business: growing your own
Home is where the heart is Famous for its plant offering, Bents’ Mark Downton describes the benefits of – and the logistics involved in – garden centres growing and selling their own
T
hese days, Bents Garden & Home is much more than just a garden centre. However, despite all the growth and expansion that has taken place over the years, it has never forgotten its roots as a centre for plants. The Bents business began with a love of gardening, when Alfred and Margaret Bent started growing roses from the front garden of their terraced house only yards from the garden centre’s current location in Warrington. This commitment to gardening has enabled the offer to thrive, and the centre’s on-site nursery operation demonstrates the commitment and passion it still has for plants. An in-depth knowledge of all aspects of plants, for instance, growing history, is crucial for any garden centre to be successful. That’s why our
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home-grown collection is so popular with customers, who benefit from stronger, healthier plants in their gardens. Bents’ commitment to its on-site growing operation is reflected in sales, with almost 70% of all plants sold in the first six months of the year having come from the centre’s own nursery.
Wide open skies
The home to Bents’ premium plant collection is its large open skies glasshouse. An ever-increasing level of work is required from the nursery team to ensure demand is met. Naturally, quality standards remain a top priority. Work begins as soon as the nursery opens at 6.30am, when the order list arrives from the plant area outlining what is required for the day’s sales. The team works to collect
the plants, putting them on trolleys and bringing them to the dispatch area, where each specimen is individually checked. This is to make sure they are healthy, tidy and priced before going out for sale. Bents can’t compete on all levels, for instance, with larger commercial growers specialising in certain areas. So instead, it focuses on varieties that are not as widely available on the open market, while at the same time using its expertise to grow bigger and stronger plants. Bedding, summer colour and perennials all feature strongly in a growing operation that has expanded exponentially in the past ten years.
Extremely well received With its on-site nursery, Bents doesn’t need to factor
transportation costs into its operation. This is good because, simply by virtue of their size, some plants are costly to move around, and the savings have allowed us to invest in growing the business. One result of this is that we’ve been able to focus on the strength and size of plants. Taller perennials such as Lupins, grown on a commercial scale, have been hugely successful this year. They’ve been received extremely well by customers, and strong sales continue to support this approach. Plants are cared for at the nursery by a full-time team of 10, boosted by seasonal colleagues who help with the growing and nurturing of new lines. Potting-up areas, meanwhile, see nursery workers take baby plug plants, seeds or cuttings, the majority of which are from English
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