I have no idea how to quote or high light my post below, anyone who wishes to please feel free if you can be bothered to help make it clear....
According to the Q and A above Sarah Raven have their own team/ experts. How far is the commute from Yorkshire to Lincolnshire.....
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I used to commute from Doncaster (south-east side near the M18) to Lincoln. At least an hour and 5 minutes each way, more if the traffic was bad. The Taylors site is near Askern, north of Doncaster, so probably add 20 minutes. If the Sarah Raven site is the south Lincolnshire in the fens (which many growers are, good soil down there) it's a lot further, so my guess is probably around two to 2.5 hours or more each way on a good day - not a feasible commute, particularly for a relatively low-pay job.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
We are a very small team of just 4 at Thorncroft Clematis & Climbers. We'll be increasing our range and stock in early Spring and will continue to offer our expertise and knowledge to our current and, hopefully, many more customers! Hope to meet you if you're visiting Malvern Spring Festival 2024! Have a lovely Christmas everyone!
Thank you @Marran. Happy Christmas to you too. In the past I bought some clematis from Peter Beales which were grown by Thorncroft. Recently I bought a clematis from them and the man said they don't get them from Thorncroft anymore. Do you know why?
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Thank you @Marran. Happy Christmas to you too. In the past I bought some clematis from Peter Beales which were grown by Thorncroft. Recently I bought a clematis from them and the man said they don't get them from Thorncroft anymore. Do you know why?
I just checked this with Pete Skeggs-Gooch (3d generation owner of Thorncroft). His reply is that we no longer supply Peter Beales and only sell direct to our customers by mail order (which you already know! ) We now operate and despatch from our nursery which is near Evesham - previously, (several years ago), plants were despatched from Norfolk (where Pete's grandparents began the company; then his parents continued) which was much closer to PB. Pete still lives in Norfolk but it made sense to move the despatch site to nearer the british supplier. Our British grown plants are literally grown less than a mile away and those not grown there are imported from Holland twice a year.
Richard Hodson here from Hawthornes Clematis Nursery in Lancashire, just to throw in my two penn'orth, good luck to Chris and Suzie who were excellent to deal with, they launched my clematis Carol Klein at Tatton Park Flower Show a few years ago. I hope they have a long and enjoyable retirement. Their nursery, and their knowledge of clematis, will be sadly missed.
Taylors were definitely a great supplier of Clematis- their booklets informative and practical and plants superb. Being taken over by a company that strives for recognition with flashy brochures, I can only think it's a backward step and one that will bring higher prices and less choice to us customers. We'll see!
I’m late to the party! I’ve only just discovered that Chris and Suzy Taylor have stopped trading. I bought several plants from them over the years, their plants were reasonably priced and top quality. The last one C rhederiana has thrived on a shady wall, the others have all done equally well. They have been very generous with advice too. I’d hope SR will keep the prices at a reasonable level (economy of scale)! Best Wishes to you both.
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Best Wishes to you both.