Another week marches by and the strange lives everyone is
leading carries on. Maybe the worst medical peak has passed
and more hopeful signs are on the horizon, although if it does look like there will be some longer term restrictions which will
prevent a sudden release of tension and anxiety. It's going to a while before we hug again.
It looks a bit more promising for an opening up of
the plant centres if the statistics continue in a favourable direction. Perhaps a couple more weeks and the public will be allowed to express their new love for their gardens by shipping some cash into the
tills and releasing the pent up plant stocks and tension in the wholesale nurseries.
In anticipation of a reopening we are winding down our Plants for People project because we have cleared a huge amount of stock and we need to hold on to some to be ready for the reopening. We have been able to clear several tunnels already and refill them with fresh stock, so although the range may be a bit limited, there should be something to ship out when it all
frees up.
I suspect we are all
going
to have to be a bit flexible to be able to cope with the likely chaos that will come with a big reopening and restocking of so many plant areas. We are already planning to double the despatch work area to be able to get enough people in there to process the orders, but still maintain sensible social distancing. We are pre-warning our drivers that
initially we may have to deliver into the weekend to
get through the possible workload, assuming that at least some of our
lovely customers will be flexible enough to
be able to accommodate unusual delivery timing. At
the moment I have no idea
whether we will even be
able
to cope with what might happen in the first week or two of a return to 'normal' trading so you may have to bear with us. As always we will be doing our very best to keep everyone happy.
We had BBC Panarama back in on Friday to review how things were going since their first visit a couple of weeks ago. It was a
mind
provoking experience when asked to review what has gone on
in the last few weeks. By the time we have finished we
will be close to having distributed plants with a retail value of close to £500,000 to local community coordinators. The financial returns have been significant, not as good as 'normal' returns, but the costs of
despatch were far less. The alternative was no returns, a nursery full of overgrown plants, a monster compost heap and not much space for follow on crops. The emotional returns have been astonishing, the response from individuals and coordinators to our efforts has been 100% positive. There
have
been a lot of tears from all
directions and a lot of new connections made within communities. I was asked on camera what I thought of the whole process and I had to admit that even if things still ended up
going
badly for the business, for whatever reason, I would never regret doing what we did. It has been such a fabulous experience and it could well end up saving the main part of
our business. We are now buying in stock to pot, a fresh load of compost arrives this week and potting is
well under way. Everyone on site is look forward again to what we might achieve this summer, there is
light
at the end of
the polytunnel!
We were having a chat this morning about how rewarding the simplest of things can be. Giving 6 plants to a total stranger can make them cry with happiness and gratitude, being a coordinator in your community, just being a caring neighbour can open up a whole new world of personal rewards and connections, or just being kind to someone can give you a long term good
feeling and well earned glow. There's a lot of it about at the moment and I am desperate for it to stick about when this is
all over. In the past people bought stuff or travelled the world to find some reward in
their
lives. That fab bit of kit keeps you happy for a moment or two and that stunning view across a foreign landscape can create a holiday snapshot and memory, but
aren't there so many more rewards we can feast on
right on our doorsteps?
Please take care out there, there are still going to be some tough times ahead, but hopefully a huge amount of good things
will come out of it in the end.
Availability list highlights
We have a few customers now taking a few plants for home delivery services they have started up
since the lockdown took effect, so I have updated the availability list as best I can at
the moment. It won't be fantastically accurate as lines
are being cleared each day under our
Plant for People project. We may have to
adjust the content slightly of any orders we might
receive to get the numbers right, so apologies for that in advance, Circumstances mean we are going to have to be a bit flexible at the moment.
Under the current rules we are not comfortable sending out any stock that may be placed in a position that will attract
browsing or handling by the public. If you can convince us otherwise please phone us to discuss options.
Take care out there, from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
