House plants - Dairygold Agri

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64 | G A R D E N C E N T R E E X P E R I E N C E
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Dairygold Co-Op Superstores Midleton
Bord Bia 3-Star Garden Centre Award 2012/2013
Fact file
Dairygold Co-Op Superstores
Midleton Retail Park, Midleton, Co. Cork
Tel: 021-4631906
Store Manager: Peter O’Leary
Horticulturist: Carmel McCarthy
Web: www.coopsuperstores.ie
Opening Hours
Monday to Wednesday: 9am to 6pm
Thursday to Friday: 9am to 7pm
Saturday: 9am to 6pm
Sunday & Bank Holidays: 12pm to 6pm
The Irish Garden September 2013
WINNER
Theresa Kent was the lucky
winner for September and she
came to Co-Op Superstores
Midleton to spend €300 on plants
and equipment for her Cork city
garden. She was assisted in her
selection by horticulturist Carmel
McCarthy.
Carmel McCarthy: “Good
afternoon Theresa, you are very
welcome. Congratulations on
winning and how can I help?
Theresa Kent: “My garden is not
very big and already I have a lot
of plants in it, so I’m looking for
some plants to fill out the existing
planting and to add colour. And I
grow a lot of vegetables, including
some in containers.”
Carmel: “We have a good range of
plants here, trees, shrubs and
perennials and I think we will be
able to offer you a good choice.
www.bordbia.ie
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Dairygold Co-Op Superstores Midleton
Bord Bia 3-Star Garden Centre Award 2012/2013
Co-Op Superstores
Midleton is one of the
largest stores in the retail
division of Dairygold CoOperative Society Ltd,
which operates 39 retail
stores across Munster in
counties Cork, Limerick,
Tipperary and Clare. The
700 square metre fully
covered garden centre
offers customers an
extensive range of plants,
shrubs and trees with
regular special offers including many multi-buys and a great offer on a
relevant 'plant of the month'.
In addition to everything a customer needs for practical gardening, the
store also offers a wide range of garden construction products,
including paving slabs, sleepers, treated
timber, decorative stone, fence posts,
fence panels, trellis and garden sheds.
For any kind of garden project, you will
get everything you need at one
convenient location.
The Midleton Garden Centre was awarded
3-star accreditation under the highly
competitive Bord Bia Garden Centre
Quality Awards 2012/2013. Carmel
McCarthy, horticulturist at Co-Op
Superstores Midleton takes great pride in
her work and offers both her regular
customers as well as new customers
expert advice when choosing from a full
range of plants, materials and products
for their garden so that they are reassured that they are investing their
money in suitable products.
Leucanthemum 'Banana Cream'
Theresa: “I like this little plant with
fluffy flowers.”
Carmel: “That is Astilbe ‘Sprite’, a
dwarf form, only growing about a
foot tall with pale pink flowers and
it will grow anywhere that is not too
dry, including light shade.”
Theresa: “Perfect. This looks great
too with its flowers. Looks a bit like
a foxglove.”
Carmel: “Well, it is in same family, it
is penstemon and the flowers are
long tubes like the foxglove. This is
All the plants are Irish-grown and sourced here, and Carmel believes in
supporting Irish growers, and, in turn, gets great service and
reliability.You can also visit Dairygold Co-Op Superstores Garden
Centres in Carrigaline, Mallow, Mitchelstown, Raheen, Cahir and Cashel.
For instance, this pale
yellow variety of Shasta
daisy, called ‘Banana
Cream’. This is an excellent
plant, producing pale
yellow daisies all summer.”
Theresa: “Yes, it looks
lovely. How big does it
get?”
Carmel: “About as tall as it
is there and it will form a
neat clump over the years.”
www.bordbia.ie
The Irish Garden September 2013
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66 | G A R D E N C E N T R E E X P E R I E N C E
Theresa: “Can it be
pruned?”
Carmel: “It is really a
grass-type plant and
although people do
sometimes cut the
top, this does not look
well. If it must be
pruned, try to shorten
stems unevenly so the
cuts do not show as
much.
Ligularia 'Desdemona'
a great plant for a sunny border,
flowering for ages in summer and it
is available in different colours.”
Theresa: “That purple colour is very
nice.”
Carmel: “Yes, that is called ‘Polaris
Purple’. There’s a lovely yellow
dahlia that you might like, it would
be a good contrast for the
penstemon. It’s called ‘Mystic
Illusion’.
Theresa: “Okay, that sounds great. I
was looking for a blueberry bush
too. I have other fruits and would
like to try it.”
Carmel: “It is not difficult to grow
and the plants have fruit developing
at the moment. Grow it much the
same as blackcurrants except to
make sure it has acid soil, which you
need to check and give it some
lime-free compost. And cover it
against the birds, because they love
them.”
Theresa: “The birds already got my
cherries this year after I took the
net off when a little bird got
trapped. Is a walnut tree possible?”
Carmel: “It needs a good deal of
room but you might be able to fit
it in. A crop of walnuts can
develop after a good summer
when the tree gets more mature.
But it is a lovely tree, with fine
foliage, in any case.
Theresa: “I’d like to get a bamboo,
but do you think it would be too big
and spread too much in a small
garden?”
Carmel: “Not at all, this is the
golden bamboo and it makes a
compact group of stems. It is not
invasive in the cool climate we
have. And if it happens to put out a
shoot beyond where you think it
should be, it is easily chopped away
with a spade.”
Theresa: “I wanted to get a
hydrangea too, just the ordinary
one, and a phormium. I lost the
phormiums in the frost a few years
ago.”
Penstemon 'Polaris Purple'
Carmel: “We have a range of
hydrangeas and phormiums,
including this ‘Alison Blackman’
which has brown leaves with a
yellow stripe at the edge. You
might like to try this dodonea
nearby, a great fast grower with
brown-purple leaves and it has an
exotic look about it. And it is
evergreen.”
Theresa: “I like the look of
this grassy plant too. It
might go nicely with the
phormium?”
Carmel:
“That a brown carex or
sedge and, yes, it does go
well with the phormium and
other plants too, such as the
bright red flowers of
The Irish Garden September 2013
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crocosmia and this fine
flower, schizostylis, this
is the red flowered
variety ‘Major’.
Theresa: “Great, I’ll try
those. I wanted to get
some of those small
outdoor cyclamen too.”
Carmel: “These are
great, one thing I say to
customers — when you
are planting them just tilt
them a tiny bit to help them throw
off water from the central area of
the crown of the tuber and it
reduces the danger of rotting.”
Theresa: “That’s a good tip. I’ve
been looking for a composter in a
neat size that I can tuck away. I had
one before but it was too big and
hard to turn.”
Carmel: “You should try this
Carbery Roto Composter. It is a
good 200-litre size and easily
turned on a system of rollers.”
suggestions. I’ve got some lovely
plants and I’m going to get one of
those concrete birds for the patio
too!”
Carmel: “Not at all, it was a
pleasure and I'm delighted you
enjoyed spending your €300
voucher with us!” ■
WIN!
Theresa: “That looks about the right
thing for my garden. Thank you
very much for all your time and
Enter online at www.bordbia.ie/gardentime or by post: The Irish Garden,
Mediateam Ltd, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18
€300 Plant List
Name
Astilbe ‘Sprite’
Penstemon ‘Polaris Purple’
Schizostylis coccinea ‘Major’
Dahlia ‘Mystic Illusion’
Blueberry
Phyllostachys aurea
Eryngium ‘Jade Frost’
Juglans regia
Hydrangea macrophylla
Phormium ‘Alison Blackman’
Ligularia dentata ‘Desdemona’
Carex buchananii
Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’
Leucanthemum ‘Banana Cream’
Dodonea viscosa ‘Purpurea’
Cyclamen miniature (3 x 2.49)
Carbery Roto Composter 200 L
Concrete and stone bird
TOTAL
Win a garden centre experience in our October/November issue, a
chance to spend €300 at Orchard Home & Garden, Dublin Road,
Celbridge, Co. Kildare
Common name
Size, type and suitability
astilbe
penstemon
red river lily
dahlia
blueberry
golden bamboo
sea holly
common walnut
hydrangea
phormium
ligularia
brown sedge
crocosmia
yellow Shasta daisy
purple hop bush
mini-cyclamen
composter
garden ornament
small perennial; moist border (1/4 for €20)
medium perennial; sunny border (2/4 for €20)
small perennial; moist sunny border (3/4 for €20)
half-hardy border perennial (4/4 for €20)
fruit bush; acid soil
large perennial; moist sunny border
medium perennial; sunny border
medium tree; good well-drained soil
large shrub; moist soil, light shade
large perennial; moist sunny border
large perennial; moist sunny border (1/4 for €20)
small perennial; sunny border (2/4 for €20)
large perennial; moist sunny border (3/4 for €20)
medium perennial; sunny border (4/4 for €20)
medium shrub; sunny, well drained
hardy pot plant; or small border
€
€20
€10.99
€49.99
€7.99
€21.99
€9.99
€11.99
€20
€12.99
€7.47
€99.99
€29.99
€303.38
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture
The Irish Garden September 2013