Hello Everyone!
Well, here we go again with another season. This year will be my eighth running the nursery, since taking it on from John, who retired in 2016. I can hardly believe where the time has gone!
As some of you will know, last year was the worst year of my life. I had a run of particularly bad luck which started with nursery access issues that went on for over six weeks, right at the busiest time of year for us. This was caused by some very unhelpful people and essentially made my life a living hell at that time.
Then a week or so after all that came to an end, both Chris & I contracted a severe variant of COVID, which knocked her out for fourteen days and knocked me out for ten. We were very lucky that Jenny was unaffected because we were all together the day that Chris found she was positive. This happened at the hottest part of the year and I had to rely on Jenny to water (she wouldn't normally) at a time when she was trying to rehearse for her choir performance at the Commonwealth Games.
Then within a few days of me recovering from COVID, my van got written off whilst it was parked up outside my house. This situation is still ongoing and I remain significantly out of pocket.
So after eight months of stress, I am sincerely hoping that this year goes smoothly! Famous last words, I know, but it certainly can't get much worse than 2022!
I had tried to start a video series on YouTube last year, which aimed to focus in on some of the different types of Geraniums and where they can be used. Obviously this came to an abrupt halt with everything that happened, but I hope to continue it this year when things start growing again.
One thing I should mention is that I decided not to put a catalogue out this year, for the first time. It was a difficult decision and I haven't totally ruled out bringing it back in 2024 but I felt it was the way to go. The vast majority of our customers now order online and since the launch of the new website at the end of 2021, I can now give so much more information on each plant, including more pictures, than I ever could in the catalogue.
The catalogue is also a very expensive thing to put out, and so I hope that going purely online will help us to keep our prices as low as possible, at a time when this really matters!
So onward and upward! Myself, Jenny and Chris would like to wish you all a very happy, healthy and successful 2023, and we look forward to doing business with you.
If you have any questions about anything, please get in touch. I respond quickest to emails, but you can also find my contact number on the 'Contact Us' page.