And now the end is here

So here we go...

 

After 10 years of service to my company, a nursery in Cornwall that cannot be named for contractual reasons, today is my last day. Today will be a day of great sadness as I say goodbye to many of the people I've shared hardships and met challenges with over the years.

It's funny how patterns emerge; it cannot be a coincidence that I know other people who are leaving similar organisations, similar that while we work in horticulture we are owned or run by non-horticultural businesses or organisations. Parks, historic properties, gardens... it seems that good horticulturists are leaving these places in droves. Although I am being made redundant in a restructuring of the business by the parent company, others seem to be saying that they're sick of being treated as second rate.

It must be hard for accountants and businessmen to deal with horticulture, and to deal with those who take great pride in doing what boardroom directors would no doubt refer to as 'menial work'. The idea that there are people around the UK who would rather dig a hole in the rain than work in an office must be such an alien concept for people conditioned to sit behind desks and look at computer screens all day. Nonetheless we're here, out in all weathers, doing what we do best.

To everyone out there changing jobs/paths now I wish you good luck. There are people out there who value our skills, abilities and passions; we just have to find them.

Www.penandtrowel.co.uk

www.bensbotanics.co.uk

Cultivating Camellias

Camellias are very rewarding plants to grow. Being evergreen they can provide either structure in the garden itself or an excellent boundary, providing privacy from neighbours or deflecting winds in exposed areas. The dark green leaves of most Camellias make the perfect backdrop for other plants in the garden, and as most Camellias flower in spring they extend the season of interest.

Worth every care and effort... C. 'Rainbow' (autumn)

To get the best from your Camellias you must first understand a few basic rules of thumb. All Camellias need neutral to acid soil (pH of 7 or below), none will tolerate lime. Most Camellias prefer shade, although in areas with cool damp summers (such as Cornwall, west Devon, the south of Wales) they will grow happily in full sun. No Camellias like extremes of wet or dry soils; a light, humus rich, moisture retentive soil is perfect. Most Camellias in cultivation are reliably hardy in most of the UK, but their roots aren't as hardy as their tops, so bear this in mind if you want to grow them in pots (make sure the pots can't freeze). In pots Camellias can be grown in ericaceous compost, preferably something heavy like an ericaceous 'John Innes' mix; don't over-pot them when they're small, and bear in mind that one day they will probably outgrow the pots you have chosen for them, at which point they will need planting out. You can feed potted Camellias with an ericaceous feed, but in the ground an annual mulch of good compost (not mushroom compost which contains lime!) or well rotted manure would be better. A mulch will help to conserve moisture as well as improving the all important soil structure.

Camellia flower buds tend to be produced in July/August, and then they swell up for winter before opening in spring. While the plant is producing buds it is particularly sensitive to drought, so make sure your plant doesn't get too dry at this crucial point in the year, especially in pots. The reputation that Camellias aren't completely hardy comes from the fact that their flowers can be damaged after frosts. To avoid damage to flowers make sure your Camellia is shaded from direct morning sunshine during the winter, where the rapid warming of frozen buds by the sun causes damage. Allow your Camellia's flower buds to defrost slowly and they are usually OK. Hard frosts will often damage open flowers, but this is the price we all pay when we grow early flowering plants. 'Camellia flower blight' is a fungal problem that causes blotching on the flowers- rake up dropped flowers and pick damaged flowers off the plant and you should be able to keep this problem at bay. To avoid spreading fungal spores you must not compost Camellia flowers.

Just beautiful! Camellia 'Desire' (spring)

Camellias can be pruned after flowering. Usually removing unwanted shoots or pinching back the tips of shoots to encourage bushiness will be sufficient, but occasionally more severe pruning may be needed. If you need to severely prune your Camellia then I would personally recommend doing so after frosts have passed; this will probably interfere with the flowering for that spring, but it would at least allow the plant plenty of time to break from old wood, grow shoots and then allow those new shoots to ripen before winter.

Camellias are extraordinarily diverse in terms of colour, flower type and season. Broadly speaking most varieties fall into one of three main groups.

Camellia japonica

The C. japonica varieties are by far the most diverse, ranging from varieties with single flowers right through to very complex doubles, and with colours from white through to dark red. Most varieties I'm aware of have fairly large leaves, and all C. japonica varieties (to my knowledge) flower in spring.

Camellia x williamsii

This group are all derived from crossing Camellia saluensis and C. japonica. Typically C. x williamsii varieties produce prolific clusters of flowers, and often flower from a young age. Most C. x williamsii varieties seem to be pink, although a couple are white and one ('Jury's Yellow') is a creamy yellow colour. Some people prefer C. x williamsii cultivars because they drop their spent flowers, but to be honest I've never really noticed C. japonica holding onto its spent flowers for any length of time. There is a lot greater diversity of flower types and colours in C. japonica. With only one exception to my knowledge ('November Pink') all C. x williamsii varieties flower in spring.

Camellia sasanqua

Although Camellias are often thought of as exclusively spring flowering plants, autumn flowering varieties are becoming increasingly popular. By far the best known of the autumn flowering Camellias must be the varieties of C. sasanqua. Many of these varieties are richly scented, and the scent will carry well in a warm and sheltered garden. C. sasanqua varieties are believed to need a warm and sunny spot in the garden for the stems to ripen and flower; this might be true, but they might need that warm and sheltered spot so that they can have a longer growing season to set flower buds. As a general rule the autumn flowering Camellias are a lot more sensitive to feed than spring flowering varieties.

There are thousands upon thousands of varieties of Camellia known in cultivation, but you can view some of the varieties that have caught my attention here on my Pinterest board.

Decisions made

I've not traditionally been a fan of 'taking the plunge', but sometimes life takes an unexpected turn and new options appear for the first time; they do say that when one door closes another opens....

This is my situation at the moment; one door has closed, I am at a crossroads, 'times they are a-changing'. The day I was told that I was to be made redundant by my employer I felt as though my world had been taken from me, but as time has moved on I have come to see this new part of my life as a great opportunity. I've worked for my soon to be former employer for 10 years, and through that time I have faced and overcome great challenges and built up my reputation for competence and knowledge. My 'online persona', Ben's Botanics, has allowed me to indulge my passion for horticulture and plantsmanship outside the confines set by my employer and develop my skills further than simply working for a nursery would allow.

Rare and interesting plants like Brillantaisia subulugurica are still my first love

My future still very much lies in horticulture; instead of simply working for someone else again I am heading out on my own, converting my redundancy payment into machinery and tools, and becoming a self-employed gardener and consultant.

Sometimes the future is dark and scary, sometimes bright and exciting. Those around me have great faith in my abilities and I am determined not to let anyone down, not least myself. On the 7^th of November I will leave my employer's nursery for the very last time and will, I hope, embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

When is a Geranium not a Geranium?

Geraniums and Pelargoniums are both very closely related; both are in the Geranium family (Geranianceae), with some species of Geranium having leaves superficially like those of Pelargonium, and some Pelargoniums dying back for winter like Geraniums. There is sometimes a degree of confusion between the two genera... add the fact that 'geranium' is often still used as a common name for Pelargonium and things can get tricky!

In flower the two are usually easy to tell apart; Geranium flowers have several planes of symmetry (they are 'actinomorphic') while Pelargonium flowers only have one ('zygomorphic'). Let's take for our example probably the best known Geranium of modern times, Geranium 'Rozanne'.

 

Although the leaves of Geranium 'Rozanne' look similar to many Pelargoniums you can see that the flower can be divided symmetrically several times, as below.

Now let's compare this with a Pelargonium flower, using Pelargonium 'Lemon Fancy' as our example.

As you can see, the flower of this Pelargonium can only be divided symmetrically once, as shown below.

Of course sometimes plants like to make life difficult; below is Pelargonium 'Paton's Unique', a variety of Pelargonium with several planes of symmetry (an actinomorphic flower)...

...while Pelargonium 'Appleblossom Rosebud' is just trying to be awkward!

It doesn't matter how much these modern varieties of Pelargonium break away from the typical zygomorphic flowers of Pelargonium species their lineage can still be traced back to 'proper' Pelargonium flowers, keeping them firmly and unmistakably in the genus Pelargonium.

So now you know.

A new direction

Well after 10 years with my employer it is time to move on....

In some ways the decision about which direction to take now is easy; my passion for horticulture is so deeply ingrained in me that I can't really think of anything else I'd want to do! With horticulture being such a diverse industry there are still enough directions to keep me wondering which direction to take.

I've worked directly and indirectly in horticultural retail for 11 years, firstly as part of a team trying to turn a struggling garden centre's plant area from a tired loss making space into a healthy and profitable one, then for the last 10 years as part of a production team that has also been heavily involved in retail. I enjoy selling plants and tackling the multitude of problems that gardeners bring to my attention, so I could see myself working in retail in the future. Similarly I've enjoyed working in plant production; taking a young plant and nurturing it up to become a good strong garden plant is immensely satisfying and I'm good at it!

Growing plants and dealing with problems, such as pests and diseases as well as cultivation issues, would I think make me useful in a garden too. Even though I've not yet worked full time as a professional gardener I have always grown plants at home and I have a wide range of gardening skills. Yes there are things that I might be rusty on (I've not yet tackled topiary or a giant hedge!) but my love of gardening and belief in the importance of good horticulture means that I'm very keen to get experience and learn to get it right.

Over the years I have built up a diverse knowledge of horticulture, and I hope that this will be of use to future employers, even though I lack the paper qualifications to 'prove' it. I believe that being self taught has given me some advantage in that I have come to rely on myself for my horticultural learning, and because I find learning about horticulture so much fun I enjoy finding out new things, so I'm continually expanding my knowledge and keeping it fresh.

I also really enjoy writing about horticulture and plants. I've enjoyed building my website and also have a lively Twitter and Facebook account, and a fledgling Pinterest account too! You can read my articles here on my Pots and Polytunnels blog, and even a bit more about my journey into horticulture so far here. If you have a copy of 'How To Grow A Gardener', published by the Old Horts Network, you can read a bit more about the work I've been doing on pages 35-39.

So now I find myself looking for a new job. Although I've worked in retail and production horticulture for 11 years part of me would be interested in working in a garden. What concerns me at the moment with finding a job is the timing; I will be leaving my company on the 7^th of November 2014, but this is not the time of my choosing. I would like to make it clear though that I am leaving my employer at this time of year due to a company restructuring and not because I've been naughty!

If you would like to get in touch, maybe if you might be interested in me joining your organisation, you can email me at mail @ bensbotanics.co.uk.

Please note that I have signed an undertaking of confidentiality with my employer and will not be able to enter into any detail about their activities in the public domain, nor will I be able to comment on anything that does not directly affect me or my work at interview. Please bear this in mind if you already know where I work; this is a difficult time for me anyway, and I can't afford to get into trouble with my boss!

Hort. Retail: Deliberately losing a customer

The recession has made life very difficult for businesses. As people draw in their spending they have created a climate where companies have to be incredibly sharp and competitive to earn their money, with incentives such as attractive payment options (as seen in car sales), free fitting/assembly (as offered by a garden centre near me on garden furniture), and even the offer of a cuddly toy from a broker's website for buying something from another company (as seen on a certain Meerkat-centric insurance broker's website)!

Businesses are going all out to attract their customers, and each sale is vital... but is it OK to actually deliberately lose a sale? In horticultural retail the answer maybe yes. There's no doubt that horticultural businesses are feeling the squeeze just the same as every other industry, but we are a bit different. Horticultural retail is a combination of product and advice, whether advice on the label or advice delivered face to face, and the customer is buying both. Customers value good honest advice from people who know a lot about horticulture in general as well as about their products. Sometimes customers enter into lengthy conversations with staff, wanting to know everything there is to know about a plant or a gardening issue important to them, while others just want a brief synoptic answer. But is it appropriate for an employee to actually deliberately lose a sale?

The quality of any horticultural advice is matching the knowledge of the advisor with the needs or problem of the customer. If a customer has heavy soil the advisor will have to be knowledgeable about plants for heavy soils, and if a gardener is trying to grow plants in an exposed coastal garden the advisor will have to understand the problems they face and the plants that will meet their requirements. Giving bad advice is not good.

Let's take a scenario- a customer wants a tree for a specific place. The staff member has a choice of just four trees; one will grow too big, one will grow too small, one won't tolerate the soil conditions and the other won't take the wind. Here the staff member has to make a decision; find the best matching tree to suit the customer's requirements or tell the customer that there are no suitable trees in stock, maybe asking them to come back another time. If the customer is told that the four trees are unsuitable then the staff member has lost the sale and the customer will leave without buying a tree, but what happens with the 'best fit' tree?

'Crab Apples' are great for many gardens, but not all

The first thing a lot of customers do when they get home is to look up their new plants in their books or online. This process allows them to find more information, and possibly reassure themselves that they've bought the right thing. If a customer's source of information tells them that their new plant will grow too big or will be wrong in another way then they won't be happy! Similarly if the customer just plants their plant and then it gets damaged or doesn't grow how they wanted it to then they will be disappointed or even angry.

Let's take the other side of the coin. The customer who has left without a tree may be frustrated that they can't get planting right away, but at least they haven't been coaxed into buying the wrong thing. When buying a plant a customer makes a connection with the business they are dealing with; they are relying on that business' integrity and the quality of the advice given, and if they are happy that the advice they are given has been sound then they will think positively about the business in the future.

The customer who has bought their tree but been given bad advice will have a bad impression of the business they bought it from, whereas the customer given good and honest advice without being forced into buying the wrong thing will feel positive about the retailer and is more likely to make another visit. Subsequent visits with good advice and a high quality of care will cement that customer's impression of the business and its employees, making them much more likely to become ambassadors for the business in the future.

Yes, there is a risk that the customer who has left without their tree will buy elsewhere and won't come back again, but the risks of losing a customer through good customer service are much lower than losing a customer through bad service.

How To Grow A Gardener

So after months of preparation and waiting the new book from the Old Horts, 'How To Grow A Gardener', is out! It's hoped that the experiences of the 25 contributors, each passionate about horticulture, will inspire others to join take up this exciting career.

The contributors are a diverse bunch, working in all sorts of businesses from a nursery to a public garden, from domestic horticulture to social horticulture, and some are self employed. The diversity of the accounts in this book give it the edge on other books about horticulture, which tend to concentrate on one particular theme, because this is a book compiled from the personal experiences of many different people rather than being focussed on one person (as you see in celebrity written gardening books), and also this book embraces the diversity of practical horticulture. It is a shame that nobody working in horticultural science wrote a piece, and neither did anyone from the horticultural media, but maybe this just reflects how diverse horticulture actually is; 25 different people have told their stories and yet there is no repetition.

There are however certain themes the recur in the writing; every writer is enthusiastic and loves what they do, and many regret not coming to horticulture earlier in their lives. With horticulture still sadly seen as being a lower end career path the latter theme will continue to blight the industry, simply too few young people are seeing the appeal of working with gardens and plants.

Great thanks must go to the editors/collators of this book, Andrew and Debbi Bentley, who have worked hard behind the scenes to generate interest in this project, to edit the book and, presumably, who have had to pay the printers before the book has even been released! Also thanks is due to those who contributed and told their stories. Personally I found writing my piece to be a fun process, and I hope to contribute to any future publications.

'How To Grow A Gardener' is currently only available from the Old Horts network, and is priced at £8 plus £3 P&P (please remember to add the P&P at the checkout). 

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