GARDENING CATALOGUES

Photo: Church Buncrana with Laburnum tree

(Click on the title for a link to Sap Nurseries)

I am getting the gardening catalogues through the door. Most of them are trade ones from companies that I dealt with when I was growing plants. One that I received called me Ian Gomersall, Landscaping services…. those were the days! The company that sent that particular brochure is called Sap nurseries and they are based in Cahir in Tipperary. They were one of the favourites for me to get bare rooted trees and shrubs from. They have a great range of trees. For example you can get an acer platanoides 60cm high for 25 cent, or a 1.5 metre oak tree (quercus robur) for the paltry amount of €1.10. As interesting as this is if you were planting woodland my eye wanders to the larger specimens that the company has to offer. Let’s look at some of the bigger specimens.

You can get an Acer Platanoides ‘Emerald queen’ with a trunk measuring 40-45cm around for €1,850 or a multi stemmed Acer saccharinum for €950 which measures 5-6 metres from top to bottom. You wouldn’t want your dog lifting his leg up on those when you planted them in your garden!

The thing that caught my attention most of all though was a couple of new things Sap have to offer. The first are Pleached Tilias. These trees have been grown over 8 years and have their bottom branches taken off. They have reached a height of 2m and the leaves on the top 40 cm form a dense screen when planted 1.5m apart (imagine a leylandii hedge with the bottom leaves cut off after the wind has killed them) These are a bit more costly though and would knock you back €495 each. These are trade prices remember, so you would be getting them at a bargain price! Better still you can make an arch out of 2.5 metre high Betulas that have been trained to keep their narrow shape. These are €750 each. Take into consideration that you need two to form the arch every 2 metres down your garden and you have an arch that costs €1500 every three footsteps. If you want a couple of dozen let me know. Don’t forget to add V.A.T. at 13.5%. Alternatively, push some willow sticks into the ground and wait a year or two!

Horticultural.