Bird feeders are vital

That’s one of the conclusions of research released by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

Bird feeders now attract many more species than forty years ago – according to the study, half as many again.

The research has been conducted in 250 gardens each year since the beginning of the 1970’s. It found that while the gold finch appeared in just one percent of gardens forty years ago, that figure has now risen to nearly two thirds.

Also visiting far more gardens than they used to are long tailed tits. This species now makes appearances in a third of the gardens surveyed compared with just three percent forty years ago.

So what’s happening?

Well according to BTO head of garden ecology Mike Toms, birds are visiting garden feeders more often for different reasons.

In some cases the story is a positive one with species like the wood pigeon and the woodpecker flourishing in their woodland setting and also making many more visits to gardens. Numbers are healthy and the birds are merely capitalising on an easy supply of food.

But sadly in many cases, birds species like the bullfinch are being seen much more often in the garden but are actually in decline in the wild. This suggests that the birds are struggling to find food and being forced to resort to the offerings made my thoughtful householders.

The decline of species in the wild has been blamed by the BTO on changes in farming and woodland management practices. The loss of stubble fields and more efficient harvesting techniques just two factors that reduce the amount of food available in the wild.

The BTO’s Tim Harrison says that the effect of this is to push individuals of many species out of their traditional habitats, while increased availability of specialist bird foods and feeders is pulling them into gardens.

In fact generous gardeners now play a major role in supporting wild bird populations through the year. Over the 41 years of the annual survey, some 177 species have been spotted using garden feeders. Around half of all householders now feed the birds in their garden and an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes of food is put out each year.

From bird seed to bird feeders and bird baths, here at Dobbies you’ll find everything you need to give the wild birds in your garden the help they need this winter.

For more information on the study visit the British Trust for Ornithology website.

There’s only one thing more exciting than carving a pumpkin on Halloween – carving a pumpkin you have grown from seed on Halloween.

Children from Dobbies Little Seedlings Club did just that and grew their own pumpkins for Halloween this year.

Here are some of the winning entries:

Erica Stevenson and friend Ailidh Scarf with winning pumpkin

Southport Little Seedlings club pumpkins

Winning pumpkins from Dobbies Aberdeen

Dobbies Little Seedlings

Gardening and growing your own fruit and vegetables is a fun way of introducing curious little minds to the wonders of the natural world.

The Dobbies Little Seedlings is a free to join gardening club for children aged from 4 to 10 years old. The club takes place on a monthly basis and children can take part in fun hands-on workshops to learn about plants, wildlife and the environment.

Not only will children get to start projects that they can take home with them at our events, but for every three events that they attend they will get a certificate.

Little Seedlings events are held in all our stores on the first Sunday of every month.  Please check with your local store for exact times and dates as these can be subject to change.

November workshop

On Sunday 6th November Dobbies store will be hosting “Into the Night Garden”.
 
Come along and learn where animals sleep at night time. All children will have the chance to make their own animal habitat.

So bring the kids to the Little Seedlings workshop on Sunday to find out more about:

• Animal Habitats
• Nocturnal animals
• Hibernation
• How to make an animal habitat

Find out more by going to the Little Seedlings Club page, or contact your local Dobbies garden centre.

Christmas in July may not be a familiar concept to us Brits but it’s widely celebrated Down Under, used to raise money for charities across the world and often the main reason for many summer sales in the United States.

The idea is simple: celebrate Christmas in the height of summer. But why would you want to do that I hear you cry? Well, to answer that you need to take a look at how the idea originally came about.

In a nutshell

Christmas in July has a history as dappled as a snow swept window. References to the term can be found from the 1930s onwards but the idea really took hold both amongst Australians with Northern hemisphere ties and American marketers looking to bump up summer sales.

First appearances

Christmas in July - The Movie

Then several years later, the term entered the mainstream for the first time in the title to a 1940 movie written and directed by Preston Sturges. As you can no doubt guess from the photo below, it was called Christmas in July and starred Dick Powell and Ellen Drew.

Two years later the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington D.C celebrated Christmas in July with carol singing and a Christmas tree covered in donations. The church was led by a Pastor who had previously celebrated Christmas in July at his former church in Philadelphia. They did so in order to be able to give out gifts with enough time for them to arrive at missions around the world before Christmas day. By 1943 it had become an annual event at the Calvary Baptist Church too and was broadcast from there on local radio each year.

During World War II the US armed forces and the Post Office used Christmas in July in much the same way as the Calvary Baptist Pastor. This time to promote early Christmas mailings to service people overseas instead of missions. By the 1950s this awareness raising began to be used less for postal reminders and more for marketing, with American advertisers using the theme in their summer sale commercials.

By the late 1970s it had been in the mainstream lexicon enough to warrant it’s referral in the title of a feature length animated movie called Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979).

Christmas in July Down Under

Christmas Kangaroo

Having been such a success, the hotel continued to host Christmas celebrations every year, to the point where local businesses caught on to it and decided to cash in by selling decorations, souvenirs and putting up Christmas lights in their stores. The Blue Mountain Christmas in July celebrations continue to this day and have spread throughout the Australian snowfield resorts.

Whether or not the story of the Irish tourists kick starting celebrations is true, it’s easy to see that a Christmas celebration in cooler times is preferable to a scorching summer party complete with a large roast dinner. Even more so if, much like many Australians, you have a Northern hemisphere connection or history.

For charity

Christmas is about charity
Photo by Bearmandu

Whether it’s tickets to a Christmas themed night at your local bar, sporting activities carried out in Santa outfits or a Christmas dinner fundraiser, raising money for good causes in July can always benefit from a boost of the Christmas spirit of giving.

Today

Today in America, Christmas in July is most notably tied to marketing and summer retail sales. As with traditional Christmas celebrations, the summer version can often be no more than another opportunity to try to increase sales.

As cynical as this may be, it has put Christmas in July further into the mainstream in America. As a result this has enabled charities and fundraisers to use the awareness to draw a lot of people’s attention to their own causes and campaigns. Whilst helping to create a bizarre spot of festive fun in summer months.

Meanwhile, down under in the southern hemisphere, today’s Christmas in July celebrations not only mean that Aussies can have two Christmases, but that they can break up the dull winter months in the same way as we do with lots of festive cheer and hearty eating.

If you had Christmas in the blazing sun with a salad for your dinner, wouldn’t you want a winter Christmas too?

The perfect Father's Day gift

Gardening Club membership makes the ideal gift for any occassion. Father’s Day is on Sunday 19th June and a gardening club gift membership is the perfect gift.

Simply purchase a Gift Gardening Club membership and you can share the year round benefits of membership including:

• 10% off all plants, bulbs and seeds
• 2 FREE cups of tea or coffee every month
• Reward points and money back vouchers
• A wide range of additional benefits and rewards

This Father’s Day give something special and purchase a Gift Gardening Club membership.

Gift Membership Delivery

When purchasing a gift membership the “who are we delivering to?” information relates to the recipient of the gift membership. All gift memberships are normally sent directly to the recipient.

If you would like to receive the membership to give to the recipient yourself please add “send to billing address” in the special instructions box when purchasing the gift membership.

Something BIG is happening….!

The full story from forest to celebrity switch on of the UK’s biggest real Christmas tree, which will be the focal point of a nationwide fundraising drive by Dobbies Garden Centres to grant the wishes of at least 26 seriously ill children through the fabulous Starlight Children’s Foundation.

Santa drives the biggest real Christmas tree in the UK north to Dobbies garden centre in Edinburgh.

The biggest real Christmas tree in the UK has been felled at FSC-certified Kielder Forest in Northumberland:

When you wish upon a star….

Starlight Children’s Foundation is a national charity which brightens the lives of seriously ill children across the UK. Dobbies will be helping to grant once-in-a-lifetime wishes and bring the magic and fun of Christmas to children in hospitals throughout the country.

Visit dobbies.com/bigtree or Visit this page in the next few days and all will be revealed!.

We’d like to share this short clip as our tribute to the joyful and colourful life of Norman Wisdom.

In 1996, Dobbies ran this popular advertisement which includes a segment from The Early Bird (1965), starring Norman Wisdom.

On the 4th October 2010 Norman Wisdom sadly died at the age of 95.

There will be a memorial service in London on the 4th of February next year, on what would have been Sir Norman’s 96th birthday.

Get gardening on your iPad
Photo from 3Gstore.de

Put your iPhone or iPad to good gardening use and enjoy these green-fingered apps:

Gardening News and Updates – Keep up to date with your favourite gardening blogs with this handy app. Gardening News and Updates is preloaded with some of the best gardening blogs around, and you can add to and edit this list whenever you like. The news reader will then constantly update to show you the latest news and tips from your favourite bloggers. Don’t forget to add Dobbies to your list! Cost: £0.59.

Met Office – Anyone with a love of the great outdoors always has one thing at the back of their mind – the weather. Whether too much rain or not enough, too cold or too hot, your garden’s success is often in the hands of the gods unless you can keep track of what the great British weather’s doing next. So the Met Office have come up with this great little app, making the latest weather forecast available at the delicate tap of a finger. Cost: Free.

Gardenista – Gardenista helps you choose the best plants for different areas of your garden and keep a journal of their progress. Over 100 different species of plant are listed, along with information on their height and colour, how to look after them and where best to plant them. You can also divide your journal into different gardens, to make information easier to find. Cost: £1.79.

Gardening Toolkit – The Gardening Toolkit is the essential, umm, toolkit for any gardening enthusiast. With this great app you can view hundreds of plant photos and upload your own photographs to use as a guide. It gives month by month gardening advice, has a useful ‘what to sow now’ advisor and a handy to-do list to keep you on your toes. Cost: £2.39.

National Trust – If you enjoy spending time in the National Trust’s great historic gardens then this is the app for you. Find nearby National Trust properties through the ‘local to me’ tool, then plot your journey there through the link with GPS and Google Maps. It also includes an A-Z list of all National Trust locations and useful information on each, such as opening times and facilities. Cost: Free.

Garden ToDo – This beautiful app allows you to photograph the parts of your garden that need attention and manage all of your tasks in a handy to-do list. Perfect for those who like to be super organised! Cost: £1.19.

OutDoors Great Britain – This is the perfect app for those who like to search for gardening inspiration in the great outdoors. Outdoors Great Britain allows you to download Ordnance Survey Maps and link them with GPS, so that you can plan your route and check you stay on course. A full British road atlas is included, to make sure you don’t get lost before you’ve started walking. The only down side is that the maps are a little expensive (normally £9.99 – £12.99). However, it’s no more than an ordinary OS map and once they’re stored you can use them again and again. Cost: £1.79.

Gardening and Landscape Guide – If you’re planning a fresh new look to your garden then search no further for inspiring ideas. This funky app allows you to plan every aspect of your garden design, from creating a relaxing chill out area to installing lighting and water features. You can also view regularly updated garden photographs to compare designs, and the handy email feature allows you to share your ideas with your friends and family. The app is also gorgeous to look at, which is always nice! Cost: £1.19 (iPad only).

Garden Safari – From the humble moth to the beautiful butterfly, Garden Safari lets you identify over 150 of these beautiful insects using close-up photographs and information available at the tap of a finger. And just for the fun of it there’s also an ‘Insect of the Month’ for you to spot, so keep your eyes peeled. Cost: £1.19.

Tea Round – Do you enjoy gardening with your other half, family or friends, but are sick of the tea-making related arguments? Tea Round is the ideal solution. Claiming to be ‘democra-tea at work’, Tea Round allows you to enter different locations (such as the garden) and the names of the people present. So, when you want to warm up after a cold winters day, just give your iPhone or iPad a little shake and let Tea Round decide decide who puts the kettle on. Now to decide who mows the lawn…! Cost: £0.59.

Anyone from the Preston area watching last night’s (Sunday 1st August 2010) hit TV show, Top Gear, would’ve been surprised to see their local garden centre, Dobbies, pop up for its motoring debut.

The Top Gear team joins the staff at Dobbies Preston

Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond and the Top Gear entourage rolled into Preston on a rainy Wednesday morning back in March to the delight of Dobbies customers.

The crew stayed for a few hours and filmed a scene to prove cabriolet models can carry large shopping items families might need. Jeremy Clarkson drove away with a few trees trailing in his wake, James May drove off with a garden shed on his roof, and Richard Hammond squeezed a scantily clad lady statue and plant pot into his ride. The three celebs chose all their own products and they also partook in some entertaining hat shopping in the menswear department.

General manager of Dobbies Garden Centre Preston, John Butcher, said: “The Top Gear producers rang us to ask if they could do the filming and also if we wouldn’t mind them carting off with a few garden sheds strapped to the back of their cars! It probably errs on one of the more unusual requests we’ve had to our garden centre – and the Top Gear team created a brilliant atmosphere!

“And yes, they’re all exactly like you’d imagine on the TV show – very funny and definitely destructive! It was a very entertaining day for our staff and customers…you certainly don’t expect to meet Jeremy Clarkson when you pop to your local garden centre for some plant pots!”

Anyone who missed the show can catch it on BBC i-player at the following link (roughly 50 minutes into the programme):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tbs3z/Top_Gear_Series_15_Episode_6/

Top Gear visited Dobbies Garden World on Blackpool Road, Clifton (near Preston) on Wednesday 24th March 2010.

Celebrate Fathers Day with a gardening gift

If your father loves to spend time mowing the lawn, picking out moss and feeding the grass then a Fathers Day lawn care gift is perfect.  Dobbies have a range of lawnmowers, lawn rollers, lawn feeds and moss killers to suit all grass types.  So your father can take pride in a lawn good enough to to rival the local bowls club.

Every man loves his tools, so garden tool gifts are an obvious Fathers Day gift choice. Simple well made hand tools like the humble steel trowel, strong hedge shears or a good traditional spade will be loved and used for many years.  For the power loving fathers there’s always shrub shearers and self propelled petrol lawnmowers.  Tough gardening gloves also make a great gift and protect your fathers hard worked hands.

Summer is the season for BBQs, which have long been the Dad’s domain.  So why not get your father a barbecue gift for Fathers Day.  Tools are not just for the garden, barbecue tools are essential for any self-respecting barbecue chef.  So make your father the envy of all his friends with a stainless steel barbecue toolset or go all out on a brand new gas barbecue.  There’s also a great range of bbq accessories including poultry roasters, kebab skewers, basting brushes and bbq scraper/brushes.

If your father appreciates the delicate side of gardening, then Dobbies have a colourful range of Fathers Day flowers and plant gifts. Instead of picking up a bunch of cut flowers from the garage, why not plan ahead and order a vibrant hanging pot or a climbing clematis to cover a weather beaten fence. A potted plant or perennial will provide years of enjoyment rather than the few weeks cut flowers deliver.

There are fathers day garden presents for every budget from barbecue scrapers to garden sheds and greenhouse gifts.  So to avoid that last minute dash to the shops, why not buy online, save some time and make your father happy with a practical gardening gift.

For one week only – until midnight on the 24th May you can save a HUGE 20% on all garden furniture, BBQs, chimeneas, outdoor lighting and much more!

Just use discount code DCM10 online at www.dobbies.com to save £££s and if you are near a store see local press for voucher, because whilst stocks last plants are also on offer in stores!