Inside the nurseries at Otter

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Welcome to the first in our new series of blogs providing an in-depth look at our growing nurseries, what we’re growing for the current season – and what we’re preparing for the next!

Not everyone knows that Otter has always been a grower. Right from the earliest days of the business, when, in 1964, Malcolm and Marilyn White bought a plot of land in Ottery St Mary.

Working out of a second-hand mobile home, they began growing lettuce, cabbage and carrots for the local markets before moving into bedding plants, which they sold directly to the public.

Of course, since then the company has changed and expanded. These days we have seven garden centres across the South West and into Hampshire and three growing nurseries at our sites in Ottery, Torquay and Lymington, where we grow and nurture an extraordinary range of plants.

Quite a few garden centres buy in all their plants, and while we do buy in some, we are proud of the range and variety of plants we grow ourselves. In fact, some lines have the accolade of being totally ‘British Grown’ meaning they are started from seed here.

We love introducing new lines, some of which are exclusive to Otter, such as our own hybrid Camellia, Claire Hannah, a beautiful coral red with semi-double blooms. We’ll be revealing a brand new Agapanthus for next year, so watch this space!

Changes seen over the years include the introduction of automated processes and new machinery, which help efficiency and allow us to grow more plants.

Plus we’ve introduced many initiatives to improve our green credentials.

After all, we work with nature and we need to make sure our impact is as small as possible. So we have increased rainwater harvesting, added more solar panels, we’ve reduced plastic usage and we recycle 100% of our waste.

In our Torquay nursery we are putting lots of energy into our peat-free trials, so our customers who haven’t yet switched will be able to do so with confidence.

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The busiest time in the growing nurseries is between February and June, but we grow seasonally all year round.

At Christmas, for example, we have a wonderful selection of Poinsettia which we grow ourselves. They are always strong plants, and if cared for properly, they last and last.

And that’s one huge benefit about being a grower, the ability to ensure the quality of the plants we sell to our customers.

Regular customers will know that for many years now we have offered a two year guarantee on our hardy plants and will gladly replace any hardy stock that does fail so long as it has been looked after correctly.

We’re very proud of our experience and knowledge as growers, gleaned over many decades.

2024 will be our 60th anniversary which is really exciting. Plans are underway but expect some special events and fantastic offers, including a pack of Spring bulbs especially chosen by Marilyn as her personal favourites.

Over the next year this blog series will let you into all sorts of insider knowledge about our nurseries, so you’ll be the first to know about any new lines and what will be coming into the garden centres when.

And we’re looking forward to introducing you to our talented nursery managers who are responsible for many of the lovely plants you’re currently enjoying in your garden.

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