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Ordered Tayberry bushes. Arrived promptly and well packaged. A pleasant and easy shopping experience online. Plants look healthy. Will definitely be back for more, highly recommended. Thank you.
E E, Scotland
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Ordered Tayberry bushes. Arrived promptly and well packaged. A pleasant and easy shopping experience online. Plants look healthy. Will definitely be back for more, highly recommended. Thank you.
E E, Scotland
Normality Returns
Regular visitors to our website will have noticed that for many, many months we have not updated our homepage or posted our monthly video update. Our Twitter and Facebook Friends would have similarly noticed that, again, for many, many months our (Serena looks after our Facebook page, I our Twitter account) postings have, at best, been sporadic - if at all. Calling visitors to the nursery will have noticed we have not been quite as tidy as we would like to be.
Just recently we have heard rumours that we are to close - this is the first we know about this!
And so an attempt at a brief explanation (possibly overdue) as to why we are where we are...
As many of our friends and loyal customers know, my dear Mum passed away in February 2017. What few know is that since before this time my father was being very unpleasant to my Mum, myself, Serena and our Daughters.
My parents started the nursery business, as documented in the History section of our website (which we really do need to update!) and Mum continued to 'keep the books' and be a constant source of encouragement and support until 2016 when she became too poorly. With the help of carers we cared for her until she died in the Annex of our home (where my parents lived) in February 2017.
Mum is buried in the garden of our home, as was her wish. I personally attended to her burial.
As soon as Mum died things became much worse with my father making many and various accusations against myself, Serena and even our daughters Molly and Milly. Inevitably several of my sisters also became involved! Simplifying matters greatly, the main issue was with regard to the ownership of our family home - though there were many many other side issues too!
As all this 'bumbled' along it got to a point where we (as a family) needed to have a point of finality and so we (myself and Serena) issued Court proceedings.
And so, not so long ago we gained a Judgement against my father with regard to ownership of our house and various other matters.
On the 7 August my father left the Annex of our home. I will not go into further detail of the 'in between' save to say it has been pure hell for our daughters, Serena and I. Involving both business and work we physically and mentally have not been able to 'get away' from this nonsense since mid 2016.
Just a few weeks after father leaving I am already able to reflect and wonder how we have been able to keep the business going at the same time all this deeply worrying, hurtful and personal stuff has been going on.
As we have made it through all this I think I can safely say that myself, Serena, Molly and Milly are a strong family unit!
So this is why Serena and I (and the business) are behind with many things. Sadly we have lost some staff along the way - not least because of rumours and unpleasantness that has been thrown at them too.
I left school on my 16th birthday, and started the day after to help my parents rebuild their business that was then in receivership. I have worked tirelessly since that day – and Serena joined me in those efforts long before she formally joined the business in Autumn 2003.
Rest assured, we are not closing and 'normal service' will resume quite soon - after all, we have a Chilli Fest to get sorted for just over a month's time!
So as 'life returns' be sure to follow all our antics at the nursery on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram for daily updates and general banter posted with a grin.
Happy Gardening!
Stephen, Serena, Molly and Milly Shirley - and all The Team at Victoriana
View older Diary Posts.