It's that time of the year when keen or even not so keen gardeners turn their attentions to the planting of garden plants. A very good friend of mine and knowledgeable gardener tells me that Begonias need a damn good regular drowning and that sweet peas need lots of loving care and attention. Bulbs like Gladioli can be planted at this time of year but one should ensure that the deciduous trees in the locality have to be well 'into leaf' to offer their protection to the soil. Now quite how he knows all these things are a complete mystery to me seeing as he seems to spend all his time in the bookies or the pub!! But what I do know, is that he knows his garden plants ... and I don't!
Off down to the local garden centre or nursery I will trot, only to find an almost daunting array of plants, seeds and bulbs to choose from. Fortunately for me, the lovely Margaret is always there to lend some help and advice on the subject in hand. After listening to her words of wisdom I then plan my route around the shop with a view to selecting a particularly large quantity of said products. It is only then that I realise I need a trolley or a hand barrow of some sort to help with the transport of the goods to the till. Now why is it that when you need a decent trolley or truck to help you out, you can never find one! There are a pile of broken ones over behind a hoarding near to the warehouse doors but I never ever notice a nice long neat line of shiny new ones near the front door. Garden centre owners please take note ... it's that time of year when your customers need good trolleys to help you sell your wares, so please invest in some well spent hand trolleys and trucks to help your establishment stand out from the crowd.
There are great choices of two and four wheeled barrows along the lines of the most traditional of ranges or for the more retail based businesses perhaps the popular cash and carry ranges might be better suited. Some of these trucks will be particularly useful if you are an outlet that sells larger and more bulky products as well as the garden plant ranges.
It might also be useful for you to also observe the guidelines set out by the Health & Safety Executive for the manual handling regulations. This is important for your consideration from both the customer and employee perspective.
How many times have you seen piles of trolleys all with the same inherent 'supermarket wheel' problem ... you know ... only 3 wheels on my wagon! Also damage to the wheels means that the trolley often behaves like it has a mind all of its own and ends up doing a perfectly good impersonation of a crab! Well, no more does that need to be the case ... we have a great service that refurbishes and repairs trolleys, wheels and other associated equipment.
So come on owners, give your trolleys a makeover and help out your customer!
As it's time to head on out and make your selection for this year's garden planning. The Garden Centre Association which will provide information on the nearest garden centres to you. The main site is also packed with useful tips, help and links for you to read up and maybe become an expert just like that gambling, drunken friend of mine!