We were so close, kind of, to an acceptable new normal. Like the trailer for the Jaws film, just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water… Unfortunately there is no hero with a small boat and a lot of determination but an army of exhausted medicos doing their best to hold back the tide.
New Year in the Surrey Hills
How has 2021 been for you? It’s been a bit wierd here. After almost no work in 2020 I have been flat out in 2021. There have been more projects than I could shake a stick at but this has brought it’s own stresses. For the first time in my garden design career I’ve had to either turn work away or postpone it. No one in business likes saying no but to my pleasant surprise lots of people were prepared to wait.
New bulbs in South Park Gardens
Although I’ve had lots of work most projects were stymied at some point by the twin obstacles of Brexit and Covid. Brexit has pushed up prices as there is substantially more paperwork for imports and especially for plants. Some plant suppliers have stopped exporting to the UK completely meaning nurseries have had to seek new suppliers or drop certain plant lines.
Bluebells in the Surrey Hills
In 2020 the nursery I use to source most of my plants could place an order for plants from Holland on Monday and they would arrive on Tuesday morning. Now they have to order five to ten days ahead. It means they have to hold more stock, which costs them money, and it’s more difficult to manage their stock, resulting in disappointed designers and clients.
The global upturn in the economy has resulted in a double whammy of increased demand and no lorry drivers or shipping containers. This has also pushed up prices and reduced supply, something you may have noticed if you’ve tried to order garden furniture. Many of our plants are grown in Europe. In 2020 the growing nurseries furloughed their staff but the retailers were selling online. The result? A much reduced availability in 2021. In the spring of 2021 I could only source about 50% of the plants I wanted and it was difficult to finish projects in a timely manner.
Things started to improve in the second half of 2021 but in the last few weeks lorry drivers seem to be particularly stricken with Covid. Omicron or Delta, the effect is the same.
Paeonies in Hampton Court gardens
The upshot of 2021 is that there was no overseas holiday. Who knew that UK holidays could be so anticipated? And so what if it rained everyday? There were hardly any garden visits and no time for a monthly newsletter. But amazingly both the Hampton Court and Chelsea Flower Shows took place. Some garden projects were finished eventually (photos in 2022 hopefully). I’ve carried on volunteering as a gardener in my local park and our hard work has been recognised by residents and our local MP.
And life goes on, hopefully with everyone enjoying their gardens or other peoples’ gardens and having fun outside, whatever the weather. Your garden project may take a lot longer than you anticipated but it will get done, eventually, and it will have been worth the wait.
Have the best Christmas possible.
Jane.
Autumn in the Highlands