History

We were so excited when we came across the nursery site over a year ago. Until the early 1980’s it had been a chrysanthemum and tomato nursery, a combination that was popular in this part of the country in the 1960’s and 70’s. When the business closed down the site fell derelict and was overlooked for the best part of 20 years. Amazing that this could happen on the edge of a popular village like Coggeshall, just a stone's throw from the busy A120.

Although the site is almost 10 acres in size, we have developed 2.5 acres for the nursery. Unfortunately, the 2.5 acres we chose for their proximity to the nursery buildings were covered in brambles - 3 metre high monsters with 20 years of growth behind them! Once we started clearing them it became apparent that this was to be the ‘easy’ part as the brambles had camouflaged 2 acres of glasshouses that had been left to fall where they stood. This winter it really has been a voyage of discovery as we have unearthed hidden sheds, tools and lots and lots of rubbish.

Just before Christmas we were able to start building new rather than demolishing old. This represented an important turning point for the project, and welcome respite for our psychological health, just as we were beginning to wonder if we would ever be ready to open in March 2005!