Come and join us this Sunday at beautiful Balcarres in Colinsburgh for their Spring Plant Fair. We'll be there from 2-5pm with a wonderful selection of plants. More info here - https://scotlandsgardens.org/balcarres/?f=%7B%22t%22%3A%5B%22all%22%5D%7D&garden=balcarres

We just love Corydalis this month - a plant distinguishable by its fern-like foliage and tubular flowers. They are well-suited to a wide range of garden habitats as they are native to the Northern Hemisphere and the mountains of East Africa. At the nursery we have a gorgeous and rather unusual salmon pink cultivar called ‘George Baker’. Look out for others which usually come in yellow or true blue!

Spring is here at last! Come and join us tomorrow (Sunday 15 April) from 11am-4pm at the Cambo Plant Sale in Kingsbarns - we’ll have lots of beautiful plants available to add life and colour to your garden. See you there x

We're counting down the days until the start of the Fife Spring Trail on 10 April. We'll be at the Cambo Plant Sale on 15 April with lots of plants to make your garden beautiful. In the meantime here's a fab article from the Scotland on Sunday about Wormistoune House which is part of the trail and well worth a visit too!

If this weird weather has thrown you into a quandary about what jobs to be doing in the garden, we are here to help! Have a read at our March gardening jobs blog post for more info.

It feels like Winter has gone on forever but it won’t be long until the gardening season gets into full swing. We are gearing up for our first big plant sale which is at the Cambo Plant Fair on Sunday 15 April. This is part of Scotland’s Gardens Fife Spring Trail 2018 which runs from 10 April – 23 May and includes opportunities to visit some of the finest gardens in Fife – please see the poster below for further details. We hope to see you there!

March sees the arrival of Pulsatilla Vulgaris in the garden and we just love it! This clump forming perennial – sometimes referred to as Pasqueflower - has beautiful ferny foliage and delicate hellebore-type flowers. The flowers are hairy and bell-shaped or cup-shaped and are followed by silky-plumed seed heads. Mice and voles have a particular liking for the new foliage and flower buds so keep an eye out!

Some top tips for Winter plant care... At this time of year it is good practice to remove dead and diseased leaves from Hellebores and Epimedium to keep them in good condition throughout the growing season. While some gardening publications suggest February is the month to prune clematis, cut back grasses and split snowdrops, we suggest leaving these jobs until March in Scotland where the climate is of course a little cooler! For more tips and seasonal advice, please visit www.eastneukperennials.co.uk and sign up for our newsletter!

In a recent blog post we talked about ways to help wildlife in your garden during the winter months. In response we got a fun infographic from Sainsbury's Bank about how to build your own bottle bird feeder - have a look on our blog for more info! A great activity to do with the kids during the holidays.

Our latest blog is all about pruning jobs to do in February. Read it here - we look forward to seeing your pics!

At this time of year when there is little sign of life in the garden, Primulas add a very welcome touch of colour. Our favourite has to be Primula belarina – it comes in a variety of shades but the cream coloured ‘Buttermilk’ is particularly attractive. At the nursery we saw these beautiful plants come into full bloom in February last year and enjoyed watching them flower until December. They are fantastic value for money and are easy to look after, being happy in sun or part shade as long as the soil doesn’t dry out. Given space they will flower all year but will also cope with being swamped by the vigorous growth of nearby bigger perennials whereupon they shrink into the background, happily returning when their bigger cousins have died back. They will multiply merrily and are easy to split. All in all, a perfect plant!

Hello and Happy New Year to you all! We are getting back into the swing of things and would like to share with you our #scottishgardenplant for January which is Helleborus! These colourful plants are an invaluable addition to the winter garden. As well as being undemanding and easy to grow, they enjoy a shady position and look fantastic teamed with spring bulbs and other woodland plants. Hellebores can be grown from fresh seed (although they take 2-3 years to mature and flower), so why not try collecting your own to fill some empty spaces around the garden? Please send us your pics - we would love to see them! Love Karen & Sue x