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Reposted by Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Sue Beesley @suebeesley.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Glorious. Very lucky to be custodians of this for a few years.

A carpet of bluebells in our blue woods under a fallen hornbeam tree

Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Hello all. I've moved my blog site from Substack to Ghost. If reading about plants and gardens appeals to you, do subscribe - it's free. As you can see, you won't get bombarded. If you're lucky you'll get two or three posts a year :-). everything-under-the-sun-1.ghost.io

everything-under-the-sun-1.ghost.io

Everything under the sun

Mainly plants, from Bluebell Cottage Gardens in Cheshire, UK. Also solar PV and heat pumps...

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Two unique Christmas gift ideas.. -Seed Saving Kit - save your own seeds, with a 'how to' booklet written by Sue :-) -9,000 annual wildflower seeds in a pretty little gift tin - the perfect stocking filler. www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/search?q=ann... www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/search?q=see...

Annual wildflower seed collection in a gift tin as a Christmas present.

Our unique seed saving kit - the ideal Christmas present for a keen gardener.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Morning all - I've just emailed out two new stock lists to our Trade customers: 9cm pots in stock now and bare root plants for delivery in Feb 2026. If you are in the horticulture trade and would like to receive these lists, please reply below...

Aster 'Little Carlow', available bare root from Feb 2026

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Love the idea of growing plants from your own seed, but not sure how? This kit contains all you need, inc. 12 page booklet with ideas and answers to common questions. Designed and created by the team at Bluebell Cottage, it's the perfect gardening gift. www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/product/SSK1...

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Our tulips have arrived! Large, top quality bulbs available to collect from the nursery or to order online. We're open for another 8 days (Wed-Sat 10-5) before we close at the end os September. Very limited quantities of some varieties as most are going into the garden :-). WA4 4HP

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Tulips! Our first delivery of tulip bulbs arrives next week. 20 wonderful varieties, selected by us, and grown in the gardens here - all photos were taken by me here in 2024/25. Order online for delivery or collection, and in store from 2nd Sep :-) www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/search?q=tulip

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

We love collecting seed - and yes, we put any surplus on the website for our customers. I have about another 50 varieties to sort and upload :-) www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/shop?type=se...

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Reposted by Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Sue Beesley @suebeesley.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

*Proud face*. Honestly didn't think we'd get several kilos of ripe apricots outdoors in Cheshire...

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Hello all... we have a very small but growing selection of seed available at our online shop and at the nursery. All hand collected here in the gardens and packed by us. Shipping for seed only orders is just £2.50 :-) Do check back in as we add more... www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/shop?type=se...

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Every morning in the garden, a new crop of field poppies unfurls. And the bees dive in the moment they open. It's a delight to watch.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Hello! The gardens are open for the NGS charity this weekend, 21/22 June, 10-5. WA4 4HP. Entry is £5.00 and all proceeds + tea room profits go to the charity. (Note that RHS cards, GW 2-1 cards and our own member cards aren't valid this weekend, but it's a fiver to charity so do come anyway :-) ).

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Last winter we removed the evergreen Choisyas around the back of this bench. So glad we did - the newly revealed view through under the cherries to the grasses beyond is proving rather lovely.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

It's meadow time at Bluebell Cottage. Lovely to look at and sit in - and one of the most asked about areas in the whole garden. This week's blog post explains how we created it and answers the top half a dozen questions about it. Open 10-5 Wed Sat. WA44HP. www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/blog/mad-abo...

bluebellcottage.co.uk

Mad about meadows

Our orchard meadow is at its shimmering finest right now. How did we create it?

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

Delighted to see that we've been recommended as a top UK nursery to buy plants online by @theguardian.com . May explain why we've had a lovely flurry of orders this morning :-). All being picked now and will be despatched Mon/Tue next week. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

theguardian.com

The UK’s best online nurseries to transform your garden without leaving home

Specialist species, competitive pricing and from-the-sofa convenience can open up a world of plants you never knew existed

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Morning all - we're open today, Bank Holiday Sunday, 10-5. (Closed tomorrow, BH Monday). Drop in for the gardens, unusual plants from the nursery or just a coffee and cake from our new and very cheery converted horse trailer servery, Belle. :-)

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Reposted by Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Sue Beesley @suebeesley.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

So close now.... We're in that little pink circle. #rain

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

If you're watching Gardeners' World and wondering where you can find Lunaria rediviva, we can help :-) www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/plant/LUN120...

bluebellcottage.co.uk

Lunaria rediviva

Perennial form of the familiar honesty, with white flowers and elegant pointed seed pods. Height to 1m.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

I know some of you have had rain, but here in our corner of Cheshire we've had not one drop, just wall-to wall sunshine for three weeks. So my latest blogpost picks ten superb sun-worshippers for the hottest, driest spots in your garden. www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/blog/some-li...

bluebellcottage.co.uk

Some like it hot

Ten superb perennials that thrive in hot, dry areas.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Home from a wonderful and very successful week at Malvern Spring Show (of which more later..) Just in time by the look of it - huge thunderstorm over Malvern Showground right now! Those yellow and red spots are lightning strikes...

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Morning all. If you're after a bit of respite from all the mayhem, our 2 acre bluebell woods are at their absolute best right now - open and free to visit 10-5 Wed-Sat. Free parking. Tea and cake available too :-) WA4 4HP.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Trees! We now stock a hand-picked selection of ornamental and orchard trees, peat-free and UK grown, ideal for smaller/medium gardens. They'll be added to our website over the next few days. Here's the first - our beloved Prunus 'Shirotae'. www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/plant/PRU120...

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Our garden tulips have been such a hit this year that I thought I'd write a blog post about our favourites and how we have built up the display over the years. www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/blog/tulips-...

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Years ago I started adding tulips to our borders in colour drifts. Each year I add more, working on the combinations to complement the plants around them. Think this year is our best yet...

Tulips Brown Sugar and Blushing Apeldoorn

Tulip Vancouver, and a white narcissus around the base of a white birch tree

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

A small selection of the plants in our woodland garden in flower at the moment.

Paris incompleta (stupid name for a lovely plant).

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Gorgeous light in the woodland garden this evening... Some close-ups coming up if you want to know what's what...

Photo through our woodland garden, featuring Pachyphragma macrophyllym, Epimediums, Brunnera, Anemone lipsiensis, and Acers

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Want one of the secrets to a contended life? Here's mine :-)

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Reposted by Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Stephen Byrne @stephengbyrne.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

The ornamental Cherry trees in the garden at @bluebellcottage.bsky.social caught my eye on the way in this evening. #Prunus #Shirotae

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Reposted by Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Sue Beesley @suebeesley.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

She glanced up at me as I put her card receipt in the till. She added 'I'd be interested in your thoughts on it'. I kept a straight face and said 'let's discuss it next time you come in.' Every single plant she had enthused about, and every plant she had bought was in #peatfree, of course... :-D

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Reposted by Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Sue Beesley @suebeesley.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Very busy first week at @bluebellcottage.bsky.social, lots of very happy customers :-). Funny story though... woman came in late on Sat. desperate to buy plants for a shady area, gushingly enthusiastic about our advice/plants etc.. On leaving, after paying said 'as for all that #peatfree nonsense'>

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Our 2025 seasons starts today! We re-open to visitors at 10am :-) Opening hours 10-5 Wed-Sat until September. Free garden entry until Easter while the garden wakes up, although areas like the woodland garden are looking very pretty already...

Vista through the shade garden to the brick moongate

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Some of my favourite spring beauties are in flower now, looking gorgeous in the little woodland garden, including Epimediums, Erythroniums, Pachyphragma and Brunnera. All except the Erythronium are available to buy online now, ready to plant out :-) bluebellcottage.co.uk/shop.

Epimedium pinnatum subsp. colchicum - gorgeous pale yellow flowers above emerging bronzey foliage.

Pachyphragma macrophylla. Crisp white flowers over bright green rounded foliage.

Brunnera 'Hadspen Cream' - blue forget-me-not type flowers over cream-edged foliage.

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Reposted by Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Stephen Byrne @stephengbyrne.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Working in the woods at @bluebellcottage.bsky.social cutting back brambles, clearing paths, in readiness for the bluebells in a month or so's time. Heard a crack, saw a large branch fall. It was a 'widow-maker', but yards away. Can't recall witnessing such before. This is our photogenic #Hornbeam

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Looks like we're going to be spending tomorrow picking orders :-). Our bare root plants will be available for about another fortnight - by then they will be sold, or we'll have potted them up for sale on the nursery...

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Reposted by Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

We're getting lots of orders in for bare root perennials - and plenty of questions too. Anne has written a blogpost, here: www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/blogs and I've produced a little video... www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjrQ... And here's where to find them :-) www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/search?q=bar...

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

It's bare root time! These are available for a few weeks as plants start into growth. Most are large enough for a 2L pot at least. On arrival, pot them up, plant them out or pack closely in compost until you are ready. All fully hardy. Free del. over £40 www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/search?q=bar...

Sanguisorba 'Lilac Squirrel' bare root plant

Lythrum salicaria 'Blush' bare root plant.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

This pergola at the top entrance to the garden has been slowly sinking for years. Time for a change - Going, going gone! Great work by @stephengbyrne.bsky.social

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

We've been trimming our new stock of bare root plants - and it's a great opportunity to take #rootcuttings. This is Eryngium agavifolium - huge plants with lots of nice fleshy roots so of course we're giving it a go... We use old polystyrene fish boxes, push them in vertically and cover with grit.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Oh - I forgot to add - we don't use marketing cookies, there are no pop-up ads, no tracking cookies and... it's totally AI free :-) All the pictures are our own, all descriptions are written by us, based on what we know about our plants from years of growing them :-) www.bluebellcottage.co.uk/shop

Screenshot showing part of our webshop with eight different plants and their photos

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Our new website is fully up and running! Choose plants by colour, height, where they'll grow best etc. Free delivery on orders over £40 in February. Lots of info about the gardens and nursery too. A relaxing browse for a wet Saturday :-) www.bluebellcottage.co.uk

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

With 14,000 bare root plants to deal with, it would take too long to pot them up - some would start to deteriorate in their boxes. So we unpack them all straight away, trim them and pack them upright into crates. This keeps them healthy until we can pot them up. Here's Tina trimming Angelica gigas.>

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

A big day on the nursery today - the arrival of 14,000 bare root plants! All peat-free and squeaky clean :-) We try to unpack and pot up or crate them in just a few days so it's all hands to the task this week. Great job today by Tina, Anne, Louise, Chris, Ginny and Sheila :-)

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Epimediums make wonderful evergreen ground cover in winter. Now's the right time to shear them down to let the flowers and new leaves emerge in March. Left: over-wintered leaves on Epimedium 'Frohnleiten'. Right: Flowers and new foliage on Epimedium x warleyense.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Seed sowing time! We start with seeds that have been in the fridge for a few weeks, and some hardy perennials that I think like to wake up slowly. Always a joy to get the first seeds of the year sown :-) #plantsfromseed #propagation #seeds

Two seed trays with seeds sown of Milium effusum 'Aureum'

Damp kitchen paper with seeds that have overwintered in the fridge. It's a Dicentra with very pale pink flowers that we think is unique to us - we've named it 'Sweetheart.'

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

New boots for old... Like my cars, I generally wear them until they fall apart.

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Our new season delivery of #Melcourt #peatfree compost has arrived! These bulk bags are for our own nursery use, but we also have 120 retail bags of Sylvagrow for retail sale (price TBC) - they'll be on our website from Tuesday, available to collect from the nursery :-)

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Bluebell Cottage Gardens @bluebellcottage.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

It's the perfect time to prune shrubs and climbers - and the ideal time to take hardwood cuttings. Use only last year's growth, picking straight stems with healthy looking buds. Put somewhere frost free under cover, no bottom heat, and let them slowly wake up and root. #cuttings #propagation

Trimmed cuttings of Heptacodium miconioides in free-draining compost mix in pots

Trimmed cuttings of Vitis coignetiae in pots

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