Motion to rebrand garden centres based on content. To be a garden centre the establishment must contain a minimum of 50% garden related stuff. Any retailer selling less than this will be known as a garden right-of-centre and will have a focus on mindless consumerism and greenwashing, with larger car parking spaces to accommodate the greater proportion of SUVs. Garden left-of-centres will be more plant focused, are only allowed to sell bird boxes that a bird could actually live in, and must have a good cycle route access or a regular bus that allows you to lug home six bags of multi-purpose without having to pay for an extra ticket.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
There should be a tat tax levied and the proceeds should go towards reducing the price of plants and garden related objects. Garden related tat tax should be levied at an even higher rate
Although one of our local garden centres has a nice range of foodie/drinky gift-type stuff, as well as a (year-round) fresh food counter that has lovely cakes, pies and suchlike, a fruit and veg stall outside and a local butchers and fishmongers in the new building with the new cafe (which is good too). I might be heading there for a bit of prezzie shopping at some point soon. And if I should happen to chance upon a nice plant as well, who am I to stop it jumping into my basket? .
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Our local garden centre only sells plants and things for plants like canes and string and seeds. A few pots. I feel a bit left out of the tat shopping experience
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I'll admit to being a bit of a tit for tat since having kids. Making the garden more interesting for them or going a bit further with Xmas decorations seems more fun now that they appreciate it more. My oldest boy is still obsessing over electricity pylons and I've built him a four foot tall pylon to decorate like a Christmas tree this year. I feel like Jesus would appreciate the effort.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Speaking of tits and tat am I the only one that's furious about Jeff Bezos trying to make out he's some kind of benevolent god by 'promising' to give away his fortune to good causes? This announcement just happens to come as Amazon plans to lay off 10000 people Bezos has been hoarding wealth by dodging taxes and not paying his workers properly. He's driven out smaller businesses and reduced the quality of almost every product globally in his drive for wealth and now he thinks he can make things better by giving the money to charity? He's basically just showing that the money means nothing to him and all the suffering he's caused to get it has been for nothing. What an utter scumbag.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I try very hard not to buy anything "made in China" and find that more feasible in the garden centre than many other retailers. When I can I buy British, especially food, but the alternatives cause me many ethical dilemma. As I have got older it has got easier to reject tat on the grounds that I don't need it, don't want the clutter and won't waste the money.
Isn't it scary that, as the 8 billionth child is born, the 2nd billionth onwards could still be alive?
It took til the 1800s or so for the 1st billionth to be born, then just a further 123 years before the 2nd billionth - and then 100 years or so between the 2nd and 8th billionth.
It's quite hard though, isn't it @Suesyn? For people who are short of money, it's even harder to avoid the made in China clothing etc. I don't really do 'tat' too much - especially at Christmas, but as @wild edges says, it's quite hard when you have small children and you have to take them out. That's the point of it though - your weans harass you every time you take then in a shop! [I'm sure Jesus would love your 'tribute' too ] I doubt he'd disagree with you about Bezos either, or those morons who set fire to wreaths and the memorial on Sunday night . 'Scumbags' is about the most polite description I can think of
I had vouchers for the local GC which my girls had got me for M's Day, so I went first thing yesterday morning. The big space inside the entrance was all set up for the trees arriving, and, of course - you have to walk past all the 'stuff' to the pay point. I only bought a small bag of bird food to take me over the £20 vouchers. I usually shop at the nursery for plants and I couldn't believe the prices in there. £30 for a Pieris in an 8 or 9 inch pot. Help ma boab!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@wild edges, I agree Bezos is no male equivalent of Mother Teresa but at least his money may finally do more good than by being sat in his bank account. He's far from the only person/company who has walked all over the little man to get what they want. Every supermarket, for example, has done its best/worst to put every butcher, greengrocer, fishmonger etc out of business. For the most part they have succeeded, and then closed down their own fresh produce counters.
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“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I don't really do 'tat' too much - especially at Christmas, but as @wild edges says, it's quite hard when you have small children and you have to take them out. That's the point of it though - your weans harass you every time you take then in a shop! [I'm sure Jesus would love your 'tribute' too
I doubt he'd disagree with you about Bezos either, or those morons who set fire to wreaths and the memorial on Sunday night . 'Scumbags' is about the most polite description I can think of
I had vouchers for the local GC which my girls had got me for M's Day, so I went first thing yesterday morning. The big space inside the entrance was all set up for the trees arriving, and, of course - you have to walk past all the 'stuff' to the pay point. I only bought a small bag of bird food to take me over the £20 vouchers. I usually shop at the nursery for plants and I couldn't believe the prices in there. £30 for a Pieris in an 8 or 9 inch pot. Help ma boab!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...