Day Two in the plant centre turned out to be more successful than I was expecting. The gale force winds that had been forecast didn't materialise (though I think they are coming, listening to the shipping forecast on the way home) and while it was a bit breezy, not too many pots blew over. And trade, after an incredibly slow start, picked up so that we ended the day at quite a respectable total. True, we were helped by one customer who bought three multi-stemmed birch trees and spend over five hundred quid, but even without her the day's takings wouldn't have been a disgrace.
I pushed on with the display tables, and managed to redo another half dozen, though the shortage of suitable plant material had not miraculously remedied itself in the night, and I felt distinctly gravelled for lack of matter. Customers bought things out of the ones I'd already done, which at one level was very gratifying, and at another a nuisance as I had to scrabble around looking for substitutes to plug the gaps. Two plants of a silver leafed dead nettle went, to two different customers, and that was almost certainly down to the display as they hadn't attracted any interest in days, stuck in alphabetical order between the Kniphofias and the Leucanthemums. My colleague who was tidying the roses yesterday kept a tally of each rose we sold, and got quite excited when he hit ten. I think we were supposed to keep it up for him today, but I forgot. Tidying plants and presenting them attractively can induce customers to buy them, even though a good gardener sets out with a list, or at least a clear idea of the spaces they wish to fill, and should not be swayed by such temptations. I might have been tempted myself, though I have not yet done the deal, but I was very taken with a soft orange shrubby potentilla, which I feel could usefully go somewhere near the 'Hot Chocolate' roses and purple leaved Cotinus (bits of the Cotinus are dying. I am rather peturbed by this).
I spent a long time with a customer who wanted an unusual evergreen, not too big, to give to her neighbours as a 50th anniversary present. An added complication was her wish to spend what she judged an appropriate amount of money, around £15, so while she was very taken by a small leafed form of Pittosporum tenuifolium, with silvery leaves that contrasted beautifully with the black stems, it was slightly cheaper than her ideal. We took a long time looking at other things, before she settled for the Pittosporum anyway. The time spent with customers is only weakly correlated with how much they actually spend. The one who spent over five hundred pounds chose all of her own plants, without any input from us at all.
Yesterday was the annual sponsored bicycle ride in aid of the Suffolk historic churches. The owner had bicycled to seven different churches in three hours, after spending the morning on duty in the village church, and was pleased with her efforts. Today we inherited most of a box of mixed biscuits for the staff room, left over from the refreshments for the participants.
After the close of business we all went to see Eric the rooster. The owner said that Eric was not at all vicious, and she thought that when he ran at the gardener this was not with the plan of attacking him, but because he wanted a cuddle, and possibly to be saved from the peacock. Poor Eric, the misunderstood rooster.
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