Our seasonal displays reflect the exact rhythms of the year on Alder Lane, showing plants at their current stage of growth. Here is what is hardened off, well rooted, and ready for planting right now.
Nov – FebHardened off outdoors
Nov
Cold-hardy stock settles into cooling soil before the frosts.
Winter heatherLavenderHardy shrubs
Dec
Bowls and pots for doorsteps, sheltered patios and sunny sills.
Heather bowlsOlive treesHerb trios
Jan
Structure for shaded corners; benches in the bays stay open.
Hardy fernsEvergreensGlasshouse bays
Feb
Indoor foliage and kitchen herbs while the garden sleeps.
Peace liliesKitchen herbsBare-root shrubs
Late autumn and early winter benches
Through November and December, our outdoor benches feature cold-hardy stock ready to establish before hard winter frosts arrive. Prominent now are our Winter heather bowls in twenty-five centimetre planters for $22, displaying resilient pink and white tones that persist through winter gloom. Beside them sit dormant Lavender ‘Hidcote’ pots for $12 and hardy deciduous shrubs resting quietly, their root systems settling steadily into cooling autumn soil.
Midwinter structure and indoor displays
In January and February, focus turns toward protective glasshouse bays and structural evergreens. Hardy fern trios in one-litre pots at $24 provide rich architectural greenery for shaded nooks, while ten-litre Olive trees at $89 lend silver-green structure to sheltered patios. For indoor rooms, our Peace lilies at $28 provide lush foliage under bright indirect light, accompanied by Kitchen herb trios at $14 thriving on warm south-facing kitchen window sills.
Why do we acclimatise our plants outdoors?
Rather than pushing nursery stock into artificial early bloom using supplemental heating, head grower Tomás Reyes and Priya Nair keep our benches open to ambient temperatures. This seasonal exposure hardens cell tissue, strengthens root balls, and prevents the shock that greenhouse-forced plants experience when exposed to domestic gardens. Every pot leaving our benches is conditioned for ordinary outdoor temperature changes and the natural turn of the seasons.