Notcutts, Cambridge What's On May 2008 - June 2008 For a full programme of events throughout the year pick up a What"s On leaflet from the garden centre now. 2008 Charity We are delighted to announce that Guide Dogs for the Blind is our company charity for 2008, look out for fund-raising events at the centre throughout the year. Meet the Expert – Sunday 11th May – 10.30am to 4.30pm Garden writer, Gareth Salter, will be in the garden centre to give gardening advice and talks with a Cottage Gardens theme. Look Out for Wildlife – Friday 30th May – 10.30am to 4.30pm Celebrate with Notcutts the wonderful wildlife that can be found in the English countryside and our gardens. Lots of wildlife fun in the garden centre including Kate and her Mini Monster Creepy Crawlie Road Show, birds of prey and other wildlife organisations. We will also be celebrating 40 years of Butterfly Conservation. Join in our special butterfly hunt around the garden centre and claim your common garden butterfly ID sheet. Meet the Expert - Saturday 31st May – 10.30am to 4.30pm Garden writer, Gareth Salter, will be in the garden centre to show you how to make the most of your hanging baskets and containers Look Out for Wildlife Calling all children – enter Notcutts Wildlife competition for your chance to win a Bird Box Camera for your school and £50 in wildlife products for you. All you have to do is to paint or draw pictures of wildlife and bring them into the garden centre to be displayed. The winner will be announced at the end of May.

News May 2008 - June 2008 BEETROOT JUICE SALES SOAR Sales of beetroot juice, both in the restaurant and shop, are soaring at Notcutts since the media reported that drinking 500ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce blood pressure. “We realised that we were constantly replenishing stocks of James White Beetroot Juice,” says Paul Hart, garden centre manager. “James White juices always sell well but we were surprised that we were ordering far more of the beetroot variety and the reason is that people have discovered that it helps to cut blood pressure. “The key beneficial ingredient appears to be nitrate, which is also found in green, leafy vegetables,” continues Paul. “We are finding that more and more customers want to grow their own vegetables, whether it be in containers, their gardens or on allotments, that we have significantly increased our kitchen garden range to meet that demand. Some people don’t like germinating their own seeds, some people want just a few plants and others lose seedlings to the elements or pests and so they come into the garden centre to buy established plants in the kitchen garden range. Coupled with the huge range of seeds we stock, there is something for the novice to the most experienced vegetable grower.” “Beetroot is so easy to grow and now is the time to plant it. There are so many delicious recipes you can create using beetroot, but if you don’t want to grow them yourselves then the garden centre has beetroot juice,” says Paul. Researchers discovered that in healthy volunteers blood pressure was reduced within an hour of drinking the juice. The study, by Barts and The London School of Medicine and the Peninsula Medical School, could suggest a low-cost way to treat hypertension. Previously, the protective effects of vegetable-rich diets have been attributed to their antioxidant vitamin content. Professor Amrita Ahluwalia of Barts and The London School of Medicine says, “Drinking beetroot juice, or consuming other nitrate-rich vegetables, might be a simple way to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.” (source BBC news website). Image by Mike Hammett WATCH THE BIRDIE – WIN A CAMERA For a chance to win a Bird Box Camera for their school and £50 worth of wildlife products for themselves, children can enter Notcutts ‘Look Out for Wildlife’ competition. All children have to do is to paint or draw pictures of wildlife and bring them into the garden centre to be displayed. The winner will be announced at the end of May and children can visit the garden centre in half term to see the pictures entered into the competition. On Friday, 30th May, from 10.30am to 4.30pm, the garden centre is organising a free wildlife day when Kate and her Mini Monsters Road Show and CJ’s fascinating birds of prey will be in the garden centre, along with other wildlife organisations, for Notcutts’ ‘Look Out for Wildlife’ event. The Guide Dogs for The Blind Association, will be visiting the garden centre. There will be lots of free to enter competitions with some great prizes to be won including an exclusive family outing to the Guide Dogs breeding establishment. As The Guide Dogs for The Blind Association is Notcutts chosen charity this year there will be a special wildlife treasure hunt map at £1 a go (proceeds to Guide Dogs) with the prize being the exclusive family visit. “As our customers, and particularly children, are very interested in wildlife we often organise wildlife days in school holidays,” says garden centre manager, Paul Hart. “There was so much interest in the bird box cameras last year, with some of the garden centres actually having nests in their boxes, that we thought it would make an excellent prize for schools. The bird box camera is just one of 460 wildlife products we stock, so there’s something for everyone.” NOTCUTTS CHOOSE GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND AS THEIR 2008 CHARITY Notcutts has chosen Guide Dogs for The Blind Association as their 2008 charity. Guide Dogs will benefit from fundraising at the garden centre, plus they will also be the principal benefactors from Notcutts popular ‘All About Dogs Day’, hosted by TV’s Peter Purves, which includes Scruffts heats, the Kennel Clubs popular crossbreed competition. ‘All About Dogs Day’ will be held at the garden centre on Thursday 7th August. February half term will see the official launch of the fundraising with Guide Dog puppies, their handlers and GDBA volunteers in the garden centre talking to customers about the organisation and its work on Wednesday 13th February from 10.30am to 4.30pm. On the same day Notcutts will be holding their ‘Stars in Your Pets Eyes’ competition, which is being run to encourage good ownership of guinea pigs and rabbits. Ring Notcutts pet centre on 01223 860320 to find out more. “For the past couple of years Notcutts has worked with Guide Dogs building up very successful All About Dogs Days,” says garden centre manager, Paul Hart. “The organisation was so professional and supportive at these events that we all voted to work with them in 2008 and extend our support to fundraising across the group. “It’s great to be holding another All About Dogs Day, which includes Scruffts heats, plus celebrity dogs Wellard and Terrence from East Enders will be here. Last year winning dogs from the Scruffts heats at Notcutts in Cambridge, Norwich and Oxford went on to Discover Dogs at Earls Court and won three out of the four Scruffts categories and one was overall champion,” continued Paul.

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