Now, where did we leave off? Ah yes! the old RAF site at Brookenby, our new adventure.
Developing our greenhouses there was no easy task, let me tell you. When we first moved in, we’d already filled the nissen huts with plants those old, curved buildings that once housed airmen long before your time. We managed to cover them with sheets of plastic, and there the plants sat, all lined up neatly on the floor.
Little did we know how much they’d be moved over the months to come! First onto tables we’d made out of pallets, then back to the floor again when those didn’t quite work out. Eventually, we saved up enough to buy some proper water tables very smart things, they were. Of course, they then had to be attached to the concrete floors, which was fine in the huts… but in the polytunnels, where the ground was just loose stone, well that was another story!
The water from the tables kept running everywhere down the paths, off the sides, soaking everything it could. So we had to think of a clever solution. In the end, we came up with an elaborate system, a bit like the inside of a toilet cistern, where the water level stayed just right. But that meant every single table needed its own little system!
And as the business grew, so did the number of tunnels from one, to two, and before we knew it, we had twelve of them! Each one filled with rows of plants, each row needing care and watering.
Before long, we started running out of space again imagine that! So out behind the tunnels, we dug trenches to hold even more plants. But trenches need water too, so we built a whole new watering system out there.
When we first moved in, there was no water on site at all. None! So we had a borehole put in a deep well drilled into the earth so we could draw up our own water. It was a big job, but it meant that every plant would have what it needed, and our water tables could be topped up whenever they ran low.
Just as we started to find our rhythm, the world turned upside down Covid hit.
Now, unlike most people, we couldn’t stay home. We had living plants to care for, and they don’t stop growing just because the world stands still. But we had to make big changes. The warehouse and tunnels were rearranged to keep everyone two metres apart. It was hard but we managed.
And while so many things slowed down, our little business suddenly sped up! Everyone stuck at home turned their attention to their gardens. Orders came flooding in faster than we could ever have imagined. We worked day and night, barely keeping up at one point, we were a full week behind! Even the delivery companies were struggling to keep pace.
Those were long, exhausting days, but we kept going because we had to. Because people were depending on us to bring a little green life into their days.
Before Covid hit, we’d been invited to take part in something we’d only dreamed of an RHS show! Our very first was at RHS Chatsworth. We teamed up with a pond-building company JD landscapes who built an amazing pond, but oh, we didn’t give ourselves nearly enough time to prepare.
Kayleigh and I worked like mad women trying to get everything ready. We’d arranged for an articulated lorry to take the plants to the show but when we arrived, we discovered the lorry was parked miles away! So there we were, running back and forth with our little Luton van, ferrying plants from the lorry park to our stand. It took hours longer than we’d planned, and by the time we finished setting up, we were absolutely exhausted.
We’d left the actual pond planting to the pond builders, but when the judges came around… well, let’s just say we didn’t get the grade we were hoping for. On reflection, the plants weren’t established enough and the spacing wasn’t quite right. Still, we got a mention on BBC Gardeners’ World, when Frances Tophill said it was her favourite “a rockery planting pond,” she called it! Not exactly what we were aiming for, but it made us smile all the same.
We learned a lot from that show. So next time, we decided to do things differently and indoors and on our own!
In 2021, we entered the RHS Hampton Court show with an indoor floral marquee display. We didn’t know what to expect, so we arrived early to give ourselves plenty of time. We built our pond right there out of wooden sleepers and had a grand time working out how to fit the giant gunnera plant into the corner before building the pond around it!
And you know what? It paid off we won Silver Gilt! A massive improvement from before. Now we finally understood what the judges were looking for, and it gave us the confidence to aim higher.
So, in 2022, we went all in four shows that year: Harrogate Spring, RHS Malvern Spring, BBC Gardeners’ World Live, and RHS Hampton Court again.
The BBC had taken an interest in our products and display they decided to come a film our nursery, what an amazing day.
And that’s when it happened our very first RHS Gold Medal at Malvern. We were televised on BBC Gardeners World on the Friday of the show and we were overwhelmed by the response, our display and stall were 3 deep for the whole of Saturday and Sunday.
We were over the moon! All the long nights, the early mornings, the muddy boots and tired smiles it was all worth it.
That gold medal told us that dreams, when watered with hard work and love, truly do bloom.
And so, feeling braver than ever, we began to plan for the biggest stage of all Chelsea Flower Show 2023.
Life has a way of testing even the strongest hearts. And though we had built something beautiful all those tunnels full of green life, our shows, our medals, our dreams we were about to face a storm we could never have prepared for.
It began quietly, as these things often do.
David, had started having trouble with his legs. At first, he brushed it off you know how he was, always busy, always pushing through, saying it was just tiredness or maybe a pulled muscle. But as time went on, the pain grew worse, especially in his right leg. It became harder for him to move, and I could see the strain behind his smile even when he tried to hide it.
Eventually, we persuaded him to go to the doctors, and then to consultants. Test after test followed endless appointments, waiting rooms, scans, and uncertainty. Then came the news that none of us were ready for.
The doctors told us that David had a rare disease, one that affected the blood supply to his bones. His body, through no fault of his own, was slowly turning against him and it explained everything: the pain, the weakness, the struggle.
It felt as though the air had been knocked out of us. How could someone so strong, who built everything with his own hands, who never stopped working, suddenly face something so cruel?
In September 2020, he had to undergo a major operation. We all held our breath hoping, praying, wishing it would give him relief. But when he came home, the recovery didn’t go as we had hoped completely off his feet for weeks. The doctors told us, gently, that the operation hadn’t been as successful as they had hoped.
It broke our hearts but if you knew David, you’d know what he said: “We keep going. That’s what we do.”
There were more hospital visits, more consultations, and the realisation that more surgery would be needed. Through it all, he never complained. Even when he was in pain, even when walking was difficult, he’d still be out there in the greenhouses when he could, still thinking about plants, and what needed doing next.
More shows to plan for...
And that is where the next part of our story begins…
