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HOME & GARDEN LEAVES AND FLOWERS
THAMESWOOD VETERINARY CLINIC Nicholas Hartley MA., Vet. M.B., M.R.C.V.S. Veterinary Surgeon 62/64 Purton Road, Swindon. Tel: (0793) 26780 Mon.-Fri: Saturday:
9.00-10.00am. 6.00-11.00am.
2.00-3.00pm.
5.30-6.30pm.
24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE TEL: (0793) 26780 Now open at Cavendish Square. Tel: 511267 GAS FIRES AND STOVES
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• Gas log/coal effect fires • Gas fire convector boxes • Gas stoves Visit our Showroom open all day Saturday Heating Systems Limited, Unit 14, Orbit Centre, West Swindon. Tel: 612060.
JADAM PATIOS Do you want a patio laid? Or just a few slabs laid? Then contact Adam Poole on SWINDON 813705 For a professional, friendly service and a competitive quote. Light building work also undertaken.
Al HANDIHIRE
by Claire Winter months are a depressing time; short days filled with rain clouds and dismal damp. What we want in the garden in these months is something that will look good through all the dreary days and look positively exciting on one of those ice-bright sunlit mornings. Two plant species you may not have come across before and fulfill this role admirably are Mahonias and Viburnums. Both these have varieties that are evergreen and start flowering in November. Mahonias look like a variation of holly, but their leaves are made up of a long rib with pairs of prickly leaflets arranged up to the tip. Each leaf is about 12-18 inches and forms part ofarosette that has had its centre pulled upward. This makes the Mahonia rather a domineering plant with a solid, prickly presence; an imposing feature near (but not too near) a house entrance. It is magnificent when the flowers come out. These are primrose yellow and in the varieties 'Charity', 'Lionel Fortescue' and 'Buckland' appear on a sheaf of stem rising from the top rosettes of leaves. In Mahonia japonica the flowers are more loosely spaced on stems that spray out from the rosettes more gently. This is a plant that can be pruned
TOOL AND PLANT HIRE FOR PROFESSIONAL OR D.I.Y. CONCRETE BREAKERS DRILLS CONCRETE EQUIPMENT GRINDERS CAR MAINTENANCE CUTTERS WOODWORK DECORATING EQUIPMENT GENERATORS TRANSFORMERS LIGHTING HEATERS GARDENING COMPACTORS LADDERS DELIVERY AND COLLECTION SERVICE
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EASY PARKING
MON-FRI. 8am - 6pm; SAT. 8am - 5pm Unit 8, Marlborough Road, Ind. Est. Wootton Bassett. Telephone: Swindon 854821
WARM GLOW With winter weather getting a grip there's nothing like having a real fire to provide warmth in the home. Many houses in West Swindon do not have fire places or chimneys but Heating Systems Ltd. at the Orbit Centre, do not see this as a problem. Modern gas effect fires give all the benefits of a real fire. External chimneys can he built easily or the fires can he fitted into existing fire-places. Bob and Sue Penfold at Heating Systems will he pleased to advise you. Telephone 612060.
Beaton to a smaller size, but should be allowed 6ft x 4ft to do itself justice. Viburnum tinus does not have the prickles at all; to the relief of many gardeners! This plant is completely hardy and will grow in the most rubble-filled, unpromising builders spoil tip sold to you as a garden. Left to itself it grows into a gently rounded bush of about 5ft x 5ft that is covered in heads of pink budded and white flowers from November. The leaves are a dark leaden green; which is why it is often overlooked in garden centres. This can be an asset if you are using it as a boundary shrub, to be a background to spring bulbs and summer bedding. But if you want year-round high visibility performance, you can buy a variegated-leaf cultivar. There are mahonias planted around the 'Link' centre and a winter stroll from there along the Westlea Cycle path onto the newly planted areas around Lower Shaw Farm will display more ideas for planning and planting winter colour.
MAKING THE GARDEN READY FOR WINTER by David Greetham The West Swindon Gardening Club last meeting was held on 5th October when members viewed slides and heard a talk on the history and development of modern roses by Tom Sandays. The next meeting will take place on 2nd November at 8.00 p.m. in the Community Suite at the Link Centre. We will hear a talk on 'Clearing up the garden for winter' by the proprietor of Greatfield Nurseries. For more information on the Gardening Club, contact David Greetham, 57 Rowton Heath Way, Freshbrook.
FITTING YOUR OWN KITCHEN? YOU COULD SAVE A MASSIVE
35% DURING NOVEMBER & DECEMBER COME & SEE US —WE'LL TELL YOU MORE
GREAT WESTERN KITCHENS Tel: SWINDON 618139 (Turn Off the Great Western Way at Dick Lovett's BMW Centre)
Unit 3, The Orbit Centre, Ashworth Road, Bridgemead, Swindon.
