Strawberry Fayre at Chesters Grove

Make a note in your diary to visit our 3rd annual (free to enter) 'Strawberry Fayre Weekend'. A great day out for the whole family, and this year's event is set to be our biggest and best ever. Proceedings get underway June 24th-26th. As usual our huge market will be taking center stage with over 30 craft and food stalls. To make this year's event even more fun for the children we have a host of special activities including, Brewster Bear, two Punch and Judy shows (each day), and kiddies entertainer Mr. Windbags on Friday 24th who will host a huge tea party with bouncy castle £5.00 (adults go free but must be accompanied by a child). Betsy Bear will also visiting us on the Sunday, so keep an eye out!

Onion Sets in Durham

Do you know your onions?

Here at Chesters Grove Garden Centre on the outskirts of Chester le Street, we’re seriously thinking about our onion sets. So we thought it might be a good idea to offer a gentle reminder regarding preperation.

Start by planting your onions (15cm) apart or space out (10cm) in rows (20-30cm) apart. Remember, closer spacing will only produce smaller bulbs so there’s no need to space over (15cm) apart unless you are trying to grow giants.

One of the most common problems with onions is bolting. When you see the onion putting up a stong central stalk with a seed head, you need to remove it as soon as you can, use these onions before any of the others.

Remember to add a good fertiliser a week or so before planting out. Fish, blood & bone or even Growmore all work well.

High potash levels will reduce any sulphur uptake, which creates the strong flavour of some onions. Alternativley, try using a low potash fertilizer and although your onions will be smaller, they’ll be more tasty! Yum!

If you’d like more free advice, call into Chesters Grove Garden Centre and ask any member of staff!

Enjoy your Allium cepa

Christmas Market Chester le Street

Don’t miss Chesters Grove’s festive Victorian Weekend at Chesters Grove Garden Centre, Chester Moor, Chester le Street from Saturday 27th 9.am-6.pm until Sunday 28th 10.am-4.pm (last weekend in November). It promises to be a great weekend for the whole family. Our outdoor Christmas Market will include 30 Christmas craft stalls inside the marquee.

Bring the children along to see Santa in his Grotto on Saturday from 11.am. We’re also holding a fabulous prize draw with 7 stunning gifts including a first prize: Meal for 2, bottle of wine and an overnight stay at Dunelem Ridge. 2nd prize is a £100 Voucher to spend in the garden centre, plus a Wine and Spirit Hamper, Meat Hamper from Cestria Dexter Beef, 6 bottles of home-made Ginger Wine, Cuddly Toy and a Box of Chocolates for the runners up!

To keep the family entertained we’re also holding a Fun-fair, with a Tombola, plus Carol Singers from Dryburn Theatrical Workshop. Donations gratefully received to Great North Air Ambulance.

Gateshead Summer Flower Show 2010

One of the region’s main horticultural highlights, recently took place in the shape of ‘Gateshead Summer Flower Show 2010’, and we're delighted to say Chesters Grove-Garden Centre took ‘Silver’ in what was a very competitive, ‘Best Horticultural Trade Display’ category. The three day event was a huge success attracting visitors from all over the region. With live music, theartre, thousands of flowers and vegetables in the 300,000 square feet of attractions.

We put a great deal of effort in planning this year’s theme, based around water and tranquility. The trade category’s always competitive and this year was no exception with some gorgeous entries. We ran a tight race for ‘Gold’ only just missing out, so next year’s theme is already in the planning.We’d like to thank everyone for visiting and to congratulate all the entries which helped make the show such a success.

North East Plant Sale

One of the north east’s biggest plant sales starts this weekend at Chesters Grove Garden Centre, in County Durham. Our Summer Sale offers a massive 50% off all plants, trees and shrubs which means there’s still a chance to get your garden blooming over the summer holidays, with a huge saving too!

Why not pop into our coffee shop while you’re here to make your visit complete and enjoy a light lunch, or a home-made cooked meal all produced in our very own kitchen. Plus you could even try a sample of delicious home-made, non alcoholic Ginger Wine at only £3.50 per bottle. So get your hanging baskets, fruit trees, shrubs, bedding plants and SAVE 50%, at Chesters Grove-but hurry!

Strawberry Fayre, County Durham

The recent Strawberry Fayre at Chesters Grove Garden Centre, Chester le Street, County Durham saw record numbers attend in what was a busy weekend all round. The team at Chesters Grove adopted ‘Help for Heroes’ as there chosen charity raising over £600 during the course of the weekend. We’re delighted to have raised so much money in such a short space of time. The Strawberry Fayre was another huge success requiring the use of adjacent fields as overflow parking. We thought the England - Germany game might have a bearing on this year’s numbers but it didn’t seem to make any noticeable difference. Tickets also sold well for the Ceilidh, Midsummer Music and Line Dancing. We had over 40 stalls at the fayre with some wonderful craft work and home baking on offer.
Myself and the team at Chesters Grove would like to thank everyone who helped make the weekend another triumph and also for all the kind donations for ‘Help for Heroes’.

Thanks for reading

Tony

Traditional Garden Centre County Durham

At Chesters Grove Garden Centre, Chester Moor, Chester le Street, County Durham, we’re one of the few traditional garden centers in County Durham, still to offer locally grown plants and shrubs. Our plant adviser ‘Liz’ is always on hand to offer friendly tips and advice on how to get the best from your garden and vegetable plot. She’s busy like a bee at the moment keeping our plant area neat and tidy, but always loves a chat. Ask about our soon to arrive Durham Cabbage, plant out now for next spring! Plus if you’re feeling hungry, why not rest your feet in our cosy coffee shop serving a great selection of hot and cold food! That’s all for now, see you in the garden centre!

Thanks for reading

Tony

Venus Flytrap in Chester le Street

Straight from the Little Shop of Horrors!

We now have the infamous Venus Flytrap in stock. This bogplant likes lots of light and water, always try to keep the plant wet, it also prefers rainwater! Here at Chesters Grove Garden Centre, we have our very own care sheet to help look after your little terror, plus a special fly capture bag allowing you to capture and feed your insects live to your Venus Flytrap. Our variety is called ‘Dionaea’ The children which just love them. Don’t forget, Dryburn Theatrical Workshop will be performing songs from The Little Shop of Horrors on Saturday 26th June, starts 7.30. Call 0191 389 0044 and ask for Tony.