In this issue…

WELCOME FROM SIMON

YOU MUST BE JO KING

GLORIOUS GARDENS

YOUR LOYALTY VOUCHER

IN THE GARDEN CENTRE

ORCHARD NEWS

COMPETITION

EVENTS AT HOLME

The Gardens at Holme have had plenty of visitors in raptures this summer, enjoying the walk around and then rushing home to tell their friends about the beautiful plants and colourful borders.

For the last 10 years the Gardens have been developing quietly so that now they include ponds, waterfalls, a David Austin Rose collection, a young arboretum, a cloister garden, bog gardens, twenty colour themed borders, palms, bamboos and a formal cutting garden.

One of the most popular attractions this year is the sweeping annual flower meadows which have been much admired and not only are they attractive to humans but judging by the number of visiting bees, hoverflies and butterflies they are also loved by wildlife too.

Eugen, Amos and Marianna work very hard all year round in the gardens. You may see them on your next visit.

The gardens will continue to produce a lovely, colourful display throughout the

autumn so make sure you visit and soak up the peaceful atmosphere filled with the sound of wildlife. Particular plants to look out for are the 30 new varieties of Dahlia we have added this season and the 40 blue and purple Morning Glory climbers planted throughout the garden.

Even into late October and November there will still be some spectacular autumn colours on the young trees in the arboretum, so come and admire nature’s best.

Over the course of this year you have been accumulating 5% of what you spent at Holme whenever you used your Holme Privilege Card. If you have received this newsletter by post your Loyalty Voucher should be

enclosed with your monetary value printed on it. Please bring this voucher to Holme anytime between now and Friday 30th September and you can use it against any purchase.

So will you choose a meal

in the Orchard Café, some beautiful plants or bulbs from the nursery or some delicious local food from the Farm Shop?

We appreciate your custom and hope you enjoy spending the voucher.

If for any reason you have not received your voucher please contact Rose or Sue at enquiries@holmefg.co.uk

YOUR LOYALTY BONUS PAYOUT REDEEM IT NOW

privilegecard

Autumn offers in the Orchard

DECEMBERFree Mince Pie with every Hot drinkLift your spirits in the run up to Christmas with a mince pie when you purchase any hot drink (9am-12 noon only)✃

NOVEMBERWinter Warmer for just £6.95A Holme made Hot Seasonal meal - 12 noon till 2.30pm✃

OCTOBERMeet a friend for afternoon Tea Save £3.90Includes sandwiches, scones, cream and jam. Normal price £7.95 each Buy 2 for just £12. Available from 2.30pm everyday in October

✃

Orchard News

Let’s meet in the Orchard TEA WITH SANTA

Our primary objective is the comfort of our customers in a pleasant and inspiring environment. Hopefully we have achieved this especially in the outdoor areas by the ponds where there are 120 outdoor seats. This is divided into several different patios and seating areas so that there is always enough seating for larger groups but also somewhere quiet to retreat to for those looking for some peace and tranquility.

The other most important aim of ours is to provide lovely food with good service. Thankfully we have naturally friendly staff who enjoy meeting people and 3 lovely chefs. However, to serve you properly they need good equipment, so last spring we undertook some significant improvements to the kitchen, more than doubling its size and installing a lot of new cooking and cold storage equipment. At about the same time Amanda arrived as our new manager and has led the Orchard staff to successfully incorporate the changes to the kitchen, and made the troupe into a happy and professional team.

We have plenty for you to enjoy this autumn and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Santa met so many lovely children last year that he has agreed to visit us again in the run up to Christmas this year. He will be with us for afternoon tea on Tuesday 20th and Thursday 22nd December. Whilst waiting to meet Santa the children can enjoy magical stories and of course a lovely afternoon tea with

parents. Santa is very popular so booking is essential.

Email orchard@holmefg.co.uk Cost £6. Time from 3 to 5pm

The Orchard already welcomes many friendship groups who use it for a venue to meet up regularly and enjoy each other’s company. There are many cycling groups, walkers, church elders, parents, exercise classes and we are even a watering hole for our local constabulary’s ‘high speed pursuit team’. So if your group would like to meet for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea get along to the Orchard (but don’t break the speed limit)

UPCOMING EVENTS

OPENING HOURSOpen everyday except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Easter Sunday

Monday till SaturdayNursery & Farm Shop: BST 9.00am to 5.30pm GMT 9.00am to 5.00pmOrchard Café: 9.00am to 5.00pm

Sunday opening times all year roundPlants & Nursery Shop: 10.30am to 4.30pmFarm Shop & Orchard Café: 9.30am to 5.30pm There’s no place

like Holme

CONTACT USHolme Nurseries Ltd

West Holme Farm, Wareham, Dorset. BH20 6AQ

enquiries@holmefg.co.uk www.holmefg.co.uk Tel: 01929 554716

Like us on Facebook & Trip Advisor

Dear Reader,

Welcome to our autumn newsletter.

At the end of April we completed the major improvements we started right back in March 2015 and I am looking forward to a period of calm before making any more alterations. In January we removed the old agricultural barn and installed a new car park with raised beds, a new garden centre entrance and a 50m long pergola with under planted borders.

This has made it much easier to park and access the site especially for blue badge holders and at busy times the overflow parking is far more obvious. Despite the scale of the changes we have made, we have been careful to respect our original farm heritage by re-using most of the wooden railway sleepers from the barn in the new planters and entrance, and keeping our individual, rustic feel.

Just 4 months later and the planting looks well established, and as I write butterflies are fluttering from flower to flower. It certainly sets the tone when you arrive reinforcing the fact that Holme is where gardening and nature not only co-exist but thrive.

I look forward to seeing you this Autumn.

Best wishes

Simon

Last November we expanded the Garden Centre shop, and developed the covered space above the Orchard Café into a pleasant conservatory area. An environmentally friendly heating and cooling system was installed for comfort and we had already designed the roof with plenty of insulated roof lights so people can sit now in an area that is comfortable but where there is plenty of natural daylight to blow away any winter blues (or summer blues on an inclement day!).

Furthermore we have moved the houseplant display into this room so you can feel surrounded by greenery and hot house flowers. We had in mind that this would be an attractive place in winter when it was too cold to sit outside but it has already been popular this summer.

If you have not enjoyed eating in this room before why not give it a try this Autumn and what’s more - well behaved dogs are welcome so you can bring your pooch too.

The Orchard is a great place to host your Christmas celebration, and we welcome large and small group bookings. The Christmas menu will be available from September and we would be happy to talk through your requirements. Please speak to Amanda or email orchard@holmefg.co.uk

CHRISTMAS PARTY BOOKINGS

The answer to the spring competition was ANDROMEDA and congratulations to Mrs. Edwards who won the prize for getting this and submitting the most words of four or more letters.

This time we would like you to come up with a caption competition for the photo above of Alec entering the pond on his last day at Holme.

Winners will receive £15 of Holme Vouchers. Closing date for entries is 31st October.

COMPETITION TIME

DAY DATE EVENT Saturday 8th October Feelin’ Fruity Tree Day. Come and talk to the experts about

anything fruit tree. The best varieties, rootstocks, planting, aftercare, pruning and pest and disease control. 10% off any fruit trees purchased on the day.

Tuesday 18th October Planting containers for winter colour 11am to 12 noon. Talk and Demonstration cost £5 includes 1 free regular hot drink.

Wednesday 26th October Blithe Spirit Purbeck Film Festival Supper and Film £12 - Film only £6.

Thursday 27th October Dare to be Wild Purbeck Film Festival Supper and Film £12 - Film only £6.

Thursday 10th November Gardener’s Question Time and Quiz. Join us for supper and a fun horticultural table quiz before trying to outfox our panel of experts. Supper and quiz £12.

Tuesday 15th November Putting your borders to bed. 11am to 12.30 pm. Talk and Demonstration cost £5 includes 1 free regular hot drink.

Friday 18th November Liz Charity Quiz – Enjoy supper and test the brain cells at this entertaining event. £8 per person to include a Ploughman’s supper.

Tuesday 22nd November Autumn pruning with Simon. Practical demonstration. Cost £7 includes 1 regular tea or coffee per person.

Sunday 27th November Rose Day – See the new range of Roses, get advice from our experts on planting and pruning plus 20% off any roses purchased on the day.

Sunday 4th December Light up a Life carol service in the Orchard. Our annual event in association with the Joseph Weld Hospice.

Tuesday 20th December Tea with Santa 3pm to 5pm. Booking essential.

Thursday 22nd December Tea with Santa 3pm to 5pm. Booking essential.

To book for any of these events email orchard@holmefg.co.uk or call a member of the Orchard team on 01929 554716 Ext 3

CONSERVATORY AREA A BIG SUCCESS

There’s no place like Holme

Autumn 2016

Desi

gned

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prin

ted

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Holme News - Saturday Boys to Supervisors

Plants Manager Richard saysI am excited about this Autumn because not only have we put together a great selection of plants, bulbs, pots and compost but we also have some great offers to go with them. In addition we have a program of practical demonstrations, a Gardener’s Question time (see back page) and on Saturday 8th October we are running a ‘Feelin’ Fruity’ event covering everything you need to know about growing fruit in your own garden.

HOLME GROWN Young Alec Cottrell joined us 5 yrs ago as a Saturday boy but is now moving on to join the Navy at officer level. His quirky sense of humour and ever cheerful nature will be missed. We wish him the very best of luck.

WELL DONE ANDREW! From working one day a week on the fruit farm, moving to weekends in the garden centre and progressing to a valuable full time member of staff, Andrew Gentry has come a long way since he joined Holme. He has recently finished his second horticultural training course at Kingston Maurward College and earlier this year he assisted Richard on a plant buying trip to Holland. Subsequently, Andrew has assumed more responsibility for displays and plant care and has become a key member of the plant team and a customer favourite with his cheerful nature and willingness to help.

Tell us your great ideas We are always looking for ways to improve what we do so if you have any ideas we would love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a favourite dish or recipe that we could add to the Orchard specials board, or maybe a new feature for the garden or perhaps a suggestion to improve the plant area. Whatever it is we would like to know so if you do think of something please drop us a note, fill in one of our ‘suggestion forms’ or email simon@holmefg.co.uk

GRASSES

“

This year we have planted 120 Dahlias in 30 varieties from a specialist Dahlia grower. They have established very quickly and will be showing off throughout September and October. As well as growing them in the garden we will be setting up a display of cut blooms so come and tell us the varieties you like so we know which ones to grow next year.

Dazzling Dahlias

Spring in the Garden Centre Late Spring in the Garden Centre

6 TOP TIPS FOR MAY

Thin out weak flowering shoots from Spring flowering shrubs and climbers, immediately after flowering

Keep the weeds in check with a weekly hoe around the garden, larger areas may be sprayed carefully with weedkillers

Lawns - mow weekly with a higher cut and apply lawn feeds combined with a lawn weed control.

If not already done, wait for a heavy downpour and mulch your garden to cap in the moisture before the drought of summer. 10 gallons of water hydrates 1 yard square 6” deep

Avoid trimming hedges so as not to disturb nesting birds.

Continue to check susceptible plants for slug and snail damage, using slug control sensibly.

Summer in the Garden Centre

David Says

6 TOP TIPS FOR APRIL

Tie in your climbers as new growth comes through

Ensure all your hardy annuals and herb seeds are sown

Feed all those needy shrubs and roses to give them a good kick start

Sow or turf new lawns and repair any bare patches

Get ahead of your weeds and keep them under control. Use mulch to dramatically reduce weed germination

Beware of late frosts for the more tender plants by keeping an eye on the weather forecast

Richard Says

We may not have to battle through thick jungle, climb high mountain passes, avoid cannibals or fight off Malaria like the plant hunters of old... nonetheless the Holme plant team are just as passionate about bringing you the best garden plants from Dorset, England and as far afield as Holland, Germany and Italy. Over the past few weeks we have been scouring Britain and Europe to assemble an amazing array of plants which is now on show at Holme.

People often enquire why the quality and range of plants at Holme is so good. Firstly it’s the expertise and enthusiasm of the staff who all love gardening. This knowledge gives Holme the confidence to handle the unusual plants as well as the more familiar. Next comes the fact that whilst big chain garden centres are shedding smaller suppliers because it is too difficult for them to operate, we deal with over 60 growers who are niche specialist producers,

and as often as possible we go and hand select the plants direct from the growers.

All this expertise and knowledge is available to you so why not make use of it this spring and visit the vast selection of plants at Holme?

PLANTHUNTERS

A GARDEN CONSULTATION WITH SIMON COULD...· open your eyes to new possibilities,· save you lots of money,

· solve pest and diseases issues and much more besides.

Book a consultation with Simon for just £60 or if you have a Privilege Plus card get a £15 discount

Lavender is ideal for poor free draining soils including chalk. Lavenders look fantastic in pots too!

Plant them in John Innes Number 2 compost. In heavy clay soils Lavender can get woody and leggy so dig in plenty of sand or grit at planting to improve drainage. Prune hard in late summer to keep looking at their best..

LOVELY LAVENDERS

1 LTR LAVENDERS

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d th

e po

nd w

hils

t to

ssin

g

a pa

ncak

e at

leas

t thr

ee ti

mes

each

circ

uit.

The

stro

ng

favo

urite

w

as

Liz

who

ha

s be

en

trai

ning

all

win

ter

for

the

Lond

on

Mar

atho

n an

d sh

e w

ent

into

an

early

le

ad

whe

n Si

mon

drop

ped

his

panc

ake

on t

he

seco

nd

flip.

Li

z w

as

hotly

purs

ued

by S

onia

who

was

ham

pere

d by

he

r fa

ncy

dres

s ye

llow

ban

ana

suit

but

desp

ite t

his

grad

ually

cau

ght

Liz

up a

nd c

omin

g in

to t

he

final

cor

ner i

t was

a tw

o ho

rse

race

but

biz

arre

ly b

oth

Liz

and

Soni

a dr

oppe

d th

eir

panc

akes

at t

he s

ame

time

and

whi

lst

they

sto

oped

to re

trie

ve th

em,

the

two

hare

s w

ere

over

take

n

by

Sim

on

the

tort

oise

w

ho

roun

ded

the

bend

to

take

the

cheq

uere

d fla

g.

Of

cour

se t

he b

igge

st w

inne

r

was

Ju

pite

r w

ho

thou

ght

it

was

C

hris

tmas

co

me

early

whe

n th

ree

tast

y pa

ncak

es

wen

t to

gr

ound

w

hich

he

hast

ily s

naffl

ed u

p!

This

will

be

Liz’

s 5th

Lon

don

mar

atho

n an

d th

is y

ear

she

is r

aisi

ng m

oney

fo

r C

hild

ren

with

Can

cer.

Soni

a di

d of

fer

her

the

bana

na s

uit

to g

race

the

stre

ets

of L

ondo

n bu

t Li

z

decl

ined

. If

you

wou

ld l

ike

to s

pons

or L

iz,

deta

ils a

re in

the

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p.

SIM

ON

BEA

TS L

IZ A

ND

SO

NIA

WIT

H F

RYI

NG

PAN

FRIE

ND

LY

FUN

GI

Ther

e is

a m

iracl

e in

a h

ealth

y

soil

that

has

its

orig

ins

500

mill

ion

year

s ag

o,

a liv

ing

orga

nism

as

ol

d as

pl

ants

them

selv

es

and

one

that

coul

d be

th

e di

ffere

nce

betw

een

succ

ess

and

failu

re

of a

pla

nt in

you

r ga

rden

.

Myc

orrh

izal

fu

ngi

are

bene

ficia

l fu

ngi

that

ar

e

esse

ntia

l to

the

wel

lbei

ng o

f

your

pla

nts.

The

se o

rgan

ism

s

form

a

criti

cal

rela

tions

hip

with

ov

er

90%

of

pl

ants

.

They

at

tach

th

emse

lves

to

the

root

s of

yo

ung

plan

ts

and

effe

ctiv

ely

incr

ease

th

e

root

sys

tem

of

the

plan

t by

anyt

hing

from

a

100

to

a

1000 t

imes

. Th

ere

is u

p to

10 k

ilom

etre

s of

fung

al s

tran

d

in 1

cub

ic c

entim

etre

of

soil

and

this

int

ricat

e ne

twor

k of

stra

nds

expl

ores

th

e so

il in

min

ute

deta

il fo

r nu

trie

nts

and

wat

er b

ringi

ng th

em b

ack

to t

he p

lant

roo

ts f

or u

se b

y

the

plan

t an

d in

ret

urn

the

plan

t pr

ovid

es t

he

fung

us w

ith s

ugar

s it

need

s.

If m

ycor

rhiz

ae a

re s

o cr

itica

l

for

my

gard

en w

hy a

re t

he

plan

ts i

n m

y ga

rden

doi

ng s

o

wel

l? M

ost

soils

are

hea

lthy

and

natu

rally

con

tain

ple

nty

of a

ctiv

e m

ycor

rhiz

ae s

o it

is

very

lik

ely

that

you

r ga

rden

has

them

in

ab

unda

nce

anyw

ay.

How

ever

, in

cer

tain

situ

atio

ns

Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i may

die

out

or

be

sign

ifica

ntly

re

duce

d

in

the

soil

by

exce

ssiv

e

culti

vatio

n,

strip

ping

an

d

stor

age

of s

oil

durin

g ho

use

cons

truc

tion,

co

mpa

ctio

n of

soil

and

prol

onge

d pe

riods

of t

he a

rea

dow

n to

gra

ss.

In

thes

e si

tuat

ions

myc

orrh

izae

may

be

slow

to

re-c

olon

ise

so

at p

lant

ing

time

addi

tion

of

orga

nic

mat

ter

and

Roo

tgro

w

(Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i in

pack

ets)

will

he

lp

your

pl

ants

ge

t

HO

LME I

MP

RO

VEM

EN

TSO

ver

the

win

ter,

we

have

ca

rrie

d ou

t a

lot

of

impr

ovem

ents

to

th

e

build

ings

ad

join

ing

the

Orc

hard

pro

vidi

ng a

cle

aner

and

drie

r en

viro

nmen

t in

whi

ch

to

disp

lay

a w

ider

rang

e of

gar

deni

ng t

ools

and

othe

r ga

rden

ess

entia

ls.

We

have

ju

st

erec

ted

a

new

po

lytu

nnel

to

he

lp

us

grow

mor

e pl

ants

our

selv

es,

part

icul

arly

pla

nts

like

Salv

ia

and

Ant

hem

is

whi

ch

are

grea

t pl

ants

for

gro

win

g he

re

in t

he S

outh

but

are

diff

icul

t

to o

btai

n from

oth

er g

row

ers.

The

first

pl

ants

from

th

is

tunn

el

will

be

av

aila

ble

to

buy

from

m

id-A

pril.

M

ore

addi

tions

to

th

e ga

rden

s

are

plan

ned

this

yea

r w

ith

the

plan

ting

of

two

new

bord

ers

this

Sp

ring

and

in

the

Aut

umn

a ne

w

gard

en

devo

ted

to

five

hund

red

diffe

rent

va

rietie

s of

ap

ple.

This

is

to m

ark

the

Que

en’s

Dia

mon

d Ju

bile

e an

d w

e

are

hopi

ng i

n th

e lo

ng t

erm

for

the

gard

en

to

beco

me

natio

nally

impo

rtan

t.

SPR

ING

TIM

E A

ND

W

E A

RE

BU

ZZIN

G

TOA

DS

AN

D

WIL

DLI

FE

THR

IVIN

G

AT H

OLM

E

The

pond

at

H

olm

e w

as

teem

ing

with

to

ads

in

Febr

uary

as

hund

reds

of

the

adul

t’s m

ade

thei

r w

ay b

ack

to th

eir

birt

h pl

ace

afte

r be

ing

away

for

2 y

ears

. W

e al

way

s

have

a

high

po

pula

tion

of

adul

t to

ads

arou

nd t

he l

ower

part

s of

the

nur

sery

and

the

y

do a

fan

tast

ic j

ob o

f ke

epin

g

the

slug

an

d sn

ails

do

wn,

but

it w

as l

ike

a fe

stiv

al o

f

toad

s w

ith

them

ap

pear

ing

from

far

and

wid

e. T

here

was

muc

h m

atin

g bu

t bi

zarr

ely

we

can’

t se

e an

y sp

awn

so

unfo

rtun

atel

y w

e pr

obab

ly

won

’t be

hav

ing

any

tadp

oles

.

Con

grat

ulat

ions

go

to

Mrs

Hum

phrie

s from

War

eham

, w

inne

r of

the

Ham

per

Priz

e D

raw

.

Sprin

g 20

12.in

dd

1-3

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12

13:2

0:46

the difference is our expertise…

New Year 2013

Jan is Best in Show Once Again

Jan surveys her winning garden at the Dorchester Show

and we had a lot of fun doing it”.

Jan Loveless led the Holme team with their garden entry at the September Dorchester Show and scooped the m u c h c o v e t e d Townsend Cup for the second year in a row.

This year’s theme was A Romantic Meeting Place using lots of cool greens and whites. The garden took months of preparation to ensure the plants looked just right for the big day. “We even bought the

turf in June, rolled it out on concrete and kept it watered every day just to let the grass grow nice and long for that wild look” says Jan. “You get some idea of how difficult it must be to get all the plants looking good just at the right time for Chelsea. It’s a lot of work, but the result was worth it

In this issue… Holme celebrates 21 years Forthcoming Events Big Bumper Begonias Potatoes Winter Colour Top Tips Shrub Offer Improved Loyalty Card Bulbs in pots Designs for your border

Happy Birthday Holme

Holme will be 21 year’s old this year and to help us celebrate we will be offering 21 Loyalty points on selected items.

Keep an eye out for the symbol (above) in the newsletter and in the Garden Centre for 21 Loyalty Bonus points

Farm and the Farm Shop.

We will notify you when you have earned £5 worth of points and you will be able to redeem them at your next visit.

Changes take effect from 1st January 2013 so start benefitting at your next visit.

The card also entitles

you to • free garden advice

at the Garden Centre

• Exclusive Access to Preview evenings

• Special offers in store

Following a recent review of our Privilege Card we are delighted to announce that from now on each £1 you spend will attract a Loyalty point and each Loyalty point will be worth 5p.

You will be able to use your card in all departments including the Garden Centre, the Orchard Café, the Fruit

Big Bonus for Holme Loyalty Card Holders

Townsend Cup

This year Holme has some easily assembled raised beds to help first time vegetable growers to have a go. Having assembled the bed and filled it with a mix of soil and compost, select your seeds or starter vegetable packs from a wide range including tomatoes, brassicas, onions, courgettes, chilies, beetroot, chard, sweet corn, beans and much, much more.

The vegetables you buy will be dictated by the space you have so if you do not have a

big garden, don’t worry as you can still grow a good range in window boxes, pots or even grow bags.

If you are ‘new to the game’ keep it simple and have a go at growing salad crops. Lettuce is a brilliant vegetable to start with if you have never grown them before and have limited space, it’s like having a living salad larder on your window sill or raised beds! We are always happy to help and advise

Looking toward the future, this year we are planting 270 varieties of trees, both native and from further afield to add to the 80 or so we have already planted at Holme.

This planting will mark the start of a dramatic expansion of the gardens at Holme. It will take 5 to 10 years for the trees to start attaining reasonable heights but we will be able to enjoy the blossoms and leaf colours immediately.

The new terrace above the pond is complete and is open to Orchard Cafe customers where you can sit on a sunny afternoon with you cup of tea and enjoy the elevated view over the water and planted beds.

We have also had a mural painted by local artist Nina Camplin to give the terrace greater depth. The space seats up to 30 people and is also available for private hire Enquire by email to orchard@holmeforgardens.co.uk or 01929 554716 Ext 3

Eugen has been back managing the Fruit Farm for a year now and has already made substantial improvements. He is a highly skilled and trained grower and we have equipped him with everything he needs including a brand new tractor (which he is very happy about!).

He has been very busy planting two new two new Asparagus beds, 7,500 new raspberry plants, a new show kitchen garden for more Holme grown produce to be used in our Orchard tea room kitchens, another 45 varieties of apples, and in March another 8000 strawberries are going in for fruiting in August this year.

Existing bush fruit such as Gooseberries and redcurrants have been skilfully pruned to re-invigorate them so Eugen is confident that this year there will be plenty of your favourite fruits and vegetables available for PYO from June onwards. The only thing he can’t control is the British Weather!

What a fantastic plant for our southern gardens. This South American group of plants flower from June to November without pausing for breath.

When you mention Salvia most people first think of the bedding

plant variety which is usually bright red and may not be to everyone’s taste but this year we will be growing a selection of shrubby types that will come back year after year in all but the very hardest of winters.

They range from deep purple, through cerise to mauve, pink and even red and white forms are available. Holme are having 13 specially grown varieties which will be available from early Summer.

K rissi Says

6 TOP TIPS FOR SUMMER

Dead head Roses and perennials for looks and to encourage more flowers

In dry periods water the ground areas slowly at night to ensure maximum water penetration into the soil

Finish planting out annuals and tender perennials

Continue to support tall flower stems that may be damaged by strong wind or heavy rain

Watch out for aphid attack on new growth tips. Cherries and Roses are particularly susceptible. Spray with suitable insecticide

FRUITY NEWS

Salvias!

ARBORETUM OFGARDEN TREES

GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES AND HERBS

MULBERRY TERRACE AND MURAL

Amos planting

SALVIAS£8.99 each or2 for just £15

esta

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th

e ta

lent

ed

perf

orm

ers.

Star

t yo

ur d

ay w

ith u

s….

Bre

akfa

st

is

now

av

aila

ble

from

09:

30–1

1:00

. W

e ha

ve

baco

n sa

rnie

s th

roug

h to

a

full

Orc

hard

bre

akfa

st o

n of

fer

– ju

st w

hat

you

need

bef

ore

a ha

rd

day

in

the

gard

en.

Not

hing

bea

ts a

tast

y Pu

rbec

k

bang

er

and

a go

lden

fre

e

rang

e eg

g.H

omem

ade

food

in t

he c

afe

All

our

mea

ls

are

prep

ared

in

the

Orc

hard

ki

tche

n,

usin

g lo

cal

supp

liers

an

d

seas

onal

in

gred

ient

s w

here

poss

ible

. W

e al

way

s ha

ve a

wid

e se

lect

ion

of h

ome-

mad

e

cake

s, s

hort

brea

ds a

nd

cook

ies

as w

ell

as o

ur b

est

selli

ng c

ream

tea.

Get

con

nect

edN

eed

to

chec

k yo

ur

emai

ls

or

look

up

th

at

plan

t yo

u

can’

t re

mem

ber

the

nam

e of

?

We

now

hav

e

ava

ilabl

e

for

Orc

hard

cu

stom

ers.

If

you’

d lik

e to

boo

k sp

ace

for

a br

eakf

ast

mee

ting,

eve

ning

conf

eren

ce

or

sem

inar

,

tele

phon

e us

on

0192

9 55

4 71

6 ex

t 3,

or

emai

l us

via

or

char

d@ho

lmef

orga

rden

s.co

.uk

Her

e at

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p,

we

are

alw

ays

look

ing

for

new

lo

cal

supp

liers

to

com

plim

ent

our

rang

e of

exce

llent

pr

oduc

ts.

We

are

fort

unat

e to

hav

e go

od l

ocal

mea

ts,

chee

ses,

ch

utne

ys

and

jam

s, b

eers

cid

ers

and

win

es,

bake

ries

and

bisc

uit

mak

ers

and

muc

h m

ore

all

of

exce

ptio

nal

qual

ity

and

good

val

ue f

or m

oney

. Th

is

year

we

are

addi

ng W

areh

am

mad

e co

nfec

tione

ry i

nclu

ding

flavo

urs

of f

udge

to

die

for

and

a de

licio

us

Lulw

orth

appl

e ju

ice

amon

gst

othe

r

delig

hts.

We

belie

ve y

ou c

an

buy

all

you

need

at

a go

od

pric

e lo

cally

w

hich

is

an

inva

luab

le h

elp

for

the

loca

l

econ

omy

and

peop

le w

ho li

ve

in th

e ar

ea. C

ome

in w

ith th

is

artic

le a

nd g

et 1

0% o

ff yo

ur

shop

ping

bi

ll an

d se

e ho

w

easy

and

eco

nom

ical

it

is t

o

shop

loca

lly.

Visi

tors

to

Hol

me

on S

hrov

e

Tues

day

wer

e tr

eate

d to

a

flipp

ing

good

tim

e at

th

e

Orc

hard

pa

ncak

e ra

ce.

The

cont

est c

onsi

sted

of t

hree

laps

roun

d th

e po

nd w

hils

t tos

sing

a pa

ncak

e at

leas

t thr

ee ti

mes

each

circ

uit.

The

stro

ng

favo

urite

w

as

Liz

who

ha

s be

en

trai

ning

all

win

ter

for

the

Lond

on

Mar

atho

n an

d sh

e w

ent

into

an

early

le

ad

whe

n Si

mon

drop

ped

his

panc

ake

on t

he

seco

nd

flip.

Li

z w

as

hotly

purs

ued

by S

onia

who

was

ham

pere

d by

he

r fa

ncy

dres

s ye

llow

ban

ana

suit

but

desp

ite t

his

grad

ually

cau

ght

Liz

up a

nd c

omin

g in

to t

he

final

cor

ner i

t was

a tw

o ho

rse

race

but

biz

arre

ly b

oth

Liz

and

Soni

a dr

oppe

d th

eir

panc

akes

at t

he s

ame

time

and

whi

lst

they

sto

oped

to re

trie

ve th

em,

the

two

hare

s w

ere

over

take

n

by

Sim

on

the

tort

oise

w

ho

roun

ded

the

bend

to

take

the

cheq

uere

d fla

g.

Of

cour

se t

he b

igge

st w

inne

r

was

Jup

iter

who

tho

ught

it

was

Ch

ristm

as

com

e ea

rly

whe

n th

ree

tast

y pa

ncak

es

wen

t to

gr

ound

w

hich

he

hast

ily s

naffl

ed u

p!

This

will

be

Liz’

s 5t

h Lo

ndon

mar

atho

n an

d th

is y

ear

she

is r

aisi

ng m

oney

fo

r Ch

ildre

n

with

Can

cer.

Soni

a di

d of

fer

her

the

bana

na s

uit

to g

race

the

stre

ets

of L

ondo

n bu

t Liz

de

clin

ed.

If yo

u w

ould

lik

e to

spo

nsor

Liz

, de

tails

are

in

the

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p.

SIM

ON

BEA

TS L

IZ A

ND

SO

NIA

WIT

H F

RYI

NG

PAN

FRIE

ND

LY

FUN

GI

Ther

e is

a m

iracl

e in

a h

ealth

y

soil

that

has

its

orig

ins

500

mill

ion

year

s ag

o,

a liv

ing

orga

nism

as

ol

d as

pl

ants

them

selv

es

and

one

that

coul

d be

th

e di

ffere

nce

betw

een

succ

ess

and

failu

re

of a

pla

nt in

you

r ga

rden

. M

ycor

rhiz

al

fung

i ar

e

bene

ficia

l fu

ngi

that

ar

e

esse

ntia

l to

the

wel

lbei

ng o

f

your

pla

nts.

The

se o

rgan

ism

s

form

a

criti

cal

rela

tions

hip

with

ov

er

90%

of

pl

ants

.

They

at

tach

th

emse

lves

to

the

root

s of

yo

ung

plan

ts

and

effe

ctiv

ely

incr

ease

th

e

root

sys

tem

of

the

plan

t by

anyt

hing

fro

m

a 10

0 to

a

1000

tim

es.

Ther

e is

up

to

10 k

ilom

etre

s of

fung

al s

tran

d

in 1

cub

ic c

entim

etre

of

soil

and

this

int

ricat

e ne

twor

k of

stra

nds

expl

ores

th

e so

il in

min

ute

deta

il fo

r nu

trie

nts

and

wat

er b

ringi

ng th

em b

ack

to t

he p

lant

roo

ts f

or u

se b

y

the

plan

t an

d in

ret

urn

the

plan

t pro

vide

s th

e fu

ngus

with

sug

ars

it ne

eds.

If

myc

orrh

izae

are

so

criti

cal

for

my

gard

en w

hy a

re t

he

plan

ts in

my

gard

en d

oing

so

wel

l? M

ost

soils

are

hea

lthy

and

natu

rally

con

tain

ple

nty

of a

ctiv

e m

ycor

rhiz

ae s

o it

is

very

lik

ely

that

you

r ga

rden

has

them

in

ab

unda

nce

anyw

ay.

How

ever

, in

cer

tain

situ

atio

ns

Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i may

die

out

or

be

sign

ifica

ntly

re

duce

d

in

the

soil

by

exce

ssiv

e

culti

vatio

n,

strip

ping

an

d

stor

age

of s

oil

durin

g ho

use

cons

truc

tion,

co

mpa

ctio

n of

soil

and

prol

onge

d pe

riods

of t

he a

rea

dow

n to

gra

ss.

In

thes

e si

tuat

ions

myc

orrh

izae

may

be

slow

to r

e-co

loni

se s

o

at p

lant

ing

time

addi

tion

of

orga

nic

mat

ter

and

Roo

tgro

w

(Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i in

pack

ets)

will

he

lp

your

pl

ants

ge

t

HO

LME

IMP

RO

VEM

ENTS

Ove

r th

e w

inte

r, w

e

have

ca

rrie

d ou

t a

lot

of

impr

ovem

ents

to

th

e

build

ings

ad

join

ing

the

Orc

hard

pro

vidi

ng a

cle

aner

and

drie

r en

viro

nmen

t in

whi

ch

to

disp

lay

a w

ider

rang

e of

gar

deni

ng t

ools

and

othe

r ga

rden

ess

entia

ls.

We

have

ju

st

erec

ted

a

new

po

lytu

nnel

to

he

lp

us

grow

mor

e pl

ants

our

selv

es,

part

icul

arly

pla

nts

like

Salv

ia

and

Anth

emis

w

hich

ar

e

grea

t pl

ants

for

grow

ing

here

in t

he S

outh

but

are

diff

icul

t

to o

btai

n fro

m o

ther

gro

wer

s.

The

first

pl

ants

fro

m

this

tunn

el

will

be

av

aila

ble

to

buy

from

m

id-A

pril.

M

ore

addi

tions

to

th

e ga

rden

s

are

plan

ned

this

yea

r w

ith

the

plan

ting

of

two

new

bord

ers

this

Sp

ring

and

in

the

Autu

mn

a ne

w g

arde

n

devo

ted

to

five

hund

red

diffe

rent

va

rietie

s of

ap

ple.

This

is

to m

ark

the

Que

en’s

Dia

mon

d Ju

bile

e an

d w

e

are

hopi

ng i

n th

e lo

ng t

erm

for

the

gard

en

to

beco

me

natio

nally

impo

rtan

t.

SPR

ING

TIM

E AN

D

WE

ARE

BU

ZZIN

G

TOAD

S AN

D

WIL

DLI

FE

THR

IVIN

G

AT H

OLM

E

The

pond

at

H

olm

e w

as

teem

ing

with

to

ads

in

Febr

uary

as

hund

reds

of

the

adul

t’s m

ade

thei

r w

ay b

ack

to th

eir b

irth

plac

e af

ter b

eing

away

for

2 ye

ars.

W

e al

way

s

have

a

high

po

pula

tion

of

adul

t to

ads

arou

nd t

he l

ower

part

s of

the

nur

sery

and

the

y

do a

fan

tast

ic j

ob o

f ke

epin

g

the

slug

an

d sn

ails

do

wn,

but

it w

as l

ike

a fe

stiv

al o

f

toad

s w

ith

them

ap

pear

ing

from

far

and

wid

e. T

here

was

muc

h m

atin

g bu

t bi

zarr

ely

we

can’

t se

e an

y sp

awn

so

unfo

rtun

atel

y w

e pr

obab

ly

won

’t be

hav

ing

any

tadp

oles

.Co

ngra

tula

tions

go

toM

rs H

umph

ries

from

W

areh

am, w

inne

r of

the

Ham

per

Priz

e D

raw

.

Sprin

g 20

12.in

dd

1-3

26/0

3/20

12

13:2

0:46

David says

Autumn is the time for planting out spring flowering bulbs to light up your pots and borders next spring. Late winter can be dull in the garden, however, by carefully choosing a selection of bulbs you can provide colour from January to May and the best thing is, you may not have done anything in the garden for months but you will already have colour and interest.

All spring flowering bulbs are best bought in September and October when there is good choice available. Most bulbs can be planted as soon as they are purchased but this is not always possible as your summer plants need to die down before you can access the soil or if the soil is too dry and hard. However, try and get them in as soon as is practicable. Tulips are an exception and are best planted later in November.

Holme has a wonderful selection so come in and choose the bulbs to create your very own light show!

INCANDESCENT BULBS

September at Holme

October at Holme

November at Holme Farm Shop, Christmas and Gifts

”

”

Ferns are fantastic for bringing an understated grandeur to the garden. Their foliage is diverse in form

and available in many shades of green and their delicacy can act as a great foil to bold leaves of plants like Hosta.

Some ferns are deciduous, however this autumn we have put together a collection of evergreen forms that can be used not

just in borders but also in planted containers.

ONE GOOD FERN DESERVES ANOTHER!

Chrysanthemum CushionsFew autumn plants are as eye catching as these colourful beauties, especially at a time when a lot of your summer bedding plants are beginning to go past their best. Chrysanthemum plants are naturally free-branching and form a bushy shape that gets

covered in so many flowers that the foliage is almost totally obscured.

And once Chrysanthemums start flowering in early September, they‘ll just go on and on until the first frosts.

£5.99 each 2 for

£10.00

As many plants are starting to fade, grasses are just starting to really show off. Now is a great time to put planting combinations together as you can easily see what each plant is about. We will have an excellent selection available through September, and in October we will planting up our own grass borders in the gardens.

“Mulch

3 bags for just £12

After 6 years in the farm shop Liz is going to spend more time working with Simon to keep improving what Holme has to offer. We are very excited because we have found an excellent replacement. Her name is Joanna (Jo) King and she is effervescent and bubbling with energy and fresh ideas.

Jo said “My parents have been long term customers at Holme and I am delighted to be joining the progressive team as manager of the Farm Shop. Liz and Simon tell me what lovely customers use the Farm Shop and the whole site, and I can’t wait to meet you and find out what it is you like about the shop and also listen to any ideas to help make it better.”

Jo starts in early September so please pop in and meet her.

RUBBISH FRIENDSWe live in such a beautiful area it always amazes me that there are people who

don’t appreciate it and spoil it by throwing litter from their cars. I have heard of a brilliant group of volunteers called ‘Rubbish Friends’ who make a real difference by litter picking in their local area. I am looking to start a group in our area for Purbeck. Winter is a great time to litter pick because it is a lot more obvious as the verge growth dies down. If you would like to support this idea please contact me by email simon@holmefg.co.uk

Holme for Gardens is the ideal venue for a Purbeck Wedding. The Event Lawn is situated perfectly to make the most of the glorious gardens, open countryside and orchards. Drinks and canapés can be held around the idyllic ponds, followed by a meal of your choice in a Wedding Marquee to your specification on the Event Lawn. The venue is now licensed to conduct your ceremony as well. For more information please contact Polly by email events@bluebayevents.co.uk

NEW MANAGER IN THE HOLME FARM SHOP

Weddings at Holme

20% OFF ON ROSE DAY

Last October and November we created a new, much larger nursery shop so that we could display all the gardening sundries in a pleasant, dry and dust free area. Previously we had been using the rather unsuitable agricultural barn where the floor was uneven, it was dark and partially open to the elements so that the stock deteriorated.

The new shop has proved very popular and so for the first time this Autumn we are able to provide a decent warm winter shopping area. As well as the gardening products we have been able to expand the range of gifts and books, add more houseplants and introduce more bird and wildlife items, so your visit to us this Autumn will be a much more comfortable and enjoyable experience.

NEW SHOP

PLANT SECTION TO BE EXPANDEDFollowing the car park alterations we were a little cramped on the plant area during the main spring season. This winter we will be moving our plant production area from behind the tea room and turning this space into a new tree and hedging section. This will allow us ample room for plants and wider pathways for trolleys and customer comfort.

The soil at Holme is pretty poor and underlain by sands and gravel so as soon as it stops raining the soil dries out and it is not great at retaining nutrient. Despite this the borders at Holme are highly fertile and we use very little fertiliser.

Our secret is to use lots of organic compost either dug into the soil or added as mulch to the soil surface.

November is a great month for cutting back summer growth and cleaning the borders. Once this is complete apply a 2 to 4 inch layer of compost over any bare surface. As a result your soil will:

• Be better aerated and less prone to water logging• Retain more nutrients• Reduce weed germination and be easier to weed• Be better insulated so tender plants can better withstand colder winter temperatures

We have put together some great deals on our compost range to help you get more for your money.

Our exciting new range of Roses arrive in late October and we will have them potted by mid November. In total we have over 110 varieties of which there are 20 new selections. Join us on Sunday 27th for Rose Day where you can see the NEW range, get advice from our experts on pruning, planting and aftercare. If you have a Holme loyalty card there will be 20% off any Rose purchased on the day.

Now we have expanded our garden centre shop we fall within the Sunday trading regulations. The law of the land must of course be obeyed so please note carefully our new operating times, especially in the garden centre.

Sunday Trading

Holme News - Saturday Boys to Supervisors

Plants Manager Richard saysI am excited about this Autumn because not only have we put together a great selection of plants, bulbs, pots and compost but we also have some great offers to go with them. In addition we have a program of practical demonstrations, a Gardener’s Question time (see back page) and on Saturday 8th October we are running a ‘Feelin’ Fruity’ event covering everything you need to know about growing fruit in your own garden.

HOLME GROWN Young Alec Cottrell joined us 5 yrs ago as a Saturday boy but is now moving on to join the Navy at officer level. His quirky sense of humour and ever cheerful nature will be missed. We wish him the very best of luck.

WELL DONE ANDREW! From working one day a week on the fruit farm, moving to weekends in the garden centre and progressing to a valuable full time member of staff, Andrew Gentry has come a long way since he joined Holme. He has recently finished his second horticultural training course at Kingston Maurward College and earlier this year he assisted Richard on a plant buying trip to Holland. Subsequently, Andrew has assumed more responsibility for displays and plant care and has become a key member of the plant team and a customer favourite with his cheerful nature and willingness to help.

Tell us your great ideas We are always looking for ways to improve what we do so if you have any ideas we would love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a favourite dish or recipe that we could add to the Orchard specials board, or maybe a new feature for the garden or perhaps a suggestion to improve the plant area. Whatever it is we would like to know so if you do think of something please drop us a note, fill in one of our ‘suggestion forms’ or email simon@holmefg.co.uk

GRASSES

“

This year we have planted 120 Dahlias in 30 varieties from a specialist Dahlia grower. They have established very quickly and will be showing off throughout September and October. As well as growing them in the garden we will be setting up a display of cut blooms so come and tell us the varieties you like so we know which ones to grow next year.

Dazzling Dahlias

Spring in the Garden Centre Late Spring in the Garden Centre

6 TOP TIPS FOR MAY

Thin out weak flowering shoots from Spring flowering shrubs and climbers, immediately after flowering

Keep the weeds in check with a weekly hoe around the garden, larger areas may be sprayed carefully with weedkillers

Lawns - mow weekly with a higher cut and apply lawn feeds combined with a lawn weed control.

If not already done, wait for a heavy downpour and mulch your garden to cap in the moisture before the drought of summer. 10 gallons of water hydrates 1 yard square 6” deep

Avoid trimming hedges so as not to disturb nesting birds.

Continue to check susceptible plants for slug and snail damage, using slug control sensibly.

Summer in the Garden Centre

David Says

6 TOP TIPS FOR APRIL

Tie in your climbers as new growth comes through

Ensure all your hardy annuals and herb seeds are sown

Feed all those needy shrubs and roses to give them a good kick start

Sow or turf new lawns and repair any bare patches

Get ahead of your weeds and keep them under control. Use mulch to dramatically reduce weed germination

Beware of late frosts for the more tender plants by keeping an eye on the weather forecast

Richard Says

We may not have to battle through thick jungle, climb high mountain passes, avoid cannibals or fight off Malaria like the plant hunters of old... nonetheless the Holme plant team are just as passionate about bringing you the best garden plants from Dorset, England and as far afield as Holland, Germany and Italy. Over the past few weeks we have been scouring Britain and Europe to assemble an amazing array of plants which is now on show at Holme.

People often enquire why the quality and range of plants at Holme is so good. Firstly it’s the expertise and enthusiasm of the staff who all love gardening. This knowledge gives Holme the confidence to handle the unusual plants as well as the more familiar. Next comes the fact that whilst big chain garden centres are shedding smaller suppliers because it is too difficult for them to operate, we deal with over 60 growers who are niche specialist producers,

and as often as possible we go and hand select the plants direct from the growers.

All this expertise and knowledge is available to you so why not make use of it this spring and visit the vast selection of plants at Holme?

PLANTHUNTERS

A GARDEN CONSULTATION WITH SIMON COULD...· open your eyes to new possibilities,· save you lots of money,

· solve pest and diseases issues and much more besides.

Book a consultation with Simon for just £60 or if you have a Privilege Plus card get a £15 discount

Lavender is ideal for poor free draining soils including chalk. Lavenders look fantastic in pots too!

Plant them in John Innes Number 2 compost. In heavy clay soils Lavender can get woody and leggy so dig in plenty of sand or grit at planting to improve drainage. Prune hard in late summer to keep looking at their best..

LOVELY LAVENDERS

1 LTR LAVENDERS

£3.99 each or3 for just £10

esta

blis

hed

quic

kly

and

thriv

e

over

the

long

er t

erm

.

Roo

tgro

w a

lso

prot

ects

Ros

es

from

the

deb

ilita

ting

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ase

calle

d R

ose

Rep

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Dis

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r

whi

ch

affe

cts

them

w

hen

you

are

atte

mpt

ing

to r

epla

nt

rose

s w

here

ros

es h

ave

been

grow

n be

fore

.R

ootg

row

is

av

aila

ble

at

Hol

me

from

as

little

as

£2.9

9.

In t

his

issu

e...

FRIE

ND

LY F

UN

GI

THR

IVIN

G W

ILD

LIFE

PER

GO

LAS

AN

D

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LL F

LOW

ER

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NG

ING

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TTER

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EES

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AY T

ALK

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EN

TS

OFF

ER

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WN

Wes

t H

olm

e Fa

rm W

areh

am D

orse

t B

H20 6

AQ

01929 5

54 7

16 e

nqui

ries@

holm

efor

gard

ens.

co.u

k

ww

w.h

olm

efor

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ens.

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k

UP

CO

MIN

G E

VEN

TSTI

ME

DAY

DAT

EEV

EN

T

7pm

Frid

ay20th

Apr

ilFo

lk N

ight

in t

he O

rcha

rd

7pm

Frid

ay18th

May

Folk

Nig

ht in

the

Orc

hard

9:3

0

to

5:0

0

over

18 d

ays

26th

May

to12th

Jun

e

Pur

beck

Art

Wee

ks

Vario

us a

rtis

ts w

ork

on s

how

7pm

Frid

ay15th

Jun

eFo

lk N

ight

in t

he O

rcha

rd

all d

aySa

turd

ay16th

Jun

e

Stra

wbe

rry

Day

The

best

day

of t

he y

ear!

Str

awbe

rrie

s

galo

re -

a fu

n da

y fo

r ev

eryo

ne. C

akes

,

stal

ls, lo

cal c

rafts,

str

awbe

rry

crea

m t

eas.

Dea

r R

eade

r,

I ca

n re

mem

ber

a fe

w

win

ters

w

here

, on

occa

sion

s, i

t w

as w

arm

enou

gh

to

be

wor

king

in

just

a

T-sh

irt

but

I

can

neve

r re

mem

ber

one

whe

re

I sa

w

so

man

y ac

tive

bees

, th

e

occa

sion

al

butt

erfly

, a

hum

min

g bi

rd

haw

k

mot

h an

d ev

en a

bat

out

hunt

ing

at d

usk.

So

it w

as

a bi

t of

a

shoc

k w

hen

that

co

ld

Sibe

rian

air

flow

hit

us

in

early

Fe

brua

ry

with

two

cons

ecut

ive

nigh

ts

of -

10°C

at

Hol

me

and

a

wee

k of

har

d fros

ts.

How

ever

, no

w

that

Sprin

g is

he

re

I ho

pe

you’

re a

s ex

cite

d ab

out

the

pros

pect

s fo

r yo

ur . e

ml oH t a

ma I sa nedr ag Hop

eful

ly

you

will

ge

t

a fla

vour

of

this

as

you

read

th

e ne

wsl

ette

r

and

I kn

ow a

ll th

e st

aff

and

mys

elf

are

look

ing

forw

ard

to h

elpi

ng y

ou

with

yo

ur

plan

s an

d

gard

enin

g ne

eds.

Bes

t w

ishe

s

CA

PTI

ON

C

OM

PETI

TIO

N

WIN

NER

trim

trim

fold

fold

fold

fold

Sprin

g 2012

OPIP

Swel

l Gel

is a

gra

nule

that

, as

it’s

nam

e su

gges

ts,

swel

ls u

p

to 4

0 ti

mes

its

orig

inal

vol

ume

whe

n w

et.

It is

use

d to

hel

p

reta

in w

ater

in c

ompo

sts.

It si

gnifi

cant

ly i

ncre

ases

the

time

a tu

b or

han

ging

bas

ket

will

last

bet

wee

n w

ater

ing.

Our

Aut

umn

2011

capt

ion

com

petit

ion

win

ner

was

Hea

ther

Bya

tt fr

om S

wan

age,

her

win

ning

cap

tion

was

:

Liz

says

, “T

hat’s

not

the

way

to d

eadh

ead

Dar

th”.

AP

OLO

GY

In

our

Aut

umn

new

slet

ter

we

got

into

a

mud

dle

over

the

nam

es o

f ou

r lo

cal

cide

r

prod

ucer

s.

(Can

’t im

agin

e

wha

t ca

used

th

at!)

. Th

e

win

ning

cid

er p

rodu

cer

of t

he

Hol

me

Cid

er

and

Saus

age

fest

ival

w

as

the

Lulw

orth

Skip

per

(Dor

set

Cid

er)

com

pany

. Se

e th

eir

web

site

ww

w.l

ulw

orth

-ski

pper

.com

for

full

deta

ils.

SPR

ING

OP

EN

ING

HO

UR

S

VEN

UE

OP

EN

ING

H

OU

RS

9 -

5:3

0

9 -

5:3

0

9:3

0 -

5

prin

ted

on recy

cled

pape

r

Orc

hard

aco

ustic

nig

hts

Janu

ary

saw

the

firs

t of

the

Folk

Nig

hts

at th

e O

rcha

rd.

It

was

sta

ndin

g ro

om o

nly

and

with

10 d

iffer

ent

perf

orm

ers,

the

nigh

t sh

owca

sed

a

won

derf

ul

varie

ty

of

mus

ic.

Follo

win

g on

from

th

is

succ

essf

ul

even

ing,

w

e ar

e

now

ho

stin

g th

e fo

lk

nigh

t

once

a m

onth

– u

sual

ly o

n th

e . ht nom hcae f o yadir F htr uof H

opef

ully

by

sum

mer

we

can

spill

out

on

to t

he t

erra

ce a

nd

have

mus

ic a

cros

s th

e po

nd.

Why

not

com

e al

ong

and

hear

Tim

e &

Tid

e, S

ophi

a W

right

,

Rob

in P

low

man

, Geo

ff Pa

yne,

Tere

nce

McD

onal

d,

Stev

e

Sutt

on,

Ken

Sw

an

to

nam

e

just

a

few

of

th

e ta

lent

ed

perf

orm

ers.

Star

t yo

ur d

ay w

ith u

s….

Bre

akfa

st

is

now

av

aila

ble

from

09:3

0–1

1:0

0.

We

have

baco

n sa

rnie

s th

roug

h to

a

full

Orc

hard

bre

akfa

st o

n of

fer

– ju

st w

hat

you

need

bef

ore

a ha

rd

day

in

the

gard

en.

Not

hing

bea

ts a

tast

y Pu

rbec

k

bang

er

and

a go

lden

free

rang

e eg

g.

Hom

emad

e fo

od in

the

caf

e

All

our

mea

ls

are

prep

ared

in

the

Orc

hard

ki

tche

n,

usin

g lo

cal

supp

liers

an

d

seas

onal

in

gred

ient

s w

here

poss

ible

. W

e al

way

s ha

ve a

wid

e se

lect

ion

of h

ome-

mad

e

cake

s, s

hort

brea

ds a

nd

cook

ies

as w

ell

as o

ur b

est

selli

ng c

ream

tea

.

Get

con

nect

edN

eed

to

chec

k yo

ur

emai

ls

or

look

up

th

at

plan

t yo

u

can’

t re

mem

ber

the

nam

e of

?

We

now

hav

e

ava

ilabl

e

for

Orc

hard

cu

stom

ers.

If

you’

d lik

e to

boo

k sp

ace

for

a br

eakf

ast

mee

ting,

eve

ning

conf

eren

ce

or

sem

inar

,

tele

phon

e us

on

01929 5

54 7

16 e

xt 3

, or

emai

l us

via

or

char

d@ho

lmef

orga

rden

s.co

.uk

Her

e at

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p,

we

are

alw

ays

look

ing

for

new

lo

cal

supp

liers

to

com

plim

ent

our

rang

e of

exce

llent

pr

oduc

ts.

We

are

fort

unat

e to

hav

e go

od l

ocal

mea

ts,

chee

ses,

ch

utne

ys

and

jam

s, b

eers

cid

ers

and

win

es,

bake

ries

and

bisc

uit

mak

ers

and

muc

h m

ore

all

of

exce

ptio

nal

qual

ity

and

good

va

lue

for

mon

ey.

This

year

we

are

addi

ng W

areh

am

mad

e co

nfec

tione

ry i

nclu

ding

flavo

urs

of fu

dge

to di

e fo

r

and

a de

licio

us

Lulw

orth

appl

e ju

ice

amon

gst

othe

r

delig

hts.

We

belie

ve y

ou c

an

buy

all

you

need

at

a go

od

pric

e lo

cally

w

hich

is

an

inva

luab

le h

elp

for

the

loca

l

econ

omy

and

peop

le w

ho li

ve

in the

are

a. C

ome

in w

ith thi

s

artic

le a

nd g

et 1

0%

off

your

shop

ping

bi

ll an

d se

e ho

w

easy

and

eco

nom

ical

it

is t

o

shop

loca

lly.

Visi

tors

to

Hol

me

on S

hrov

e

Tues

day

wer

e tr

eate

d to

a

flipp

ing

good

tim

e at

th

e

Orc

hard

pa

ncak

e ra

ce.

The

cont

est c

onsi

sted

of t

hree

laps

roun

d th

e po

nd w

hils

t to

ssin

g

a pa

ncak

e at

leas

t thr

ee ti

mes

each

circ

uit.

The

stro

ng

favo

urite

w

as

Liz

who

ha

s be

en

trai

ning

all

win

ter

for

the

Lond

on

Mar

atho

n an

d sh

e w

ent

into

an

early

le

ad

whe

n Si

mon

drop

ped

his

panc

ake

on t

he

seco

nd

flip.

Li

z w

as

hotly

purs

ued

by S

onia

who

was

ham

pere

d by

he

r fa

ncy

dres

s ye

llow

ban

ana

suit

but

desp

ite t

his

grad

ually

cau

ght

Liz

up a

nd c

omin

g in

to t

he

final

cor

ner i

t was

a tw

o ho

rse

race

but

biz

arre

ly b

oth

Liz

and

Soni

a dr

oppe

d th

eir

panc

akes

at t

he s

ame

time

and

whi

lst

they

sto

oped

to re

trie

ve th

em,

the

two

hare

s w

ere

over

take

n

by

Sim

on

the

tort

oise

w

ho

roun

ded

the

bend

to

take

the

cheq

uere

d fla

g.

Of

cour

se t

he b

igge

st w

inne

r

was

Ju

pite

r w

ho

thou

ght

it

was

C

hris

tmas

co

me

early

whe

n th

ree

tast

y pa

ncak

es

wen

t to

gr

ound

w

hich

he

hast

ily s

naffl

ed u

p!

This

will

be

Liz’

s 5th

Lon

don

mar

atho

n an

d th

is y

ear

she

is r

aisi

ng m

oney

fo

r C

hild

ren

with

Can

cer.

Soni

a di

d of

fer

her

the

bana

na s

uit

to g

race

the

stre

ets

of L

ondo

n bu

t Li

z

decl

ined

. If

you

wou

ld l

ike

to s

pons

or L

iz,

deta

ils a

re in

the

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p.

SIM

ON

BEA

TS L

IZ A

ND

SO

NIA

WIT

H F

RYI

NG

PAN

FRIE

ND

LY

FUN

GI

Ther

e is

a m

iracl

e in

a h

ealth

y

soil

that

has

its

orig

ins

500

mill

ion

year

s ag

o,

a liv

ing

orga

nism

as

ol

d as

pl

ants

them

selv

es

and

one

that

coul

d be

th

e di

ffere

nce

betw

een

succ

ess

and

failu

re

of a

pla

nt in

you

r ga

rden

.

Myc

orrh

izal

fu

ngi

are

bene

ficia

l fu

ngi

that

ar

e

esse

ntia

l to

the

wel

lbei

ng o

f

your

pla

nts.

The

se o

rgan

ism

s

form

a

criti

cal

rela

tions

hip

with

ov

er

90%

of

pl

ants

.

They

at

tach

th

emse

lves

to

the

root

s of

yo

ung

plan

ts

and

effe

ctiv

ely

incr

ease

th

e

root

sys

tem

of

the

plan

t by

anyt

hing

from

a

100

to

a

1000 t

imes

. Th

ere

is u

p to

10 k

ilom

etre

s of

fung

al s

tran

d

in 1

cub

ic c

entim

etre

of

soil

and

this

int

ricat

e ne

twor

k of

stra

nds

expl

ores

th

e so

il in

min

ute

deta

il fo

r nu

trie

nts

and

wat

er b

ringi

ng th

em b

ack

to t

he p

lant

roo

ts f

or u

se b

y

the

plan

t an

d in

ret

urn

the

plan

t pr

ovid

es t

he

fung

us w

ith s

ugar

s it

need

s.

If m

ycor

rhiz

ae a

re s

o cr

itica

l

for

my

gard

en w

hy a

re t

he

plan

ts i

n m

y ga

rden

doi

ng s

o

wel

l? M

ost

soils

are

hea

lthy

and

natu

rally

con

tain

ple

nty

of a

ctiv

e m

ycor

rhiz

ae s

o it

is

very

lik

ely

that

you

r ga

rden

has

them

in

ab

unda

nce

anyw

ay.

How

ever

, in

cer

tain

situ

atio

ns

Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i may

die

out

or

be

sign

ifica

ntly

re

duce

d

in

the

soil

by

exce

ssiv

e

culti

vatio

n,

strip

ping

an

d

stor

age

of s

oil

durin

g ho

use

cons

truc

tion,

co

mpa

ctio

n of

soil

and

prol

onge

d pe

riods

of t

he a

rea

dow

n to

gra

ss.

In

thes

e si

tuat

ions

myc

orrh

izae

may

be

slow

to

re-c

olon

ise

so

at p

lant

ing

time

addi

tion

of

orga

nic

mat

ter

and

Roo

tgro

w

(Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i in

pack

ets)

will

he

lp

your

pl

ants

ge

t

HO

LME I

MP

RO

VEM

EN

TSO

ver

the

win

ter,

we

have

ca

rrie

d ou

t a

lot

of

impr

ovem

ents

to

th

e

build

ings

ad

join

ing

the

Orc

hard

pro

vidi

ng a

cle

aner

and

drie

r en

viro

nmen

t in

whi

ch

to

disp

lay

a w

ider

rang

e of

gar

deni

ng t

ools

and

othe

r ga

rden

ess

entia

ls.

We

have

ju

st

erec

ted

a

new

po

lytu

nnel

to

he

lp

us

grow

mor

e pl

ants

our

selv

es,

part

icul

arly

pla

nts

like

Salv

ia

and

Ant

hem

is

whi

ch

are

grea

t pl

ants

for

gro

win

g he

re

in t

he S

outh

but

are

diff

icul

t

to o

btai

n from

oth

er g

row

ers.

The

first

pl

ants

from

th

is

tunn

el

will

be

av

aila

ble

to

buy

from

m

id-A

pril.

M

ore

addi

tions

to

th

e ga

rden

s

are

plan

ned

this

yea

r w

ith

the

plan

ting

of

two

new

bord

ers

this

Sp

ring

and

in

the

Aut

umn

a ne

w

gard

en

devo

ted

to

five

hund

red

diffe

rent

va

rietie

s of

ap

ple.

This

is

to m

ark

the

Que

en’s

Dia

mon

d Ju

bile

e an

d w

e

are

hopi

ng i

n th

e lo

ng t

erm

for

the

gard

en

to

beco

me

natio

nally

impo

rtan

t.

SPR

ING

TIM

E A

ND

W

E A

RE

BU

ZZIN

G

TOA

DS

AN

D

WIL

DLI

FE

THR

IVIN

G

AT H

OLM

E

The

pond

at

H

olm

e w

as

teem

ing

with

to

ads

in

Febr

uary

as

hund

reds

of

the

adul

t’s m

ade

thei

r w

ay b

ack

to th

eir

birt

h pl

ace

afte

r be

ing

away

for

2 y

ears

. W

e al

way

s

have

a

high

po

pula

tion

of

adul

t to

ads

arou

nd t

he l

ower

part

s of

the

nur

sery

and

the

y

do a

fan

tast

ic j

ob o

f ke

epin

g

the

slug

an

d sn

ails

do

wn,

but

it w

as l

ike

a fe

stiv

al o

f

toad

s w

ith

them

ap

pear

ing

from

far

and

wid

e. T

here

was

muc

h m

atin

g bu

t bi

zarr

ely

we

can’

t se

e an

y sp

awn

so

unfo

rtun

atel

y w

e pr

obab

ly

won

’t be

hav

ing

any

tadp

oles

.

Con

grat

ulat

ions

go

to

Mrs

Hum

phrie

s from

War

eham

, w

inne

r of

the

Ham

per

Priz

e D

raw

.

Sprin

g 20

12.in

dd

1-3

26/0

3/20

12

13:2

0:46

the difference is our expertise…

New Year 2013

Jan is Best in Show Once Again

Jan surveys her winning garden at the Dorchester Show

and we had a lot of fun doing it”.

Jan Loveless led the Holme team with their garden entry at the September Dorchester Show and scooped the m u c h c o v e t e d Townsend Cup for the second year in a row.

This year’s theme was A Romantic Meeting Place using lots of cool greens and whites. The garden took months of preparation to ensure the plants looked just right for the big day. “We even bought the

turf in June, rolled it out on concrete and kept it watered every day just to let the grass grow nice and long for that wild look” says Jan. “You get some idea of how difficult it must be to get all the plants looking good just at the right time for Chelsea. It’s a lot of work, but the result was worth it

In this issue… Holme celebrates 21 years Forthcoming Events Big Bumper Begonias Potatoes Winter Colour Top Tips Shrub Offer Improved Loyalty Card Bulbs in pots Designs for your border

Happy Birthday Holme

Holme will be 21 year’s old this year and to help us celebrate we will be offering 21 Loyalty points on selected items.

Keep an eye out for the symbol (above) in the newsletter and in the Garden Centre for 21 Loyalty Bonus points

Farm and the Farm Shop.

We will notify you when you have earned £5 worth of points and you will be able to redeem them at your next visit.

Changes take effect from 1st January 2013 so start benefitting at your next visit.

The card also entitles

you to • free garden advice

at the Garden Centre

• Exclusive Access to Preview evenings

• Special offers in store

Following a recent review of our Privilege Card we are delighted to announce that from now on each £1 you spend will attract a Loyalty point and each Loyalty point will be worth 5p.

You will be able to use your card in all departments including the Garden Centre, the Orchard Café, the Fruit

Big Bonus for Holme Loyalty Card Holders

Townsend Cup

This year Holme has some easily assembled raised beds to help first time vegetable growers to have a go. Having assembled the bed and filled it with a mix of soil and compost, select your seeds or starter vegetable packs from a wide range including tomatoes, brassicas, onions, courgettes, chilies, beetroot, chard, sweet corn, beans and much, much more.

The vegetables you buy will be dictated by the space you have so if you do not have a

big garden, don’t worry as you can still grow a good range in window boxes, pots or even grow bags.

If you are ‘new to the game’ keep it simple and have a go at growing salad crops. Lettuce is a brilliant vegetable to start with if you have never grown them before and have limited space, it’s like having a living salad larder on your window sill or raised beds! We are always happy to help and advise

Looking toward the future, this year we are planting 270 varieties of trees, both native and from further afield to add to the 80 or so we have already planted at Holme.

This planting will mark the start of a dramatic expansion of the gardens at Holme. It will take 5 to 10 years for the trees to start attaining reasonable heights but we will be able to enjoy the blossoms and leaf colours immediately.

The new terrace above the pond is complete and is open to Orchard Cafe customers where you can sit on a sunny afternoon with you cup of tea and enjoy the elevated view over the water and planted beds.

We have also had a mural painted by local artist Nina Camplin to give the terrace greater depth. The space seats up to 30 people and is also available for private hire Enquire by email to orchard@holmeforgardens.co.uk or 01929 554716 Ext 3

Eugen has been back managing the Fruit Farm for a year now and has already made substantial improvements. He is a highly skilled and trained grower and we have equipped him with everything he needs including a brand new tractor (which he is very happy about!).

He has been very busy planting two new two new Asparagus beds, 7,500 new raspberry plants, a new show kitchen garden for more Holme grown produce to be used in our Orchard tea room kitchens, another 45 varieties of apples, and in March another 8000 strawberries are going in for fruiting in August this year.

Existing bush fruit such as Gooseberries and redcurrants have been skilfully pruned to re-invigorate them so Eugen is confident that this year there will be plenty of your favourite fruits and vegetables available for PYO from June onwards. The only thing he can’t control is the British Weather!

What a fantastic plant for our southern gardens. This South American group of plants flower from June to November without pausing for breath.

When you mention Salvia most people first think of the bedding

plant variety which is usually bright red and may not be to everyone’s taste but this year we will be growing a selection of shrubby types that will come back year after year in all but the very hardest of winters.

They range from deep purple, through cerise to mauve, pink and even red and white forms are available. Holme are having 13 specially grown varieties which will be available from early Summer.

K rissi Says

6 TOP TIPS FOR SUMMER

Dead head Roses and perennials for looks and to encourage more flowers

In dry periods water the ground areas slowly at night to ensure maximum water penetration into the soil

Finish planting out annuals and tender perennials

Continue to support tall flower stems that may be damaged by strong wind or heavy rain

Watch out for aphid attack on new growth tips. Cherries and Roses are particularly susceptible. Spray with suitable insecticide

FRUITY NEWS

Salvias!

ARBORETUM OFGARDEN TREES

GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES AND HERBS

MULBERRY TERRACE AND MURAL

Amos planting

SALVIAS£8.99 each or2 for just £15es

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is

year

we

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mad

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delig

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belie

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buy

all

you

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a go

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pric

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w

hich

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an

inva

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to

Hol

me

on S

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cont

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circ

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stro

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favo

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win

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for

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an

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with

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stre

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of L

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n bu

t Liz

de

clin

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If yo

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lik

e to

spo

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, de

tails

are

in

the

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p.

SIM

ON

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TS L

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Ther

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a m

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a h

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y

soil

that

has

its

orig

ins

500

mill

ion

year

s ag

o,

a liv

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orga

nism

as

ol

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pl

ants

them

selv

es

and

one

that

coul

d be

th

e di

ffere

nce

betw

een

succ

ess

and

failu

re

of a

pla

nt in

you

r ga

rden

. M

ycor

rhiz

al

fung

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e

bene

ficia

l fu

ngi

that

ar

e

esse

ntia

l to

the

wel

lbei

ng o

f

your

pla

nts.

The

se o

rgan

ism

s

form

a

criti

cal

rela

tions

hip

with

ov

er

90%

of

pl

ants

.

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at

tach

th

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lves

to

the

root

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yo

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plan

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and

effe

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incr

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th

e

root

sys

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of

the

plan

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anyt

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fro

m

a 10

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a

1000

tim

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up

to

10 k

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fung

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tran

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in 1

cub

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entim

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of

soil

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this

int

ricat

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twor

k of

stra

nds

expl

ores

th

e so

il in

min

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deta

il fo

r nu

trie

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and

wat

er b

ringi

ng th

em b

ack

to t

he p

lant

roo

ts f

or u

se b

y

the

plan

t an

d in

ret

urn

the

plan

t pro

vide

s th

e fu

ngus

with

sug

ars

it ne

eds.

If

myc

orrh

izae

are

so

criti

cal

for

my

gard

en w

hy a

re t

he

plan

ts in

my

gard

en d

oing

so

wel

l? M

ost

soils

are

hea

lthy

and

natu

rally

con

tain

ple

nty

of a

ctiv

e m

ycor

rhiz

ae s

o it

is

very

lik

ely

that

you

r ga

rden

has

them

in

ab

unda

nce

anyw

ay.

How

ever

, in

cer

tain

situ

atio

ns

Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i may

die

out

or

be

sign

ifica

ntly

re

duce

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in

the

soil

by

exce

ssiv

e

culti

vatio

n,

strip

ping

an

d

stor

age

of s

oil

durin

g ho

use

cons

truc

tion,

co

mpa

ctio

n of

soil

and

prol

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riods

of t

he a

rea

dow

n to

gra

ss.

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thes

e si

tuat

ions

myc

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be

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to r

e-co

loni

se s

o

at p

lant

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time

addi

tion

of

orga

nic

mat

ter

and

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tgro

w

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orrh

izal

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i in

pack

ets)

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lp

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ants

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t

HO

LME

IMP

RO

VEM

ENTS

Ove

r th

e w

inte

r, w

e

have

ca

rrie

d ou

t a

lot

of

impr

ovem

ents

to

th

e

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ings

ad

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ng a

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aner

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r en

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ch

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lay

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ider

rang

e of

gar

deni

ng t

ools

and

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r ga

rden

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entia

ls.

We

have

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st

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ted

a

new

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lytu

nnel

to

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lp

us

grow

mor

e pl

ants

our

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es,

part

icul

arly

pla

nts

like

Salv

ia

and

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emis

w

hich

ar

e

grea

t pl

ants

for

grow

ing

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in t

he S

outh

but

are

diff

icul

t

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btai

n fro

m o

ther

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wer

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first

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ants

fro

m

this

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el

will

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ble

to

buy

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m

id-A

pril.

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ore

addi

tions

to

th

e ga

rden

s

are

plan

ned

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r w

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the

plan

ting

of

two

new

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ers

this

Sp

ring

and

in

the

Autu

mn

a ne

w g

arde

n

devo

ted

to

five

hund

red

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rent

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rietie

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ap

ple.

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is

to m

ark

the

Que

en’s

Dia

mon

d Ju

bile

e an

d w

e

are

hopi

ng i

n th

e lo

ng t

erm

for

the

gard

en

to

beco

me

natio

nally

impo

rtan

t.

SPR

ING

TIM

E AN

D

WE

ARE

BU

ZZIN

G

TOAD

S AN

D

WIL

DLI

FE

THR

IVIN

G

AT H

OLM

E

The

pond

at

H

olm

e w

as

teem

ing

with

to

ads

in

Febr

uary

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hund

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the

adul

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r w

ay b

ack

to th

eir b

irth

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e af

ter b

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away

for

2 ye

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e al

way

s

have

a

high

po

pula

tion

of

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t to

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arou

nd t

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part

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the

nur

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y

do a

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ob o

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ike

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muc

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rtun

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ly

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’t be

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rs H

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David says

Autumn is the time for planting out spring flowering bulbs to light up your pots and borders next spring. Late winter can be dull in the garden, however, by carefully choosing a selection of bulbs you can provide colour from January to May and the best thing is, you may not have done anything in the garden for months but you will already have colour and interest.

All spring flowering bulbs are best bought in September and October when there is good choice available. Most bulbs can be planted as soon as they are purchased but this is not always possible as your summer plants need to die down before you can access the soil or if the soil is too dry and hard. However, try and get them in as soon as is practicable. Tulips are an exception and are best planted later in November.

Holme has a wonderful selection so come in and choose the bulbs to create your very own light show!

INCANDESCENT BULBS

September at Holme

October at Holme

November at Holme Farm Shop, Christmas and Gifts

”

”

Ferns are fantastic for bringing an understated grandeur to the garden. Their foliage is diverse in form

and available in many shades of green and their delicacy can act as a great foil to bold leaves of plants like Hosta.

Some ferns are deciduous, however this autumn we have put together a collection of evergreen forms that can be used not

just in borders but also in planted containers.

ONE GOOD FERN DESERVES ANOTHER!

Chrysanthemum CushionsFew autumn plants are as eye catching as these colourful beauties, especially at a time when a lot of your summer bedding plants are beginning to go past their best. Chrysanthemum plants are naturally free-branching and form a bushy shape that gets

covered in so many flowers that the foliage is almost totally obscured.

And once Chrysanthemums start flowering in early September, they‘ll just go on and on until the first frosts.

£5.99 each 2 for

£10.00

As many plants are starting to fade, grasses are just starting to really show off. Now is a great time to put planting combinations together as you can easily see what each plant is about. We will have an excellent selection available through September, and in October we will planting up our own grass borders in the gardens.

“Mulch

3 bags for just £12

After 6 years in the farm shop Liz is going to spend more time working with Simon to keep improving what Holme has to offer. We are very excited because we have found an excellent replacement. Her name is Joanna (Jo) King and she is effervescent and bubbling with energy and fresh ideas.

Jo said “My parents have been long term customers at Holme and I am delighted to be joining the progressive team as manager of the Farm Shop. Liz and Simon tell me what lovely customers use the Farm Shop and the whole site, and I can’t wait to meet you and find out what it is you like about the shop and also listen to any ideas to help make it better.”

Jo starts in early September so please pop in and meet her.

RUBBISH FRIENDSWe live in such a beautiful area it always amazes me that there are people who

don’t appreciate it and spoil it by throwing litter from their cars. I have heard of a brilliant group of volunteers called ‘Rubbish Friends’ who make a real difference by litter picking in their local area. I am looking to start a group in our area for Purbeck. Winter is a great time to litter pick because it is a lot more obvious as the verge growth dies down. If you would like to support this idea please contact me by email simon@holmefg.co.uk

Holme for Gardens is the ideal venue for a Purbeck Wedding. The Event Lawn is situated perfectly to make the most of the glorious gardens, open countryside and orchards. Drinks and canapés can be held around the idyllic ponds, followed by a meal of your choice in a Wedding Marquee to your specification on the Event Lawn. The venue is now licensed to conduct your ceremony as well. For more information please contact Polly by email events@bluebayevents.co.uk

NEW MANAGER IN THE HOLME FARM SHOP

Weddings at Holme

20% OFF ON ROSE DAY

Last October and November we created a new, much larger nursery shop so that we could display all the gardening sundries in a pleasant, dry and dust free area. Previously we had been using the rather unsuitable agricultural barn where the floor was uneven, it was dark and partially open to the elements so that the stock deteriorated.

The new shop has proved very popular and so for the first time this Autumn we are able to provide a decent warm winter shopping area. As well as the gardening products we have been able to expand the range of gifts and books, add more houseplants and introduce more bird and wildlife items, so your visit to us this Autumn will be a much more comfortable and enjoyable experience.

NEW SHOP

PLANT SECTION TO BE EXPANDEDFollowing the car park alterations we were a little cramped on the plant area during the main spring season. This winter we will be moving our plant production area from behind the tea room and turning this space into a new tree and hedging section. This will allow us ample room for plants and wider pathways for trolleys and customer comfort.

The soil at Holme is pretty poor and underlain by sands and gravel so as soon as it stops raining the soil dries out and it is not great at retaining nutrient. Despite this the borders at Holme are highly fertile and we use very little fertiliser.

Our secret is to use lots of organic compost either dug into the soil or added as mulch to the soil surface.

November is a great month for cutting back summer growth and cleaning the borders. Once this is complete apply a 2 to 4 inch layer of compost over any bare surface. As a result your soil will:

• Be better aerated and less prone to water logging• Retain more nutrients• Reduce weed germination and be easier to weed• Be better insulated so tender plants can better withstand colder winter temperatures

We have put together some great deals on our compost range to help you get more for your money.

Our exciting new range of Roses arrive in late October and we will have them potted by mid November. In total we have over 110 varieties of which there are 20 new selections. Join us on Sunday 27th for Rose Day where you can see the NEW range, get advice from our experts on pruning, planting and aftercare. If you have a Holme loyalty card there will be 20% off any Rose purchased on the day.

Now we have expanded our garden centre shop we fall within the Sunday trading regulations. The law of the land must of course be obeyed so please note carefully our new operating times, especially in the garden centre.

Sunday Trading

Holme News - Saturday Boys to Supervisors

Plants Manager Richard saysI am excited about this Autumn because not only have we put together a great selection of plants, bulbs, pots and compost but we also have some great offers to go with them. In addition we have a program of practical demonstrations, a Gardener’s Question time (see back page) and on Saturday 8th October we are running a ‘Feelin’ Fruity’ event covering everything you need to know about growing fruit in your own garden.

HOLME GROWN Young Alec Cottrell joined us 5 yrs ago as a Saturday boy but is now moving on to join the Navy at officer level. His quirky sense of humour and ever cheerful nature will be missed. We wish him the very best of luck.

WELL DONE ANDREW! From working one day a week on the fruit farm, moving to weekends in the garden centre and progressing to a valuable full time member of staff, Andrew Gentry has come a long way since he joined Holme. He has recently finished his second horticultural training course at Kingston Maurward College and earlier this year he assisted Richard on a plant buying trip to Holland. Subsequently, Andrew has assumed more responsibility for displays and plant care and has become a key member of the plant team and a customer favourite with his cheerful nature and willingness to help.

Tell us your great ideas We are always looking for ways to improve what we do so if you have any ideas we would love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a favourite dish or recipe that we could add to the Orchard specials board, or maybe a new feature for the garden or perhaps a suggestion to improve the plant area. Whatever it is we would like to know so if you do think of something please drop us a note, fill in one of our ‘suggestion forms’ or email simon@holmefg.co.uk

GRASSES

“

This year we have planted 120 Dahlias in 30 varieties from a specialist Dahlia grower. They have established very quickly and will be showing off throughout September and October. As well as growing them in the garden we will be setting up a display of cut blooms so come and tell us the varieties you like so we know which ones to grow next year.

Dazzling Dahlias

Spring in the Garden Centre Late Spring in the Garden Centre

6 TOP TIPS FOR MAY

Thin out weak flowering shoots from Spring flowering shrubs and climbers, immediately after flowering

Keep the weeds in check with a weekly hoe around the garden, larger areas may be sprayed carefully with weedkillers

Lawns - mow weekly with a higher cut and apply lawn feeds combined with a lawn weed control.

If not already done, wait for a heavy downpour and mulch your garden to cap in the moisture before the drought of summer. 10 gallons of water hydrates 1 yard square 6” deep

Avoid trimming hedges so as not to disturb nesting birds.

Continue to check susceptible plants for slug and snail damage, using slug control sensibly.

Summer in the Garden Centre

David Says

6 TOP TIPS FOR APRIL

Tie in your climbers as new growth comes through

Ensure all your hardy annuals and herb seeds are sown

Feed all those needy shrubs and roses to give them a good kick start

Sow or turf new lawns and repair any bare patches

Get ahead of your weeds and keep them under control. Use mulch to dramatically reduce weed germination

Beware of late frosts for the more tender plants by keeping an eye on the weather forecast

Richard Says

We may not have to battle through thick jungle, climb high mountain passes, avoid cannibals or fight off Malaria like the plant hunters of old... nonetheless the Holme plant team are just as passionate about bringing you the best garden plants from Dorset, England and as far afield as Holland, Germany and Italy. Over the past few weeks we have been scouring Britain and Europe to assemble an amazing array of plants which is now on show at Holme.

People often enquire why the quality and range of plants at Holme is so good. Firstly it’s the expertise and enthusiasm of the staff who all love gardening. This knowledge gives Holme the confidence to handle the unusual plants as well as the more familiar. Next comes the fact that whilst big chain garden centres are shedding smaller suppliers because it is too difficult for them to operate, we deal with over 60 growers who are niche specialist producers,

and as often as possible we go and hand select the plants direct from the growers.

All this expertise and knowledge is available to you so why not make use of it this spring and visit the vast selection of plants at Holme?

PLANTHUNTERS

A GARDEN CONSULTATION WITH SIMON COULD...· open your eyes to new possibilities,· save you lots of money,

· solve pest and diseases issues and much more besides.

Book a consultation with Simon for just £60 or if you have a Privilege Plus card get a £15 discount

Lavender is ideal for poor free draining soils including chalk. Lavenders look fantastic in pots too!

Plant them in John Innes Number 2 compost. In heavy clay soils Lavender can get woody and leggy so dig in plenty of sand or grit at planting to improve drainage. Prune hard in late summer to keep looking at their best..

LOVELY LAVENDERS

1 LTR LAVENDERS

£3.99 each or3 for just £10

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best

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galo

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a fu

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r ev

eryo

ne. C

akes

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stal

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cal c

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str

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m t

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Dea

r R

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r,

I ca

n re

mem

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a fe

w

win

ters

w

here

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occa

sion

s, i

t w

as w

arm

enou

gh

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wor

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just

a

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can

neve

r re

mem

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one

whe

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w

so

man

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tive

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e

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air

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brua

ry

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me

and

a

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pros

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ml oH t a

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ge

t

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this

as

you

read

th

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wsl

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r

and

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ow a

ll th

e st

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and

mys

elf

are

look

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forw

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ou

with

yo

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plan

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t w

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CA

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trim

trim

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fold

fold

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Sprin

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OPIP

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l Gel

is a

gra

nule

that

, as

it’s

nam

e su

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ts,

swel

ls u

p

to 4

0 ti

mes

its

orig

inal

vol

ume

whe

n w

et.

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use

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hel

p

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in w

ater

in c

ompo

sts.

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gnifi

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ly i

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ases

the

time

a tu

b or

han

ging

bas

ket

will

last

bet

wee

n w

ater

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Our

Aut

umn

2011

capt

ion

com

petit

ion

win

ner

was

Hea

ther

Bya

tt fr

om S

wan

age,

her

win

ning

cap

tion

was

:

Liz

says

, “T

hat’s

not

the

way

to d

eadh

ead

Dar

th”.

AP

OLO

GY

In

our

Aut

umn

new

slet

ter

we

got

into

a

mud

dle

over

the

nam

es o

f ou

r lo

cal

cide

r

prod

ucer

s.

(Can

’t im

agin

e

wha

t ca

used

th

at!)

. Th

e

win

ning

cid

er p

rodu

cer

of t

he

Hol

me

Cid

er

and

Saus

age

fest

ival

w

as

the

Lulw

orth

Skip

per

(Dor

set

Cid

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com

pany

. Se

e th

eir

web

site

ww

w.l

ulw

orth

-ski

pper

.com

for

full

deta

ils.

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ING

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UR

S

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prin

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nigh

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not

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e &

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ophi

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right

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in P

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ff Pa

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onal

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e

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Ken

Sw

an

to

nam

e

just

a

few

of

th

e ta

lent

ed

perf

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Star

t yo

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ay w

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s….

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akfa

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is

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09:3

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We

have

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full

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hard

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n of

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st w

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day

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gard

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hing

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ts a

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rbec

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bang

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a go

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Hom

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caf

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mea

ls

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ared

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Orc

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g lo

cal

supp

liers

an

d

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onal

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mad

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cake

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as o

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est

selli

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ream

tea

.

Get

con

nect

edN

eed

to

chec

k yo

ur

emai

ls

or

look

up

th

at

plan

t yo

u

can’

t re

mem

ber

the

nam

e of

?

We

now

hav

e

ava

ilabl

e

for

Orc

hard

cu

stom

ers.

If

you’

d lik

e to

boo

k sp

ace

for

a br

eakf

ast

mee

ting,

eve

ning

conf

eren

ce

or

sem

inar

,

tele

phon

e us

on

01929 5

54 7

16 e

xt 3

, or

emai

l us

via

or

char

d@ho

lmef

orga

rden

s.co

.uk

Her

e at

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p,

we

are

alw

ays

look

ing

for

new

lo

cal

supp

liers

to

com

plim

ent

our

rang

e of

exce

llent

pr

oduc

ts.

We

are

fort

unat

e to

hav

e go

od l

ocal

mea

ts,

chee

ses,

ch

utne

ys

and

jam

s, b

eers

cid

ers

and

win

es,

bake

ries

and

bisc

uit

mak

ers

and

muc

h m

ore

all

of

exce

ptio

nal

qual

ity

and

good

va

lue

for

mon

ey.

This

year

we

are

addi

ng W

areh

am

mad

e co

nfec

tione

ry i

nclu

ding

flavo

urs

of fu

dge

to di

e fo

r

and

a de

licio

us

Lulw

orth

appl

e ju

ice

amon

gst

othe

r

delig

hts.

We

belie

ve y

ou c

an

buy

all

you

need

at

a go

od

pric

e lo

cally

w

hich

is

an

inva

luab

le h

elp

for

the

loca

l

econ

omy

and

peop

le w

ho li

ve

in the

are

a. C

ome

in w

ith thi

s

artic

le a

nd g

et 1

0%

off

your

shop

ping

bi

ll an

d se

e ho

w

easy

and

eco

nom

ical

it

is t

o

shop

loca

lly.

Visi

tors

to

Hol

me

on S

hrov

e

Tues

day

wer

e tr

eate

d to

a

flipp

ing

good

tim

e at

th

e

Orc

hard

pa

ncak

e ra

ce.

The

cont

est c

onsi

sted

of t

hree

laps

roun

d th

e po

nd w

hils

t to

ssin

g

a pa

ncak

e at

leas

t thr

ee ti

mes

each

circ

uit.

The

stro

ng

favo

urite

w

as

Liz

who

ha

s be

en

trai

ning

all

win

ter

for

the

Lond

on

Mar

atho

n an

d sh

e w

ent

into

an

early

le

ad

whe

n Si

mon

drop

ped

his

panc

ake

on t

he

seco

nd

flip.

Li

z w

as

hotly

purs

ued

by S

onia

who

was

ham

pere

d by

he

r fa

ncy

dres

s ye

llow

ban

ana

suit

but

desp

ite t

his

grad

ually

cau

ght

Liz

up a

nd c

omin

g in

to t

he

final

cor

ner i

t was

a tw

o ho

rse

race

but

biz

arre

ly b

oth

Liz

and

Soni

a dr

oppe

d th

eir

panc

akes

at t

he s

ame

time

and

whi

lst

they

sto

oped

to re

trie

ve th

em,

the

two

hare

s w

ere

over

take

n

by

Sim

on

the

tort

oise

w

ho

roun

ded

the

bend

to

take

the

cheq

uere

d fla

g.

Of

cour

se t

he b

igge

st w

inne

r

was

Ju

pite

r w

ho

thou

ght

it

was

C

hris

tmas

co

me

early

whe

n th

ree

tast

y pa

ncak

es

wen

t to

gr

ound

w

hich

he

hast

ily s

naffl

ed u

p!

This

will

be

Liz’

s 5th

Lon

don

mar

atho

n an

d th

is y

ear

she

is r

aisi

ng m

oney

fo

r C

hild

ren

with

Can

cer.

Soni

a di

d of

fer

her

the

bana

na s

uit

to g

race

the

stre

ets

of L

ondo

n bu

t Li

z

decl

ined

. If

you

wou

ld l

ike

to s

pons

or L

iz,

deta

ils a

re in

the

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p.

SIM

ON

BEA

TS L

IZ A

ND

SO

NIA

WIT

H F

RYI

NG

PAN

FRIE

ND

LY

FUN

GI

Ther

e is

a m

iracl

e in

a h

ealth

y

soil

that

has

its

orig

ins

500

mill

ion

year

s ag

o,

a liv

ing

orga

nism

as

ol

d as

pl

ants

them

selv

es

and

one

that

coul

d be

th

e di

ffere

nce

betw

een

succ

ess

and

failu

re

of a

pla

nt in

you

r ga

rden

.

Myc

orrh

izal

fu

ngi

are

bene

ficia

l fu

ngi

that

ar

e

esse

ntia

l to

the

wel

lbei

ng o

f

your

pla

nts.

The

se o

rgan

ism

s

form

a

criti

cal

rela

tions

hip

with

ov

er

90%

of

pl

ants

.

They

at

tach

th

emse

lves

to

the

root

s of

yo

ung

plan

ts

and

effe

ctiv

ely

incr

ease

th

e

root

sys

tem

of

the

plan

t by

anyt

hing

from

a

100

to

a

1000 t

imes

. Th

ere

is u

p to

10 k

ilom

etre

s of

fung

al s

tran

d

in 1

cub

ic c

entim

etre

of

soil

and

this

int

ricat

e ne

twor

k of

stra

nds

expl

ores

th

e so

il in

min

ute

deta

il fo

r nu

trie

nts

and

wat

er b

ringi

ng th

em b

ack

to t

he p

lant

roo

ts f

or u

se b

y

the

plan

t an

d in

ret

urn

the

plan

t pr

ovid

es t

he

fung

us w

ith s

ugar

s it

need

s.

If m

ycor

rhiz

ae a

re s

o cr

itica

l

for

my

gard

en w

hy a

re t

he

plan

ts i

n m

y ga

rden

doi

ng s

o

wel

l? M

ost

soils

are

hea

lthy

and

natu

rally

con

tain

ple

nty

of a

ctiv

e m

ycor

rhiz

ae s

o it

is

very

lik

ely

that

you

r ga

rden

has

them

in

ab

unda

nce

anyw

ay.

How

ever

, in

cer

tain

situ

atio

ns

Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i may

die

out

or

be

sign

ifica

ntly

re

duce

d

in

the

soil

by

exce

ssiv

e

culti

vatio

n,

strip

ping

an

d

stor

age

of s

oil

durin

g ho

use

cons

truc

tion,

co

mpa

ctio

n of

soil

and

prol

onge

d pe

riods

of t

he a

rea

dow

n to

gra

ss.

In

thes

e si

tuat

ions

myc

orrh

izae

may

be

slow

to

re-c

olon

ise

so

at p

lant

ing

time

addi

tion

of

orga

nic

mat

ter

and

Roo

tgro

w

(Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i in

pack

ets)

will

he

lp

your

pl

ants

ge

t

HO

LME I

MP

RO

VEM

EN

TSO

ver

the

win

ter,

we

have

ca

rrie

d ou

t a

lot

of

impr

ovem

ents

to

th

e

build

ings

ad

join

ing

the

Orc

hard

pro

vidi

ng a

cle

aner

and

drie

r en

viro

nmen

t in

whi

ch

to

disp

lay

a w

ider

rang

e of

gar

deni

ng t

ools

and

othe

r ga

rden

ess

entia

ls.

We

have

ju

st

erec

ted

a

new

po

lytu

nnel

to

he

lp

us

grow

mor

e pl

ants

our

selv

es,

part

icul

arly

pla

nts

like

Salv

ia

and

Ant

hem

is

whi

ch

are

grea

t pl

ants

for

gro

win

g he

re

in t

he S

outh

but

are

diff

icul

t

to o

btai

n from

oth

er g

row

ers.

The

first

pl

ants

from

th

is

tunn

el

will

be

av

aila

ble

to

buy

from

m

id-A

pril.

M

ore

addi

tions

to

th

e ga

rden

s

are

plan

ned

this

yea

r w

ith

the

plan

ting

of

two

new

bord

ers

this

Sp

ring

and

in

the

Aut

umn

a ne

w

gard

en

devo

ted

to

five

hund

red

diffe

rent

va

rietie

s of

ap

ple.

This

is

to m

ark

the

Que

en’s

Dia

mon

d Ju

bile

e an

d w

e

are

hopi

ng i

n th

e lo

ng t

erm

for

the

gard

en

to

beco

me

natio

nally

impo

rtan

t.

SPR

ING

TIM

E A

ND

W

E A

RE

BU

ZZIN

G

TOA

DS

AN

D

WIL

DLI

FE

THR

IVIN

G

AT H

OLM

E

The

pond

at

H

olm

e w

as

teem

ing

with

to

ads

in

Febr

uary

as

hund

reds

of

the

adul

t’s m

ade

thei

r w

ay b

ack

to th

eir

birt

h pl

ace

afte

r be

ing

away

for

2 y

ears

. W

e al

way

s

have

a

high

po

pula

tion

of

adul

t to

ads

arou

nd t

he l

ower

part

s of

the

nur

sery

and

the

y

do a

fan

tast

ic j

ob o

f ke

epin

g

the

slug

an

d sn

ails

do

wn,

but

it w

as l

ike

a fe

stiv

al o

f

toad

s w

ith

them

ap

pear

ing

from

far

and

wid

e. T

here

was

muc

h m

atin

g bu

t bi

zarr

ely

we

can’

t se

e an

y sp

awn

so

unfo

rtun

atel

y w

e pr

obab

ly

won

’t be

hav

ing

any

tadp

oles

.

Con

grat

ulat

ions

go

to

Mrs

Hum

phrie

s from

War

eham

, w

inne

r of

the

Ham

per

Priz

e D

raw

.

Sprin

g 20

12.in

dd

1-3

26/0

3/20

12

13:2

0:46

the difference is our expertise…

New Year 2013

Jan is Best in Show Once Again

Jan surveys her winning garden at the Dorchester Show

and we had a lot of fun doing it”.

Jan Loveless led the Holme team with their garden entry at the September Dorchester Show and scooped the m u c h c o v e t e d Townsend Cup for the second year in a row.

This year’s theme was A Romantic Meeting Place using lots of cool greens and whites. The garden took months of preparation to ensure the plants looked just right for the big day. “We even bought the

turf in June, rolled it out on concrete and kept it watered every day just to let the grass grow nice and long for that wild look” says Jan. “You get some idea of how difficult it must be to get all the plants looking good just at the right time for Chelsea. It’s a lot of work, but the result was worth it

In this issue… Holme celebrates 21 years Forthcoming Events Big Bumper Begonias Potatoes Winter Colour Top Tips Shrub Offer Improved Loyalty Card Bulbs in pots Designs for your border

Happy Birthday Holme

Holme will be 21 year’s old this year and to help us celebrate we will be offering 21 Loyalty points on selected items.

Keep an eye out for the symbol (above) in the newsletter and in the Garden Centre for 21 Loyalty Bonus points

Farm and the Farm Shop.

We will notify you when you have earned £5 worth of points and you will be able to redeem them at your next visit.

Changes take effect from 1st January 2013 so start benefitting at your next visit.

The card also entitles

you to • free garden advice

at the Garden Centre

• Exclusive Access to Preview evenings

• Special offers in store

Following a recent review of our Privilege Card we are delighted to announce that from now on each £1 you spend will attract a Loyalty point and each Loyalty point will be worth 5p.

You will be able to use your card in all departments including the Garden Centre, the Orchard Café, the Fruit

Big Bonus for Holme Loyalty Card Holders

Townsend Cup

This year Holme has some easily assembled raised beds to help first time vegetable growers to have a go. Having assembled the bed and filled it with a mix of soil and compost, select your seeds or starter vegetable packs from a wide range including tomatoes, brassicas, onions, courgettes, chilies, beetroot, chard, sweet corn, beans and much, much more.

The vegetables you buy will be dictated by the space you have so if you do not have a

big garden, don’t worry as you can still grow a good range in window boxes, pots or even grow bags.

If you are ‘new to the game’ keep it simple and have a go at growing salad crops. Lettuce is a brilliant vegetable to start with if you have never grown them before and have limited space, it’s like having a living salad larder on your window sill or raised beds! We are always happy to help and advise

Looking toward the future, this year we are planting 270 varieties of trees, both native and from further afield to add to the 80 or so we have already planted at Holme.

This planting will mark the start of a dramatic expansion of the gardens at Holme. It will take 5 to 10 years for the trees to start attaining reasonable heights but we will be able to enjoy the blossoms and leaf colours immediately.

The new terrace above the pond is complete and is open to Orchard Cafe customers where you can sit on a sunny afternoon with you cup of tea and enjoy the elevated view over the water and planted beds.

We have also had a mural painted by local artist Nina Camplin to give the terrace greater depth. The space seats up to 30 people and is also available for private hire Enquire by email to orchard@holmeforgardens.co.uk or 01929 554716 Ext 3

Eugen has been back managing the Fruit Farm for a year now and has already made substantial improvements. He is a highly skilled and trained grower and we have equipped him with everything he needs including a brand new tractor (which he is very happy about!).

He has been very busy planting two new two new Asparagus beds, 7,500 new raspberry plants, a new show kitchen garden for more Holme grown produce to be used in our Orchard tea room kitchens, another 45 varieties of apples, and in March another 8000 strawberries are going in for fruiting in August this year.

Existing bush fruit such as Gooseberries and redcurrants have been skilfully pruned to re-invigorate them so Eugen is confident that this year there will be plenty of your favourite fruits and vegetables available for PYO from June onwards. The only thing he can’t control is the British Weather!

What a fantastic plant for our southern gardens. This South American group of plants flower from June to November without pausing for breath.

When you mention Salvia most people first think of the bedding

plant variety which is usually bright red and may not be to everyone’s taste but this year we will be growing a selection of shrubby types that will come back year after year in all but the very hardest of winters.

They range from deep purple, through cerise to mauve, pink and even red and white forms are available. Holme are having 13 specially grown varieties which will be available from early Summer.

K rissi Says

6 TOP TIPS FOR SUMMER

Dead head Roses and perennials for looks and to encourage more flowers

In dry periods water the ground areas slowly at night to ensure maximum water penetration into the soil

Finish planting out annuals and tender perennials

Continue to support tall flower stems that may be damaged by strong wind or heavy rain

Watch out for aphid attack on new growth tips. Cherries and Roses are particularly susceptible. Spray with suitable insecticide

FRUITY NEWS

Salvias!

ARBORETUM OFGARDEN TREES

GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES AND HERBS

MULBERRY TERRACE AND MURAL

Amos planting

SALVIAS£8.99 each or2 for just £15

esta

blis

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Hol

me

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10

diffe

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form

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nigh

t sh

owca

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varie

ty

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e ar

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ter

race

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have

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cros

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not

com

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right

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low

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ff Pa

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onal

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e

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n, K

en S

wan

to

nam

e

just

a

few

of

th

e ta

lent

ed

perf

orm

ers.

Star

t yo

ur d

ay w

ith u

s….

Bre

akfa

st

is

now

av

aila

ble

from

09:

30–1

1:00

. W

e ha

ve

baco

n sa

rnie

s th

roug

h to

a

full

Orc

hard

bre

akfa

st o

n of

fer

– ju

st w

hat

you

need

bef

ore

a ha

rd

day

in

the

gard

en.

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hing

bea

ts a

tast

y Pu

rbec

k

bang

er

and

a go

lden

fre

e

rang

e eg

g.H

omem

ade

food

in t

he c

afe

All

our

mea

ls

are

prep

ared

in

the

Orc

hard

ki

tche

n,

usin

g lo

cal

supp

liers

an

d

seas

onal

in

gred

ient

s w

here

poss

ible

. W

e al

way

s ha

ve a

wid

e se

lect

ion

of h

ome-

mad

e

cake

s, s

hort

brea

ds a

nd

cook

ies

as w

ell

as o

ur b

est

selli

ng c

ream

tea.

Get

con

nect

edN

eed

to

chec

k yo

ur

emai

ls

or

look

up

th

at

plan

t yo

u

can’

t re

mem

ber

the

nam

e of

?

We

now

hav

e

ava

ilabl

e

for

Orc

hard

cu

stom

ers.

If

you’

d lik

e to

boo

k sp

ace

for

a br

eakf

ast

mee

ting,

eve

ning

conf

eren

ce

or

sem

inar

,

tele

phon

e us

on

0192

9 55

4 71

6 ex

t 3,

or

emai

l us

via

or

char

d@ho

lmef

orga

rden

s.co

.uk

Her

e at

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p,

we

are

alw

ays

look

ing

for

new

lo

cal

supp

liers

to

com

plim

ent

our

rang

e of

exce

llent

pr

oduc

ts.

We

are

fort

unat

e to

hav

e go

od l

ocal

mea

ts,

chee

ses,

ch

utne

ys

and

jam

s, b

eers

cid

ers

and

win

es,

bake

ries

and

bisc

uit

mak

ers

and

muc

h m

ore

all

of

exce

ptio

nal

qual

ity

and

good

val

ue f

or m

oney

. Th

is

year

we

are

addi

ng W

areh

am

mad

e co

nfec

tione

ry i

nclu

ding

flavo

urs

of f

udge

to

die

for

and

a de

licio

us

Lulw

orth

appl

e ju

ice

amon

gst

othe

r

delig

hts.

We

belie

ve y

ou c

an

buy

all

you

need

at

a go

od

pric

e lo

cally

w

hich

is

an

inva

luab

le h

elp

for

the

loca

l

econ

omy

and

peop

le w

ho li

ve

in th

e ar

ea. C

ome

in w

ith th

is

artic

le a

nd g

et 1

0% o

ff yo

ur

shop

ping

bi

ll an

d se

e ho

w

easy

and

eco

nom

ical

it

is t

o

shop

loca

lly.

Visi

tors

to

Hol

me

on S

hrov

e

Tues

day

wer

e tr

eate

d to

a

flipp

ing

good

tim

e at

th

e

Orc

hard

pa

ncak

e ra

ce.

The

cont

est c

onsi

sted

of t

hree

laps

roun

d th

e po

nd w

hils

t tos

sing

a pa

ncak

e at

leas

t thr

ee ti

mes

each

circ

uit.

The

stro

ng

favo

urite

w

as

Liz

who

ha

s be

en

trai

ning

all

win

ter

for

the

Lond

on

Mar

atho

n an

d sh

e w

ent

into

an

early

le

ad

whe

n Si

mon

drop

ped

his

panc

ake

on t

he

seco

nd

flip.

Li

z w

as

hotly

purs

ued

by S

onia

who

was

ham

pere

d by

he

r fa

ncy

dres

s ye

llow

ban

ana

suit

but

desp

ite t

his

grad

ually

cau

ght

Liz

up a

nd c

omin

g in

to t

he

final

cor

ner i

t was

a tw

o ho

rse

race

but

biz

arre

ly b

oth

Liz

and

Soni

a dr

oppe

d th

eir

panc

akes

at t

he s

ame

time

and

whi

lst

they

sto

oped

to re

trie

ve th

em,

the

two

hare

s w

ere

over

take

n

by

Sim

on

the

tort

oise

w

ho

roun

ded

the

bend

to

take

the

cheq

uere

d fla

g.

Of

cour

se t

he b

igge

st w

inne

r

was

Jup

iter

who

tho

ught

it

was

Ch

ristm

as

com

e ea

rly

whe

n th

ree

tast

y pa

ncak

es

wen

t to

gr

ound

w

hich

he

hast

ily s

naffl

ed u

p!

This

will

be

Liz’

s 5t

h Lo

ndon

mar

atho

n an

d th

is y

ear

she

is r

aisi

ng m

oney

fo

r Ch

ildre

n

with

Can

cer.

Soni

a di

d of

fer

her

the

bana

na s

uit

to g

race

the

stre

ets

of L

ondo

n bu

t Liz

de

clin

ed.

If yo

u w

ould

lik

e to

spo

nsor

Liz

, de

tails

are

in

the

Hol

me

Farm

Sho

p.

SIM

ON

BEA

TS L

IZ A

ND

SO

NIA

WIT

H F

RYI

NG

PAN

FRIE

ND

LY

FUN

GI

Ther

e is

a m

iracl

e in

a h

ealth

y

soil

that

has

its

orig

ins

500

mill

ion

year

s ag

o,

a liv

ing

orga

nism

as

ol

d as

pl

ants

them

selv

es

and

one

that

coul

d be

th

e di

ffere

nce

betw

een

succ

ess

and

failu

re

of a

pla

nt in

you

r ga

rden

. M

ycor

rhiz

al

fung

i ar

e

bene

ficia

l fu

ngi

that

ar

e

esse

ntia

l to

the

wel

lbei

ng o

f

your

pla

nts.

The

se o

rgan

ism

s

form

a

criti

cal

rela

tions

hip

with

ov

er

90%

of

pl

ants

.

They

at

tach

th

emse

lves

to

the

root

s of

yo

ung

plan

ts

and

effe

ctiv

ely

incr

ease

th

e

root

sys

tem

of

the

plan

t by

anyt

hing

fro

m

a 10

0 to

a

1000

tim

es.

Ther

e is

up

to

10 k

ilom

etre

s of

fung

al s

tran

d

in 1

cub

ic c

entim

etre

of

soil

and

this

int

ricat

e ne

twor

k of

stra

nds

expl

ores

th

e so

il in

min

ute

deta

il fo

r nu

trie

nts

and

wat

er b

ringi

ng th

em b

ack

to t

he p

lant

roo

ts f

or u

se b

y

the

plan

t an

d in

ret

urn

the

plan

t pro

vide

s th

e fu

ngus

with

sug

ars

it ne

eds.

If

myc

orrh

izae

are

so

criti

cal

for

my

gard

en w

hy a

re t

he

plan

ts in

my

gard

en d

oing

so

wel

l? M

ost

soils

are

hea

lthy

and

natu

rally

con

tain

ple

nty

of a

ctiv

e m

ycor

rhiz

ae s

o it

is

very

lik

ely

that

you

r ga

rden

has

them

in

ab

unda

nce

anyw

ay.

How

ever

, in

cer

tain

situ

atio

ns

Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i may

die

out

or

be

sign

ifica

ntly

re

duce

d

in

the

soil

by

exce

ssiv

e

culti

vatio

n,

strip

ping

an

d

stor

age

of s

oil

durin

g ho

use

cons

truc

tion,

co

mpa

ctio

n of

soil

and

prol

onge

d pe

riods

of t

he a

rea

dow

n to

gra

ss.

In

thes

e si

tuat

ions

myc

orrh

izae

may

be

slow

to r

e-co

loni

se s

o

at p

lant

ing

time

addi

tion

of

orga

nic

mat

ter

and

Roo

tgro

w

(Myc

orrh

izal

fung

i in

pack

ets)

will

he

lp

your

pl

ants

ge

t

HO

LME

IMP

RO

VEM

ENTS

Ove

r th

e w

inte

r, w

e

have

ca

rrie

d ou

t a

lot

of

impr

ovem

ents

to

th

e

build

ings

ad

join

ing

the

Orc

hard

pro

vidi

ng a

cle

aner

and

drie

r en

viro

nmen

t in

whi

ch

to

disp

lay

a w

ider

rang

e of

gar

deni

ng t

ools

and

othe

r ga

rden

ess

entia

ls.

We

have

ju

st

erec

ted

a

new

po

lytu

nnel

to

he

lp

us

grow

mor

e pl

ants

our

selv

es,

part

icul

arly

pla

nts

like

Salv

ia

and

Anth

emis

w

hich

ar

e

grea

t pl

ants

for

grow

ing

here

in t

he S

outh

but

are

diff

icul

t

to o

btai

n fro

m o

ther

gro

wer

s.

The

first

pl

ants

fro

m

this

tunn

el

will

be

av

aila

ble

to

buy

from

m

id-A

pril.

M

ore

addi

tions

to

th

e ga

rden

s

are

plan

ned

this

yea

r w

ith

the

plan

ting

of

two

new

bord

ers

this

Sp

ring

and

in

the

Autu

mn

a ne

w g

arde

n

devo

ted

to

five

hund

red

diffe

rent

va

rietie

s of

ap

ple.

This

is

to m

ark

the

Que

en’s

Dia

mon

d Ju

bile

e an

d w

e

are

hopi

ng i

n th

e lo

ng t

erm

for

the

gard

en

to

beco

me

natio

nally

impo

rtan

t.

SPR

ING

TIM

E AN

D

WE

ARE

BU

ZZIN

G

TOAD

S AN

D

WIL

DLI

FE

THR

IVIN

G

AT H

OLM

E

The

pond

at

H

olm

e w

as

teem

ing

with

to

ads

in

Febr

uary

as

hund

reds

of

the

adul

t’s m

ade

thei

r w

ay b

ack

to th

eir b

irth

plac

e af

ter b

eing

away

for

2 ye

ars.

W

e al

way

s

have

a

high

po

pula

tion

of

adul

t to

ads

arou

nd t

he l

ower

part

s of

the

nur

sery

and

the

y

do a

fan

tast

ic j

ob o

f ke

epin

g

the

slug

an

d sn

ails

do

wn,

but

it w

as l

ike

a fe

stiv

al o

f

toad

s w

ith

them

ap

pear

ing

from

far

and

wid

e. T

here

was

muc

h m

atin

g bu

t bi

zarr

ely

we

can’

t se

e an

y sp

awn

so

unfo

rtun

atel

y w

e pr

obab

ly

won

’t be

hav

ing

any

tadp

oles

.Co

ngra

tula

tions

go

toM

rs H

umph

ries

from

W

areh

am, w

inne

r of

the

Ham

per

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e D

raw

.

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g 20

12.in

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1-3

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0:46

David says

Autumn is the time for planting out spring flowering bulbs to light up your pots and borders next spring. Late winter can be dull in the garden, however, by carefully choosing a selection of bulbs you can provide colour from January to May and the best thing is, you may not have done anything in the garden for months but you will already have colour and interest.

All spring flowering bulbs are best bought in September and October when there is good choice available. Most bulbs can be planted as soon as they are purchased but this is not always possible as your summer plants need to die down before you can access the soil or if the soil is too dry and hard. However, try and get them in as soon as is practicable. Tulips are an exception and are best planted later in November.

Holme has a wonderful selection so come in and choose the bulbs to create your very own light show!

INCANDESCENT BULBS

September at Holme

October at Holme

November at Holme Farm Shop, Christmas and Gifts

”

”

Ferns are fantastic for bringing an understated grandeur to the garden. Their foliage is diverse in form

and available in many shades of green and their delicacy can act as a great foil to bold leaves of plants like Hosta.

Some ferns are deciduous, however this autumn we have put together a collection of evergreen forms that can be used not

just in borders but also in planted containers.

ONE GOOD FERN DESERVES ANOTHER!

Chrysanthemum CushionsFew autumn plants are as eye catching as these colourful beauties, especially at a time when a lot of your summer bedding plants are beginning to go past their best. Chrysanthemum plants are naturally free-branching and form a bushy shape that gets

covered in so many flowers that the foliage is almost totally obscured.

And once Chrysanthemums start flowering in early September, they‘ll just go on and on until the first frosts.

£5.99 each 2 for

£10.00

As many plants are starting to fade, grasses are just starting to really show off. Now is a great time to put planting combinations together as you can easily see what each plant is about. We will have an excellent selection available through September, and in October we will planting up our own grass borders in the gardens.

“Mulch

3 bags for just £12

After 6 years in the farm shop Liz is going to spend more time working with Simon to keep improving what Holme has to offer. We are very excited because we have found an excellent replacement. Her name is Joanna (Jo) King and she is effervescent and bubbling with energy and fresh ideas.

Jo said “My parents have been long term customers at Holme and I am delighted to be joining the progressive team as manager of the Farm Shop. Liz and Simon tell me what lovely customers use the Farm Shop and the whole site, and I can’t wait to meet you and find out what it is you like about the shop and also listen to any ideas to help make it better.”

Jo starts in early September so please pop in and meet her.

RUBBISH FRIENDSWe live in such a beautiful area it always amazes me that there are people who

don’t appreciate it and spoil it by throwing litter from their cars. I have heard of a brilliant group of volunteers called ‘Rubbish Friends’ who make a real difference by litter picking in their local area. I am looking to start a group in our area for Purbeck. Winter is a great time to litter pick because it is a lot more obvious as the verge growth dies down. If you would like to support this idea please contact me by email simon@holmefg.co.uk

Holme for Gardens is the ideal venue for a Purbeck Wedding. The Event Lawn is situated perfectly to make the most of the glorious gardens, open countryside and orchards. Drinks and canapés can be held around the idyllic ponds, followed by a meal of your choice in a Wedding Marquee to your specification on the Event Lawn. The venue is now licensed to conduct your ceremony as well. For more information please contact Polly by email events@bluebayevents.co.uk

NEW MANAGER IN THE HOLME FARM SHOP

Weddings at Holme

20% OFF ON ROSE DAY

Last October and November we created a new, much larger nursery shop so that we could display all the gardening sundries in a pleasant, dry and dust free area. Previously we had been using the rather unsuitable agricultural barn where the floor was uneven, it was dark and partially open to the elements so that the stock deteriorated.

The new shop has proved very popular and so for the first time this Autumn we are able to provide a decent warm winter shopping area. As well as the gardening products we have been able to expand the range of gifts and books, add more houseplants and introduce more bird and wildlife items, so your visit to us this Autumn will be a much more comfortable and enjoyable experience.

NEW SHOP

PLANT SECTION TO BE EXPANDEDFollowing the car park alterations we were a little cramped on the plant area during the main spring season. This winter we will be moving our plant production area from behind the tea room and turning this space into a new tree and hedging section. This will allow us ample room for plants and wider pathways for trolleys and customer comfort.

The soil at Holme is pretty poor and underlain by sands and gravel so as soon as it stops raining the soil dries out and it is not great at retaining nutrient. Despite this the borders at Holme are highly fertile and we use very little fertiliser.

Our secret is to use lots of organic compost either dug into the soil or added as mulch to the soil surface.

November is a great month for cutting back summer growth and cleaning the borders. Once this is complete apply a 2 to 4 inch layer of compost over any bare surface. As a result your soil will:

• Be better aerated and less prone to water logging• Retain more nutrients• Reduce weed germination and be easier to weed• Be better insulated so tender plants can better withstand colder winter temperatures

We have put together some great deals on our compost range to help you get more for your money.

Our exciting new range of Roses arrive in late October and we will have them potted by mid November. In total we have over 110 varieties of which there are 20 new selections. Join us on Sunday 27th for Rose Day where you can see the NEW range, get advice from our experts on pruning, planting and aftercare. If you have a Holme loyalty card there will be 20% off any Rose purchased on the day.

Now we have expanded our garden centre shop we fall within the Sunday trading regulations. The law of the land must of course be obeyed so please note carefully our new operating times, especially in the garden centre.

Sunday Trading

In this issue…

WELCOME FROM SIMON

YOU MUST BE JO KING

GLORIOUS GARDENS

YOUR LOYALTY VOUCHER

IN THE GARDEN CENTRE

ORCHARD NEWS

COMPETITION

EVENTS AT HOLME

The Gardens at Holme have had plenty of visitors in raptures this summer, enjoying the walk around and then rushing home to tell their friends about the beautiful plants and colourful borders.

For the last 10 years the Gardens have been developing quietly so that now they include ponds, waterfalls, a David Austin Rose collection, a young arboretum, a cloister garden, bog gardens, twenty colour themed borders, palms, bamboos and a formal cutting garden.

One of the most popular attractions this year is the sweeping annual flower meadows which have been much admired and not only are they attractive to humans but judging by the number of visiting bees, hoverflies and butterflies they are also loved by wildlife too.

Eugen, Amos and Marianna work very hard all year round in the gardens. You may see them on your next visit.

The gardens will continue to produce a lovely, colourful display throughout the

autumn so make sure you visit and soak up the peaceful atmosphere filled with the sound of wildlife. Particular plants to look out for are the 30 new varieties of Dahlia we have added this season and the 40 blue and purple Morning Glory climbers planted throughout the garden.

Even into late October and November there will still be some spectacular autumn colours on the young trees in the arboretum, so come and admire nature’s best.

Over the course of this year you have been accumulating 5% of what you spent at Holme whenever you used your Holme Privilege Card. If you have received this newsletter by post your Loyalty Voucher should be

enclosed with your monetary value printed on it. Please bring this voucher to Holme anytime between now and Friday 30th September and you can use it against any purchase.

So will you choose a meal

in the Orchard Café, some beautiful plants or bulbs from the nursery or some delicious local food from the Farm Shop?

We appreciate your custom and hope you enjoy spending the voucher.

If for any reason you have not received your voucher please contact Rose or Sue at enquiries@holmefg.co.uk

YOUR LOYALTY BONUS PAYOUT REDEEM IT NOW

privilegecard

Autumn offers in the Orchard

DECEMBERFree Mince Pie with every Hot drinkLift your spirits in the run up to Christmas with a mince pie when you purchase any hot drink (9am-12 noon only)✃

NOVEMBERWinter Warmer for just £6.95A Holme made Hot Seasonal meal - 12 noon till 2.30pm✃

OCTOBERMeet a friend for afternoon Tea Save £3.90Includes sandwiches, scones, cream and jam. Normal price £7.95 each Buy 2 for just £12. Available from 2.30pm everyday in October

✃

Orchard News

Let’s meet in the Orchard TEA WITH SANTA

Our primary objective is the comfort of our customers in a pleasant and inspiring environment. Hopefully we have achieved this especially in the outdoor areas by the ponds where there are 120 outdoor seats. This is divided into several different patios and seating areas so that there is always enough seating for larger groups but also somewhere quiet to retreat to for those looking for some peace and tranquility.

The other most important aim of ours is to provide lovely food with good service. Thankfully we have naturally friendly staff who enjoy meeting people and 3 lovely chefs. However, to serve you properly they need good equipment, so last spring we undertook some significant improvements to the kitchen, more than doubling its size and installing a lot of new cooking and cold storage equipment. At about the same time Amanda arrived as our new manager and has led the Orchard staff to successfully incorporate the changes to the kitchen, and made the troupe into a happy and professional team.

We have plenty for you to enjoy this autumn and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Santa met so many lovely children last year that he has agreed to visit us again in the run up to Christmas this year. He will be with us for afternoon tea on Tuesday 20th and Thursday 22nd December. Whilst waiting to meet Santa the children can enjoy magical stories and of course a lovely afternoon tea with

parents. Santa is very popular so booking is essential.

Email orchard@holmefg.co.uk Cost £6. Time from 3 to 5pm

The Orchard already welcomes many friendship groups who use it for a venue to meet up regularly and enjoy each other’s company. There are many cycling groups, walkers, church elders, parents, exercise classes and we are even a watering hole for our local constabulary’s ‘high speed pursuit team’. So if your group would like to meet for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea get along to the Orchard (but don’t break the speed limit)

UPCOMING EVENTS

OPENING HOURSOpen everyday except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Easter Sunday

Monday till SaturdayNursery & Farm Shop: BST 9.00am to 5.30pm GMT 9.00am to 5.00pmOrchard Café: 9.00am to 5.00pm

Sunday opening times all year roundPlants & Nursery Shop: 10.30am to 4.30pmFarm Shop & Orchard Café: 9.30am to 5.30pm There’s no place

like Holme

CONTACT USHolme Nurseries Ltd

West Holme Farm, Wareham, Dorset. BH20 6AQ

enquiries@holmefg.co.uk www.holmefg.co.uk Tel: 01929 554716

Like us on Facebook & Trip Advisor

Dear Reader,

Welcome to our autumn newsletter.

At the end of April we completed the major improvements we started right back in March 2015 and I am looking forward to a period of calm before making any more alterations. In January we removed the old agricultural barn and installed a new car park with raised beds, a new garden centre entrance and a 50m long pergola with under planted borders.

This has made it much easier to park and access the site especially for blue badge holders and at busy times the overflow parking is far more obvious. Despite the scale of the changes we have made, we have been careful to respect our original farm heritage by re-using most of the wooden railway sleepers from the barn in the new planters and entrance, and keeping our individual, rustic feel.

Just 4 months later and the planting looks well established, and as I write butterflies are fluttering from flower to flower. It certainly sets the tone when you arrive reinforcing the fact that Holme is where gardening and nature not only co-exist but thrive.

I look forward to seeing you this Autumn.

Best wishes

Simon

Last November we expanded the Garden Centre shop, and developed the covered space above the Orchard Café into a pleasant conservatory area. An environmentally friendly heating and cooling system was installed for comfort and we had already designed the roof with plenty of insulated roof lights so people can sit now in an area that is comfortable but where there is plenty of natural daylight to blow away any winter blues (or summer blues on an inclement day!).

Furthermore we have moved the houseplant display into this room so you can feel surrounded by greenery and hot house flowers. We had in mind that this would be an attractive place in winter when it was too cold to sit outside but it has already been popular this summer.

If you have not enjoyed eating in this room before why not give it a try this Autumn and what’s more - well behaved dogs are welcome so you can bring your pooch too.

The Orchard is a great place to host your Christmas celebration, and we welcome large and small group bookings. The Christmas menu will be available from September and we would be happy to talk through your requirements. Please speak to Amanda or email orchard@holmefg.co.uk

CHRISTMAS PARTY BOOKINGS

The answer to the spring competition was ANDROMEDA and congratulations to Mrs. Edwards who won the prize for getting this and submitting the most words of four or more letters.

This time we would like you to come up with a caption competition for the photo above of Alec entering the pond on his last day at Holme.

Winners will receive £15 of Holme Vouchers. Closing date for entries is 31st October.

COMPETITION TIME

DAY DATE EVENT Saturday 8th October Feelin’ Fruity Tree Day. Come and talk to the experts about

anything fruit tree. The best varieties, rootstocks, planting, aftercare, pruning and pest and disease control. 10% off any fruit trees purchased on the day.

Tuesday 18th October Planting containers for winter colour 11am to 12 noon. Talk and Demonstration cost £5 includes 1 free regular hot drink.

Wednesday 26th October Blithe Spirit Purbeck Film Festival Supper and Film £12 - Film only £6.

Thursday 27th October Dare to be Wild Purbeck Film Festival Supper and Film £12 - Film only £6.

Thursday 10th November Gardener’s Question Time and Quiz. Join us for supper and a fun horticultural table quiz before trying to outfox our panel of experts. Supper and quiz £12.

Tuesday 15th November Putting your borders to bed. 11am to 12.30 pm. Talk and Demonstration cost £5 includes 1 free regular hot drink.

Friday 18th November Liz Charity Quiz – Enjoy supper and test the brain cells at this entertaining event. £8 per person to include a Ploughman’s supper.

Tuesday 22nd November Autumn pruning with Simon. Practical demonstration. Cost £7 includes 1 regular tea or coffee per person.

Sunday 27th November Rose Day – See the new range of Roses, get advice from our experts on planting and pruning plus 20% off any roses purchased on the day.

Sunday 4th December Light up a Life carol service in the Orchard. Our annual event in association with the Joseph Weld Hospice.

Tuesday 20th December Tea with Santa 3pm to 5pm. Booking essential.

Thursday 22nd December Tea with Santa 3pm to 5pm. Booking essential.

To book for any of these events email orchard@holmefg.co.uk or call a member of the Orchard team on 01929 554716 Ext 3

CONSERVATORY AREA A BIG SUCCESS

There’s no place like Holme

Autumn 2016

Desi

gned

and

prin

ted

by D

esig

nosa

ur.c

o.uk

In this issue…

WELCOME FROM SIMON

YOU MUST BE JO KING

GLORIOUS GARDENS

YOUR LOYALTY VOUCHER

IN THE GARDEN CENTRE

ORCHARD NEWS

COMPETITION

EVENTS AT HOLME

The Gardens at Holme have had plenty of visitors in raptures this summer, enjoying the walk around and then rushing home to tell their friends about the beautiful plants and colourful borders.

For the last 10 years the Gardens have been developing quietly so that now they include ponds, waterfalls, a David Austin Rose collection, a young arboretum, a cloister garden, bog gardens, twenty colour themed borders, palms, bamboos and a formal cutting garden.

One of the most popular attractions this year is the sweeping annual flower meadows which have been much admired and not only are they attractive to humans but judging by the number of visiting bees, hoverflies and butterflies they are also loved by wildlife too.

Eugen, Amos and Marianna work very hard all year round in the gardens. You may see them on your next visit.

The gardens will continue to produce a lovely, colourful display throughout the

autumn so make sure you visit and soak up the peaceful atmosphere filled with the sound of wildlife. Particular plants to look out for are the 30 new varieties of Dahlia we have added this season and the 40 blue and purple Morning Glory climbers planted throughout the garden.

Even into late October and November there will still be some spectacular autumn colours on the young trees in the arboretum, so come and admire nature’s best.

Over the course of this year you have been accumulating 5% of what you spent at Holme whenever you used your Holme Privilege Card. If you have received this newsletter by post your Loyalty Voucher should be

enclosed with your monetary value printed on it. Please bring this voucher to Holme anytime between now and Friday 30th September and you can use it against any purchase.

So will you choose a meal

in the Orchard Café, some beautiful plants or bulbs from the nursery or some delicious local food from the Farm Shop?

We appreciate your custom and hope you enjoy spending the voucher.

If for any reason you have not received your voucher please contact Rose or Sue at enquiries@holmefg.co.uk

YOUR LOYALTY BONUS PAYOUT REDEEM IT NOW

privilegecard

Autumn offers in the Orchard

DECEMBERFree Mince Pie with every Hot drinkLift your spirits in the run up to Christmas with a mince pie when you purchase any hot drink (9am-12 noon only)✃

NOVEMBERWinter Warmer for just £6.95A Holme made Hot Seasonal meal - 12 noon till 2.30pm✃

OCTOBERMeet a friend for afternoon Tea Save £3.90Includes sandwiches, scones, cream and jam. Normal price £7.95 each Buy 2 for just £12. Available from 2.30pm everyday in October

✃

Orchard News

Let’s meet in the Orchard TEA WITH SANTA

Our primary objective is the comfort of our customers in a pleasant and inspiring environment. Hopefully we have achieved this especially in the outdoor areas by the ponds where there are 120 outdoor seats. This is divided into several different patios and seating areas so that there is always enough seating for larger groups but also somewhere quiet to retreat to for those looking for some peace and tranquility.

The other most important aim of ours is to provide lovely food with good service. Thankfully we have naturally friendly staff who enjoy meeting people and 3 lovely chefs. However, to serve you properly they need good equipment, so last spring we undertook some significant improvements to the kitchen, more than doubling its size and installing a lot of new cooking and cold storage equipment. At about the same time Amanda arrived as our new manager and has led the Orchard staff to successfully incorporate the changes to the kitchen, and made the troupe into a happy and professional team.

We have plenty for you to enjoy this autumn and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Santa met so many lovely children last year that he has agreed to visit us again in the run up to Christmas this year. He will be with us for afternoon tea on Tuesday 20th and Thursday 22nd December. Whilst waiting to meet Santa the children can enjoy magical stories and of course a lovely afternoon tea with

parents. Santa is very popular so booking is essential.

Email orchard@holmefg.co.uk Cost £6. Time from 3 to 5pm

The Orchard already welcomes many friendship groups who use it for a venue to meet up regularly and enjoy each other’s company. There are many cycling groups, walkers, church elders, parents, exercise classes and we are even a watering hole for our local constabulary’s ‘high speed pursuit team’. So if your group would like to meet for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea get along to the Orchard (but don’t break the speed limit)

UPCOMING EVENTS

OPENING HOURSOpen everyday except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Easter Sunday

Monday till SaturdayNursery & Farm Shop: BST 9.00am to 5.30pm GMT 9.00am to 5.00pmOrchard Café: 9.00am to 5.00pm

Sunday opening times all year roundPlants & Nursery Shop: 10.30am to 4.30pmFarm Shop & Orchard Café: 9.30am to 5.30pm There’s no place

like Holme

CONTACT USHolme Nurseries Ltd

West Holme Farm, Wareham, Dorset. BH20 6AQ

enquiries@holmefg.co.uk www.holmefg.co.uk Tel: 01929 554716

Like us on Facebook & Trip Advisor

Dear Reader,

Welcome to our autumn newsletter.

At the end of April we completed the major improvements we started right back in March 2015 and I am looking forward to a period of calm before making any more alterations. In January we removed the old agricultural barn and installed a new car park with raised beds, a new garden centre entrance and a 50m long pergola with under planted borders.

This has made it much easier to park and access the site especially for blue badge holders and at busy times the overflow parking is far more obvious. Despite the scale of the changes we have made, we have been careful to respect our original farm heritage by re-using most of the wooden railway sleepers from the barn in the new planters and entrance, and keeping our individual, rustic feel.

Just 4 months later and the planting looks well established, and as I write butterflies are fluttering from flower to flower. It certainly sets the tone when you arrive reinforcing the fact that Holme is where gardening and nature not only co-exist but thrive.

I look forward to seeing you this Autumn.

Best wishes

Simon

Last November we expanded the Garden Centre shop, and developed the covered space above the Orchard Café into a pleasant conservatory area. An environmentally friendly heating and cooling system was installed for comfort and we had already designed the roof with plenty of insulated roof lights so people can sit now in an area that is comfortable but where there is plenty of natural daylight to blow away any winter blues (or summer blues on an inclement day!).

Furthermore we have moved the houseplant display into this room so you can feel surrounded by greenery and hot house flowers. We had in mind that this would be an attractive place in winter when it was too cold to sit outside but it has already been popular this summer.

If you have not enjoyed eating in this room before why not give it a try this Autumn and what’s more - well behaved dogs are welcome so you can bring your pooch too.

The Orchard is a great place to host your Christmas celebration, and we welcome large and small group bookings. The Christmas menu will be available from September and we would be happy to talk through your requirements. Please speak to Amanda or email orchard@holmefg.co.uk

CHRISTMAS PARTY BOOKINGS

The answer to the spring competition was ANDROMEDA and congratulations to Mrs. Edwards who won the prize for getting this and submitting the most words of four or more letters.

This time we would like you to come up with a caption competition for the photo above of Alec entering the pond on his last day at Holme.

Winners will receive £15 of Holme Vouchers. Closing date for entries is 31st October.

COMPETITION TIME

DAY DATE EVENT Saturday 8th October Feelin’ Fruity Tree Day. Come and talk to the experts about

anything fruit tree. The best varieties, rootstocks, planting, aftercare, pruning and pest and disease control. 10% off any fruit trees purchased on the day.

Tuesday 18th October Planting containers for winter colour 11am to 12 noon. Talk and Demonstration cost £5 includes 1 free regular hot drink.

Wednesday 26th October Blithe Spirit Purbeck Film Festival Supper and Film £12 - Film only £6.

Thursday 27th October Dare to be Wild Purbeck Film Festival Supper and Film £12 - Film only £6.

Thursday 10th November Gardener’s Question Time and Quiz. Join us for supper and a fun horticultural table quiz before trying to outfox our panel of experts. Supper and quiz £12.

Tuesday 15th November Putting your borders to bed. 11am to 12.30 pm. Talk and Demonstration cost £5 includes 1 free regular hot drink.

Friday 18th November Liz Charity Quiz – Enjoy supper and test the brain cells at this entertaining event. £8 per person to include a Ploughman’s supper.

Tuesday 22nd November Autumn pruning with Simon. Practical demonstration. Cost £7 includes 1 regular tea or coffee per person.

Sunday 27th November Rose Day – See the new range of Roses, get advice from our experts on planting and pruning plus 20% off any roses purchased on the day.

Sunday 4th December Light up a Life carol service in the Orchard. Our annual event in association with the Joseph Weld Hospice.

Tuesday 20th December Tea with Santa 3pm to 5pm. Booking essential.

Thursday 22nd December Tea with Santa 3pm to 5pm. Booking essential.

To book for any of these events email orchard@holmefg.co.uk or call a member of the Orchard team on 01929 554716 Ext 3

CONSERVATORY AREA A BIG SUCCESS

There’s no place like Holme

Autumn 2016

Desi

gned

and

prin

ted

by D

esig

nosa

ur.c

o.uk