The Coventry BCSS trip 2011

DAY 1 - On the morning of Tuesday April 5th we made our way to Rugby to pick up the coach which was to take us on the 2011 Continental Trip. This was the 40th trip that Warren and Joan Withers had organised and this year was to be the last. We left Rugby at 12.00 noon for Hull and the overnight ferry to Zeebrugge in Belgium, and had a very smooth crossing.

Bob Wellen's nursery

DAY 2 – We left Zeebrugge port a little later than expected so we were running about 30 minutes late, and on the way got caught up in traffic so this made us even later, to make our way to the Nursery of Ward Verschueren (Cactus Flower) in Rumst, Belgium. We only had about an hour there as we had quite a long drive to the Robert Wellens’ Nursery in Sint-Maartensdijk in Holland. We had about an hour and a half here then another long drive to our Hotel in Unna, West Germany.

DAY 3 – We left the Hotel about 7.45 am for the Nursery of Kakteen Haage in Erfurt, East Germany. It was around 200 miles away so we had a four hour drive ahead of us. We had a stop on the way for a comfort break and for the driver to fill the coach up with diesel. The place we stopped at was the check point between the West and East and you can still signs of what used to be there and the original building is still used as a Police Station, but the rest of the site is now a service station.

Above: View in Bob Wellens’ nursery where micro-propagated plants are potted up and grown on for sale.

We crossed the border into East Germany and the change of landscape was really amazing, from the very hilly and tree covered countryside of the West to the flat open areas of the East, with the buildings dark and grey, with a very much Russian influence, however new roads and bridges are being built.

Kakteen Haage is the oldest Nursery in the World. The Haage family have been working as gardeners in Erfurt since 1685 and the Nursery was created in 1822 by Friedrich Adolph Haage. Ulrich Haage became the owner of the family firm in 1996.

They had some excellent plants although somewhat on the expensive side, however people managed to find a lot to buy. Haage’s private collection was magnificent and it was well worth the long drive to see it.

We could have done with half a day here but after one and half to two hours we had to make our way back as the driver would have exceeded her hours otherwise. We arrived back at the Hotel in Unna with just 15 minutes left.

DAY 4 – After leaving the Hotel we went to the Nursery of Gerhard Kliem in Frondenberg after which we made our way to the Piltz Nursery in Duren. Diversions were in place in the town of Duren and for a while we seemed to be going round in circles but eventually found our way back to the main road and another way to the Nursery. This delayed us again so we were behind schedule when we got to the Nursery.

We enjoyed coffee and biscuits outside on the lawn in the beautiful sunshine and lots of plants were bought. After leaving there we went onto the Nursery of Ingo Breuer in Heinsberg and then on to Ernst Specks Nursery in Erklenz, then onto Venlo where we spent the night at the Hotel Wilhemina.

DAY 5 – Before breakfast the coach was loaded with the boxes of plants, it was a bit of a squeeze and we still had four Nurseries to visit. All the baggage was loaded into the coach and as we had a full coach this was also a tight fit.

Sales area at Piltz nursery

Above: View of the sales area at Piltz Nursery in Duren. ‘… lots of plants were bought’, Diana noted.

After breakfast we left the hotel and made our way to the nursery of Jan Biesheuvel in Lexmond, then on to Aad Vijverberg’s Nursery in Honserlersdijk where the garden is as good as the cacti in the glasshouse.


Above are three views at Aad Vijverberg’s Nursery - Left: Part of the private collection. Middle: The garden pond area. Right: The extensive rock garden.

It is very pretty with a large rockery with every kind of alpine you could think of and since we were last there a large ornamental pool has been made. After this it was the nursery of Cok Grootscholten only a short distance away. Finally we arrived at the Nursery of Paul and May Hoogvliet in Westvoorne which is very close to the port in Rotterdam.

Then, after all the plants bought that day were packed away in boxes and stowed in the coach’s hold, we were on our way to the ferry and on our way home.

Diana

Ed: Thanks Diana for your report of the Coventry Trip. I know that many people have enjoyed these over the years. I would have loved to have gone just once!