News

Gold again!

2013-04-30T08:16:10+00:00

Despite the absence of Spring weather, we were awarded another Gold medal for our alpine display at last week’s Harrogate Spring Flower Show. After the coldest spring we can remember, it was a real challenge to build an alpine garden packed with colour, and two weeks before the show we were really worrying about what we might have to display. But thankfully those few days of slightly warmer weather in mid April brought things on and we ended up having as much in flower as ever. A huge thank-you to everyone who came to see us at the show and gave their continued support for the nursery - its much appreciated!

Spring at the nursery

2013-03-03T09:16:54+00:00

Come up and see us this weekend - after the seemingly endless winter its the perfect time to buy some plants for Spring! We have some wonderful alpine goodies on sale including some beautiful Hepaticas (as seen on BBC Gardeners World), the very early flowering Olsynium douglasii, some lovely Hellebores, Primula ‘Blairside Yellow’ and Lewisia ‘Little Mango’ to name but a few.

We have a temporary entrance to the nursery (behind the bus shelter) because, very excitingly for us, work has finally started on building our house on site. Consequently we would advise wearing walking boots when visiting the nursery over the next few weeks!

PLEASE NOTE: If travelling from Hebden Bridge to the nursery please follow the signs to Heptonstall village as that road comes out at Slack. The other road through the woods is closed for resurfacing. Do not follow the diversion signs as they are for HGV’s only.

‘Indoor’ gardening

2013-02-19T06:45:22+00:00

With what seems to be increasingly wet weather you may be tempted to take alpine gardening ‘indoors’ for your own comfort, if not the plants! From a simple cold frame to small polytunnel, unheated conservatory to domestic greenhouse with extra ventilation, there are a number of ways to keep the worst of the weather off and enjoy your plants under cover when it’s too wet to be in the garden.

Starting at around £400, a small greenhouse is a good option for indoor gardening. If you’re not keen on growing in pots, then build some beds and create an indoor rock garden which needs very little attention. No heating is required for growing alpines, just plenty of ventilation. This can be provided by leaving the door open and maybe replacing a couple of panes of glass with simple louvre windows, together with some simple net shading to protect from hot sun in spring and summer (chance would be a fine thing!). A polytunnel with doors left open for ventilation might be another option. Comprehensive advice on growing under cover is contained within our book ‘Alpines – An Essential Guide’.

2013 Plant List now available!

2012-11-17T20:46:50+00:00

Our new list of alpines for next year can now be found on the ‘Plants’ tab ... with plenty of lovely new alpine goodies to enjoy!

You can use our search button to bring up a list of new items (enter NEW!) or indeed those suitable for a trough (enter ‘trough’). Pictures will follow where available (some lines we’re growing from seed so we haven’t seen them in flower yet). If you would like us to email you the new additions then please drop us an email request. The printed list for 2013 will be available from early December.

For an unusual Christmas gift idea we also offer Gift Vouchers for use at the nursery - £5 or £10 denominations available - order now to beat the Christmas rush!

Alpine colour for late summer

2012-08-10T20:36:26+00:00

Have all your alpines flowered in spring? If your garden needs a colour boost for late summer then pop up this weekend… we have lots of fabulous late flowering alpines on offer. Currently in full flower are Crepis incana (pink dandelions), Erigeron ‘Canary Bird’, Calceolaria tenella, Lewisias, Dryas suendermanii, Allium flavum and Allium amabile, Delosperma ashtoni, Gentiana saxosa, Arenaria montana, Gentiana septemfida (one of the easiest gentians) ... to name but a few.

And to take your garden colour well into autumn why not add a splash of colour with deep red Sedum ‘Dragon’s Blood’ or purple leaved Sedum ‘Bertrum Anderson’, the bright red flowers of Zauschneria ‘Dublin’, the white berried Sorbus fruticulosa, or the soft pink plumes and lovely autumn foliage tints of Persicaria vaccinifolia. Its fine to carry on planting until the end of September but remember that the nursery closes at the end of this month (although you can still visit in September by prior appointment) and reopens on 1 March 2013. 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.

ATTENTION: Couple from Retford near Sheffield who visited the nursery on Saturday 11 August please can you get in touch with us ASAP.

Silver Gilt at Tatton 2012

2012-07-08T20:43:04+00:00

Despite the terrible ‘summer’ weather, we managed to design and build another award winning alpine garden at this year’s RHS Tatton Park Flower Show. Based on our alpine garden at Slack Top, it featured tiered raised beds and lightweight stone troughs planted with a beautiful array of alpines and generated a fantastic reaction from show visitors who were inspired by the sheer variety on display. “Being awarded a Silver Gilt medal was an achievement in itself after the ‘summer’ we’ve had” commented Michael. Despite the enormous amounts of rain this year we managed to produce an alpine show garden packed with colour… one of the most colourful displays in the Floral Marquee. Bizarrely the judges’ comment was that there was ‘possibly a little too much colour”...! That must be a first in a flower show!
Michael continues “The excess rainfall we’ve experienced this year is possibly a sign of things to come so gardeners should be looking at ways to improve drainage in the garden. Digging plenty of grit or sharp sand into the soil will help greatly, especially when growing alpine plants, as it helps the water drain away more quickly”.
Michael and Allison would like to extend a huge thank-you to everyone for their continued support for the nursery. The nursery is open until the end of August, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-5pm; call 01422 845348 or visit http://www.slacktopnurseries.co.uk

Premier Gold Medal at Harrogate!

2012-04-15T22:00:12+00:00

We were lucky enough to be the only alpine nursery to win a prestigious Premier Gold medal for our display at the 2012 Harrogate Spring Flower Show. We had designed a new display, based on our alpine garden at Slack Top which attracted a lot of positive comment. The display featured tiered raised beds, painted in an attractive heritage blue-grey, and planted with a beautiful array of alpine and woodland plants. A paved path was surrounded by lightweight stone troughs, also planted with alpines, including the ever popular Erigeron ‘Canary Bird’ and Zaluzianskya ‘Orange Eye’.
Once again our display generated a wonderful reaction from you, our customers, who seemed to love the quality and variety of plants and contemporary design. We would like to extend a huge thank-you to you all for your continued support for the nursery.

Our Mail Order has just become MUCH cheaper!

2012-02-05T22:42:43+00:00

New lower delivery charges for 2012

Good news for all our customers who use our mail order service for alpine plants… our 48 hour delivery service is only £9.50 for parcels containing up to 35 plants – this is a 40% saving on postage costs!

Very large orders will cost extra, in which case we will advise you. Charges and delivery vary for the Scottish Highlands & Islands, Northern Ireland, Isles of Man and Isles of Scilly. Please allow £15 for N Ireland and £20.50 for the Highlands and Islands. For delivery charges outside of the UK please email us for prices.

Come on…start choosing some lovely plants for your rockery, raised bed or trough and place your order today - this year’s selection is now on the website.
Happy gardening!

Further mail order information can be found in the side panel on the Plants page of this website.

new plants for 2012

2011-12-05T16:45:55+00:00

We’ve now added all the lovely new alpine plants to the website for 2012. So be sure to take a look as there are over 100 new additions! To make it easier, if you’d like a list detailing the new additions only then please just drop us an email. The new lines include Delosperma lavisiae with its shocking pink flowers, our favourite ‘home-grown’ Oxalis ‘Slack’s 53’ and the beautiful Hacquetia epipactis for a shot of early spring colour. As ever they are all grown on site from seed or cutting and all our plants are fully hardy - they have to be where we are!

Also new for 2012 are a selection of ‘Plant Collections’, which are the easy way to buy, as we choose the best plants for your site. Plants will be our choice - all different and all hardy. The Collections are as follows:

[A] 15 Easy Alpines for a rock garden or raised bed £45.00
[B] 35 Easy Alpines (as above) £95.00
[C] 12 Sink garden/container alpines - Slower growing and chosen to give year-round interest. NOTE: please let us know the size of container £37.00
[D] 20 Sink garden/container alpines (as above) £60.00
[E] 10 Crevice plants - ones that particularly like to grow between rocks £30.00
[F] 15 Alpine House or cold frame plants £45.00

Don’t forget:
1. Please use our Mail Order form and add the flat rate £9.50 postage per Collection to your total.
2. Include your email address so we can contact you when the parcel is on its way.
3. Let us know whether the plants are for a sunny or a more shady spot.

New book on alpines

2011-08-18T21:28:38+00:00

‘Alpines – an Essential Guide’ is now on sale. Based on Michael’s twenty-five years as a nurseryman, this book provides an insight into new and inspirational ways of growing alpines. Aimed at both the beginner and the more experienced enthusiast, this essential guide contains a wealth of beautifully illustrated information including: traditional and contemporary settings for growing alpines; advice on planting & maintenance; information on propogation methods; an A-Z of over 180 of the best alpine plants, with useful table of flowering times.

The hardback edition is priced at only £19.95. It has recently been reviewed by the Scottish Rock Garden Club (scroll to Page 7 on PDF file below), and appears in ‘Gardens Illustrated’ February 2012.
Ways to buy:
1. Collect a signed or dedicated copy direct from Slack Top Nurseries (please call 01422 845348 prior to visit, payment by cash or cheque only). Alternatively we can arrange postage to your address at a small extra charge (£4.50 for a recorded delivery).
2. Copies (unsigned) available from bookshops nationwide (and internationally).

We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.