This time we will go on a whirlwind tour of Chelsea (not the Football Club!), Holland and discuss Brussels. Due to my involvement with a Garden Centre marketing and buying group I have been fortunate enough to be involved in some interesting and informative visits.

In April I was invited to travel with a Dutch trade mission to look at developing trade
between Holland and the UK. I have never been to the Keukenhof before; it was an inspiring visit to see what must be the greatest display of tulips in parkland setting in the world. If you are interested in visiting gardens it is well worth a visit, a great day out and something we ought to look at putting on for our customers. The tulips are all planted to a wonderful preplanned design and we were fortunate enough to discuss how the design process works. Unfortunately, the Dutch had just as cold and wet spring as we did and the tulips were not flowering very much as the season was about four weeks behind.

We all associate the Dutch with tulips, and visiting the Keukenhof and a grower of tulips straight after was totally enlightening. We then moved onto the biggest orchid grower in the world, a family run nursery near Gouda. This nursery really showed how horticulture has embraced mechanised production in recent years: 10 million orchids are produced annually with conveyor belts, mobile benches and magic eye cameras, meaning that the plants are only touched by human hand when initially potted and packed for despatch. Not good for employment levels, but absolutely fascinating.

The famous Dutch flower auctions in Aalsmeer cover an area the size of Monaco and to see the clock working, the plants moving and the sheer scale of Dutch horticulture was truly jaw dropping. For those that have seen the movie Monsters Inc., the inspiration behind the scenes when the monsters were riding on the doors in the door storage unit must have come from the Dutch flower auctions. Amazing!

Tania and I also had an invitation to the Chelsea Flower Show from the company that produces Miracle Gro. The Dutch may have the edge when it comes to production horticulture, but nobody else could ever create Chelsea and the inspiring gardens and displays that the Brits do so well. We didn’t see many gnomes, the Gardens all seemed a bit industrial for our liking as many were celebrating the centenary of Chelsea with historical exhibits, but the execution of the plant displays, the detail involved in the Gardens and the sheer enthusiasm of the exhibitors was as infectious as ever.

I included Brussels in my opening sentence as, once again, the EU has caused divisions and a certain amount of controversy in the horticultural chemical market. In recent years, the bee population has been steadily dropping and there has been considerable research into why. One of the suspected causes was a group of insecticides used in horticulture (and agriculture) called neonicotinoids; despite the UK research indicating that under normal use bees were not harmed, the EU members voted fifteen in favour of a ban and eight (including the UK) against.

Going with the majority meant that further chemicals are now restricted for sale. It does
not affect things too much as most producers were responsible enough at an early stage to
phase out potentially harmful chemicals. The main winner in all of this is our little friend the Vine Weevil – difficult enough to control before, this range of chemicals were one of the few things to help control the little blighter. But bees are far more important for our eco system, so anything to help strengthen their numbers must be important.

 As we are committed to working with our local community, we have lots going on here this
summer: Barn Dance in aid of St Marys Church on 29th June, the Inaugural Mayor’s Walk starts here on 26th August and our new children’s club gets up and running at the beginning of August. As our Radio ad says – ‘find out more on facebook’ – although I still prefer to read the notice board! Have a great summer.

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

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