What's Amazing Now
In this third episode of 'Tales from the Tunnel' I show you the stock of Campanula we now have, another plant which I lost a lot off in the move to the new site. What is most amazing is that I have used 5 year old seed to rejuvenate the stock that was lost. This plant is a great all rounder and popular with the pollinators! I can't wait to welcome you and show you how they have grown in the spring! Stay tuned for more videos 💚🐝 #enchantedgardenskent #Organicnursery #whitstablekent #nature #naturalgardening #polytunnelgrowing #polytunnels #pollinatorfriendly #polytunnelgardening #gardeninglife #NaturalGardening #polytunnel #polytunnellife #campanula #seedgrowing #pollinators #PollinatorFriendly
Plant of the Month for December Winter Holly & Camellia Camellia are a beautiful shrub, looking lovely all through the year, they produce their flowers in the spring as a reward of joy after the wintertime. Feed your camellias in early spring with an ericaceous fertilizer or Camellia and Rhododendron Soluble Plant Food. An understanding of when these buds were produced is key; its mid to late summer – If the Camellia is not watered adequately at this time, she will struggle to produce flower buds and may drop leaf, or die back whole limbs in order to have enough energy to do this so by not watering at this time can lead to a really poorly looking plant right now. You should now be viewing really wonderful FAT BUDS in readiness for their show. We couldn't leave out the lovely Festive Winter Holly! Holly – Ilex aquifolium Golden King and Golden Queen are my favourites. I know most gardeners know of Holly as a tree, but they are slow growers and so take time to become large, with a regular prune they WILL stay manageable at a shape and height right for your garden, so please don’t ignore them – they also provide valuable cover for birds away from predators and expensive Christmas Foliage too for FREE! Holly is dioecious, meaning that each plant is either male or female. To produce berries, you need to grow both a male and female plant together so they can cross-pollinate. You can tell the difference between male and female hollies by looking at their flowers: male flowers have more prominent stamens. Holly berries are a favourite food source for many birds, including Redwings, Fieldfares, and Mistle thrushes. #enchantedgardenskent #NaturalGardening #nature #naturalgardening #Organicnursery #gardeninglife #whitstablekent #holly #camellia #plantofthemonth #december #winter #winterberries #winterplants #evergreen #shrub
Hello everybody! Just a quick video showing you how the new hedging we planted back in the spring is doing. The old hedge had deteriorated as it was not regulairy prunes. I have removed as much as possible and replanted a traditional mixed hedge and they are settling in nicely, hurray! #naturalgardening #Organicnursery #nature #whitstablekent #enchantedgardenskent #diversity #hornbeam #traditionalhedge
In this second episode of 'Tales from the Tunnel', I talk to you about Salvia's and the journey we have been on rebuilding the stock that was lost after I moved to the new site. A good friend who is fantastic at taking cuttings has helped me tremendously and I have now a healthy stock of Salvia's, including; Amistad, Hotlips, Icing Sugar, Sue's Purple, Blue Note, Royal Blue, Amethyst Lips. Cherry Lips, Nina's Wish, Belle de Loire, Royal Bumble, Uliginosa and the UK native Pratensis. Stay tuned for more videos 💚🐝 #polytunnel #polytunnels #polytunnellife #polytunnelgrowing #polytunnelgardening #salvia #salviacuttings #naturalgardening #pollinatorfriendly #enchantedgardenskent #alternativegardening #NaturalGardening #whitstablekent #nature #Organicnursery #gardeninglife #Gardeningtips
#Allium and #Fritillariapersica bulbs are in pots and waiting for you, so whether you buy them now as a Christmas present or come and visit me in the spring and want some colour in your gardens, these are going to be beautiful! Allium bulbs are: #Cristophii #Bulgaricum #Purplesensation Available to purchase on the website now. #whitstablekent #enchantedgardenskent #Organicnursery
There is lots still going on in the #Polytunnel and I wanted to show you all! This is the first of a series of videos I will be releasing, keeping you all updated about how I am looking after my plants during the colder months. In this first update video, I show you #Crambe, #Lamium 'Arkangel', #Agastache 'Liquorice Blue', #Rudbeckia Triloba, #Phlomis Italica, #Melianthusmajor and #Hedychium. Most of these plants I have brung in becasue they do not want to be soggy, not that they cannot get through the cold. Stay tuned for more videos 💚🐝 #nature #Organicnursery #naturalgardening #enchantedgardenskent #whitstablekent #gardeninglife #Gardeningtips #pollinatorfriendly #NaturalGardening #alternativegardening #collectingseed
A Tree Tragedy This is another article that has caught my attention and I wanted to share it with you all. As part of their sustainabliltiy pledge, the beer company Brewdog had planted thousands of trees in Scotland. Unfortunately many of the saplings did not survive and I feel schemes like this need much more questioning before we donate our money to them, as I dont think this is the only 'lost forest' out there..... Please read the article I have linked below for yourselves. Thank you for watching 💚🐝🌱 https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2024/11/03/brewdogs-lost-forest-a-halfyearly-review-of-its-sustainability/
Did you know we also offer gift vouchers for plants as well as experience vouchers, and the Lacewing Hibernation chambers are in stock! The website is full of great gifts or additions to your own garden, including seeds, plants, bulbs, and more! Head to the website to find something special 🪻🌷🌳🪴
Garden Pasture Voucher - Information In this video, I talk about the first voucher, the Garden Pasture voucher which would be perfect for friends and family who are interested in gardening in shade, sun, woodland areas, and in a 'typical' gardening situation. Vouchers are available to buy NOW on the website, we only have a limited number so please get them whilst you can! https://www.enchantedgardenskent.co.uk/product/experience-voucher/
Conservation Pasture Voucher In this video, I talk about the second voucher which will be more attractive for friends and family who are interested in conservation, propagation, wildlife, and learning how they can incorporate it into their own garden situation. Vouchers are available NOW to purchase on the website, we have a limited amount so please get in quick before they are all gone! https://www.enchantedgardenskent.co.uk/product/7155/
Hello everybody! In this video, I discuss my top tip for keeping down the weeds in winter and show you what we are now using instead of the concrete paving that was there when I arrived. The loose type 1 with a scattering of rubble is environmentally aware and allows nature to take back the space if we were to leave. Fortunately, I have some self-sown Eryngium (sea holly), and I am excited to see if they mature and flower. Nature is wonderful! Thank you for watching 💚🐝 #whitstablekent #enchantedgardenskent #NaturalGardening #pollinatorfriendly #Organicnursery #Gardeningtips #gardeninglife #nature #naturalgardening #naturalweedkiller #Eryngium #selfseed #selfsown #amazingnature
Happy morning! For those who were unable to tune into my spot on BBC Radio Kent Monday with Dominic King, here is the link to listen. Fast forward to 35 minutes to hear my bit talking about sensory gardens. Thank you to BBC Radio Kent for inviting me on!
This is the second of the 'Experience Vouchers' that will be on sale on the website to purchase as christmas or birthday presents for loved ones who are interested in organic gardening, growing and conservation. This voucher includes a 1 hour guided tour with Donna, with homemade cake, tea/coffee for £30. Please note: this vouchers is only useable during our opening season from 1st April to October 31st every year. #whitstablekent #enchantedgardenskent #experiencevouchers #gardenvoucher #gardeningvoucher #alternativechristmaspresent #christmasgift #christmas2024
Vouchers for Christmas 💚 I am very excited to share these 'Experience Vouchers' with you all. There will be two available to purchase on the website. The first is a 1 hour guided tour for 2 people of the Garden Pasture with me for £30. Including homemade cake, tea/coffee. A brilliant gift this festive season for friends or family who love gardening and nature. Please note: this vouchers is only useable during our opening season from 1st April to October 31st every year. If you would like to purchase a voucher please head to my website. #christmas2024 #christmasgift #gardeningvoucher #experiencevouchers #enchantedgardenskent #gardenvoucher #alternativechristmaspresent #whitstablekent
I am so sad to read this, an environmental catastrophe ignored for many months by those who are supposed to be protecting these Site's of Special Scientific Interest. 😢
Good morning everyone! Following on from my 'Good Predators' videos last week I wanted to share with you some more information about the Lacewing hibernation chambers I mentioned. I will have them in stock on the website very soon so please look out for that! If you have any questions about this I will be happy to answer them, just drop me a email or give me a call! Thank you 🐝 #lacewing #hybernationchamber #lacewinghybernation #wintergardening #enchantedgardenskent #enchantedgardens #whitstablekent
Happy morning! This is the last video in the series I have posted following on from my talk at the Sunken Garden Society. Here I share with you my top 7 good predators that you can find in your garden to help keep pests at bay without having to using harmful sprays. I will then be posting a video talking more about the Lacewing hybernation chambers, so look out for that! Thank you for watching 🐝 #enchantedgardenskent #pollinatorfriendly #naturalgardening #Gardeningtips #nature #NaturalGardening #gardeninglife #Organicnursery #biodiversity #goodpredators #ladybirdlarve #piratebug #hoverfly #lacewing #spiders #parasiticwasp
Happy morning! Following on from my previous posts about the importance of seed heads to feed our birds, I wanted to talk about the wider implications of the declining numbers of our insects and pollinators. This year the numbers are low. It is important to understand that if there are no insects then there is no food for birds, if there are no birds this has an impact on mammals that would usually feed on birds. There is a natural rhythm that is being disrupted, it is really important to protect the systems in place by good gardening! Donna x x x
Halloween 'traditions' are Horrifying 🎃 Each year around 22.2 MILLION pumpkins go to waste 😱 PLEASE think before you buy a pumpkin for each member of your family that will simply end up in landfill producing toxic waste. Pumpkins are not a natural food for our wildlife either. The dumping of pumpkins in our woodland by good willing members of the public can have devastating consequences, as identified by The Woodland Trust. Hubbub an environmental charity suggests decorating your pumpkin instead of carving it so that it can be eaten afterward. Why not decorate 1 pumpkin with the whole family and bring back apple bobbing! The tradition of my childhood was carving turnips and they were never wasted! This culture of throwing away and letting the carved pumpkins rot is truly HORRIFYING ☠🎃 #foodwaste #halloween
Happy morning everyone! Another article I would like to share with you all...... AND we have Shrill and Brown-banded Carder bees on the pasture too!!!!! We have spotted so many of these beautiful bees on the pasture this year and as you can see from my videos, I get very excited (and distracted) when I see one 🐝 But we still need to do more, the numbers are still too low... The Shrill Carder bee loves white Nettle, Hedge Woundwort, Black Horehound, and legumes such as Red Clover, Birds-Foot Trefoil, and Meadow Vetchling. Every garden should have something to help the declining numbers of UK bee species!
Happy Friday! Just a quick video talking about how easy it is to collect FREE seed from your very own garden to sow and plant next year! Dried plants and seed heads are also a great center piece for your Christmas table so do make use of what you have in your gardens, it can be so beautiful! Happy gardening 🙂 #enchantedgardenskent #garden #pollinatorfriendly #alternativegardening #naturalgardening #seedhead #collectingseed #sowingseeds
Happy Wednesday! I wanted to share with you this hopeful article to highlight the importance of our Wild Service Trees! Here on the pasture, we have our own service trees and I will definitely be collecting their seed and growing the babies ready for future planting. As stated in the article, trees are an ecosystem within themselves and support a whole range of insects and mammals. Not forgetting the lichen and mosses on trees that have entire little ecosystems surrounding their survival. A brilliant scheme in Denbighshire!
Plant of the Month for October 🍁 Viburnum Opulus Roseum Commonly known as 'The Snow Ball Bush' - the white golf ball sized flowers in the summer are white and just look stunning. After flowering I can prune Roseum down to whatever size I want her to be, then in the Autumn turning a brilliant vibrant red, such a pop of colour in your garden this time of year 😍 When flowering they are prone to #blackfly and #aphids, now I don't mind as it feeds my population of "Helpers", plus the shrub itself is very pretty. This is a sterile plant, which means that I am growing it for its susceptibility for pests, which may sound a little strange, but it is this fact that I am #helpingtheinsects, not the normal "Food" plants that I have. I hope that this shows you to not just have #foodplants, but to have a huge #BioDiversity of plants and shrub. #viburnumopulusroseum #autumn #plantofthemonth #snowballbush #magenta #red #biodiversity #nature #enchantedgardenskent #organicgardening #Organicnursery #Gardeningtips #NaturalGardening #whitstablekent #gardeninglife #enchantedgardens
THE IMPORTANCE OF SEED HEADS I would like to show my beautiful seed heads at this time of year. As you know I don’t cut the pasture or my plants and so there is a whole season in which our seed eating birds can still find plenty to eat as the winter approaches. Gaining enough body weight at this time of year is very important after the hectic business of building #nests (sometimes more than once) raising their #chicks, and feeding chicks to fledge. In September I noticed regular large flocks of #Goldfinch rising from the pasture as I walk down to the office every morning, and this is wonderful to see – I did not have them last year as I had cut one third down to establish my plant species in different areas. We have so many seed eaters that need seed heads right now; Blue/Great/longtailed and Coal tits, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Dunnock and of course Wood Pigeon and Doves. Please don’t cut ALL your perennials down to tidiness – I know it will change your gardens appearance, but make an effort to leave seed-heads and take the reward of being indoors with a lovely cuppa to watch which feathered visitors you find. Gardeners are kind folk, providing an ample supply of bird seed to support our birds with feeders. However, there are un-intended negative side effects to this practice; like increased rat populations, bullying of small birds by Corvids and Gulls, and reduced natural foraging in grey squirrels. Additionally, it may disrupt breeding patterns and put nests at risk from local cats. It's important to consider these issues. Feeding, is very important for survival rates during the winter, but please do so in sensible proportions. Happy gardening! #NaturalGardening #pollinatorfriendly #enchantedgardenskent #polinatorgarden #organicgardening #conservation #wildlife #Gardeningtips #Organicnursery #cardoon #teasle #napweed #seedhead #birds #seedeatingbirds #goldfinch
Happy morning everybody! 🍁 I have had a few enquiries about Christmas wreath making workshops, and unfortunately this year I will NOT be able to facilitate the workshops. Please Read below: I am still renovating and working on the New Enchanted Gardens site. I have been working for 2 years now and although I have completed many renovations, until I can renovate the last of the old barns, I can only give workshops during the spring and summer from my wonderful WW2 Tent which is so brilliant, in the lower pasture. It’s just too wet and windy for marquees this time of year. So I am sorry to say I can’t offer workshops during the Autumn and Wintertime this year. I will be open from April 2025 with so many exciting things to offer! Thank you all for your patience and continued support. Donna x x x
Aster - Ingas Swedish Treasure 🌸💜🐝 As you would have seen in the video last week, as we were filming a hungry Shrill Carder Bee stopped by this gorgeous flower to have its lunch, so glad we caught this on camera and managed to get some brilliant photos to share with you all!! #enchantedgardenskent #pollinatorfriendly #NaturalGardening #aster #latefloweringperennials #shrillcarder #shrillcarderbee #pollinators #organicgardening #asteringasswedishtreasure
Happy Friday everybody! This is a plant given to us by our dear friend Inga. Apparently she dug up roots from her sisters garden in Sweden 20 years ago and planted it in her allotment to feed pollinators and increase vegetable production. In 2018 we found so many of our famous Shrill Carder Bees feeding on this really tall daisy we knew it was worthy of cuttings and potting and have a good stock (and they still love it as you can see in the video). It does not need staking and is invaluable for late summer flowers, up to 5 feet. They are just simple daisies that give an enormous amount of structure and colour to the garden at the end of the summer when other perennials are fading with the autumn weather. We use them to ensure that there is no pollinator starvation gap no matter what summer we have had they are really reliable. Put them in your gardens! You can find them on my website enchantedgardens.co.uk #enchantedgardenskent #pollinatorfriendly #NaturalGardening #aster #asteringasswedishtreasure #shrillcarderbee #shrillcarder #beefood #polinatorgarden
Happy morning everybody! I wanted to share some information with you about the use of Fungicides in our gardens, to help you make an informed choice when you are buying such things! What I would say, is we all roll our sleeves up and go back to 'traditional' gardening, where you would remove leaves with black spot, fungus and powdery mildew and dispose of them correctly. I hope you enjoy the video, do your own research and consider how essential the use of these chemicals are in your own garden. Happy gardening! Donna x x x #enchantedgardenskent #fungus #fungicide #chemicals #pesticides #NaturalGardening #ecofriendly #blackspot #powderymildew #organic #pollinatorfriendly
Plant of the Month: September Rudbeckia ☀ -Goldstrum -Laciniata -Maxima Such a ray of sunshine in the latter of our summer months when most of our other plants have already had their moment! Not only are they great for our pollinators, with inviting their bright yellow petals. Their seed heads are also a great source of food for our birds in the autumn. Put them in your gardens! #plantofthemonth #rudbeckia #rudbeckiagoldsturm #pollinatorfriendly #pollinatorfriendlygardening #enchantedgardenskent
Update Video: Finished protecting the area for the wild Adder snakes and slow worms One of the last update videos for you all, as from the previous video we were just about to put up the green screen to separate this wild area that has been untouched (and it will stay so) for probably 25 years. A precious habitat for our wildlife which I am protecting! Thank you for watching 😀 Donna x x x #wildlife #nature #conservation #enchantedgardenskent #addersnake #slowworm
Update Video : Creating a bed around the old Hawthorn Tree This is a round up video of start to finish of creating a bed around the old Hawthorn Tree, it was a lot of work and I am knackered but so pleased with how it has turned out. It goes to show what you can achieve even in a small area! Enjoy 😀 Donna x x x
We have been working on some of the last little projects down at EG before we are ready to open our doors! Here we have been putting up some hemp rope as a form of trellace to make a beautiful screen. I am finally releasing a Solanum Crispum Glasnevin from the pot and plastic ties it came in and can't wait to watch how she grows beautifully on the rope, Its going to be magnificant! Thank you for watching, more update videos to come! #nature #Gardeningtips #Pollinatorfriendly #whitstablekent #Organicnursery #gardeninglife #naturalgardening #enchantedgardenskent #enchantedgardens #solanum #hemprope #alternativegardening
