CATCHING UP WITH ...
PALMSTEAD
CATCHING UP WITH ....
PALMSTEAD
WHO BENEFITS FROM GROUP VISITS TO THE NURSERY ? By Nick Coslett , marketing manager .
At Palmstead we seem to be on the agenda for international groups to visit us , which is fantastic . We ’ re fortunate to have received annual visits from two Dutch land based colleges and last summer the European Perennial Society ISU included us on their tour of UK sites . This year we ’ ve received a visit from the Polish Nurseryman ’ s Association and next month I ’ m expecting Icelandic university students to visit . All this attention and interest from international visitors is very flattering and it ’ s an honour to fly the flag for Horticulture UK .
However , these visits absorb quite a bit of time for staff to prepare , to meet our H & S rules we need two members of staff per 15 visitors . These visits absorb 2-3 hours of productive time per visit per staff member which can add stress when they happen during peak periods . Does this pay ? It ’ s not like they are potential customers who we are always be pleased to show around , but as we don ’ t export international business is not in our plan . So , is there a return on this investment in time ? Bah humbug , I hear you say . Yes , the staff at Palmstead are proud of where we work and what we produce and like to show it off . It ’ s good for developing staff skills in public speaking and confidence too . Not many nurseries of our size produce 2,500 + species and variety across the plant spectrum from trees to shrubs with over a third as perennials .
So , we do like to show off our nursery . It ’ s part of our general marketing and PR effort . However , this investment may not pay in new income from new customers but it ’ s surprising the value of the connections and
networking these visits have made which help us to help our customers . We now have stronger contacts and links with some suppliers who were tangential at best before and made new links with more potential European growers .
They are somewhat perplexed by Brexit ( aren ’ t we too ?) but are keen to develop and continue trading with us . Some think Brexit offers an opportunity to produce more in the UK , but we are unlikely to double production to satisfy the current level of imports . Neither can Palmstead grow all the plants customers desire all the time . Traditionally 15-20 % of what we sell has been sourced from other growers .
Therefore , we will continue to need European partners for plants and Brexit will have to make this work . We must only trade with like-minded growers who we know well and trust to grow and trade healthy pest and disease-free plants . It ’ s the contacts we make at tours and exhibitions which are confirmed by visiting the growers nurseries that form our network of reliable partner suppliers . Relationships must start somewhere so do visit , if a picture is worth a thousand words a visit is worth a thousand pictures .
58 Landscape Insight | August 2017