Carole Levy
Ablaze with spring colour, Riddells Creek Nursery is a brilliant destination for gardeners of all stripes, with more than 2.4 hectares (six acres) showcasing nature’s beauty at every turn.
Owner Geordie says this is the busiest spring season he and the industry overall has ever experienced, with people responding to COVID-19 restrictions by sprucing up their outdoor spaces more than ever.
“Our lovely local customers are visiting in droves – while maintaining social distancing – but we’ve adapted to make shopping possible for people in lockdown further south, such as Sunbury residents.”
That clever adaptation takes the form of FaceTime calls. Geordie explains the process.
“Customers can contact us via phone or Facebook to book an appointment. We will call them back on FaceTime to show them the plant selections that they’ve listed on their order.
“This is the second-best way of ensuring they’re happy with the plant size, colour and shape before final purchase – and then we deliver free* to customers in the local lockdown areas. We miss those outlying customers and really look forward to getting back to normal nursery visits.”
The gorgeous nursery is fully stocked with everything a spring gardener could need – although COVID-19 has made some plants, such as daphne, unavailable since March.
As well as offering every spring-planted vegetable and herb, the nursery has a half acre of advanced trees, and an ever-expanding stock of native trees and exotic ornamentals. Geordie says the dogwoods and magnolias are looking particularly stunning. And there are pots galore, many ready-planted with colourful blooms.
One of the very special trees in stock are the rare, slow-growing Wollemi pines, which can be kept indoors when small – and grow up to 40 metres once planted outside.
“The Wollemi pines were recently re-discovered in a gully in the Blue Mountains, surviving the bushfires,” Geordie says. “The rare species were saved and propagated, so they can live on in home gardens.”
Geordie’s team is pretty special, too. Along with expert horticulturalists, Geordie has reached out to his local community to employ young unemployed workers, some of whom lost jobs due to COVID-19.
“We love our people, who are discovering a passion for plants and enjoy meeting customers, helping where they can – such as happily carrying out loads to cars.
“We will always have a customer-focused approach; it’s who we are.”
Riddells Creek Nursery, 671 Kilmore Road, Riddells Creek. Inquiries: 5428 7387 or Facebook.
*$50 minimum purchase
