Mr Fothergill’s Press day, Part One

 

This year has been a great one for me so far, products tests and reviews have been coming in thick and fast and now it would seem after all my hard work over the last five years I am know being considered part of “the press” and invites to attend press days and trade show invites are being received.

 

My very first press day felt daunting at first as I had no idea what to expect. I had ideas of very well-known press people all mingling together and little old me sitting to the side with no idea what to do or say. How far from the truth was I? A friendlier bunch you couldn’t hope to meet. Everyone asked what I do and seemed interested in my product trials blog. The whole day was so well organised, full of info and I was truly blown away by the Fothergill Trial ground, it had a huge wow factor as we walked through the field gate that revealed an immense array of colour and smells. I was like a child in planty heaven. We went off in small groups with a Mr Fothergill guide. Ours was Rachel and she was very knowledgeable, down to earth and welcoming, the weather was against us with torrential rain threatening at any moment, but we made it round with only a few spots until the heavens opened. Thankfully we made it back to the marquee just in time.

The trial field was incredible, a vast array of every plant you could wish for. My favourite of the day was the brand new scented verbena “scentsation” I love verbena and was amazed that after six long years Fothergill’s have developed a sweet, delicately scented annual verbena, available for the first time next in next years seed selection. We were given some in a fabulous goodie bag so I will definitely be sowing my seeds as soon as I can next year. With next year being the “year of the marigold” the trial field had every different type you could ever imagine, one even had several shades of oranges and reds that changed and deepened as the flower blossomed. The way the marigolds had been planted looked just like the rolling sea as you looked back down the field.

News for the expanding company

An exciting new acquisition for Mr Fothergill’s is the tool company DARLAC. This will remain as a stand-alone company although now part of the expanding Fothergill family. Having trialled a couple of DARLAC products in the past, I am really pleased that they are now part of Fothergill’s. These are great quality tools that can only add to the excellent reputation that Fothergill’s already have.

A second exciting announcement is the new David Domoney vegetable seeds collection. I was very interested in this new collection as it is aimed at encouraging new gardeners to give it a go. This is my gardening mantra and I’m thrilled that finally there is a range aimed at just such an ideal. The packets are straightforward with no complicated garden terms that can be off putting to the new gardener. I am sure these will be a hit and I urge anyone who feels they want to give veggie growing a go but have no idea where to start, get yourself some of these, you can’t go wrong.

There is so much more to write about new and exciting Fothergill plans for the future and my experience of this fabulous press day that I have decided to write two blogs on this topic. So I hope you have enjoyed reading so far and please come back for part two.