As we celebrate this milestone, we invite you to join us in reminiscing with our Otter teams as they share their cherished memories, reflections, and emotions from their time at Otter Garden Centres.
Brothers Neil and Kevin were both born in Escot, which is where Malcolm White rented a walled garden to grow lettuce and cabbages. Malcolm’s dad used to collect the veg and drive it to the local markets.
Neil started working here for Otter in the 1970’s, on a casual basis when he was still at school. When he left school he wrote a letter to ask for a full time position. He was given a six month trial, and says he’s not heard anything since!
Kevin followed his brother in 1986, asking Keron Owen, who was then in charge of the Escot site, if there were any jobs available. Keron told him he could start as soon as he liked. Kevin worked at the Ottery garden centre, where one of his first jobs was mixing compost to sell to customers.
Neil says there were only around 25 full time employees when he started, and the site at Ottery was just 7 acres. “The shop was just where the seeds and pond section are now so it was really small. The plants centre was just a polytunnel. Then the first greenhouse went up. This would be opened up and bedding sold directly to the public.” He remembers that Malcolm’s mum used to do lots of pricking out, while his dad took on more deliveries, of the bigger things that customers couldn’t manage themselves.
Both brothers moved into the team growing trees. For many years this was a big part of the business, and Otter sold not only to the public but to trade as well, Neil says. “We grew trees in Fairmile and Whimple. We used to do a lot of budding (a type of grafting), around 10,000 in a year. The trees were mostly fruit and ornamental then, although we went on to grow Christmas trees as well.”
When the large tree growing operations stopped, Neil and Kevin moved more into maintenance work, with lots of work on building development and drainage. Kevin’s work included supporting the landscaping teams, a service that Otter offered to customers along with garden maintenance. He also helped the greenhouse and conservatory teams with their work. “I’d do any of the digger work for them. I remember at one point everyone wanted big rockeries with really large rocks, so I’d spend time moving them around in customers gardens!”
These days Kevin works wherever he’s needed, clearing sites for the next bit of development, while Neil spends a lot of time helping Malcolm and Marilyn to manage their land. “Although they are mostly retired, Malcolm still loves growing plants and some of his plants are still sold to customers. Marilyn for a long time brought home plants that customers thought had died – but she nursed them back to life!”
Kevin says the business has changed in such a big way. “The coffee shop used to be really small, then the kitchen was extended. When the coffee shop expanded, some of the polytunnels were converted to a new seating area and the house that was built for Malcolm and Marilyn, where the children were brought up, was turned into offices when the family moved off site.”
He remembers that there was very little parking in the early days. “Cars would park all along the road and cause jams, so we had to build the large car park across the road, which I worked on.”
Malcolm and Marilyn gradually bought more bits of land, including an adjacent pig farm. Neil and Kevin watched the site develop, with the addition of Woodcote Nursery and the big greenhouses going in. Neil says, “Not everyone realises quite how hard Malcolm and Marilyn worked over the years to make Otter a success.”
Neil says, “So many things have happened, there have been lots of different characters, special occasions, birthdays. When I started, all of us would go to the local pubs on Christmas Eve and it always turned into a great big party. The factory workers would be there too, you could hardly get in the door!”
Neil also remembers a visit in the early 1980s made to the Liverpool International Garden Festival. “We went up in two different groups over two weekends to look round, it was created on derelict docklands. We stayed over at the University campus.”
Kevin says for him a highlight was flying in a helicopter from Ottery to the JCB factory in Uttoxeter with Malcolm when he was ordering his new JCB. Also seeing the huge development at Ottery take shape. “For quite a while Otter was the only garden centre of this size around.”
Both Neil and Kevin say they’ve really enjoyed seeing the business doing so well and growing over the year.
They love the friendliness and the varied work and never knowing quite what they’ll be asked do from day to day. But there’s always a list of jobs to be done.
A huge thank you goes out to Neil & Kevin for sharing their memories across 4 decades with us!
Their stories truly bring the spirit of Otter Garden Centres to life! We’re so grateful for their dedication and passion.
Keep an eye out for more heartwarming tales from our amazing team as we continue our 60th Anniversary celebrations!
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