ferndale – The Gardening Blog

Ferndale Nurseries – a review

I went to Ferndale Nurseries (yes again!) this afternoon and this time I remembered to take my camera (not the fancy, good one, just a little point and click – I didn’t want to look like a tourist). I always enjoy going to Ferndale – even when they are busy as they were today, the service is great and the selection is superb.

I had no particular agenda today other than perhaps buying a few annuals to plant in a very shady spot out back, so I spent the better part of an hour walking around and clicking away. I arrived an hour before closing time so there weren’t many annuals left to choose from, but I managed to purchase a few.

I bought some more Alyssum to fill blank spaces in the front, Impatiens to replace the ones that got trampled and a first for me … 2 trays of Begonias. I’ve never grown these before and am not even sure I like them a lot, but the tray says they will do well in partial shade so I have a home for them! The ones I bought have light green foliage with white flowers. I also picked up a Sweet Basil to plant with my thriving Tomato plant … and a “Peppermint Plant” that I couldn’t resist because it smelt wonderful and a few other little things. I’ll post the photographs of my latest acquisitions tomorrow … its a good thing I have a big enough garden or what would I spend my money on 🙂

Ferndale Nurseries lies in the crook of Brommersvlei Road in the heart of Constantia. It’s been around for 75 years and the nursery is crammed with a litany of plants, herbs and even vegetable seedlings.

Ferndale Nurseries have been the nursery “behind all of the gardens” in the Constantia Valley for 65 years providing the backing for a green and beautiful valley. Ferndale with its 7 acre nursery offers gardeners a wide range of superior quality plants, water features, garden irrigation and excellent advice from friendly staff. A kids play area with a duck pond and an aviary makes garden shopping enjoyable for the whole family.

For Families with kids, there are also ducks, fish, rabbits, an enviable aviary and a play area that includes a sand pit, swings, slides and a jungle gym – most of these you will find in the lower reaches of the nursery alongside a pond where a host of noisy ducks and geese hang out, waiting for feeding time. There’s plenty of shade, benches for moms and dads, and a pretty little lavender maze. There’s just no tea room…

[one_half]This is where the catch me, everytime …[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Incredible edibles[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Lovely Roses[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Beautiful ornamental grasses[/one_half_last]

Ferndale Nurseries Photo Gallery: View the slide show:

Or click here to see them on Flickr: Ferndale Nurseries on Flickr.com

Armed with my camera, intent on taking photos and doing a proper review for the blog, I headed off to Ferndale Nurseries in Constantia this afternoon. But first I stopped off at Biggie Best because they are having a sale and I saw some nice pots there a few weeks ago … I bought two great pots. I couldn’t believe the prices – I wanted to get one and ended up getting two, plus some other nick-nacks (yes, another candle holder!). The reason for the pot-buying mission is that I’ve been looking at lots of photos lately of beautiful gardens and I notice that often they put a grouping of pots with different plants in them within a flower bed … and I think it looks beautiful, so I want to try that somewhere in my garden. I see they mix different pot types together and it looks good. I’m not sure I can get it right, but I have to try.

So with the two new pots in my car, I headed off to Ferndale and arrived at 3:40pm as they were closing the gates. They close at 3:50 on a Saturday apparantly (why not 3:30 or 4:00 – no, they close at 3:50). But the kind guy at the gate let me in, so I had all of ten minutes to grab a few things. So no “review” and no photographs of the nursery today. But I got my big sprayer (4 litres) which I will put to the test tomorrow. I also bought myself a few plants … I’ve been wanting a Clematis in my garden forever and bought a lovely one – it is Clematis “Nelly Moser”. (see pic).Also bought some pretty ground cover called Big Ben – hypoestes phyllostachya splash red – it’s got variegated leaves with red, I think it will add some interest at the back and it apparantly thrives in partial shade. Great for filling in some blank spaces I have at the back. I also bought two small Agapanthus “new blue”. I don’t know why – I have plently of Agapanthus in my garden but those two called me and said “buy me, buy me”, so they came home with me. They are a lighter blue than the ones I have so they are a bit different. I think these might go into one of the new pots.

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Clematis “Nelly Moser”

The Nelly Moser Clematis is a flowering vine that can reach as much as 12 feet in length, with off-shoots from the main vine reaching out 3-4 feet. Best displayed on a trellis, arbor, or other climbing fixture, the blooms start in late September and can continue all summer long. Nelly Moser offers a starburst shaped bloom 5-7 inches across with white ruffled edges and pink-colored pedals that grow in profusion. [/one_half]

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Agapanthus “New Blue”

A midsized variety with leave forming a compact mound of 20-30cm. The flowers stand 40-60cm in height. The individual florets are much larger than most other agapanthus. This results in a very nice display of colour despite the individual heads having slightly fewer florets than some varieties. Tolerant of wide soil and water regime variations. Can be grown in full sun or light shade.[/one_half_last]

I hope to get these all in the ground tomorrow.