With only weeks to go until the RHS Chelsea Flower Show , British growers are busy preparing their exhibits for the show . For bedding plant nursery Cook ’s Garden Centre , Chelsea is a staple of the horticultural calendar . We speak to Paul Cook about the show , the greenhouse ’s cooperation with a Dutch hydrangea agriculturalist , and what the Brexit will mean for his business .
Cook ’s amber medal winning stand at Chelsea 2018
Cook ’s Garden Centre grows a reach of both box be intimate hang basket plant and terrace plant life , producing approximately 4500 hang baskets for early summer sales and displays . The baby’s room covers a little over three acres , and with over two acres covered , they ’ve turn production to hardy recurrent works to extend their sales bring out around 30,000 plants each year .
" All the plants we grow are for our sales agreement at our garden centre and at open day on our nursery , which is open to the populace for five weekend a yr " , Paul tells us . They lift money for charity on the logic gate , having raised over £ 100,000 for local charities all in all .
Paul and girl Hannah with the 2017 Chelsea stand
Dutch hydrangeasAlong with their own output , Cook ’s adds forced hydrangeas to their crop , work out intimately with Hovaria and André van Zoest in Boskoop , the Netherlands . " plant come in green from André and we finish them to full bloom for all the UK ’s top peak prove , serve to boost his Royalty Collection range of hydrangeas " .
Last year , Cook ’s glasshouse sold in excess of 21,000 hydrangeas at the appearance . Of those appearance , Chelsea is perhaps the most significant workshop window . " It is the only show we sell chain armor order , " Paul says . " Last year we serviced some 600 + orders . It is also an important windowpane for André van Zoest , as it is here we show his new varieties and through his novel caller Roco many new variety are on flow " .
asunder from their partnership in Holland , Cook ’s Garden Centre gets young plants for their production elsewhere too : Syngenta , AllPlant , Walter Blom , Colegrave , Volmary and Fairweather ’s are among their supplier .
Chelsea stand 2016
BrexitBeing so internationally oriented , it ’s no admiration that the UK ’s pending exit from the EU is an issue for the baby’s room . " Brexit is a huge job to us in a identification number of way " , Paul says .
" first of all the core it has had on the value of the pound , name all our plants more expensive . When and if we leave , the increased burden of paperwork etc . will lead to yet more cost . " In addition , he target that " the increase in time for the provision chain is also a problem when we are used to just in time rescue . And most recently the hold at the tunnel have do us untold problem . Basically at the minute we have the perfect system , so whatever changes Brexit brings , they wo n’t be good ones " .
For more entropy : Cook ’s Garden Centre01299 826 169[email protected]www.cooks - garden - centre.co.uk
© FloralDaily.com/Jan Jacob Mekes
