Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2008/January 2009 | Page 81

GARDENING
one of a selection of living trees which, Ursula
says, are ideal as a smaller, second tree in the
conservatory or dining room. “After Christmas,
take it outside to let acclimatise, then you can
plant it and it will be a living tree.”
But how many of us can remember opting for
a little potted tree and seeing it wither when
planted out? Ursula discloses one of the uglier
tricks of the trade: “People wanted a tree with
roots, so sellers used to dig a tree up, and put
it in a pot. All the little fine roots for taking
up water have gone, it’s squashed in a pot – it’s
hardly a living tree.”
Ursula is a member of the British Christmas
Tree Association, which frowns on such
practices. Conversely the association is reacting
to the demand for larger pot-grown trees,
so Thompson’s will pot theirs on for next
year’s customers – both on the Island and
the mainland, where it has four branches in
addition to its Island outlet. Indeed, the sheer
scale of the operation seems remarkable when
you consider it is still a family firm operating
from Mrs Thompson’s house. All the Christmas
trees are grown on the Island and “exported”
across the Solent. They were enabled to do this
when they bought Shide Trees, which was an
established farm ready for cropping, so there is
time for trees to grow to the required eight years

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at their newer farm at Knighton.
Christmas tree production has proved to be
wonderful for the company. “It means we have
an income at Christmas time, which is a fallow
time for garden sales,” says Ursula. “We cut
them fresh, so we can have a really good quality
tree. And it means that we don’t have to lay off
the trained staff during winter.” The staff are
never idle. The women make beautiful wreaths
from real living Noble Fir and Nordman Fir,
and the men help with cutting trees, getting
them sent to the mainland, and running Shide
Trees. By the time all that happens it’s time to
start nursery production again for the spring.
Ursula is proud that the overseer of all the
nurseries, Peter Alexander, has been with
them since he was 16, and was nurtured by Mr
Thompson himself who built up those nurseries
from scratch. Tragically, David Thompson died
suddenly earlier this year, but the attention he
gave to training his staff, and the way in which
he shared his knowledge, means he has left a
thriving asset for his staff, and for the Island.
“He was an amazing grower,” says Ursula,
quietly.
Thompson’s Plant and Garden Centre, Watery
Lane, Newchurch. Tel 865292

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