Quiet Crisis

The question of how to encourage people to get gardening has been around for decades. There was a time when maintaining a garden (even if it was just a lawn with an island bed, or a lawn surrounded by thin borders) was just another part of life. Nowadays gardening is just another thing that competes for people's time, with competition from shopping (including the modern phenomenon of 'recreational shopping'), watching sport on TV, socialising and many other things that people do with their time. Pottering about in the garden has become something only dedicated hobbyist gardeners do in their spare time, not a national pastime. Furthermore, with people trying to cram more and more into their own time, gardening has become for many a chore that needs doing before they can go and do something they want to do.

As it became clear that homeowners were increasingly seeing gardening as a chore, the horticultural industry invented a new concept; the garden makeover. The most iconic gardening makeover programme was Ground Force. Each week Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh would be invited into someone's garden while a family member was away, would 'do' the garden and then hide behind a door or gate and watch while the owner of the new garden was surprised. Each garden would comprise of a wooden decked area, a water feature, usually a black bamboo... it now looks terribly quaint, but back then it was cutting edge. There were tears, cheers and usually glasses of something raised, and a tidy new garden.

The success of Ground Force was clear; the idea that gardens could be made quickly and, so the TV told us, easily sent people flocking to garden centres and nurseries. Black bamboos (usually Phyllostachys nigra) went from being niche plants to mainstream hits overnight, and often demand far exceeded supply. The Ground Force show ran from 1997 to 2005 and for much of that time it created a boom in gardening sales. The problem was that Ground Force taught 'instant gratification gardening', where mature plants were put in and everything was completed quickly. Consumers started to realise how much this actually cost, and that it was out of the reach of many of the Ground Force viewers. Also people realised that while the garden could be built in a few days (or half an hour on TV!), there was an ongoing maintenance issue; gardens just don't stand still. Weed suppressing fabric was great, but weeds started to grow in whatever was on top, water features needed maintenance, ponds went green, plants that were bought big then got bigger, and the instant gratification of a made-over garden became a burden. The hoards of gardeners at garden centres and nurseries started to disappear, and many of those businesses that had invested off the back of the gardening revolution suddenly found themselves on hard times.

Definitely NOT a makeover garden! (Killerton NT)

Gardening has continued to be popular, but has really returned to the pre-makeover days. People are still buying plants and creating wonderful gardens, but the horticultural industry has shrunk back to a lower (but hopefully more sustainable) level.

The 'Grow Your Own' revolution has taken the UK by storm. Although I don't doubt that part of the revolution was born from scaremongering about food, there is now a healthy community of people who are growing much of their food themselves. The 'GYO' revolution has brought organic techniques and sustainability to the top of people's agendas, even having an effect on the mass production of food for supermarkets. Never before has growing your own food been more accessible, with allotments enjoying a resurgence of interest and community gardening becoming increasingly popular.

There is however a quiet crisis coming. You'd be hard pushed to notice given how popular growing your own food has become, but gardening isn't actually solely about putting food on your plate. While fresh produce is the hot new thing, ornamental plants are suffering as they are ignored. In nurseries and garden centres you will find a wealth of beautiful flowers and foliage, but apart from the new 'buzz plants' that are released most plants just don't seem to get people's attention any more- there just isn't a thirst to grow ornamental plants. There will be many reasons for this, but I would point my finger at the success of 'GYO', increased media coverage about the threats to pollinators and native plants (even though a garden with a diverse range of flowers will attract pollinators anyway), and the lack of inspiration from the media.

GYO will always be popular

I don't begrudge the GYO movement its success, far from it. I am, however, mindful that it won't appeal to everyone, and that the people who aren't excited by the idea of lifting a crop of fresh potatoes from the ground might actually be interested in planting an ornamental garden that reflects their personality. The media (TV, radio and printed) will follow whatever will get them the most viewers, listeners or readers. The media game is not a fair one; balance plays second fiddle to numbers, so popular content about growing food or growing wildflowers will usually take priority over ornamental plants. Wherever consumers go, the media will follow.

This causes a bit of a problem for those producing ornamental plants. The plants are there and ready to go, but the customers are becoming harder and harder to find. Some companies do well by creating their own niche, thinking for example of Thomson and Morgan for their range of seeds, plugs and new plants. Many nurseries and garden centres are finding it more and more difficult to cope as time goes on, and are at a loss to find ways to bring people in.

Fuchsia 'Beacon'

New facilities, such as cafes, are seen as a must-have accessory by business advisors. We all love a nice cup of tea and something to eat when we go out, but the costs of building a cafe are often more than smaller businesses can afford. Without the cafe they supposedly can't attract new customers, and without the new customers they can't afford the cafe! Whatever ideas businesses come up with to encourage customers to visit and buy more, these are often temporary solutions. Sooner or later the novelty of 'club offers', late night opening, advisory sessions etc. just wears off. Yet while retailers have sleepless nights wondering how to boost business there is a sector of the market that is largely untapped!

As I said earlier in this article, there has been an excellent push to get kids gardening in schools. Whilst I am dubious over whether or not pond dipping and growing runner beans will have any meaningful long-term effect on the image of gardening as a hobby and profession, at least something is being done; exposing children to the fact that gardens exist and that gardening isn't just about hard work cannot be a bad thing. At the other end of the scale are the older generation gardeners* who are already growing plants but on the whole aren't making new gardens, so tend to buy one or two plants to fill gaps (or just because they feel like it!).

In between you have two groups, the 18-30 group and the 30-45 group. The 18-30 group are a difficult lot to cater for; although they might already have an interest in gardening (hopefully at least partly thanks to gardening at school), university and the process of finding work means that they will likely end up in rented accommodation. There is no reason to believe that this group wouldn't appreciate a nice garden, but they are unlikely to own a house of their own and won't want to spend large amounts of money on a garden that they will one day leave behind. The 30-45 group will statistically be more likely to have their own house and will be more interested in putting their identity on the house and garden.

This corner at The Veddw could inspire anyone, regardless of age

Appealing to the 30-45 group is crucial if nurseries and garden centres are to survive. Don't get me wrong, focus on the 30-45 group at the expense of your existing customers and a business will collapse anyway, but enthusing the 30-45 year olds to take up gardening will open up a new niche. So what can we do? I think my potted history of Ground Force shows that I don't think a return to makeover gardening will have anything more than a fleeting benefit. Similarly a focus on one particular element of gardening might put off people who aren't interested in that subject from gardening as a whole. Diversity is key; people between the ages of 30 and 45 will be as diverse in their tastes, aspirations and ideas as any other group. They will likely be fairly well informed about the world around them, and be perfectly able to see when they're being patronised. These are the people who have been raised with access to information freely online, so to try to simplify gardening down to easy chunks could cause a negative effect if the new consumers discover, as they do their own research, that they're being patronised. No, I think that the horticultural industry will win these consumers over with respect. If I was involved in any campaign to encourage this age group to get gardening I would push hard for the following:

• inspiration- show your market what they can achieve.
• knowledge- present information that is easy to follow but isn't over simplified and patronising.
• presentation- tastes will differ in this group, and tastes in presentation techniques as much as plants and gardens! It's absurd to assume any taste will be universal in this group as much as any other group- people in their 20s don't automatically like thumping dance music, people in their 60s don't all like classical music!
• diversity- this group, like all other age groups, is made up of people who have different tastes, viewpoints and ideas. To assume that this age group will be attracted to one particular gardening style is just ridiculous.

Gardeners already know why they garden, what they get out of it. We all have our interests and niches, and the key to success with a new market is to help them find theirs rather than force our ideas onto them.

New ideas could will boost interest in bedding plants

I fear that the challenge of encouraging new gardeners falls on those of us already involved, professionally or not, in horticulture. The media has no interest in changing the status quo of the gardening world, as can be seen with gardening shows like Gardener's World. Gardener's World won't ever get back to its glory days; it's a show that exists for its own purpose rather than that of any greater good. People will still watch it, but will continue to do so for its “lovely” presenters and its gentle pace, rather than because it challenges its audience, inspires or brings in new ideas.

The momentum for change will come from us.

*I know, being over 45 doesn't make you old in any way!

Questions answered

I occasionally get asked why I have so many online aliases, so here's a brief explanation.

When I worked for a nursery in Cornwall I was employed to grow a huge range of trees, shrubs, perennials and indoor plants. Nonetheless this range wasn't enough for me; I was driven by my love of plants to find out about an enormous number of other plants too, and this is where 'Ben's Botanics' was born. Ben's Botanics became the place where I could share my love of plants that weren't necessarily grown by my employer, and has brought me in touch with other plant lovers across the globe. Ben's Botanics can now be found on Twitter (@BensBotanics), Facebook and Pinterest too.

I realised that I had ideas for articles and features to write, but many of these didn't seem appropriate for Ben's Botanics. I decided to start this blog, and named it 'Pots and Polytunnels' because at that time I was getting my ideas from my work for my former employer. Each day I was surrounded by plants in pots and often worked in polytunnels... somehow the name seemed to work!

After being made redundant by my previous employer I decided to start my business, known as 'Pen And Trowel'. Why the name? As well as offering practical gardening I also offer a consultancy/advisory service. Pen and Trowel can be found on Twitter (@PenAndTrowel), but I tend to use Ben's Botanics pages as well, hence the crossover. I also still use Pots and Polytunnels for Pen And Trowel writing so that my content is in one place- another blog may appear in due course though!

I hope this explains why I have so many different aliases. I might have been better bringing everything 'under one roof', but my redundancy and change of professional direction came as a surprise. Whatever the name of the blog, website or social media account you come across, I really hope you enjoy what you read.

Hooray, I've won an award.

Huzzah! I've won the Leibster Blog Award!

I'd like to thank my family and friends...

Oh wait, this isn't a real award? Well I can't say I'm not disappointed. Do you know how difficult it is to get champagne back into the bottle and the cork back on..?!

Dendranthema 'Rosy Igloo'

For anyone not in with the Leibster Blog award, it's essentially a chain message and marketing/promotion tool rolled into one. At the risk of sounding cynical and grumpier than normal I won't be forwarding it. Nonetheless the lovely Gill Heavens (@GillHeavens) nominated me for this 'award' and got my hopes up only to dash them just moments later, so I'll enter into the spirit of the whole thing by answering the questions I've been posed. Think of this as being like an interview....

1   What tool couldn’t you live without (ok you probably could but humour me!)?
Simply my spade. It's a fairly ordinary tool really, metal where it needs to be and wooden  elsewhere, but it's a tool that I enjoy using.

2  Do you ever listen to music when you work, if so what is your preference?
I'll listen to anything once! Most of the time I listen to more upbeat stuff, but as with gardening it's important to match intensity with calm, so I do have quieter stuff as well. I tend to pick and mix individual tracks, but when I'm driving (I almost never listen to music while I'm working) I listen to tracks from the mighty Bellowhead, AC/DC, Parov Stelar....

3  Cake of choice for tea time?
Fruit cake. Love a good fruit cake, but find them sadly scarce in summer, instead hidden in the shadows of flouncy sponge cakes. Bah! To be honest I've got to be in a particular mood for cake anyway, so can't say that tea with cake is a regular custom.

4  Favourite plant to grow from seed?
Circumstances mean that I don't sow many plants from seed at the moment, but I do enjoy the satisfaction of seeing seedlings emerge. I guess my favourite plant to grow from seed would be anything with rapid germination and a 100% success rate, but all to often the plants I grow are much slower and less predictable.

5  Is there a plant you don’t like?
Hmmm, probably not. My tastes are very diverse; I love all the antisocial plants that people reel away from, things with spines or bad smelling flowers. I guess there are plants that I wouldn't go out of my way to grow, like a lot of the bedding plants, but there aren't any that I have a strong dislike of.

Viburnum plicatum 'Popcorn'- definitely a plant I love!

6  What is the worst job in the garden?
Not being there! You can't say that gardening jobs are all easy and straightforward, or even always pleasant, but you have to knuckle down and do them. There is a train of thought that says that it's doing the crap jobs that helps you appreciate the good jobs, in the same way that being out in the rain helps you appreciate the sunshine. I can put up with a lot of hardships but the worst would be being away from plants and open spaces.

7  To lawn or not to lawn, that is the question?
Lawn, definitely. I love narrow paths, intimate spaces and the feeling of being overwhelmed by plants, but I've come to appreciate the importance of a quiet, open space to counter the intensity of exuberant planting. There are also practical issues; some plants can only be appreciated if you step back from them, like trees, shrubs with upward facing flowers and, strangely, short plants at your feet. A sense of space is important, and a lawn provides a soft and neutral open space in which to enjoy your plants. In a tiny garden though this goes out of the window! In a tiny garden I would lose the lawn straight away, but design and plant in such a way that access routes are comfortable or generous, and plan in such away that (at least in some parts of the garden) plants weren't able to form dense thickets, thus allowing a sense of space and openness without a lawn.

8  What is the best time of the day?
Morning. Nice, cool mornings, when the world hasn't really got going yet and it's just you, the garden and the wildlife.

9  What gardening “rules” do you break on a regular basis?
Most of them! In the South West we have to break the rules- the mild climate means that the grass tends to grow all year round, so needs mowing in winter even if it is wet. Hard and fast gardening rules espoused by TV gardeners, magazines and even the RHS annoy me. Every garden is different, and wherever you are in the UK you will quickly learn that planting your vegetable plants out when the media says is either too early or too late! Scotland can be 3 weeks behind Cornwall and Devon, and will see cooler temperatures quite a lot earlier than the mild South West. I can appreciate that people giving generalised advice to the whole UK will have to advise using a happy medium, but the fact is that we have a lot of different climates to deal with. You must garden for your own garden, your own climate and region, even if that means breaking the rules.

10  What do you prefer, cold and dry or warm and wet?
Cold and dry- much easier to work in! That said, I think many if not most of my plants, especially those with big leaves, would prefer their rainfall.

11 What other hobbies, not horticulturally related, do you have?
I do enjoy photography, although I tend you use my camera to take pictures of plants and gardens so I don't know if this classes and completely non-horticultural. I love to take my camera out, but wouldn't compare myself to the 'proper' photographers out there.


Have we finished now?

Eureka!

Eureka! I've found it- the holy grail of gardening!

Ask anyone who owns or works for a garden centre or nursery about the plants that people ask for and sooner or later you'll get the following: “I/we want a plant that grows quickly but doesn't grow too big, is evergreen, preferably with strongly scented colourful flowers and all year round, has nice bark and is completely hardy (sometimes with the caveat that the plant will need to tolerate salt or wind as well).

Well I've found a plant that matches all of the criteria exactly, but sadly gardeners won't be rushing off to buy this particular plant.

The plant in question is gorse, or Ulex europaeus to give it its proper name. Native to many countries across Europe, this shrub is found in a wide range of often challenging habitats. Down here in Cornwall it's often found on moorland, including 'Goss (gorse) Moor', that formerly infamous bottleneck on the A30 west of Bodmin (which has now been diverted and turned into dual carriageway if you've not been to Cornwall for a while).

Gorse is a familiar sight in the field hedges near my home, where it shrugs off clipping with the farmer's flail and where its sharp prickly shoots are largely avoided by sheep and cows. This is a cheerful shrub, almost always showing at least a few flowers right through the year- in fact there's an old saying that “if gorse is out of flower, kissing's out of fashion!”. I myself have a love-hate relationship with gorse; I love it for the sweet coconut scent of its cheerful golden yellow flowers, but have to give it a wide berth when I'm out walking or if I'm looking for somewhere to set up my camera.

Cold temperatures won't put gorse off flowering!

But can this common native shrub be considered for a garden?

Typically Ulex europaeus can grow to 10 ft (3m) tall and probably about the same in width, although areas with extreme wind can certainly limit growth. It can be pruned, trimmed and shaped, and could make a useful hedge. If left to grow into a small tree Ulex europaeus develops a short, stout trunk with pale and flaking bark. Its hardiness cannot be doubted, and this is a plant for all but the wettest soils, growing everywhere from sand dunes to all but the boggiest bits of moorland. Salt and cold winds don't bother gorse at all, so this is a perfect plant for seaside planting. Yes, the common native gorse can self seed, but seedlings can be hoed out annually, or you might prefer the double flowered gorse, U. europaeus 'Flore Pleno' which has strange fluffy flowers and some suggestion of a more compact habit. Remember though that double flowers aren't as good for insects, so if you want to encourage bees then the straight species will be best, especially as its 12 month flowering season provides nectar when there's little else in flower.

Note though that rabbits love the soft young shoots, so if you plant this and have a rabbit problem then you will need to protect young plants while they get established.

So will this panacea plant be widely grown in gardens? Of course not. There's no way that any but the most adventurous gardener would allow gorse into their garden for fear of its razor sharp spines. Similarly this is a plant that just doesn't work as a small border shrub, so the fear of it getting too big would put gardeners off (and the fact that it grows to above 2ft (60cm) at all would put most garden centres off stocking it). This will forever be a shrub for the adventurous thrill seeking gardener with space, especially in difficult sites, but most gardeners will reel back in horror at the suggestion of allowing this common native plant anywhere near their garden.

Which is a real shame; the sweet coconut scent of massed gorse flowers on a spring day is one of the delights of living in the countryside.

...As we greet 2015.

12 months ago I wrote about my resolution to make a conscious effort to enjoy life more. Back then I had no idea that 2014 would be filled with so many twists and turns, good things and bad things. I'm pleased to say that did get to enjoy life more; 2014 was the year I visited more gardens, took more pictures and met more great gardeners, and I certainly enjoyed that!

RHS Rosemoor is always worth a visit

The changing of year seems to be a popular time to make predictions for the coming 12 months. I'm not going to fall into this trap for 2015, except to say that I will certainly be enjoying plants and gardening! I have some strange goals for this year- I want to see Rehderodendron macrocarpum in flower and in fruit (I know, weird!)- and I want to start garden visiting much earlier and see more of the early season displays in Cornish gardens. I don't know why I've missed them in the past; somehow it's always too late before I get to any serious garden visiting.

Cold and frosty morning to close 2014

I feel that this is the right time to thank all those who've supported me during a challenging year. Without the advice of people who've faced their own challenges and won through, my own situation would have been overwhelming. I'm indebted to a lot of people who have shown great kindness and generosity of spirit.

2014 has taught me first hand that a lot can happen in a year, but I certainly hope that 2015 will bring great things to a lot of great people. Happy new year to all, and let's raise a toast to 2015, a year of great gardening.

Ben

(If you're looking for a gardener near the Devon/Cornwall border then you can try me at www.penandtrowel.co.uk)

As we bid farewell to 2014...

Even though the 'round robin' letter is no longer socially approved of in modern times it still seems to be customary to review the year, so here we go.

2014 has been a year that will stay in my mind for a very long time. 12 months ago I was very much aware that life is about more than work, and I was resolute in my need to lose some of the extra weekend work I was doing. A seven day working week all year is not good for anyone, and I've felt much better in myself by working more sensibly and by getting out and getting back in touch with horticulture as a private interest as well as a career. Visiting gardens and horticultural events during the year, from the Rhododendron, Camellia and Magnolia show at RHS Rosemoor back in spring and my trip the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens (which I'm afraid I will still keep calling 'The Hillier Arboretum'), right through to an early December wander around Rosemoor just to see what's happening... being able to recharge my interest and love of horticulture has made life much better.

Rhododendron 'Cinnkeys-Minterne' seen at RHS Rosemoor

This year also saw the first rare plant fair at Tregrehan in Cornwall. Now if you haven't already been to the garden at Tregrehan then I won't spoil it for you; I will simply say that if you like plants you need to visit! The rare plant was almost overwhelming with its range of plants, many of which had simply never been seen for sale anywhere. If a 6ft (2m) evergreen Polygonatum from Vietnam (I think) appeals to you, or maybe the bold foliage of tree-like 'should be hardy' Euphorbia stygiana ssp. santamariae appeals more, Tregrehan's rare plant fair will be the highlight of your year. I am delighted to say that this event will happen in 2015, and will be on Sunday the 31^st of May. Best of all, if you do finish your shopping early then you can go for a walk around a world class garden too!

The rare plant fair at Tregrehan

Back in the summer I wrote a piece for the Old Horts book 'How to grow a Gardener'. I wrote about horticultural production and retail, something I have over 10 years experience with. I stand by everything I said in my piece, that horticultural production and retail is a surprisingly challenging part of the industry but is incredibly rewarding for anyone who is passionate about understanding plants, how they work and how they grow in gardens.

It was a sad irony that my copy of the Old Horts book arrived just days after my employer announced that it was shedding jobs and abandoning plant production.

I have to be very careful not to say too much about this process because I signed a contract preventing me from naming or discussing my former employer in the public domain or with any form of media for my entire life. Nonetheless the process was incredibly grim, and watching as a decade of work is dismantled by other people is not a nice experience, especially over an artificially protracted period. That chapter of my life ended on the 7^th of November, drawing to a close a full 10 years work for that company.

It was during the final weeks of my employment that I experienced first hand just how great gardeners are. The process of re-homing the more precious plants on the nursery introduced me to some of the great figures of Cornish horticulture, all of whom helped me to keep my sanity during what was possibly the most disheartening time of my horticultural career to date. It was the advice and support of these people that gave me the confidence to move forward.

Poppies at Cliffe, a garden in North Devon

Now I've started a new chapter in my career and I've started my own business doing a mixture of gardening and horticultural consultancy. Although I've had something of a slow start my experience so far has reinforced this as a good decision; I love gardening, and using my skills and knowledge every day is fantastic and has given me renewed passion for learning more and more. I'm feeling incredibly optimistic about the future, and I hope that once my books are filled with happy customers that I will feel the same satisfaction working in gardens that I did when I was working for a nursery.

2015 will bring its own challenges, but I'm really feeling good about the year to come. I would like to take this opportunity to thank a lot of people, the people who've kept me sane and supported me during my bad times, but also the people who I've met at shows and fairs and who have shared their own love of plants and gardens.

Thank you.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Ben

Talking shop, but by what name?

I get a great sense of pride from growing plants for other like-minded gardeners. To grow a plant from a cutting/seed/young plant, pot it, train it and nurture it so that it can be enjoyed by someone else is a great achievement; waving goodbye to a trolley full of plants that you've grown is a great feeling! There are many others that feel the same sort of satisfaction in what they grow; these are the people who own, run or work for independent nurseries around the UK.

More experienced gardeners know the benefits of buying from independent nurseries. Typically a diverse and interesting range of plants (often at competitive prices) attracts gardeners to a particular nursery, while the quality of the plants, advice and service that they receive brings them back for more. I don't think there's any major competition between garden centres and nurseries, providing that they aren't trying to compete on each other's strengths. A trip to a nursery is a different experience from a visit to a garden centre, so there should in an ideal world be space for both types of business to exist in the market.

Magnolia figo, not seen in a garden centre!

The question is whether or not the word 'nursery' should mean something specific. I'm not aware of any nurseries calling themselves a 'garden centre', but I do keep coming across garden centres calling themselves nurseries, and it's this that annoys me.

Defining a garden centre is quite easy; a garden centre is a business that sells plants that it hasn't produced itself (i.e. it has bought in from wholesalers), along with a range of other things either to do with gardening or, quite often, things unconnected with gardening.

Defining a nursery is a little more difficult; at its simplest definition a nursery is a business that grows and then sells its own plants (either as a wholesale or retail business), but in truth most nurseries water that down at least a little. The majority of nurseries grow most of the plants they sell but also introduce plants from elsewhere to improve the range for customers, typically adding houseplants or bedding from outside to their own produced range of hardy stock. Some nurseries increasingly fall into buying in plants from elsewhere to replace their own stock, buying in plants that they could and should be growing themselves in order to cut labour costs or to cover up gaps in staffing. My question is simply whether or not there should be a clear definition of 'nursery'?

Plants being grown at a nursery

My motive for asking this question could be put down to protectionism. In my experience nurseries are often special places where the plants are the priority for the business. Although many nurseries now boast a café and a shop selling both gifts and garden tools/products, it is still the plants that are the main draw of the business. The lure of being able to find a special unknown plant and get the best quality advice from people who've grown the plant and have experience with it... that's what gives nurseries their status with gardeners, and it's this status that some garden centres seem to try and capitalise on.

A business that buys in all of its plants to provide greenery around its shop selling exclusive (expensive) giftware and its award winning café isn't a nursery, it's a garden centre. It cannot claim to have the plant range and expertise of a nursery, nor should it try to. Nonetheless the customer sees the word 'nursery' and is led to believe that they are buying plants from a proper nursery, with the benefits that entails.

Old varieties like Cistus 'Enigma' can be found in nurseries

 

In the meantime it devalues the good work of independent nurseries who must struggle in the face of the pretenders. Should there be a proper definition of 'nursery', not to penalise businesses who buy their plants in but to protect people who are growing their plants themselves?

I don't think it's reasonable to put a specific percentage on nurseries, but I personally think that a nursery should be a business that grows no less than 70% of what it sells, allowing bedding etc. to be bought in but keeping the business true to its name, and I think that an alternative name like 'plant centre' would be more appropriate for a business that grows a small percentage of plants itself, so isn't a nursery but also isn't a garden centre. The term 'plant centre' tells the customer that plants are a priority for the business (as they would be for any business that grows anything itself), but keeping the word 'nursery' for businesses involved primarily in production.

So what do you think? Add your comments here or on Twitter/Facebook.