Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know that when I buy garden furniture, that I’m not contributing to destroying forests?
People talk about protecting peat bogs and not buying peat composts but why is it important?
I don’t want to use chemicals in my garden but how do I protect my garden against pests and diseases?
Don’t aquarium fish often come from endangered areas and what about their welfare on the journey to your stores?
I don’t agree that retailers should charge for carrier bags as I re-use all mine and I think what you and other retailers are doing is a waste of time. How much profit have you made from the 5p charge and what are you doing with it?
I would like to grow more fruit and veg but I’ve not done it before and I don’t have much room – any hints and tips?
It’s practically the wettest summer ever on record and I’m being told to save water – it’s just ridiculous – why should I?
I can’t believe that gardening is as good as going to a gym – convince me!
I miss my old garden centre – what is Wyevale doing for the local community?
I want a green Christmas. What tree should I use?
What can I do with my shed full of plastic flower pots?
I want to compost as much waste as I can – what can I put on it?
I hear bees are endangered, is this true and what can I do?
How do I know that when I buy garden furniture, that I’m not contributing to destroying forests?
Responsible retailers, like Wyevale, only buy garden furniture made from timber which is either grown in forests independently certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or comes from forest projects supported by the Tropical Forest Trust. There are other schemes but they tend not to have the support of the well-established environmental groups.
The Forest Stewardship Council is the world’s single largest accreditation body of independently certified timber so you can be confident that the forests where the timber comes from are very well managed.
As Forest Stewardship Council certification is very difficult and quite time consuming to achieve, the Tropical Forest Trust is like a halfway house which works with forest owners to work towards FSC certification which can bring more value to their forests. The TFT is the globe’s largest field-based forestry conservation organisation. So look for either of these two labels and know you are buying responsibly.
If you want to know more about our stance on timber, please read our Plan Apple Report which outlines our approach to environmental and social issues and lists our 10 commitments – one of which is ‘Protecting our endangered forests’.
People talk about protecting peat bogs and not buying peat composts but why is it important?
Keeping peat bogs is important for two reasons. First they are an important wildlife habitat and to harvest peat bogs they have to be drained which destroys the wildlife which lives there. Peat is also a major long-term carbon stock. While covering only 3% of the world’s land area, peatlands contain 550 BILLION tonnes of carbon. When peat bogs are drained and the peat eventually decomposes after use, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. In essence, the use of peat is environmentally harmful because of declining stocks and its contribution to climate change. That’s why it’s our ambition to.
We are doing this by stocking peat free products to give you the choice but we are also working with our growing media suppliers and our plant suppliers to change the formulation of our composts over time.
If you want to know more about our stance on peat, please read our Plan Apple Report which outlines our approach to environmental and social issues and lists our 10 commitments – one of which is ‘Towards peat free gardening’.
I don’t want to use chemicals in my garden but how do I protect my garden against pests and diseases?
The best way is to keep plants healthy so water them well particularly when you’re bedding them in, and feed them with home made compost if you can. Another way is to encourage bug eating insects such as ladybirds, so plant flower varieties such as daisies, sunflowers, marigolds, dill and fennel, all of which attract beneficial insects. If you are starting anew you can decide to plant more disease resistant species and of course, there are many alternative fertilisers and pesticides you can use including organic plant food and organic seaweed liquid feed and more specialist products.
If you want to know more about our stance on attracting wildlife and the use of organic products, please read our Plan Apple Report which outlines our approach to environmental and social issues and lists our 10 commitments – one of which is ‘Working with nature’.
Don’t aquarium fish often come from endangered areas and what about their welfare on the journey to your stores?
It is true that marine (rather than freshwater) fish come from the natural environment and we go to extreme lengths to ensure that neither the environment nor the fish are harmed. The majority of the fish sold by our franchisees are freshwater fish from farmed sources. Of garden centres that stock aquarium fish, just 2%-3% of sales in terms of the number of fish are marine, rather than freshwater fish. Our key franchisees source their fish from wholesalers which are accredited by the Marine Aquarium Council, rather than direct from source which would be cheaper but it would also be more difficult to trace the supply chain.
Our main franchisee, Maidenhead Aquatics is also working with the World Land Trust who is independently assessing the sourcing of fish by the wholesaler in the Philippines.
In addition to natural welfare concerns of how the fish are looked after, it is commercial common sense to ensure that the fish are kept healthy. We believe that fish keeping is, by definition, an interest which requires the active involvement of the fish keeper who will be committed to the welfare of the fish.
I don’t agree that retailers should charge for carrier bags as I re-use all mine and I think what you and other retailers are doing is a waste of time. How much profit have you made from the 5p charge and what are you doing with it?
The reason that carrier bags have been the focus of so many retailers is because they are like an icon for waste, and because they are so visible as litter in our streets and on our roadsides. Most of us can either do without or use alternatives and at Wyevale we also offer used boxes and trays for customers to carry goods home in. To date, with the help of our customers we’ve reduced the use of carrier bags by about 80%.
The profit made from carrier bags we sell goes to the Hunter Foundation which is supporting entrepreneurial projects in Rwanda and Malawi, including providing jobs in local communities through planting fruit trees so the produce can be sold to provide an income.
I would like to grow more fruit and veg but I’ve not done it before and I don’t have much room – any hints and tips?
There are millions of people who enjoy growing their own produce and getting that garden-to-plate satisfaction of great taste and achievement! If you’re starting out it’s probably best to start off with the easier things to grow such as tomatoes (in a growing bag if you’re short of space), lettuce leaves such as rocket, a courgette plant (which can spread a bit!), strawberries (in a strawberry pot which is attractive too), sprouting broccoli and spring onions. You don’t have to have a special veg patch as it’s just as easy to interplant your flowers with vegetables and herbs. And if you’ve got space, you can try an apple tree. It’s very satisfying and cheaper to grow from seed, but stores such as Wyevale also sell plug plants (small seedlings) and bigger plants to help you along if you’re a beginner.
If you want to know more about our stance on growing your own, please read our Plan Apple Report which outlines our approach to environmental and social issues and lists our 10 commitments – one of which is ‘Connecting with the source of our food’
It’s practically the wettest summer ever on record and I’m being told to save water – it’s just ridiculous – why should I?
It’s understandably annoying that having been drenched (or flooded in some areas if you’re unlucky), we still hear about not wasting water. We might be suffering from over-watering now but you never know when we will return to drought conditions. So it’s best to be prepared by having drought resistant plants in south facing gardens which are in drier areas of the country and to have efficient watering systems if you know you are in an area which has previously suffered from hosepipe bans. And don’t forget, having a water butt is a simple, cheap and efficient way of conserving water.
While we’re talking about too much rain, some flooding problems have been caused by concreting over our fields and gardens, so that the rain can’t run off easily and drain away. If you’re thinking about developing your garden it’s best to keep some grass and borders and to use porous hard landscaping materials which allow better drainage.
If you want to know more about our stance on water usage, please read our Plan Apple Report which outlines our approach to environmental and social issues and lists our 10 commitments – one of which is ‘Using less water’.
I can’t believe that gardening is as good as going to a gym – convince me!
Yes, keeping fit is another benefit of gardening as long as you don’t overdo it. It can be good cardio exercise if you’re doing some major digging, for example, which can use up to 400 calories an hour. Other jobs can help you keep supple through squatting, kneeling and stretching. However, for all gardening jobs, make sure you move correctly by bending from the knees and hips rather than the waist, and hold in those stomach muscles to protect your back! And make sure you warm up with less strenuous tasks, as much as you would if you were going to the gym.
Working out in the garden is more convenient, it’s cheaper than a gym subscription and you don’t have to get in your car to get there. Much more eco-friendly and with a better result for you and your garden!
I miss my old garden centre – what is Wyevale doing for the local community?
Although Wyevale is a national chain we like to think of ourselves as having good relationships with our local communities. Apart from the vast majority of our staff being locally employed, many of our garden centres have close links with organisations in the area, whether it be schools or charities and they hold local events to encourage growing your own and encouraging wildlife in the garden, for example. Most garden centres also have community notice boards.
Many of our suppliers are local to the garden centres (85% of all our plants are grown in British nurseries) and we work with many small artisan producers.
If you want to know more about our stance on working with communities, please read our Plan Apple Report which outlines our approach to environmental and social issues and lists our 10 commitments – one of which is ‘Rediscovering our local community’.
I want a green Christmas. What tree should I use?
As well as making your own decorations from recycled materials and making presents, you can ensure that your Christmas tree is as green as possible. If you already have a plastic tree or you have a previously used (and live!) tree in the garden, you should go for either of these options.
However, if you want a new tree, it’s best to buy a real tree, preferably from a British plantation to reduce road miles. If you can, buy a rooted version which, if you follow the instructions, can survive for the next and subsequent years. If you don’t buy a rooted version then ensure that you recycle your tree – some Wyevale garden centres offer to recycle trees and also your local authority waste facility may offer this service.
What can I do with my shed full of plastic flower pots?
Old plastic plant pots have for many years been the bane of gardeners, piling up in corners of the garden or shed! Before Easter 2008, Wyevale trialled plastic flower pot recycling in a few of its stores for customers and the response was overwhelming, to such an extent that now all Wyevale stores offer plastic flower pot recycling facilities.
If you want to know more about our stance on our policy on waste, please read our Plan Apple Report which outlines our approach to environmental and social issues and lists our 10 commitments – one of which is ‘Towards zero waste’.
I want to compost as much waste as I can – what can I put on it?
The easy things to compost are tea bags and coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit peelings, salad leaves, old flowers, spent bedding plants and grass cuttings. Completely avoid things like meat and dairy products, cooked vegetables, diseased plants, perennial weeds, nappies and dog and cat waste.
I hear bees are endangered, is this true and what can I do?
There widespread concern about the declining number of bumblebees. Their positive contribution to our lives is amazing, from creating fantastic plant displays – and more importantly – to pollinating our food plants. We should do everything we can to attract them in our gardens and there’s a drive to encourage wildflower meadows in the countryside too.
In your garden, bumblebees will love plants such as foxgloves, sedums, verbena bonariensis, scabiosa and lavender. And most of the plants that bees like are butterfly favourites as well. Our native ladybirds are important too because they are under threat from foreign interlopers. They all need protecting so when you are buying fertilisers and chemicals, look out for the products which are less likely to affect the wildlife in your garden.
If you want to know more about our stance on attracting wildlife, please read our Plan Apple Report which outlines our approach to environmental and social issues and lists our 10 commitments – one of which is ‘Working with nature’.
