A Christmas Doorstep Pot

At this time of year, a colourful pot or planted container on the doorstep is a welcoming and festive touch. There are lots of plants that can be used to create a colourful and interesting display eg. winter Heathers, Pansies, Skimmia ‘Rubella’, Pernettya mucronata, Gaultheria procumbens, Senecio martima and Cyclamen species. Although Cyclamen are used as indoor plants, the outdoor varieties tolerate cold temperatures, especially if the doorway offers a little protection from wind and rain.

Ensure your container is frost hardy and check your container has a drainage hole. The shrubs used can later be potted up into larger containers or transplanted in the garden.

You will need:

• 1x Variegated Hebe
• 1x Aucuba Japonica
• 4x Small Cyclamen Plants
• 1x Dwarf Spruce
• Container - use a glazed or terracotta pot, or a wicker basket can look great planted up.
• Compost for Container
• For Drainage - broken pots or flat stones.
  

It's Our Birthday!

Join us at our Birthday Party on Saturday 30th October as we celebrate our 25th Birthday.

There will be a host of events taking place at Donaghadee Garden Centre and Bushmills Garden Centre throughout the day from FREE face painting, apple dunking and a Hot dog Stall to Plant demonstrations, a pumpkin hunt, special offers & much more.

Don't forget we will be choosing the lucky winners of our 'Grow Your Own' Competition too.

Activites kick off from 11am so come along and join in fun as we celebrate our big birthday!

Visit http://www.creativegardens.net/ for location and opening hours.

Christmas Shops Now Open!

Our magical new Christmas Shops for Christmas 2010 are now open.
This year themes include 'Pure Gold', 'Simply Red', 'Starry Night,' 'The Christmas Robin' and much more. Each theme contains pretty decorations, great gifts and an array of table top essentials to impress all the family this Christmas!

We also have a superb range of artificial Christmas Trees and lights and illuminated houses at even better prices. So what are you waiting for, visit us today and enjoy Christmas shopping at Creative Gardens.

Don't forget Bushmills Garden Centre is open late every Friday evening until 8pm until Friday 17th December and Donaghadee Garden Centre is open late until 8pm every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Have a look at our new Facebook Page www.facebook.com/creativegardens and you will see lots of photos of our Christmas Shop.

Late Night Opening at Bushmills Garden Centre

We are delighted to extend our late night opening at Bushmills Garden Centre. That is right, every Friday evening our Garden Centre and Cafe at Bushmills are open until 8pm. So you have plenty of time to enjoy the inspirational displays in our plant area, visit our magical new Christmas Shop and you can even enjoy a delicious home cooked evening meal in our cafe. Happy shopping!

* Late night opening during Friday evenings only at Bushmills Garden Centre until Friday 17th December 2010. Evening meals served from 5pm - 7.30pm

'Grow Your Own' Competition.... Enter Now!

Have you been growing your own fruit and vegetables this season? We want to hear all about it! Enter our 'Grow Your Own' Competition and you could win one of our fantastic prizes. All you have to do is send us a photo of your home grown crop along with your contact details. It can be any fruit or vegetables at all.... Carrots grown in a pot, strawberries from your hanging basket, broccoli from your allotment, tomatoes from your conservatory, potatotes from your greenhouse...the list is endless!

Entries will be displayed by our 'Grow Your Own' display at each garden centre and the lucky winners will be chosen at our 25Year Birthday Party on Saturday 30th October 2010 at 4pm... Good luck!

1st Prize: £100 Voucher & 'Grow Your Own' Hamper
2nd Prize: £50 Voucher
3rd Prize: £25 Voucher
20 runners up will receive a goodie bag

Re Useable Bags now on sale!

Our lovely new reuseable bags have arrived and are now on sale at Bushmills Garden Centre and Donaghadee Garden Centre! They are available in contemporary grey and are perfect for carrying all your garden neccessities home safe and sound. As a special introductory offer we are selling each bag for only 99p (usually priced at £1.49) and if you have an 'In Bloom' card and re-use your bag at either garden centre, we will give you 10 loyalty points per bag reused. So, what are you waiting for, come along today, 'go green' and treat yourself to a new Creative Gardens bag.

August Gardening

As we enter the last weeks few of August do remember that there are always jobs to keep you busy in the garden. Our gardening experts have come up with this useful list for you:

• Prune evergreen hedges before the end of the month
• Cut back your herbs to encourage a second flush
• Keep watering and feeding your planted containers & hanging baskets
• Rake out old grass in the lawn
• Plant colchicum bulbs - this is the ideal time to plant them for autumn flowering.

Don't forget, if you have any gardening queries our plant experts are more than happy to help.

Weber BBQ Demo at Donaghadee

We are having a Weber Barbecue demo at Donaghadee Garden Centre, this Saturday 26th June from 11am until 4pm. Come and see how to get best use from your barbecue; we will be cooking beer can chicken and pizza on charcoal and gas models along with roasting some fruit salad and ice cream!

Weber expert Keith Cummings will be cooking and answering all your questions throughout the day. We will also have lots of special offers plus the chance to win a Weber 57cm 'One Touch' Gold Barbecue worth £169.99! The competition can only be entered on the day and the winner will be drawn at 4pm as the demo finishes - so don't miss out!

*One entry per customer

Summer Living Open Days!

We are holding summer living events at both Donaghadee Garden Centre and Bushmills Garden Centre this May.

Come and join us on Saturday 8th May at Bushmills Garden Centre and Saturday 22nd May at Donaghadee Garden Centre. We have visiting furniture and barbecue experts from leading suppliers to give great advise on all your garden furniture and barbecue requirements. We also will have a Hot Dog stand, Ice Cream stall and lots of great offers on several Furniture and BBQ items.

Check out www.creativegardens.net for details on our special offers.

New Website Launched!

We have been working hard over the past few months putting together our new website. We now have a selection of products from our fantastic range available for you to order online! Check out our brilliant range of furniture from Alexander Rose, Neptune and Leisuregrow by clicking here. Feel free to contact us anytime by emailing web@creativegardens.net and we will get right back to you.