News

Spring Rhododendrons & dwarf conifers

2010-02-20T21:08:54+00:00

Needing some spring colour? We have a lovely range of dwarf Rhododendrons for sale at the nursery or by mail order, including ‘Shamrock’ (yellow flowered), ‘Oban’ (terracotta-pink flowers) and ‘Ginny Gee’ (pink flowers flushed with white). See the Plant List section of the website for full details. Some are small enough for containers, at least for a while, with R. keleticum being the smallest at around 6cm tall, with large purple flowers. All prefer acid, humus-enriched soil and do not like to dry out.

We also have a small range of dwarf conifers including Picea ‘Little Gem’, Juniperus communis compressa and Picea mariana ‘Nana’ AGM. These can be very useful in giving height and structure to a rock garden or container. Again all are available at the nursery or by mail order.

Online 2010 Price List now available

2009-12-10T22:32:45+00:00

Slack Top’s Price List for 2010 is now available online (click on the Plants button). The printed version will be available in January.

A new feature you’ll see is that we have included plant photographs of as many alpines as we can, to help you make your selections. There are lots of exciting new additions for the coming year so we hope you like what you see!

Also for the first time we’ll hopefully be offering seed of a few selected plants in January 2010. If seed is available there will be a note alongside the relevant plant in the price list.

Autumn Gold Medal

2009-09-22T17:14:24+00:00

It was another exciting Gold medal for our stand at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show this year - our fourth Gold! Thanks to everyone who came to support us, and hope you gathered lots of inspiration for your autumn displays. Our large New Zealand container was very popular - with its mix of Celmisias, Ewartia and Leucogenes grandiceps and L. leontopodium, as was the Gladiolus flanaganii with its stunning red blooms. The container shown in the foreground featured Thalictrum kiusianum with its lovely autumn tints and the very long flowering Corydalis ‘Kingfisher’. Look forward to seeing you all at Harrogate again in Spring, where we’ll have another completely new set of containers to inspire you.

Autumn colour and inspiration

2009-09-10T17:55:24+00:00

The first week of September has been glorious - what a welcome change! Our rock garden at Slack Top still has plenty of alpine colour, with the geraniums, erodiums and violas in full bloom, and the plump white Sorbus berries behind (while stocks last as the birds will soon devour them). All are still for sale at the nursery - the Sorbus being a new addition this year. Its a busy time at the nursery as we prepare for Harrogate Autumn Flower Show next week, so no sunbathing for us! This good weather will keep the soil warm, so there is still plenty of time to get those last few plants into the ground before autumn is truly upon us. Remember that the nursery closes at the end of September and reopens on 1 March 2010. Meanwhile, if you’d like us to keep in touch, please sign up for our newsletter by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.

Silver Gilt medal at RHS Tatton Flower Show

2009-07-27T10:09:19+00:00

Just to let you know that we won a Silver Gilt medal for our 10ft x 10ft display of alpine plants at the RHS Tatton Flower Show (22-26 July 09). It is the first time that we have exhibited at Tatton and represents an enormous leap for us. The weather wasn’t very encouraging, and the marquee was a swamp when we arrived to set up, but its amazing how quickly it all transforms into a floral heaven (if a bit damp still!).

We work really hard to show people new and exciting ways to use alpines as the vast majority are very easy garden plants. It is really wonderful to have such strong support from all our customers and friends, and we’d like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who has encouraged us in this big step, and came to see us at the show.”

The RHS Tatton Flower show sees tens of thousands of visitors over the 5 days so it has been a massive challenge just to grow enough plants for the show, and keep them in top condition with the varying weather we’ve had over the last month – from 32 degrees to torrential downpours! We were very pleased with the number of flowering plants we could display in mid-summer, once again proving that alpines can offer interest for a much longer period than just spring.

Don’t miss the Celmisias in flower

2009-06-15T19:52:30+00:00

The Celmisia semicordata ‘Slack Top Hybrids’ are currently in full flower and looking really spectacular around the rock garden at Slack Top. They have been in flower for several weeks and will continue to provide a beautiful display for a few more weeks to come hopefully, after which their silvery foliage will continue to be attractive without the bonus of the large daisy-like flowers. Coming from New Zealand’s mountains, they like a moist but well-drained soil and dislike drying out. They’ll grow in sun or part shade and are a good container plant too. We have plenty of small Celmisias currently for sale at the nursery in 7cm pots, and there will hopefully be some larger ones in a month or so.

The best time to visit!

2009-06-01T20:39:54+00:00

Just to let you know that the sales benches at Slack Top are now fully stocked to overflowing with all sorts of alpine goodies for your rockery or containers - someone described it this weekend as like ‘being a kid in a sweetshop’! Everything from Antenaria to Zaluzianskya is on display waiting for a good home. We’ve got the beautiful Primula Harlow Carr hybrids coming into flower and on sale, along with some exciting new giant saxifrages - Slack’s Supreme and Slack’s Sensation.

Its a really great time to visit now as the garden is looking fantastic too, and will continue to do so from now right through until around the end of August - alpines are certainly not just for spring. We can offer plenty of advice on alpines that flower right through the summer too, so you get a great summer of perennial colour to go with your barbecue!

Help us recycle

2009-06-01T20:26:05+00:00

We don’t use any plastic bags for plant purchases here at Slack Top nursery. Instead, since we began in 1985, we recycle cardboard boxes by making them into exact size alpine plant carriers. Michael is particularly expert at this, as he has probably made tens of thousands by now! Hebden Bridge was actually the first town to go plastic-bag free in around 2007, so we’re supporting that initiative too. Obviously we can’t make up boxes at shows and plant fairs so there we use biodegradable carrier bags.

As a new trial, you can also bring back a few of our plastic pots occasionally so we can recycle those also - but please only bring our 7cm, 9cm or 1litre pots, as some types of plastic melt when they go into our sterilizer. We’ll be reviewing the success of this trial so we’ll let you know the results in a couple of months. Thanks for your support to help us be as green as we can!

Alpines from around the globe

2009-05-15T19:59:28+00:00

The indoor alpine display is looking particularly stunning at the moment, so make sure you don’t miss it! Some of the highlights include Haberlea rhodopensis which grows on shady cliffs in Bulgaria. From further afield comes Lewisia cotyledon, which originates in the Rocky Mountains in the USA. In the wild it has pale pink flowers but we have some wonderful colours available - ranging from pale yellow, through tangerine and cerise pink. We find Lewisias are great for growing in strawberry pots, or in a rock garden with good drainage.
Always a show stopper, Zaluzianskya ovata has gorgeous, white with red-backed, evening scented flowers. It is an easy spreading alpine and pretty hardy, coming from the mountains of South Africa.
All are currently on sale at the nursery, along with a huge range of other goodies, and lots in the garden is coming into flower now too. Hope to see you very soon.

Another Gold Medal

2009-04-29T13:16:52+00:00

Yipee - we’ve won another gold medal for our alpine container display at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show 09. Huge thanks to all of you who offered us such warm support and lovely comments - it makes a big difference! No rest for the wicked though - now the van is unloaded from Harrogate, we’re preparing for the shows each weekend in May and making sure the nursery benches are fully stocked. The lovely Gentiana verna are currently on sale, along with Saxifraga longifolia, Glaucidium palmatum, dwarf rhododendrons and lots of other beautiful plants to choose from for the rockery or general garden settings. We’ve also produced a new quick guide to which plants grow best in different conditions, so if you’re unsure of what thrives in acid or alkaline soil, or in a shady spot, just pop up and take a look at our easy to use guide.