Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Maggi Young on December 09, 2008, 04:14:33 PM
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With the rapid approach of the Holiday Season..... the thought of Christmas gifts and the like do loom large in the thoughts of many of us. I know that the big chain type Garden Centres go full blast at Christmas, and it has occurred to me that smaller, more specialist nurseries are missing a trick rather, in not doing more to capture their little bit o f the Festive Market.... so it was intersting to get a note today from Stella Rankin, of Kevock Gardens.... she's put some thought into this idea......
"Merry Christmas to you all from Kevock Garden Plants!
For a gift that will go on growing despite the credit crunch what about a box of plants? We can also send gift tokens with a catalogue for people to choose their own plants as an alternative. Tokens may also be set against the cost of a plant list or design.
Please let us have orders to send out by Wednesday 17th December, which is the last date of despatch. A greetings card will be included free in each order with whatever greetings you would like to send.
There has been snow on the ground but still the shoots of new bulbs are poking hopefully through the soil. Let’s hope 2009 is a better year for everyone.
With best wishes from all the team at Kevock, Stella."
This is the url for Kevock.... www.kevockgarden.co.uk
Enterprising, I think, why should the huge companies get it all their own way?
If you contact Kevock, let them know you spotted this post!
Do you know of any other alpine /rock garden nurseries who sell gift tokens etc? Let us know here....
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To save a forum member the embarrassment of posting his own nursery, I'll do it for him(!)
'Pottertons'
http://www.pottertons.co.uk/pott/index.php
Very cheap for Daphnes, but maybe Rob would like to tell us what's 'hot' this Christmas?
(Look under 'Catalogues' for the vouchers)
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And if you are intersted in bulbs and want the fun (?) or turning them round to the Northern Hemisphere, try Marcus Harvey's Hillview Rare Plants Catalogue on hillviewrareplants.com. (http://hillviewrareplants.com.)
The catalogue is worth a look just for the pics including the artwork of Susan Jarrick.
Marcus' nursery is in Tasmania and he is happy to post overseas(not just to the rest of Australia).
cheers
fermi
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....and Gerd Stopp is doing a special 'Christmas Offer' too.
20 plants for 35 Euros, or 40 plants for 60 Euros.
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My goodness, that offer of Gerd Stopp IS a real christmas gift!
I was a little worried about his bank details being shown on the internet,so I edited the pic of his letter to remove those: If anyone wants to know those to make a payment in that way, just send me a message via the Forum private message or email me and I'll happily pass on the details to you.
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In another thread, there has been talk of elves... appropriate enough, I think, at this time of year when Santa Claus and his elven helpers are so busy at the North Pole, making gifts for all the children in the world...... some have expressed doubts about the existence of these magical folk, but elves DO exist, and after posting this, to my mind, conclusive evidence in that thread, I thought I should also post it here....for any Seasonal doubters!
So, for anyone who has doubts about the existence of elves, may I suggest you follow this link......
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/HuaNN9n2ruW9Vv5F
Or this one, which shows the elves enjoying a barn dance.... elves LOVE barn dances!.....
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/0uk8OQDPehD4Etyq
....conclusive proof, I think, and something to cheer you all !
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Maggi,
How did you know he had eleven helpers? Oh.... elven helpers (looked the same to me at first glance). My bad! :P :-*
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Goodie! Santa has arrived early in Aberdeen...... he must have wanted to miss the worst of the traffic jams......
a large parcel frull of super plants has just this minute arrived...... on the 10th December, with the help of a Friend, ( thank you, Hans J :-*) we sent off to Gerd Stopp for one of his Christmas parcels......Whoopee...... here it is, safely in Aberdeen... all beautifully packed ( as I had been told it would be, by another Chum who has had parcels from Herr Stopp in the past).... it will probably take until New Year to get them all unwrapped... have only peeked at a couple so far.... what a great treat! Thanks indeed to Gerd !
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You really have got me excited, Maggi ... I too have sent for a 'selection box' from Gerd ... the proposed postal strike will probably take effect before mine arrive? :)
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I do hope your parcel arrives very soon, Cliff.... mind you, the plants are so well packaged that they can most likely survive even a postal strike..... but I'd much rather they didn't have to.
What a super selection we have; no two the same and all little gems...... this bodes well for some very smart trough plantings..... 8)
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Will we get to see photos of plants in box, wrapped plants and opened goodies?
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Will we get to see photos of plants in box, wrapped plants and opened goodies?
Yes please!
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OK so here are some pictures of the plants.
The request for pictures came too late to picture them in the box they arrived in, we had them out of that pretty quick I can tell you- like kids in the sweetie shopie.
They could not have been better packaged - it must have taken ages - but it was worth it as they all arrived in perfect condition.
Even the gravel topdressing was undisturbed in most of them - I split more unwrapping them.
A great selection of plants 41 different species some I have wanted to get for a long time and some others I would not have thought to ask for but am pleased to have.
All in all this is a great, e4xciting and very cheap way to get a parcel of alpines.
Many many thanks to Gerd Stopp - I can heartily recommend his offer.
Also check out some of the other Nurseries that are making special postal offers they are also good value and we should be supporting them all.
Just think for less than the price of a single snow drop you could have a box of goodies.
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Smashing. I've asked him to send me his new List when it is available. ( March 09)
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Don't suppose he exports?
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Nice to see the very special five (six?)square pots. I was told they were only produced during the DDR (German Democratic Republic) period.
These pots are well suited for raising smaller perennials and I use them for small violets.
If you find well cultivated rare alpines offered growing in this type of pot by a nursery here in Germany you can take it for sure that they originally came from Gerd Stopp.
Gerd
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I love those little mesh baskets filled with shredded paper and placed over each plant. A brilliant way to pack. Never seen anything like it here.
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It is Christmas Eve (in the workhouse) and Gerd Stopp (alias Santa Claus) has just delivered (via an intermediary) twenty wonderful plants to my door. I have been glum for a few days thinking that my euros had gone missing or my parcel had been delivered to more deserving folk in Bali or Taipei, but then the doorbell rang (strange that - it has been broken for months) and there was one wise man (his name tag read, Frank Incense) with a beautiful package in lustrous brown cardboard and glowing khaki tape. I brushed his palm with a twenty pound note, put it back in my extremely dusty wallet, and wished him a very merry Christmas - I darted inside and ripped the wrapping to shreds.
Twenty tiny pots with beautifully crafted caps emerged from the polystyrene and newspaper packaging and I was certain that Father Christmas existed.
Merry Christmas one and all ... tis the season to be extremely jolly.