Blog: Looking back on a lifetime of gardening!
When I was a child, I couldn’t wait for seed catalogues to arrive – if Suttons Gardening Club had existed, I would have been in my element. Compared to how easy it is to order online now, with a host of offers, savings, etc, you forget how different it was back in the 1970s. It took real effort to buy seeds by mail order, but there was a ritualistic comfort in the process. Let’s face it, there wasn’t much else to do! As soon as the catalogues dropped onto the doormat, you knew you had to get your order in as soon as possible if you wanted anything unusual.
Garden centres only carried a limited range, and as a child, I couldn’t get to one by myself. Mail order gave me the power to spend my pocket money by myself (even if I had to ask my dad to write a cheque or take me to the post office to get a postal order).
Why I make lists
I’m a habitual list maker, and I’m sure this stems from the arrival of Suttons and Thompson & Morgan catalogues. I’d read each one from cover to cover, enjoying making huge lists of plants I had no room for. (My parents’ house was a traditional three-up, two-down terrace with a tiny front garden and a concrete back yard.)
Then, I’d start narrowing down my lists and cross-checking the prices of each. Being a kid with little money, only one catalogue could win (I couldn’t afford to pay postage twice). What did I buy in those days? Petunias, Antirrhinums, Coleus and sweet peas spring to mind. An early flirtation with exotics ended in disaster, with a pack of coffee, banana and bird of paradise beans/seeds.
What is the Suttons Gardening Club?
For a £10 annual fee, you get:
- 10 per cent discount on every online order
- £30 worth of vouchers throughout the year (6 x £5)
- Exclusive, members-only deals
- Seasonal gardening tips
Seems like a win-win situation! To find out more about Suttons Gardening Club, visit www.suttons.co.uk.
