SOLSTICE HORTICULTURE AND PLANTING DESIGN
​
Creating sustainable garden, community and allotment environments.
Solstice Horticulture and Planting Design offers a comprehensive service tailored to your horticultural needs . We specialize in individual or community group mentoring and can offer a wide range of horticultural advice for new and experienced home gardeners, community groups or allotment owners.
ABOUT
Solstice Horticulture takes a gradual and holistic approach with the view that the advice, guidance and mentoring given will provide a strong basis to enable home gardeners, community groups and allotment owners to develop and maintain their green space.
Solstice Horticulture aims to provide customers with the know-how and confidence to design, grow and propagate plants, and to establish a natural, sustainable green space.
​
Solstice Horticulture is owned by Penny Wright who has been working in the green collar industry for over 20 years both here and in the United States. After moving to the USA she became involved in community gardening projects as a way to meet new people and she discovered her love of plants.
Rather than return to her nursing career she embarked on her horticultural journey fitting in horticultural work and courses around family life. She has worked in various roles within the horticultural field including landscaper, garden designer, landscape crew supervisor ,educator and in retail.
After moving back to the UK Penny embarked on a degree program at SRUC Edinburgh and after two years she joined the staff at the Edinburgh campus as a Horticultural technician/instructor where she continued to study for her degree which she obtained in 2015.
Penny is interested in sustainable practices within the green collar industry, particularly with the use and design of native plants juxtaposed with non-native plants to create diverse planting scheme.
Penny has a passion for composting!
SERVICES
Solstice Horticulture and Design provides a comprehensive range of services . Services include
Education and Tutorials
Advice
Mentoring
Workshops
Garden Design
Planting Design
Composting
Vegetable growing
Propagation
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Maintenance and Management Plans
PORTFOLIO
ANNUALS
Ammi visnaga
Cosmos sulphureus 'Cosmic Orange'
​
SEASONALÂ VEG
Cucurbita pepo 'HOOLIGAN'
PERENNIALS
Sanguisorba canadensis
Verbena bonariensis
Phlox paniculata'David'
Solstice Horticulture and Design can provide the knowledge and expertise to get you or your group started on your horticultural journey.
HELP AND ADVICE
COMPOST
​
Compost is a product made from the controlled microbial decomposition of organic wastes. Performed under aerobic conditions (the presence of oxygen). Varying temperatures are generated by the microbial activity in the active pile and allows the microbial consortia to decompose the waste at different times in the decomposition process.
Composts have value as sources of plant nutrients and organic matter. Although compost can provide significant amounts of nutrients, they are generally used as an ameliorant to improve the structure of the soil such as breaking up compacted or clay soil and increasing the water holding capacity of the soil.
Aerated Compost Tea (ACT) is a liquid amelioration made from a microbial starter that consists primarily of our everyday green waste compost that we make at home or on our community gardens/allotments. It has the same characteristics as compost but for large scale, difficult to access sites and urban landscapes application is much easier than bulk compost. ACT can also be used as a foliar spray for problems such as powdery mildew.
Non aerated compost teas such as Comfrey and Nettle tea are beneficial but lack some of the characteristics of bulk compost and ACT.
Compost is the best material available to enliven your soil no matter where you live. Healthier soil grows healthier plants that naturally resist disease, insects, and other environmental pressures. Adding compost to your garden is a long-term investment - it becomes a permanent part of the soil structure, helping to feed future plantings in years to come.
Compost is one of nature's best mulches and soil amendments, and you can use it instead of commercial fertilizers. Best of all, compost is cheap.
Using compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration and increases the soil's water-holding capacity. Compost loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. Adding compost improves soil fertility and stimulates healthy root development in plants. The organic matter provided in compost provides food for microorganisms, which keeps the soil in a healthy, balanced condition. Macro-nutrients such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) will be produced naturally, so few if any synthetic soil amendments will needed.
Aerated Compost Tea (ACT) is a liquid amelioration made from a microbial starter that consists primarily of our everyday green waste compost that we make at home or on our community gardens/allotments. It has the same characteristics as compost but for large scale, difficult to access sites and urban landscapes application is much easier than bulk compost. ACT can also be used as a foliar spray for problems such as powdery mildew. Non aerated compost teas (NCT) such as comfrey nettle and compost are beneficial but lack some of the characteristics of bulk compost and ACT
Most gardeners have long understood the value of this rich, dark, earthy material in improving the soil and creating a healthful environment for plants. Don't throw away materials when you can use them to improve your lawn and garden! Start composting instead.
