Monday, April 10, 2017

Spring Growth Bark and Gravel - A One Stop Landscape Shop









Spring Growth Bark and Gravel





I’m busy dividing my chamomile and replanting it in raised beds this week.  I’m anticipating a lot of demand for the small plantlets this year as more and more people appear to be opting for something that bit different in the garden. I’ve found small areas suit chamomile better as the plants only have to come within a foot of a weed and they bow down and surrender. Invasive it’s not. 

For a square metre of chamomile lawn you’d need nearly 100 plants. Good for me selling them but not so good for the buyer. That’s why I stress to customers to be patient and plan ahead, that way only a few plants are needed and offshoots can be taken and potted on. After a couple of years the customers can then set up in direct competition to me. I’m not much of a business person but my best “Get Rich Quick Scheme” is the one I haven’t started yet, so I’d be happy going on to pastures new.



Bags of compost
I wanted a couple of bags of weed free compost to put the chamomile into so thought I’d pop into the bargain shops to see what they had to offer. The bit of sunshine we had last week must have started a mass panic for the stuff. The only shop with some was Lidl in Derry, which was just for ericaceous plants like rhododendrons; pity anyone sowing seeds into that. 

I remembered a great farm shop on the Springtown industrial estate and they had loads of really good local compost in 80 litre bags and it worked out cheaper than buying the discounted bags in the bargain shops. 

On coming out of the farm shop I noticed a new place selling gardening products. Through the railings I saw a very familiar face; it was Cyril Quinn who used to work for Buncrana Council and was jointly responsible for the fantastic floral shows the town has enjoyed over the years. I had to pop in and say hello.

It turns out Cyril has also moved to pastures new as well and set up his own business on the industrial estate. 


Spring Growth Bark and Gravel
His business is called Spring Growth Bark and Gravel and supplies all types of gardening and horticultural supplies. Cyril likes to keep things local too sourcing products from as near as he can to keep the carbon footprint to a minimum. 

As well as paving slabs of all shapes and sizes there are small concrete figures and plaques suitable for presents and gravesides. He also has some bedding plants, some really 10kg bags of “priced to sell” seaweed feed chicken manure and compost. I didn’t need compost but couldn’t resist buying some “barbed wire”plants (Tylecodon reticulatus) native to Australia and really drought tolerant. Cyril was thinking of putting them into hanging baskets as they will put up with neglect but as they grow upright don’t really work although they are looking very smart in my old enamel milk jugs in the garden. Cyril likes to experiment and it’s great to come across a bedding plant I have never seen before.

As well as bedding plants, there are hardy shrubs and Cyril will know better than most what grows well on our blustery coastline having worked on it for years.
Cyril has built large concrete bays and has a full range of loose gravel and stones on offer as well as different sized woodchip. If shovelling into a trailer isn’t your thing you can get them bagged up too and it works out so much cheaper.  

Hopper
I particularly like the large hopper on the site. It’s full of a dry sand and cement mix and as you pull the lever it is mixed with water to give you an instant mortar mix. It’s so popular and it’s particularly good for builders and landscapers who just need a bucketful for a small job. You can have as much or as little as you need at the pull of a lever. 

What initially caught my attention from the roadside were the paving slabs. I’m looking for some to put on top of the lawn that’s being taken over with algae. Cyril’s will be a one stop shop for the purpose. I can get the gravel base, sand and mortar to go with the slabs

You can find Spring Growth Bark and Gravel on Facebook or you could give Cyril a ring on (0044) 07725 460262. He says if he hasn’t got it, he will source it for you. Friendly and professional service doesn’t get any better than that.

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