Glendoick Award Winning Christmas is open 

Tayside Forrestry Christmas Trees will be in stock from 30th November. Wreaths in stock the same weekend

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Back for 2025 Tayside Forestry at Glendoick   Christmas Trees from 1st December

Nordman Fir; Abies nordmanniana

• By far the most popular Christmas tree variety in the UK, the Nordman fir is best known for its excellent needle retention.
• It has soft, deep green, glossy foliage on tiered branches that are perfect for displaying large baubles.

Available as both a cut or container grown tree

Fraser Fir Abies fraseri.

• A recent addition to the tree range in the UK, the Fraser Fir is ideal for smaller space due to its slimmer, conical shape.
• It has good needle-retention with dense branches and soft green needles with a silver underside.
• This is the most heavily scented of all Christmas trees and the scent will fill the room throughout the festive season.
• The Fraser fir is widely used as a Christmas tree in America and has been used more times than any other as the official White House Christmas tree.

Picea Lasiocarpa Rocky Mountain Fir

• Excellent needle retention,
• Slimline tree, ideal for small spaces.
• Dark green-blue needles... and great christmas needle scent.

Norway Spruce Picea abies container grown only... at Glendoick. Buy online from Tayside Forestry

• For a traditional Christmas, the Norway spruce is a perfect choice.
• It is a bushy well-shaped tree with a classic spruce fragrance.
• Whilst it does not have excellent needle retention, if you keep it well watered and away from heat, it will look great throughout the festive period.
• It offers great value for money and is ideal for outdoor use.

Glendoick Christmas Tree Care Guide

The 4 steps to a successful real Christmas Tree

1. Buy a top quality, fresh tree locally grown. Glendoick’s trees are grown just outside Dundee. They are cut as late as possible to ensure that the needles last.
2. Keep the tree cool until after December 10^th. If you have a centrally heated room, the tree will only last 2-3 weeks before needles fall. Keep away from radiators.
3. Give your trunk a trim: saw half an inch off the trunk to remove hardened sap and make sure it can absorb lots of water to stay fresh and green throughout your festivities.
4. Keep your tree watered but having a reservoir at the bottom. Check your tree’s water source regularly. A tree can drink upwards of two to three pints a day! Make sure the trunk is nicely submerged for happy and healthy needles.

  

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Glendoick can be very busy at weekend lunchtimes during the lead up to Christmas. Come on a weekday or Saturday or Sunday mornings if you want a quieter time.... and more space to browse. 

Please note that we need to start switching off Christmas Lights by 4.45 pm, and for safety reasons we close the christmas spaces once the lighting is off. We close at 5pm.

We would like to win the Garden Centre Best Christmas Displays in Scotland for the 3rd year running. 

Can you help by voting for Glendoick.  https://tgcmc.newsweaver.co.uk/GTN/1f6kix48r1m?lang=en

 

 

Ken Cox on the best plants for November & December

The Winter Garden: Scented winter shrubs

Many winter flowering shrubs have small sweetly scented flowers: why not create a small scented winter garden using Viburnum, Hamamelis, Sarcococca and contrast them with the red winter stems of dogwood.

Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn'

• Hardiness H4-5  Height 2-3m.
• A wonderful winter flowering deciduous shrub which can flower on and off for months all winter.
• The sweetly-scented, long lasting pink to white flowers open during mild periods from November to February.
• Any reasonable soil in a sunny or partly shaded site.

Viburnum tinus

• This popular compact evergreen is one of the most widely grown winter flowering shrubs.
• Hardniess H4-5 (height 1.5-3m) one of the most reliable winter-flowering shrubs, a fine dense, evergreen species with plentiful small white flowers in late autumn to early spring and blue-black berries.
• Pretty tough, but may be damaged in coldest inland gardens .
• Flowers best in sun but tolerant of some shade, and good in coastal areas. If grown in a container, protect the roots by wrapping the container in very cold weather.

Sarcococca (Christmas Box)

• Visitors to Glendoick in winter who visit our greenhouse in the plant area will soon be met with the sweet smell of Christmas Box.
• This popular evergreen small shrub or ground cover has a mass of small white sweetly scented flowers opening in midwinter, on a spreading.
• It has occasional black fruit in summer and is useful for its tolerance of dry shade. Plant it near the door of the house and you'll smell it every time you pass.

Hamamelis

• When all else is frozen, one old faithful in winter-early spring is the Hamamelis with its frost-resistant flowers.
• The curious spidery or string-like ribbons of yellow, orange or red petals are held on bare branches, and most yellow forms are scented. The more or less oval, ribbed leaves often turn to fine oranges and yellows in autumn. Hamamelis need moist well-drained soil in sun or part shade, with some wind shelter.
• Watch out for suckers from the rootstock and remove these. 
• In mild winters, they can open as early as November, but typically by January to February they are at their peak.  (Hardiness H5) Height to 3-5m.

Mahonia                              

• Mahonias are striking statuesque shrubs with evergreen holly-like leaves with sharply toothed leaves.
• Yellow, slightly fragrant flowers in upright racemes, November- March.
• Young leaves flushed reddish.
• Useful for its evergreen winter foliage, winter flowers and will grow in quite dry conditions.
• (Hardiness H4-5 Size will grow to 3-5 x 3-5m)

Skimmia

• Skimmias are very popular winter interest evergreens, mound-forming,  and good in containers.
• They like moist but well-drained acidic soil, and in the garden, grow best in some shade.
• The most popular are males with masses of tiny flowers.
• Both male and female varieties are required for the red or yellow berries, except in the case of the self-fertile S. reevesiana.
• For good berrying in the garden best to plant a mix of several varities.

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Autumn colour

October and early November are the best months for Autumn colour: this is best in dry sunny crisp autumns so this year is looking good so far.

Choose from maples, deciduous azaleas, Cotinus and other trees and shrubs which colour up well.

You'll find lots of wonderful and inspiring autumn foliage in our under cover plant area

Autumn Berries:

Cotoneaster, Pernettya, Pyracantha and lots more.

Wildlife depend on berries for much of their food in Autumn and the garden is an ideal place to provide berries to eat.

Sorbus (rowans), pyracantha, cotoneaster, pernettya are just some of the berrying trees and shrubs in stock now.

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Soft Fruit

Autumn and early Spring are the best time to plant soft fruit. 

Raspberries, Blueberries, currants and gooseberries.

Glendoick's Owners. Peter & Kenneth Cox have written over 20 books on rhododendrons, plant hunting, Scottish gardens and gardening. 4 of Peter & Ken's books, Scotland for Gardeners, Seeds of Adventure and Fruit and Vegetables for Scotland  were UK Garden books of the year. Woodland Gardening was European Gardening Book of the Year 2014

Books are available at Glendoick Garden Centre and Mail Order

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Books on Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Woodland Gardening, Plant Hunting

Woodland Gardening Glendoick Publications 2018 Winner European Gardening Book of the Year 2018-19

Glendoick, A Guide, Glendoick Publishing

Rhododendrons and Azaleas: A Colour Guide, Crowood Press 2005.

 

Now out of Print:

Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorges by Frank Kingdon Ward. New Edition, ed. Kenneth Cox, Antique Collector’s Club 2001, 2007  NOW OUT OF PRINT

Seeds of Adventure Peter Cox, Peter Hutchison, Antique Collectors Club 2008   NOW OUT OF PRINT

For more details on all the Cox Books click here

 

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Kenneth Cox Best Selling Scotland Books

For more details on all the Cox Books click here

Garden Plants for Scotland,   Frances Lincoln 2008 (Kenneth Cox with Raoul Curtis Machin)

Scotland for Gardeners  Birlinn 2009  2nd Edition 2014  Winner Inspirational Garden Book of the Year 2009. Garden Media Guild

Fruit and Vegetables for Scotland   with Caroline Beaton,  Birlinn 2012  Winner Garden Reference of the Year 2012

Gardening Made Simple      Glendoick Publishing 2021  Kenneth Cox

For more details on all the Cox Books click here

To Order Kenneth Cox Books Click here