IT was a day of celebrations for all at Ravensworth Nurseries as the horticultural enterprise celebrated 50 years in business.
The company was started by Bill Hannah and Doug Bradbrook who, having worked on a farm together near Whorlton Lido, started out growing tomatoes in a lean-to.
They bought their first plot of land at Ravensworth in 1967 and the nursery proper was set up the following year.
By the early 1970s, the nurseries introduced bedding plants and that has further expanded over the years to include ornamentals, cyclamens and poinsettias.
Ravensworth Nurseries remains a family-run concern, with Mr Hannah’s daughter Fiona Dean and her cousins Matthew and Jonathan Bradbrook now at the helm.
Ms Dean said Ravensworth Nurseries now boasted eight acres under glass with the business undertaking contract growing for local authorities and other clients as well as the retail side.
“We also supply other garden centres throughout the country,” she said.
Ms Dean said that with the area well served by garden centres and farm shops, Ravensworth Nurseries had steered clear of that type of development.
“We hope people will come for the flowers,” she said.
In 2015, an unseasonal July hail storm caused widespread damage to the glass houses, however, the business battled on from that setback.
Ms Dean said this year, bedding plants and hanging baskets were proving especially popular with customers.
“People are wanting a lot of colour,” she said.
Last weekend’s 50th anniversary celebration featured a number of stalls and also doubled as a fundraiser for Macmillan Nurses and Sir Ian Botham’s Beefy’s Charity Foundation.
Sir Ian and wife Kathy have lived in the village for the past three decades and they were among those who came along to toast Ravensworth Nurseries’ success.
Sir Ian was also on hand to judge a chilli cooking competition.
“We picked this as a day in the summer to celebrate being here for 50 years,” added Ms Dean.
“We did a cook-off last year, which was successful, so we thought we would have a bit of a fun day, celebration and cooking competition.”
