Sustainable gardening is ”designing, creating and maintaining a space that meets today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”
90% of the plants we sell are grown in our own Nursery. Most are propagated on site from cuttings, division, or seed. Our vast range increases our biodiversity, benefitting many species of insects & birds. We also have some other Irish growers supplying us with shrubs, climbers, roses, and trees. Besides supporting Irish Industry and local jobs, we are reducing our carbon footprint.
Our pots are made from recycled plastic which is also recyclable. Our customers are also encouraged to bring back their empty pots for us to sterilise & reuse here. It’s a win win for everyone!
We pot up all our plants with a special mixture using slow-release feed without harmful chemicals. The horticultural industry is looking at ways to eliminate the use of peat. The research is on-going and we are more than happy to do our bit to avoid using peat in the future. All of our old plant materials, weeds and vegetable peelings are also composted for use in the garden.
We have our own natural well on site and use a combination of drip irrigation, hose pipes, water butts & sprinklers to water our plants. All of our benches have capillary mats or trays to conserve water. We are always very conscious of avoiding any wastage, conserving this natural resource, and rarely, if ever, watering plants in the garden.
We never use any insecticides, nor do we sell any of these harmful products. Slugs and snails are murdered by us but the birds and hedgehogs are happy! It is our policy to use natural remedies and nematodes wherever possible to maintain a balance in nature so the ‘good guys’ can thrive.
Our mail order business requires us to use packaging. Whenever possible, we upcycle cardboard boxes collected from our local shops. The plants are wrapped in recycled plastic bags and cushioned if necessary with old newspapers.
Otherwise known as ‘black gold’, this is a wonderful free resource. We gather our leaves and store them in a large wire cage. The decomposed leaves turn into leaf mould. This improves soil structure and provides a fantastic habitat for soil life, including earthworms and beneficial bacteria. We use this as a soil conditioner in the garden and also mix it with compost for potting on certain plants, such as ferns.
We supply a small, but very effective range of natural safe products to our customers. These include organic fertilisers, seaweed based plant food, mycorrhizal fungi, chicken manure pellets, and sterilised bagged farmyard manure. Even our tree ties are made from recycled tyres!
