With a garden packed with flowers, the right plant food was always high on my radar. Little did I realise, back in September 2016, that a relatively chance encounter with the web editor of the Richard Jackson Garden website would lead to Richard actually visiting the garden and very generously agreeing to supply me with some Flower Power to see its impact on an already pretty floriferous plot! The rest, so they say, is history.
Generous sponsor
Up to that point, I had been using another, pretty well-known, product which, I have to say I was extremely pleased with! At the time, I had been seeking a sponsor for a garden trail I had been organising for some years for Macmillan Cancer Support. I had approached the product manufacturer to ask if they would act as a sponsor, in exchange for my telling all my visitors, about 15,000 at that point, how good their product was! I was extremely disappointed in their response and hence was looking to change what feed I was using. Enter Richard and his generous offer!
The Flower Power Effect
My first year of using Flower Power was 2017, back when the garden was very different from how it looks today, 7 years on! The containers around the central steps took on a new look with the impact of the feed (see main pic) and that same effect was created across the whole garden for visitors to see.
Fast forward to the present day and my views on Flower Power have not diminished in any way, if anything they have grown. For me, opening my garden to the public each summer means that I endeavour to get it looking its very best at all times. By close of play in 2023 we had seen almost 23,000 visitors, quite a few of whom I suspect are now users of Flower Power.
Lindy gave the garden 5 stars and said on Trip Advisor back in July 2023, “Can’t praise enough this fabulous garden – so colourful and quirky”. An Eastbourne visitor said in July 2022, “Wow what Pizzazz! A sensational gardening experience. If you don’t go to any garden you have to visit Driftwood. The flowers, the carefully thought out planting, and more.”
Feeding regime
So many visitors comment on the beauty of the planting and the incredible colour! Over the years, I have always opted to feed everything in the garden. So, whether that be a small shrub in the ground, plants growing in containers or the many perennials in the garden, they all get the very same treatment through the summer months.
Even my vast collection of succulents get fed too when the compost dries out. The results are simply spectacular as you can see. I suppose one of the key questions asked by the vast majority of my visitors, is what do I use to feed the garden. It never ceases to amaze me how many have not previously heard of the product but soon become acquainted with it. I’ve had visitors return the following year and proudly say that they bought some on my recommendation and have been equally thrilled with the results in their own garden.
In my experience, the biggest surprise to most visitors is that they are so impressed with both the quality and the health of the planting throughout the garden. I’d have to stay that, hot on the heels of my personal efforts, Flower Power plays a significant role in that too.
One of the key benefits of using Flower Power is its ease of application. Simply open up the tubs and away you go. I have two 14 litre watering cans and just add 3 scoops, using the provided 5g measuring scoop, to each can, give it a good stir and away I go! I must have walked miles over the years nurturing all my treasured plants.
That said, I also make use of the product on all my houseplants too. I’ve probably got a collection of over 75 pots in the house and they all seem to love Flower Power too, a couple of times a year.
Overall, I probably get through 6 tubs on average each year, as I like to feed the garden every 10 days or so from April through to early October. This has actually decreased over the years. Prior to 2021, when I made drastic changes to the garden design to allow for my advancing years and climate change, I had in excess of 300 containers, many brimming with summer annuals. Now I’m probably down to about 100 which means a little less effort and a bit less product needed.
I’m certainly glad that I discovered Flower Power and have no regrets I made the swap! I actually think its results are better than what I was using before! Thank you, Richard Jackson! Trust me, if you love your garden as much as I do, you need to buy some Flower Power.