Investing in your garden

Gardening is a passion for many people across Ireland. Whether you are a amateur or professional gardener once you get the gardening bug, you have it for life. There are many places for Dublin gardeners to get access to tools of the trade and gardening accessories. The garden center is probably the most common place gardeners find what they are looking for. The advantage in shopping at a garden center is that you can see exactly what you are buying. As plants are usually sold in containers you can buy perennials at almost any time of the year for planting out. The stock is large and varied and if the garden center is good you can be sure that half hardy annuals will have been properly hardened off. Against all the obvious advantages you must recognise that container grown plants are more expensive than lifted ones.

Tips

Landscapers should buy good quality plants rather than unnamed, poor grade stock. Plants rarely recover from a poor start in life – check over the specimens you propose to buy to make sure they are good quality.  If you have to buy before you are ready to plant, keep the stock in a cool dark place. Do not disturb the soil, compost or peat around the roots but keep moist.