DJs Garden Centre

Wed 25 Jan	Coach Trip - Pensthorpe Home of SPRINGWATCH, join us as we visit Pensthorpe. From the structural beauty of the Millennium Garden, to the lush foliage in the Wave Garden; the habitat-specific Wildlife Habitat Garden and the more subtle, traditionally-managed flood plain of the Wildflower Meadow, Pensthorpe is able to provide year round colour and interest. £27.00 per person. (Includes floodlit feed, guided garden talk, entrance fee and luxury coach travel.)
Wed 1 Feb	Treemendous Trees Meetings with and the growing of remarkable trees. Some fascinating facts, figures and pictures of trees that will leaf you speechless. Trees for every season, every garden and some that we have seen on our travels. £3.00 per person
Wed 8 Feb	No workshop
Wed 15 Feb	Gardeners Question Time David will be joined by Malcolm Oviatt-Ham DipLa DipArb, Nurseryman and retired tree officer and between us we will try and answer any question you have. Always good fun, send in questions in advance or if you prefer, just ask on the day. £3.50 per person
Wed 22 Feb	Search for Snowdrops This coach trip will take us on a search for snowdrops, travelling to Hodsock Priory in Nottinghamshire. Celebrating their 21st Anniversary of snowdrops, join us to roam five acres of Snowdrop covered woodland, explore the formal gardens and take in the secluded splendour of the 19th century country house estate. Look out for two very distinctive Snowdrop species; Barbara’s Double and the Lady Beatrix Stanley. Both are named after late members of the Buchanan family (Lady Barbara Buchanan and her mother Lady Beatrix Stanley) who were great gardeners in their day. Then on to Doddington Hall near Lincoln: Enjoy the spectacular snowdrops in the Walled and Wild Gardens during this quiet and reflective time of year. The snowdrops are particularly delightful under the twisted ancient chestnut trees. Also beautiful will be drifts of crocus Thomasianus. The snowdrops signal the start of Doddington's annual spring bulb pageant, which was started in the 1950s by Claire Birch’s grandparents Ralph and Antonia Jarvis. Claire’s father Antony Jarvis and late mother Victoria continued the work and Antony estimates that he has planted or moved 150,000 bulbs in the last 25 years! Claire added a further 5000 snowdrops to the nature trail with some money she inherited from her maternal Grandmother Cecily Mathias. ‘Cecily’s snowdrops’ have now been enjoyed by visitors since 2005. £35.00 per person. Includes entry to both gardens and luxury coach travel
Wed 29 Feb	TipToe through the Tulips Spring and Summer bulbs with a review of our spring holiday to Keukenhof, Aalsmere and Kalmthout arboretum in Belgium. A not to be missed workshop, showing lots of bulb ideas to light up your garden this Spring and Summer. £3.00 per person
Wed 7 Mar	Back to Basics – Part 1 An introduction to gardening, how to identify and name plants, the ins and outs of propagation and which soils and composts for planting, potting, use in the garden etc. £3.00 per person
Wed 14 Mar	Clematis and Climbers Malcolm Oviatt-Ham DipLA DipArb will join us again to talk about his specialist subject “Clematis”. He will suggest the best varieties, how to grow them and also talk about some of his favourite climbers. £3.50 per person
Wed 21 Mar	Hyde Hall & Surprise Element! The 360-acre Hyde Hall estate is unforgettable in any season and allows visitors to immerse themselves in nature. Hyde Hall is in an area of Essex that has very low rainfall, and this factor, combined with the soil conditions and exposed nature of the site, makes it a challenging area for gardening. Hyde Hall shows that by choosing the right plants for the right places and by working with the prevailing conditions, it is possible to create a garden of beauty. £35.00 per person, includes entry to gardens and luxury coach travel
Wed 28 Mar	Back to Basics Part 2 The next part of our back to basics workshop will show how to plan your garden effectively, create borders and interesting features to give the WOW factor. We will also be showing you how to choose the best plants for all situations, how to plant them and also their aftercare. £3.00 per person
Wed 4 Apr	No workshop
Wed 11 Apr	No workshop
Wed 18 Apr	2 Day Mini Break Join us on Wednesday 18th April 2012 as we journey to Stoke on Trent. Leaving the garden centre at 8:30am we will travel to Trentham Estate. While away the hours in the beautiful gardens, eat at the café and indulge yourself in the shopping centre. Our hotel the Best Western Manor House Hotel, ideally located to Stoke on Trent and the Gardens on our itinerary, has comfortable bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a relaxing bar, an award winning restaurant and an indoor swimming pool! On Thursday after a satisfying breakfast we will make our way to the Wedgewood visitor centre. Home of the famous Wedgewood brand, take a tour of the factory and see behind the scenes how their beautiful pieces are created. The final garden before we journey home is Biddulph grange, star of Alan Titchmarsh’s Secret Gardens on BBC2. An amazing Victorian garden, full of surprises and wonders. ONLY 16 PLACES LEFT – BOOK NOW!! £150.00 per person £15 single supplement.
Wed 25 Apr	Herbaceous Perennials Part 2 Following on from our highly successful workshop in Autumn 2011, we will look further into this amazingly adaptable group of plants. We will look at the many different uses for herbaceous, the varieties available and how to plant and look after them. £3.00 per person
Wed 2 May	My 50 Favourite Plants How to choose my favourite 50? Which plants will make my short list? Find out in this workshop which plants have made it and why. I will be introducing you to some of my favourites, some more unusual than others and showing you where to use them and how to grow them. £3.00 per person
Wed 9 May	Spectacular Summer Displays This practical workshop will introduce you to some of the many summer plants available and how to get the most from them for a stunning display throughout the summer. Looking at different planting ideas and which containers to use to create a magnificent display. £3.50 per person.
Wed 16 May to Wed 27 Jun	No Workshops
11 to 16 Jul	Holiday to France Our holiday this year will be based in Rouen in France. Staying at the Novotel Rouen we will be visiting: Monets Garden in Giverney; A beautiful garden made up of a Clos Normand (Flower Garden) and water garden, home to the famous Japanese Bridge. Claude Monet did not like organized nor constrained gardens. He married flowers according to their colours and left them to grow rather freely to create a breathtakingly beautiful garden. Chateau de Fontainbleau: Distinguished formal gardens that surround the Chateau itself. With artificial rivers, an English garden, the garden of Diana and much more this is a garden not to be missed. Gardens of Versailles: An Orangery, water parterre, statues, fountains and amazing gardens, make up a fantastic garden with breathtaking views not to be missed. 5 night break including entrance to all gardens, dinner bed and breakfast, ferry crossing and luxury coach travel. £599.00 per person £125.00 single supplement.
Wed 15 Aug	Fairhaven Woodland & Water Gardens Set in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is a secret hideaway just waiting to be discovered. Fairhaven is a unique garden rich in wildlife. The Garden is an eclectic mix of native and cultivated plantings with a network of dyke systems and a private broad. See the 950 year old King Oak tree, set amongst 131 acres of beautiful ancient woodland and water gardens. £27.50 per person. Includes entry to garden and luxury coach travel
5 to 7 Sep	Mini Break Staying for 1 night in the Best Western York House Hotel in Eastbourne: This elegant Victorian hotel has the most stunning seafront position, just 400 yards from Eastbourne pier, 20 yards from the gently-sloping beach and close to Eastbourne town centre. Enjoy a drink on the veranda, good food and wine, or a dip in the Bermudiana pool. We will be visiting: Sissinghurst Castle: Sissinghurst is more than a garden. It is a garden in the ruin of a great Elizabethan house, set in the middle of its own landscape of woods and streams, and with long views across the Kentish Weald. When Harold Nicolson, the writer and diplomat, and Vita Sackville-West, poet, novelist and gardener, first came here in 1930, it was dripping in its own inheritance of history. Great Dixter: Great Dixter is the family home of the late Christopher Lloyd, the plantsman and gardening writer, who devoted his lifetime to creating one of the most experimental, exciting and constantly changing gardens of our time. Incorporating many medieval buildings, the gardens surround the house, each complementing the other. There is a wide variety of interest from yew topiary, carpets of meadow flowers, the colourful tapestry of mixed borders (including the famous Long Border), natural ponds, a formal pool and the exuberant Exotic Garden. The sunken garden, almost hidden by barns and oasts, was designed by Mr. Lloyd's father and has some interesting planting around a formal pool. 1 night £155.00 per person + £15 single supplement
	Future Dates for the Diary!!
Wed 12 Sep	Booking In Day
December	December to include either Thursford Xmas Spectacular or Strictly Come Dancing Night or both if possible, please indicate your interest on the booking form