Articles

I hoped that it would happen at the beginning of March, but it was actually early April when our new toilets fi rstopened. We have opened the Ladies and Disabled toilets, Gents yours are going where the existing toilets are, so you will have to wait a while longer for your shiny new conveniences! This project has been one of the most drawn out that we have completed, mainly due to not being able to close the existing facilities, it has also cost a small fortune, much more than I ever anticipated, but the results are fantastic.

Myself and the staff will now be proud to direct customers to the toilets rather than pointing and cringing. The automatic taps and lights that switch off to save energy may catch out a few people, but we are really pleased with the results and look forward to the Gents being up to scratch as soon as possible.

Here at the Nursery, May is the busiest month for despatching plants to the Garden Centre; now that we have separated out our growing and retailing areas, we need our Nursery to supply the Garden Centre in the same way that other nurseries do, the main difference is that our nursery plants are delivered to our Garden Centre on a trolley using manpower, whereas other nurseries supply us using big smelly lorries. In some ways it is a shame that our Nursery is now hidden from public view; in the past, when we were a retail nursery, customers have been able to select their plants from the growing areas, which was a very ‘earthy’ experience. However, this experience also involved hosepipes, trolleys, forklifts and probably Dad throwing around a few chemicals, certainly enough to make even the most sceptical H&S person shudder. Now things are a lot more orderly and, hopefully, safe but we do struggle sometimes to get the message across that we grow our own plants.

This year we will have some ‘Tripod Geraniums’ on sale that we have grown here; these are slightly more vigorous varieties trained up a tripod frame, hopefully they will have reached about a metre high and be really bushy with lots of fl ower on when they are sold. We have also grown several new varieties of Heuchera, a stunning ground cover plant with shades of foliage colour from amber through to deep purple; these really are one of the most versatile plants that we grow, equally at home in the garden or in containers.

The Queen’s Jubilee has given us a slight headache in how to deal with it; personally, I think it is a fantastic reason for a celebration, but how do we mark it in the Garden Centre? We will be growing a higher proportion of red, white and blue bedding plants this year, but what could be a better way to mark such an event than to plant a tree or shrub that will be around for years to come? There is a fragrant yellow hybrid tea rose called ‘Diamond Jubilee’, an old English rose called Jubilee Celebration and a real old favourite called Queen Elizabeth.

If you are not a lover of Roses, then there are several other suitable plants for the occasion: Hostas and Dahlias called ‘Diamond Jubilee’. Tania and I agreed (I think it may have been either peer pressure or alcohol induced) to take part in ‘Tough Mudder’ that is being held at Boughton House in May. 13 miles and 25 army style obstacles between the start and fi nish, I am hoping that Vivi may let me write about our experience in the next issue.

We are all raising money for Help for Heroes and Cancer Research, so please visit our fundraising page at https://www.justgiving.com/teams/madasfools to donate. (Yes, Mad as Fools really is our team name!)

BOSWORTH’S Nurseries & Garden Centre
01536 722635
Only minutes from J10 off the A14 and midway between Kettering and Wellingborough

OPEN: Mon-Sat: 9am - 6pm
Sun: 10am - 5pm • Disabled Access

All Credit Cards Accepted

NOT JUST A GARDEN CENTRE