"Sacha" wrote in message
k...
On 9/6/04 11:55, in article ,
"Frogleg" wrote:

On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 15:56:14 +0100, Sacha
wrote:

It doesn't become me very well as a Nurseryman's wife to criticise some
garden centres - not all by any means - but the prices they charge,

I understand your sentiment, but suggest a re-think.

A couple of years ago a customer sold up and moved on. At first the new
householders seemed to think they'd manage the garden alone. Well, it is
very small. Somewhere along the line the realised they couldn't so set about
finding a gardener. Oddly enough, though I do most of the gardens along that
street, they did not approach me until quite late in their search. (that
said, the daughter of a wonderful customer, now sadly deceased, told me how
it took her mother 2 years to pick up the courage to ask me to take over her
garden from her existing garden contractors and in spite of the fact that
her late husband had suggested it just before he passed on. I suspect she
didn't want to step on her neighbour's toes by nicking their gardener... but
I digress)

This new couple were quoted a price for basic maintenance at £90 per month,
all year round; times set, but irrespective of work needed to be done. It
was a case of £90 basic rate and all after that would be Plus, plus.

Like you, I felt disgusted by such prices, bearing in mind I was able to
produce the invoices for that previous year, for which the sum total,
inclusive of materials, came to £276.

I scoffed at the price they were quoted. Probably even asserted that it was
"not right", or "outrageous!!"

However, on reflection, if I charged the same, then I too might be able to
obtain a more reasonable standard of living... well... accommodation to be
precise.


the lack
of advice they give and the 'care' given to the plants which are bought
in
and sold off just like any supermarket product, fills us with real
horror
and even amazement.

One the other hand, one such GC, (i.e. with all the kitsch), is staffed by
excellent, very well informed, capable and helpful staff. Whilst another
(actually 2) who have a more traditional approach are staffed by the kind of
creature that is so rude, lazy, and uninterested in the job as to block any
horticultural chit chat so that whatever knowledge they may have is well and
truly hidden!

Both however are prone to one thing; a change in plant quality.

When I produced plants for GC each plant had to be of good quality in terms
of it's long term quality. I did not produce long strings of misery, where
there might be only a few leaves at the top and a lot of barrenness beneath.
However, putting one of my nice compact and bushy specimens alongside the
more spaghetti like version and mine might well not be the first one
Joe-public would chose. Joe public does not always know how to evaluate
plant quality, but does know what he wants and that's height and so the
tallest plant seems the best choice to him at the time.

What I see is more and more yielding to such market forces. And besides,
such plants are easier to produce.





One gc is selling Pelargoniums for over £4.00 when we
are charging £1.80 for the same size! But the customer isn't paying for
the
plant but for acres and acres of expensive glass housing few plants
(and all
of those bog standard) but hundreds of other products, such as candles,
soap, writing paper, cards, sweets, jam, garden furniture, barbecues,
water
feechas etc.

Erm, no, not quite. It's all just that Profit thing again.
I've heard similar agruments presented, but curiously the hpo across form on
item to another. One minute the price of their gardening services is
defended as needing to carry some of such overheads. Or their cafe prices.
Then it's the price of the kitch that quoted as the gc's savoiur. And sooner
or later it's as you suggest, the price of the plants. The other overheads
MUST be able to stand on their own commercialy viable feet.
Or at least, needing some minor subsidising.

I suppose this is an international disease.

Correct (-:

snipped the rest

Patrick