Monkton Elm News, Events and Tips Blog

We’re looking forward to having representatives from James Wellbeloved visit on Saturday, December 21 to chat to visitors about their animals’ nutritional needs. They will be giving people tips and advice on how to keep their cat or dog as healthy as possible this yuletide.

We’re hosting a Tree Weekend on Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th to coincide with National Tree Week.

There will be a variety of farmyard animals, including a micro pig called Will.i.am, starring in our Christmas displays this year.

We’re inviting dog lovers to take their canine friends to meet Father Christmas in our festive grotto this year.

We’re really excited to announce that Father Christmas will be arriving aboard North Petherton Pentathlon Carnival Club’s ‘Wizard of Oz’ themed float on Tuesday, November 19th at 5pm.

We’re excited to announce that we are a finalist for the Community Involvement Award and our Plant Advisor, Will Michieli has progressed to the next stage in the ‘Westland Star of the Future’ category in the Garden Retail Awards.

Tools With so many jobs to tackle this autumn, you’re going to need a good range of quality tools to get them done quickly and easily. Take a look at our tools section for spades, forks, hoes, rakes and everything else you need.

We are offering people free advice on what to feed wild birds throughout the winter to improve their survival rates during potentially harsh conditions.

We’ve created a magical snow-covered grotto with the help of Santa’s elves where he will reside in the run up to Christmas to meet all the boys and girls that want to come and say ‘hello’ and tell him their Christmas wishes.

We’re inviting new members to join our monthly knit clubs on November 6 and 13.

Pest watch Many pests will lay their eggs on plants for over-wintering and these will attack early next year. Deciduous trees and shrubs that have dropped their leaves can be treated with Growing Success Winter Tree Wash. Slugs and snails will be very active during damp weather so protect vulnerable plants with your favourite control method. Diseased leaves that are left on the ground should be carefully raked up and disposed of. Other debris provides over-winter places for pests so get rid of this too.  

…The fifth of November. If you’re enjoying bonfires and fireworks this weekend, please make sure to check for wildlife including hedgehogs before setting them alight.

The autumnal season has well and truly arrived and we’ve got some great offers on at the garden centre at the moment.

It’s busy, busy, busy in the houseplants section of the garden centre at the moment. We’re all preparing for the biggest event of the year and making sure we have the best quality plants in-stock for the festive season.

Conifers Conifers give structure, form and colour to gardens all year round and they grow to a range of heights from ground cover to large trees. Why not plant some versatile conifers now to enhance your garden?

Fancy your very own funky new beanie hat? We are really excited to be unveiling our new ‘ Myboshi Beanie Hats ’ unit at our Craft Centre. Come in and get all the materials you need to make one of these trendy crocheted beanies.

Feeling festive? Our talented Craft Centre staff are hosting free Christmas craft demos every day from now until Christmas Eve.

Fancy some armchair gardening for the winter months? Our Shop Supervisor , Christine Pimm, picks some of her top gardening books to help you while away the hours snuggled up in front of the fire as the nights draw in. Here’s a selection of some of the latest we have in-store…

Check for colour gaps Check for gaps in your borders and fill them with plants like hardy cyclamen, hardy chrysanths and winter-flowering pansies. Also look out for scented winter-flowering shrubs such as Viburnum farreri and Viburnum bodnantense, Mahonia and Sarcococca. Just ask our friendly plant staff if you need any help choosing suitable plants for your garden.

We’re really pleased to announce that we are finalists in not one but three Somerset Business Awards.