" A wonderful day out at such a bad time of year"

"Hellebores, shrubs, pots, everything in abundance"

"Guided tours of the nursery too"

Pictures of our winter gardening weekend 2008

A huge thanks yet again to all our friends, staff and customers for helping us make this years Winter Gardening Weekend another great success.

It does get a little difficult to add that touch of something different every year. Once again the stage was decorated with our gold medal winning hellebores but this time there was a slightly different format. The background, usually provided for us, was replaced by a blank canvass. This enabled us to do a more accurate 'garden setting' with plants that would grow together in the garden. A slightly minimalistic theme was the idea - well actually it was supposed to be very minimalistic with the emphasis on form rather than colour - this never really happened yet the thought was there and you can judge for yourself if it worked or not in the pictures below.

The hellebores were planted under winter trees to create a more realistic 'garden'

Once again I would like to thank all our speakers who did a fantastic job, they were all received with such enthusiasm from their audience that this alone makes the whole event worth while.

I would also like to thanks all the staff and friends who pulled together to put the whole thing together, without you it would not be possible.

Finally a huge thanks to all our customers without whom the whole event would never happen.

Thanks to all!!!

Below is the schedule which I shall leave up for a while to tempt you. Maybe you would like to pay us a visit in 2009 - its all free and makes a welcome break in the dark winter months.

Winter gardening weekend 2008

A huge welcome to the eighth annual Farmyard Nurseries winter gardening weekend. After another mind boggling year that gave us continued success at the RHS national shows culminating in the ultimate achievement, a gold medal at Chelsea, we're now looking forward to seeing all our old friends and hopefully some new ones at what is one of our favourite events of the whole year..

Tyssul Hall will once again be transformed into a wonderland of plants to delight the gardeners heart - vibrant dogwoods and willows - fragrant Viburnum, Lonicera, Sarcococca and Daphnes . The other early birds that will be making an appearance include snowdrops, narcissi and our fabulous Hellebores.

Just up the road at our nursery we will be running guided tours of the Hellebore growing area (where our 20,000 hellebores are produced) and the general nursery. This will include a look at the parent plants and the plantings in our open garden. The nursery itself covers over 3 acres and specialises in herbaceous perennials, shrubs and alpines. We also have a large selection of trees, conifers, seasonal plants and a range of ornamental pots and stoneware with some eye catching new arrivals. If you would like to just browse at the nursery our staff will be more than happy to help.

We look forward to seeing you and hope you enjoy the day.

Program of talks

Friday 22nd February2008

10.40 Shrubs for winter interest. Simon our resident tree and shrub guru, will inspire you with the wealth of colour and interest available at this time of year. Simon's always happy to suggest something different and to help with any queries you might have. I haven't seen him caught out by a question yet - so there's a challenge for you!!

12.00 Good enough to eat. A warm welcome back to one of most popular speakers, the world famous vegetable grower Ivor Mace who has agreed to give us more valuable insider tips this year!! Here's to a bumper crop of delicious and healthy grub from one of the best in the business.

1.40 Hellebores - an addiction. A light hearted overview with cultivation tips, from the addict himself, of these jewels of the winter garden. An insight into some of the species and varieties, propagation, recent developments and how the addiction came about.

2.40 Wonderful Woodlands. Firm favourite Roddy Milne from Picton Castle, will this year give us an insight into shrubs and trees for woodland areas - plant a tree (or two) and do your bit for carbon offsetting.

4.00 Grannies Bonnets. Fresh from her appearance on Gardeners World, Carrie Thomas makes a welcome returns to show the myriad variations of aquilegias and to tempt you with her own range of seeds.

Saturday 23rd February 2008

10.40 Shrubs for winter interest As Friday.

12.00 Propagation and discovery. We are delighted to welcome a new friend, Barry Clark, head of propagation at world renowned Hilliers Nursery who will share talks about plant hunting and increasing your stock of that special favourite.

1.20 Hellebores - an addiction. As Friday.

2.40 Rannveig Wallis. More insights from Rannveig into the joys of plants that flower in the bleakest months - always good for inspiration at this time of year..

4.00 The road to the shows. The continuing saga of how we actually managed to get there on the day and eventually win a gold medal at Chelsea. A humorous (we hope), if slightly stunned look at this years continuing journey.

Sunday 24th February 2008

10.40 Hellebores an addiction. As Friday

12.00 Scent and flavour - the wonder of herbs. A warm welcome back to Andy Cook from Rhoshill Garden Plants who gives more hints and tips on this wonderfully diverse and useful range of plants. Coming in all shapes, sizes, textures, colours and perfumes, their aromatic leaves and scented flowers make these a must for any garden (and kitchen).

1.20 Aquatic, bog and waterside planting. Richard Cain shares his interest in and knowledge of this vast array of plants. Those of us who live locally will really appreciate plants that thrive in wet conditions!!!. Visit Richards website - penlanperennials.co.uk

2.40 The road to the shows As Saturday