How to Grow Herbs

Picking herbs from your own garden is one of the best things a gardener can experience. With being the easiest grow, whether in borders, beds, windowsills or containers they can practically grow anywhere with the right amount of nutrients. Herbs can also be grown all year round and will potentially help you save yourself money but not buying them from the supermarkets.

When creating a herb garden, it’s worth knowing whether your chosen herbs are annual, biennial or perennial. Annual or biennial herbs such as Basil, Coriander, Dill, Parsley and Chervil are fast growers and may need to be sown at intervals throughout the spring and summer to make sure you have a fresh supply throughout the year. Perennial herbs such as Chives, Oregano, Mint, Sage, Thyme and Rosemary are a much slower growing herb and will need a more permanent home.

Annual and Biennial Herbs: Basil, Coriander, Parsley, Dill, Chervil, Chamomile, Summer Savoury, Marjoram, Purslane, Borage, Lemon Grass, Mexican Marigold and Rocket.

Perennial Herbs: Oregano, Mint, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Chives, Comfrey, Sorrel, Fennel, Russian Tarragon, Hyssop, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Meadowsweet, Horseradish and Lovage.

Herbs should be ideally grown in a sunny, well drained soil with a sheltered location. Heavy clay soil can be a problem, but if you incorporate some coarse grit and organic matter such as manure or compost it can improve the drainage and then the growth of your plants. On the other hand, if you have very acidic soil then add some lime when preparing the planting area.

There are a few herbs which will happily grow in shady conditions and moist soil, such as Chervil, Meadowsweet, Lemon balm, Parsley and Chives.

If you are growing herbs from a seed, then hardly any annual or biennial herbs such as Chamomile, Coriander, Dill and Parsley can be sewn from March until August.

Hopefully this has spurred you on to build your own herb garden or just start off with one herb and build it up. For anymore information give us a call on 01509 621 300 or email us at info@seagravenurseries.co.uk

Gardening for all ages

You may have read our previous blogs about why gardening is good for your health, or why children should get into gardening, but can everyone really enjoy gardening?In a word: YES! The passion to garden can come to someone at any time in life and for many reasons. There are numerous ways for you to express your green fingers! Whether you plant flowers, or grow vegetables and fruit bushes – you can let your imagination run wild in your garden.

If you have children, it's never too early to teach them the benefits of gardening. Gardening teaches them to appreciate and have respect for the Earth. They can learn about plant varieties and enjoy being outside for fresh air and exercise.
By the same token, retirement can be a fabulous time to take up gardening. Many people may be highly anticipating their retirement, and welcome at the end of their 9-5, but others can also dread the long periods of time without something worthwhile do to.

Having huge amounts of free time can be liberating for a while, but often it becomes overwhelming for retirees. If you want something meaningful and joyous to fill some of your free time the gardening really is a fantastic option. You may want to become a part-time gardener at home, or join your local horticulture club or community garden.

No matter the type of garden you choose to tend, gardening is wonderful for everyone for anyone who chooses to pursue the hobby. If you love gardening, or want to get into gardening then you have to take a look around our website, and if you have any questions or would like any advice you can call us on – 01509 621300!

Why children should consider gardening as a career?

Do you ever wonder why children these days don’t really consider being a gardener when they grow up? It’s not exactly on the top of youngsters list of dream careers it is? Maybe it’s because they’re not taught anything about it, or because they think it’s boring, or because they think it’s something their parents and grandparents do at the weekends? Whatever the reason, we think it’s a real shame that more school leavers aren’t interested in horticulture.

But how do you persuade school leavers that horticulture is a career worth getting out of bed for? The Horticulture Matters campaign revealed that is 2012, 70 per cent of 18-year-olds regarded horticulture as only for dummies, i.e. those who ‘failed academically’.

So why should youngsters consider gardening as a career? For a start, there are loads of different jobs in gardening! Such as -

• Gardener
• Garden designer
• Florist
• Environmental scientist
• Horticultural journalist
• Greenkeeper
• Aboriculturist
• Vegetable grower
• Garden centre manager
• Landscape contractor
• Landscape architect
• Park ranger
• Plant breeder
• Soil scientist

There is a big demand for skilled gardeners! Horticulture contributes £9 billion to the UK economy every year, and employs around 300,000 people across a variety of disciplines. However, 70% of businesses say that they struggle to find the skilled workers they require and put this down to the poor perception of horticulture in schools!

In our last blog we discussed how gardening is good for your health – so why wouldn’t someone want at make a career out of it!? Gardening can help you keep fit, lower your blood pressure strengthen your immune system, relieve stress and make you happy – how many other jobs can offer these benefits?

There is a reason people take up gardening as a hobby – it’s enjoyable! Children should be encouraged to consider gardening as a career if for no other reason – they will probably enjoy it!

If you love gardening then you have to take a look around our website, and if you have any questions or would like any advice please call us on – 01509 621300

Why gardening is good for your health

You may have gathered that here at Seagrave we love gardening, and frankly it's a good thing! Gardening is a hobby that can actually improve your physical health and mental wellbeing...

Lowers your blood pressure

Just 30 minutes of moderate-level physical activity a few times a week can prevent and control high blood pressure. In fact, gardening scored a place on The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's recommendation list for lowering high blood pressure!

It burns calories

Those of you who already spent you spare time tending to your gardens will be delighted to hear that gardening is considered a moderate- to high-intensity exercise. Apparently you can burn up to 330 calories during just one hour of light gardening work, which is more than lifting weights for the same amount of time!

Strengthens your immune system

While you're outdoors enjoying burning all those calories, you'll also soak up plenty of vitamin D from the sun, which helps the body absorb calcium. In turn, calcium helps keep your bones grow strong and your immune system healthy – what a bonus!

Relieves stress and makes you happy

Gardening is taken up by so many people who want to calm down, relax and unwind – it’s a wonderfully productive (and cheap) way to forget about the world. There is also research into the emotional impact of being around flowers. We don’t know why, but we smile when we’re around flowers and plants, and according to research, gardening can have positive effects on your mood.

Here at Seagrave Nurseries, we are dedicated to supplying plants for people who do not want to pay garden centre prices. 

If you love gardening then you have to take a look around our website, and if you have any questions or would like any advice please call us on – 01509 621300

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Rain Gardens: What are they?

A rain garden is a brilliant way to add beauty and eco-friendly benefits to your garden. The concept is simple - strategically placed plants help to absorb excess rainwater before it can flow off and dirty our rivers and streams as storm water run-off.

In its simplest form, a rain garden is a shallow ‘basin’, with absorbent and free draining soil and vegetation that can withstand occasional temporary flooding. Rain gardens are designed to imitate the natural water retention of undeveloped land and to reduce the volume of rainwater running off into drains from impervious areas and treat low level pollution.

Everyone can help address the impact of climate change without making major lifestyle changes, and one simple and easy way is by changing the way you manage your outside space. A rain garden can help to reduce localised flooding whilst still providing an enjoyable area for the benefit of both wildlife and you and your friends and family.

 Providing rain gardens is part of a growing desire to have more sustainable drainage systems. Water is a vital resource for people and wildlife. In the UK we expect to have enough water to meet our needs - having water readily available is something we often take for granted.

Just one rain garden can make a small but positive difference in addressing localised flooding and the quality of the local water environment. Alongside other sustainable drainage systems and actions to tackle diffuse pollution, rain gardens can be an effective part of a bigger solution.

First developed in the USA in the 1990s, Rain gardens have become increasingly popular. Rain gardens aim to absorb all the rainwater that flows into them. If you are interested in transforming your outdoor space into a rain garden, you can find a very useful guide here.

Here at Seagrave we supply hardy architectural specimen plants for people who do not want to pay garden centre prices. Make sure you come to us for all your garden needs. 

Create your own contemporary garden

If you want a fresh new look for your garden that will look great and be easy to maintain you should go for a contemporary garden design.

Contemporary garden designs increasingly focus on turning an outdoor space into an additional living area. Often coined an ‘outdoor room’, this approach to modern garden design work well for those who want a beautiful space to enjoy, but perhaps don’t have the time to maintain a fruitful garden.

When it comes to planting, a popular approach in contemporary garden design is simplifying the space. Large lawned areas and continuous planted borders are swapped for more strategically placed organic elements, which can create a clutter-free look to your garden and reduce the amount of maintenance needed.

The plants become just one part of the architecture. You can include clipped hedges, specimen trees and uncomplicated sections of planting.

Grasses and bamboos are very easy to care for, grow quickly and can help break up areas. Large planters are useful if you have no planting areas and can be moved around easily.

Crisp, clean lines are an essential part of contemporary garden design, which can be applied to gardens of all shapes and sizes. Equally important is the use of space, geometric layout, simple design, and no clutter!

Here are some of our plants that will fit in beautifully in a contemporary garden design -

Brahea Armata Mexican Blue Palm 
Striking blue/grey colour makes this hardy palm stand out from the crowd.
Likely to reach approximately 12 feet (4 metres) in U.K, the Brahea Armata Mexican Blue Palm is indigenous to Mexico and looks beautiful.










Black Bamboo Phyllostachys Nigra 
Famous black caned bamboo which fits into any garden either modern or traditional. This bamboo produces canes which go black in their third year, beautifully offset by deep green foliage.








Ophiopogon Planiscapus Niger Black Grass
This black grass will grow to 25cm/ 10 inches and they will beautiful produce white flowers tinged with purple in summer.
They are evergreen and frost hardy and perfect for the modern, contemporary garden design.





Contemporary garden design means you can approach the project in the same way you would an interior design project. We have so many more beautiful potted plants, large planters, grasses and bamboos online for your perusal.

Come to us to create your own contemporary garden space!

Plants with Natural remedies and medicinal values!

A lot of plants not only look beautiful, but they can also have natural medicinal value. Natural remedies are not some new age hippy craze; they have actually been around for thousands of years by people all over the world. Plants are actually the basis of so many of the medicines and beauty products we use today.

In fact, it’s even possible to make your own natural remedies, health products and cosmetics from plants, from mouthwashes to insect repellent. Here are a few plants that we found make interesting natural remedies...

GREEN TEA = MOUTHWASH

Green tea is one of the latest fads, claiming to detox and help with weight loss by speeding up metabolism. Tea plants can actually be grown in the UK and used for much more than drinking. People use green tea leaves for making mouthwash! It’s naturally high in fluoride and is anti-inflammatory. This means it can help with all kinds of mouth issues, from bad-breathe to fighting plague.

OLIVE TREE = FACE MASK

Olive trees can also be grown in the UK and they have many benefits besides growing olives. The leaves on olives can be boiled down to extract oil which makes a fantastic, low-cost face mask when mixed with clay powder. Naturally fragrant and packed with anti-oxidants, a natural olive leaf face mask will leave your skin soft, smooth and super fresh!

ALOE PLANT =TREATMENT FOR CUTS AND BURNS

This one is a bit better known as there are a number of products out there that contain aloe in them, such as after sun and moisturiser etc. However you don’t need to buy such products to reap the benefits of the Aloe plant. Simply cracking open one of the leaves will reveal the aloe gel which you can rub straight on to burns or grazes for relief. It naturally cools the skin and acts as an inflammatory, hence its use to soothe sunburn and burns. 

LEMONGRASS PLANT – INSECT REPELLENT

You may have tasted lemongrass countless time in your life in dished such as Thai green curries, but its qualities don’t end in satisfying your taste buds. Lemongrass is actually used across the world for a number of things from toothpaste to perfumes! What many people don’t realise it that it’s a fantastic insect repellent. Rub it on your skin to release the natural oils and not only does it repel insect and bugs, it will actually kill them! An added bonus is that unlike many insect repellents on the market, this natural alternative smells great - like lemon sherbet!

So there you have it, plants are great for pretty much everything! These are just a few examples, please tell us if you have any of your own! Here at Seagrave we are dedicated to supplying hardy architectural specimen plants for people without charging towering garden centre prices. If you have any questions or would like any advice please call us on – 01509 621300!