Barton grange : Love gardening and plants come and take a look at our garden centre.

Barton grange

Love gardening and plants come and take a look at our garden centre.

If ever a Garden Centre had the ‘wow factor’, this is it! With stunning indoor displays and superb all-weather plant area, you’ll find ideas, inspiration and lots of advice from friendly gardening experts.

With a Farm Shop, Cook Shop, fabulous food and lots of free parking, all surrounded by lovely Lancashire countryside, Barton Grange Garden Centre is a great day out.

YOUR GARDEN IN NOVEMBER

Gardening tips and advice each month from Will Clark, our Plant Area supervisor

We’re heading into the winter months, but that doesn’t mean your garden has to be dull, says Will Clark.

By the time we reach November, deciduous trees and shrubs have mainly lost their leaves, and flowering plants are few and far between. Despite this, though, your garden need not be dull. As the flowers and foliage fade, we start to see other plants taking centre stage.

Evergreens are the backbone of a garden, providing colour all year round. The glossy leaves of Aucuba, dramatic spiky foliage and yellow flowers of Mahonia, and beautiful berries of Callicarpa and Pyracantha are just some of the highlights at this time of year. Skimmias, in particular, have lots to offer with beautiful glossy foliage and bright red berries.

Once the clocks have gone back, there’s no avoiding the fact that winter is just around the corner. Whatever that brings for us, weather-wise, we know for certain that it means reduced daylight and less time to spend in our gardens. So, let’s try to be as productive as we can in the time that we have.

Of course, there is very little need now for weeding, watering and dead-heading. However, there are still things to be getting on with, to tidy up the garden and prepare it for winter. First of all, your herbaceous perennials will now need cutting back to ground level to leave just the crown – very neat and tidy.

A good application of mulch over the crowns will not only add to the aesthetic appeal but will also provide winter protection, suppress weed growth and eventually act as a soil improver as it breaks down. If you like, you can leave some of the more attractive seed heads intact, rather than cutting them back, as they can provide food and shelter for birds, as well as looking quite pretty when covered in frost.

Spring flowering bulbs such as Tulip and Lily can still be planted in November, along with winter bedding like Viola, Pansy and Primula. In fact, once you’ve tidied up your perennials, it’s easier to see where these bulbs and bedding plants will fit in.  You may also want to create some winter pots and containers. Once you’ve achieved the look you want, remember to raise the pots on pot feet or bricks to prevent water-logging and, in the event of hard frost, the potential ‘crack-pot’ syndrome.

If you have fallen leaves in your garden, rake them up and turn them into leaf mould, which is a really useful soil improver or mulch. Stash the gathered leaves in ready-made composting sacks or simple black bin liners with a few holes punched in the sides and bottom. When almost full, sprinkle with water, shake and tie, before storing in a shady spot. By the following autumn, the leaves should have rotted down into a rich, crumbly, humus rich mixture that can be used as a mulch around the base of plants, autumn top-dressing for lawns or winter covering for bare soil.

Ruth has more tips on leaf mould and its use on the veg plot, below.

NOVEMBER ON THE VEG PLOT

Whether you have an allotment, a veggie patch in your garden or just a few containers for growing your own, Ruth McNamee from our Plant Area can guide you through the edible gardening year.

It’s a good month to sow broad beans. Try ‘The Sutton’ a hardy dwarf variety that does well in an exposed spot. These beans will get going early next year as conditions improve and will crop ahead of February sown beans.

Plant out garlic cloves 15cm apart in rows 30cm apart.

If you have room on your plot, you can create a bin for leaf mould which is a super soil improver. Build a one metre square bin from wire fencing, place on bare ground and fill with collected autumn leaves. These will reduce in height quite quickly, so keep topping up your bin. After one year the resulting material is ideal for mulching under fruit bushes.

After rotting for two years, it is perfect to add to your carrot and parsnip beds, opening up the soil to enable long roots to develop. If you collect leaves every year you’ll always have a ready supply.

If you are missing growing outside try some herbs on your kitchen windowsill. Small pots of basil, chives and parsley should supply some green shoots to banish winter blues.

COOK SHOP

Our Cook Shop is a treasure trove of professional cookware and beautiful things for your kitchen.  Whether you’re serious about cooking or just want your kitchen to look cool and stylish, you’ll find what you want here.

We have all the latest gadgets, fine tableware and glasses, bakeware, utensils and electricals, from top names such as Le Creuset, Kitchen Aid, Emma Bridgewater, Joseph Joseph and more…

Riverside Café

Light and spacious, with beautiful views of the River Brock, the Riverside Cafe offers a range of delicious hot dishes as well as soups, sandwiches and a salad bar. Ingredients are locally sourced for that unforgettable taste of Lancashire.

Our own pastry chefs provide a mouth-watering range of cakes and pastries to accompany our teas and coffees. In fact, our cakes are so good that you’ll want to take them home with you, which is why they’re all available to take away!

For children, we offer a five-item lunch box, with a choice of drinks, sandwiches, cheese, vegetables and fruit. Each lunch comes with an activity sheet, crayons and seeds which children can plant when they get home.

Willows Restaurant

For an extra special treat, visit Willows, our table service restaurant which offers a range of mouth-watering dishes creatively prepared using seasonal, local ingredients.

In the morning you can choose a superb full English breakfast or just pop in for a morning coffee and a hot buttered teacake. At lunchtime, Willows offers an extensive menu of starters, main courses and desserts, as well as a range of light bites, salads and sandwiches for those with smaller appetites.

Bookings are required only for tables of five or more, or for special days such as Mothering Sunday. To book, or for further information, please email willows@bartongrange.co.uk or call 01995 642967.

EVENTS AT BARTON GRANGE

If you fancy trying something different, learning something new or just having a really good time, then there’s a whole range of events at Barton Grange Garden Centre to keep you occupied and entertained.

Take a look at our events calendar below. Whether you’re into arts, crafts, plants, gardening, food, wildlife or just fancy a great day out,  there’s always something going on. And we have lots of fun children’s workshops during the holidays too.

We also have a kitchen wear shop and a farm shop, we also have a cafe

PLAN YOUR VISIT

With an all-weather plant area, two restaurants, award-winning Farm Shop, Cook Shop, lots of free parking and a varied events programme, Barton Grange Garden Centre is the perfect destination for a great day out. On these pages, you’ll find all you need to plan your visit to Barton Grange.

FOOD AND DRINK

With our Riverside Cafe and Willows Restaurant, we like to think we cater for all tastes and appetites. Whether it’s breakfast, coffee and cake, a light snack, Afternoon Tea or a three course lunch, you’ll find it here. Whatever time of day you visit, our menus will have something refreshing and satisfying to offer. To find out more about what we offer, please visit our RESTAURANT PAGES.

ACCESSIBILITY

With the exception of one small part of decking outside the Café, the Garden Centre is fully accessible to wheelchair users. We offer dedicated disabled parking, toilet facilities at the main entrance and in the restaurants, and free hire of wheelchairs and mobility scooters. Please CLICK HERE to read our guide for customers with disabilities and mobility problems.

BRINGING THE CHILDREN?

With parent-child parking, bathrooms with child-size sinks and a choice of children’s meals, Barton Grange is geared up for young visitors.  Our displays are perfect for children, featuring anything and everything from a giant gorilla and snail, to a 6m high flower pot man and a huge chocolate fountain. There’s also a toy shop, award-winning Christmas displays and regular events for children.

WHAT'S ON

If you fancy trying something different, learning a new craft or just having a good time, then our events programme might have just what you’re looking for.  There’s always something going on, whether it’s art, crafts, plants, gardening, food, wildlife, a charity event or activities for children. Please visit our EVENTS PAGES to see what’s coming up.

Barton Grange Garden Centre.
Garstang Road, Brock,
Preston PR3 0BT
(for Sat Nav please use PR3 0RB).
Tel 01995 642900

Our usual opening times are:
Monday to Saturday 9am to 5.30pm
Sundays 10.30am to 4.30pm (doors open at 10am for browsing and to visit our restaurants). We are CLOSED on New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

We also have a kitchen wear shop and a farm shop, we also have a cafe