a large scented candle and throw in some bubble bath, so she gets the picture. Choose a scent your Mum loves, from spicy cinnamon to light Lily and Rose. Don’t forget if she’s going to take some time out, offer to walk the dog or look after the kids.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>3. Gardening accessories</h2>
<p>No one can have too many gardening tools and accessories. There are some lovely hand tool gift sets available, or if she needs to get digging, how about a new spade and fork? Then there are gloves, kneeling pads and gardening aprons. Perhaps she needs some new garden pots, seed sowing trays or other gardening items. So many options to show her how special she is.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>4. Garden rose</h2>
<p>Roses always show how much you love someone, and with so many varieties and incredible colours, there is a Rose for everyone. Why not pick a Rose that has some meaning, such as a particular colour your Mum loves or even one with a name that has a meaning. There is one called ‘Mum in a Million’, which is a beautiful pink colour. ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ is a lovely yellow Rose, and there are many more with names that might suit.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>5. A good book&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Your Mum can take some time out, put her feet up, grab a cup of tea and enjoy a good book. If she loves gardening, why not find the best plant-filled book you can or houseplants if she prefers to garden indoors. Cut flower books to floristry, recipes to a really great fiction book. Take some time to think about what she would really enjoy and wrap it up into a gift.&nbsp;</p>
<p>We can cover all of your mothers day gifts in one shop! Visit us in store.</p>


Top 5 best Mothers Day Gifts

Wondering what to gift for Mothers Day? Here are our ideas; %linkfortwitter%

Find out how to keep your lawn looking great %Link%

<p>Our guide to <strong>keeping a great lawn</strong> will help you to take the steps needed to ensure it is lush, green and in good health. Lawns are essential aspects of many gardens and can bring so much to a garden design. From long, straight formal lawns to curved edges surrounded by perennials and bedding plants, the lawn is a place to lounge, exercise and play.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Keeping a great lawn requires care</h2>
<p>Even a patchy lawn can be saved with the proper care and attention.</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>If it’s looking tired or not in the best condition, it will just need some time and attention to bring it back to life.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>As the weather warms up during spring, start to cut your lawn on the highest setting on your mower. This will ensure your grass doesn't go into shock when it first gets cut.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Then gradually lower the setting, so each time you mow, the setting is lower.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>If you spot moss, spring is a good time to remove that. If you need to feed your lawn, apply it to the lawn when rain is due so it can be absorbed into the soil.&nbsp;</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Summer tips for keeping a great lawn</h2>
<p>During summer, the lawn can look a little well used, especially if you have children or pets playing outside all of the time. You can apply a pet-friendly fertiliser and water well but don’t feed after August because any new growth may get damaged as autumn approaches and the weather gets cooler. If it is patchy, you could re-sow seeds in late summer/autumn and protect them with some netting from little feet.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Keeping a great lawn means sowing more seeds</h2>
<p>There will be times when you need to reseed your lawn. Just remove any weeds in autumn or spring, rake over the surface and break it up a little before sowing seeds and watering. You must pick the best seed for your lawn and if there is heavy footfall, make sure it is hard-wearing so it is easier to maintain when used a lot.</p>
<h2>Winter care for keeping a great lawn</h2>
<p>During the colder months of the year, your lawn won’t need feeding or weeding but still be aware that it does need some attention to make sure it doesn't get ruined during sustained periods of wet weather. If you can, try not to walk on the lawn so much over the winter period that it can help keep it in great shape.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Visit us in store for a selection of lawn seed, feed and lawn care accessories, plus some expert advice.</p>


Keeping a great lawn

Find out how to keep your lawn looking great %Linkfortwitter%