Happy Birthday To Me, Happy Birthday To Me......

Happy Birthday Dear Wellie......  Happy Birthday To Me!

NO!......  I'm not like The Queen, with Official, and Unofficial Birthdays.  But!:

My Best Friend, M, called me at The Potting Shed yesterday, to wish me a very happy First Potting Shed Monmouth Anniversary, and it IS quite unbelievable that I set my new business up a whole year ago on the 8th of April, but I just did - okay?!x
(Thanks M.x)

SO:   HAPPY BIRTHDAY POTTING SHED MONMOUTH, and my sincere thanks to all of you who love us so much, and have supported us so beautifully over the last twelve months.x

AND Trousers, for FINALLY believing in me these days, where my own family have not.
And without the unfailing support of Gordie, Gordie, Gordie (our very tame builder), the place would still be a 3-year old wreck....

Despite my complete 'numptiness' in the Social Media department, more to my own surprise, I've managed to get The Potting Shed Monmouth recognised and accoladed 'quite nicely thank you' on Tripadvisor to quite a high rating for such a small new business, and still obviously working hard on that front to better our professional profile to the best of my ability.

BUT Children:
This Easter Weekend though, sadly, we had a group of new customers in from Oxfordshire, who clearly just didn't 'GET us'?.... and posted up on Tripadvisor, in no uncertain terms, potentially 'sullying' those hard-earned efforts of mine.

I'm not going to discuss what they had to say about 'US personally' on my blog, because you can read their words on Tripadvisor first hand, and for me to comment here, I feel, would be totally unprofessional.

Maybe because they sat INSIDE our Tearoom, DIDN'T witness that we had 30 or so customers OUTSIDE in our Garden, those tables of which, we were filling and vacating, over and over and over again in the time that they were just sat enjoying their food inside?, totally, and blissfully unaware of the 'frantically paddling duck feet under the calm pond around them that was pleasing so many new customers in the beautiful sunshine maybe?

You're welcome to read their comments, and other 'Lovely Ones' on Tripadvisor for yourselves, and please know, from me, that they were perfectly justified to comment as they did, because that WAS their exact first impression, 'of the moment' and recollection of The Potting Shed 'experience', which is what Tripadvisor is 'all about'.
Thankfully, they were collectively complimentary about our food, and we hope they'll come back one day 'in a better frame of mind.

And of course, whilst Owners of ANY business on Tripadvisor can reply online to those Customer Comments, sometimes, it's wiser NOT to, and in this particular instance, I have chosen not to.

On a much lighter note, no-one but me gets much more 'cited than this, with the prospect of my first Dutch Lorry Load of plants arriving from Holland this coming Monday evening.
(See Kiddy in A Sweet Shop?), and whilst I have requested certain plants to fulfil customer orders, I just LOVE to climb up the steps on those articulated-articulated lorries, not knowing what might be on board, and just choose whatever plants 'take my fancy' this week?

But there's a certain 'sensible' to it too, because I have to try and judge what plants Wellie likes, and what my customers might want to buy, because if I get it wrong, I'm left 'holding the horticultural baby' for the rest of the season, watering and feeding it.

The Horticultural Season has definitely 'kicked off' now though, because my customers are not only looking, but buying plants again, and asking for genuine advice on specific plants, and their gardens in general.  And I just love being 'back in the zone', up to my elbows in compost, pricking out and potting on, seeing all my seeds germinating in The Funny Farm Kitchen (on top of the Rayburn!) - much to the annual annoyance of Trousers.....!

Until next time my friends, take care.
Wellie.x