Christmas Is Finally Here!

For us buyers it’s a hectic time of year getting prepared for our busiest season in the spring but we still have to see how the current season’s stock is performing and of course that involves trying some things out. Carrie came into the office on Monday morning very excited about her new Chestnut roaster, she is responsible for buying the winter fuels and other fiery accessories we sell in the Garden centres and having an open fire at home of course makes her a true expert... I think she really needs to get out more, but then I am a bit jealous, she really had chestnuts roasting on an open fire!

We are now all counting down to the end of the week, but this years office Christmas lunch will be extra special. Two of our longest serving ladies are retiring, they’ve put in 27 years between them and we also have an engagement and a pregnancy to celebrate... Happy times!

Well this will be the last blog from me this year, we’d all like to wish you a great holiday and all the best for 2012...

Forest Products

We are getting busier and busier as Christmas gets closer, we are still finding some lovely products for you for those last minute gifts. At John Browns we have just taken delivery of some great children’s books by a local author from Verwood. It has been awarded the silver certificate of excellence from a pre-school magazine and positively encourages children to eat veggies.

My brother is a real pain to buy for but is a bit of a foodie so I’m going to make him up a little selection pack of jams and relishes from the Forest Products range that we keep in all of our centres. They are a Dorset company and top of my list is the most divine sweet garlic pickle with nigella seed, apparently the spicy tomato and caramelised onion chutney is amazing too so I might have to keep that for myself!

We have been offered some beautiful bulb planters which we are offering at less then half the recommended selling price – I love the ceramic ones so guess what the ladies

in my family will be getting on the 25^th? After that little lot I will have finished the present buying, not sure when I’ll have time to wrap it all up though...

Christmas Open Evenings

Our Christmas open evenings have gone down a storm with lots of you visiting which makes it so enjoyable for us. If you haven’t been to one yet the last is tonight (Tuesday 6^th December) at John Browns, see you there where I’ll be doing the mulled wine & minced pies duty with the girls – although the mulled wine has been re-christened at Cadnam. One very sweet little boy was a bit confused as to why his mum wanted ‘Mouldy wine’!

Landford Garden Centre has now been invaded by our building team – Toni our Plant area manager is going to have her work cut out keeping them in line whilst they re-build her Plant Area - it’ll be interesting to see the progress over the next few months. We’re so excited to see what the new area will look like when it’s finished and to get it restocked, we’re already preparing our shopping lists!

This week we have had some truly stunning Orchids into our houseplant areas for Christmas. My favourites are the Cymbidiums which have impressive strappy foliage with large spikes of flower in rich colours. Surprisingly easy to keep, they need a little more water than the moth orchids (Phalaenopsis). Flowering for a good few weeks they still look handsome once the flowers go over.