I work in a nursery in fairly rural location... picture the scene; I get a call to help a lady with an
enquiry. The lady is looking for a climber for a north facing wall.
Already the lady has found the evergreen climbing Hydrangea seemanii
(which would be one of my suggestions) so this looks straightforward.
It is then that the customer announces that the north wall is on a
house 800m above sea level in the south west of France!
Initially I was quite taken aback- why
ask for this kind of advice in a small nursery in a different
country?! After a few seconds contemplation the realisation kicked in
that this customer was waiting for an answer.
Somehow I managed not to look flustered
at this unusual enquiry, and quite rightly so as this enquiry was
actually no different from any other that I might answer during the
course of the day. Every garden is different, and the growing
conditions can vary even on opposite sides of a wall or fence, so
asking questions is an important part of making sure that the advice
you give to customers is the best possible. There are, however,
difficulties when a gardener doesn't actually know what their
conditions are... especially when the garden is in a different
country! Still, advice was given, and the customer left happy.
All in a day's work.
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