Perrywood News
Welcome to Perrywood News & Blog, this is where you can find out what's going on at Perrywood Tiptree and Perrywood Sudbury...
It’s time for some Christmas cheer!
For the last six years, over the Christmas period, we have been giving out planted containers to individuals in our local community who, for one reason or another, deserve some Christmas cheer. This year, we asked our Perrywood team to nominate and deliver these gifts to someone they knew who needed a reason to smile.… Read More »
Plant a Tree to Mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022
The Queen’s Green Canopy is a planting initiative created to celebrate her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee. People around the country are encouraged to plant trees in their gardens, schools or communities to commemorate The Queen’s 70 years of Service to the Nation. You can pin your tree on the map which will inspire others to get involved.… Read More »
A Brand New Garden Centre Coming in 2024
In June this year, we all celebrated when Babergh District Council approved our planning application to build an inspirational new Garden Centre. Work has begun on clearing the site in preparation for building work to commence. The new development will offer a fabulous range of facilities, including a new restaurant, event spaces and leisure opportunities… Read More »
World Menopause Day!
We are always looking for more ways to help our team improve their physical and mental wellbeing. Perimenopause and menopause can traditionally be unspoken topics in the workplace, with many suffering symptoms ranging from heart palpitations and hot flushes to brain fog and difficulty in concentrating. Hannah (Communication and HR Director) sourced ‘Preparing… Read More »
‘The Cactus Surgeon’ – Using Nature to Fix a Faulty Brain
Hannah (Communications & HR Director) spent her lockdown writing her memoir! Living in London in the noughties, Hannah suffered burnout and was diagnosed with a functional neurological disorder. With no information available to help her, she found her own way to get better. Growing up here at Perrywood Tiptree, her childhood was… Read More »
Wooden Structures – an RHS Chelsea Gardening Trend to Try at Home
Adding an organic feature to gardens using natural materials has been a clear trend at RHS Chelsea this year. We love the wooden structures that stand proudly amongst the planting, they really create a powerful impact. The stem-bent oak benches in ‘The One Show and RHS Garden of Hope’ form a sinuous soft curve that… Read More »
Green up your Home RHS Chelsea style!
Very excitingly, for the first time, houseplants are represented at Chelsea! They are exhibited in six House Plant Studios which are filled with inspiration for every room in your home. As you may have already noticed, we are fanatic about providing inspirational displays to help green up your home. Regardless of space or natural light, it… Read More »
Container gardens feature at RHS Chelsea
Our ‘Get Growing’ campaign aims to encourage all those people who discovered gardening over lockdown to keep enjoying being outdoors. This new interest in gardening has been happening nationwide, as people realise the mental and physical health benefits of gardening. With millions more people gardening and growing plants the RHS has introduced two new garden… Read More »
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show meets Autumn.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show (21st to 26th September 2021) will be a particularly interesting event this year because it is the first one to be held in autumn. For the first time in 108 years the show will include displays featuring seasonal plants such as asters, dahlias, pumpkins and other autumn harvest fruit and… Read More »
RHS – Our Planet-Friendly Gardening Campaign
The RHS has started their ‘Our Planet-Friendly Gardening Campaign’ which is encouraging as many of you to help the planet as much as you can. Here are 10 things that the RHS suggests you can do in your garden to help out. We have added our ‘How to’ guides for lots more information and top… Read More »
Fantastic Success at the Garden Centre Association Awards
We are celebrating at Perrywood Tiptree and Sudbury this week after winning some fantastic awards at the Garden Centre Association awards for the North Thames region on Wednesday 1st September. The North Thames region covers East Anglia, London (North of the Thames), and across to Oxfordshire. All GCA Garden Centres are awarded annually and the awards are… Read More »
Colchester Eco Festival 4th September
Come along to the Eco Festival at Colchester Castle Park on Saturday 4th September. This festival is to inspire and educate you on new ways to be more sustainable. Discover how you can create positive social environmental change by consuming products and services differently. The event will have an artistic and educational focus including:… Read More »
National Allotment Week 9th-15th
The National Allotment Society’s theme for this week is ‘Plotting for the Future’. This is all about celebrating the contribution that allotments make to a sustainable future. Not only are they great for people growing their own produce but they are wildlife habitats for bees, butterflies, hedgehogs, birds, and many more. Why do people have… Read More »
Our team visit the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival
Some of our team from Tiptree and Sudbury visited the RHS Hampton Court Festival Garden. They had a great time looking around at all the wonderful gardens on display. Below are their favourite parts of the show and amazing photos they have taken: Sudbury Plant Area Assistant Alice visited the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival… Read More »
Positive Poetry comes to Perrywood
We are delighted to have collaborated with James McInerney, founder of The Poetry Project, to help spread some poetic positivity. James is well known for his mental health related positive messages. They have appeared in many public places under the title of The Poetry Project, which has been running since 2018; they started on… Read More »
RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival – Tom Stuart-Smith Garden
When our Communications & HR Director, Hannah, visited the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival on Monday she came back raving about the climate-resilient Mediterranean perennials and shrubs in the garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith – named as an RHS Iconic Horticultural Hero. Here’s why she liked it: “I like loose, natural planting, and walking through… Read More »
Edible Allotment Garden Featured at RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival
Lucy Hutchings (Shegrowsveg) has been working closely with us in designing an edible allotment garden. Lucy’s allotment garden is inspired by her new book ‘Get up and Grow’ and displays how a small space can supply a surprising amount of edible produce as well as being a beautiful place to spend time in. Our in… Read More »
Perrywood celebrates Corporate Partnership of the Year Award with Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity
We are delighted to have won an award for Corporate Partnership of the Year by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising East Anglia for our fundraising work with Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity. For the last two years (until December 2020), Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity was one of our nominated ‘charities of the year’ and… Read More »
We have Planning Permission for a Brand New Garden Centre at Sudbury!
We celebrate that Babergh District Council has approved our planning application to build an inspirational new Garden Centre on the site of our second garden centre at Sudbury. The new development will offer a fabulous range of facilities, including a new restaurant, event spaces and leisure opportunities for local people to enjoy. The new site… Read More »
We’d love to see your peat-free successes
On Tuesday 18th May the Government stated it wants to end retail sales of peat by the end of 2024. We are trying to encourage as many of our customers to try peat-free growing media, we have significantly increased our range and introduced new signs to provide clear information to help you select the best peat-free compost for the… Read More »
The Coffee Shop & Restaurant team purchase fans for Colchester Hospital
Last week, we delivered 130 new fans to the wards at Colchester Hospital. These were purchased with money collected in tips by the Coffee Shop & Restaurant team. Every year, the team very kindly donate all their tips to charity. These fans were purchased from local company, Staines & Brights who generously agreed to sell… Read More »
We strongly encourage you to get growing!
In these challenging times, we have seen both the physical and therapeutic benefits as well as the joy that gardening (and being outdoors) can bring to people’s lives. The processes of planting and nurturing plants give people a sense of purpose and once the plants are thriving, a sense of achievement too. We… Read More »
Why not visit your local open gardens for some inspiration!
Did you know there are 66 homeowners in Essex (and hundreds across the UK) who open their gardens each year as part of the National Garden Scheme. Money is raised for charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, and Hospice UK and just over £2.1m was donated in 2020. If you haven’t visited any of these gardens, we really… Read More »
Happy 70th birthday Alan
Alan and Karin Bourne bought Perrywood Tiptree from Alan’s parents in 1984. Alan turns 70 years old on Saturday 3rd April, so we thought we would share some photos and facts about his life. He has lived most of it in a house next to the garden centre. When Alan was born, his dad Les… Read More »
We’ve reduced our CO² Emissions!
We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and becoming as carbon neutral as possible in the future. As part of our sustainability drive, we have recently installed three new Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs). These will be up and running shortly and will produce enough heat for the underfloor heating in the main shop, the… Read More »
Join our ‘Grow with Perrywood’ group on Facebook!
One of the positives from 2020 was that so many people discovered the joys of gardening and growing for the first time. If you are new to growing or if you have lots of knowledge and experience, why not join our ‘Grow with Perrywood in 2021’ Facebook group! It is a friendly place to chat… Read More »
Skipping into Spring for Greenfingers Charity
The team at Perrywood are skipping into Spring to raise much needed funds for Greenfingers Charity and we really need your support! Every March, we support Garden Re-Leaf Day, a national fundraising event that is organised by Greenfingers Charity. The charity is dedicated to supporting the children who use hospices around the UK, along with their families,… Read More »
Listen to Perrywood Owner Alan on The Plant Based Podcast
Listen to Michael Perry and Ellen Mary’s The Plant Based Podcast Sunday 28th February at 7pm to hear Alan (Perrywood Owner) talk about the growth and changes of Perrywood. Michael and Ellen talk to Alan about the impact of covid, inspiration for Perrywood, and how the demographic has changed amongst shoppers. You can learn more… Read More »
Helping local communities to get growing in 2021
Now, more than ever, we have seen the joy and therapeutic benefits that gardening can bring to people’s lives. Our aim is to get more people growing in 2021. This year, we will be supporting two charities and a community interest company who use gardening to help vulnerable groups, including refugees, the unemployed, adults with… Read More »
Over £11,000 raised for charities at Perrywood Tiptree in 2020!
We are delighted to announce we have raised £11,912 for charities in 2020! The money was raised through a combination of inhouse and online events. In spite of challenging circumstances due to Covid 19, we are really pleased to have raised this sum and thank all our customers and team for their ongoing support. This grand… Read More »
