Otter Garden Centres has reopened all seven branches after closing them in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Managing Director, Jacqui Taylor described the first days of reopening:
“We are delighted that we have been allowed to open. We have put the safety of our customers and colleagues as the top priority during this difficult time of trading as we all get used to the new systems and ways of working. So far, customers have shopped very sensibly and carefully - and have praised us on the safety measures we’ve put in place to ensure we are not overcrowded and that...
A Torbay garden centre celebrated the amount raised for the RNLI in the run up to Christmas 2019 with a visit from Stormy Sam.
In just three months, staff and customers at Otter Garden Centre in Moles Lane raised over £1,200 for the charity that that is reliant on voluntary donations to power its lifesaving work at sea.
The total came from charity boxes at the tills and donations made to two animated displays over the Christmas period comprising musical polar bears and a group of singing reindeer. In addition, offcuts from Christmas trees were made available to customers to...
The charity team at Otter Nurseries in Ottery St Mary has announced the total raised for last year’s charity of the year, The Baton.
The garden centre raised just under £5,500 with enthusiastic staff taking part in a quiz night, cake bakes, dress up days and collecting tins on the tills.
£830 came from the annual Memory Tree, which is always a popular feature at Christmas when customers buy ribbons - red for £1 and gold for £5 - and attach them to the tree in memory of loved ones such as family, friends or even pets.
The new ELF family suite at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital received a boost when an East Devon garden centre helped to finish the exterior.
Otter Nurseries in Ottery St Mary was approached by landscape architect, Dan Hutchinson of Stride Treglown, for donations of plants and labour for two outdoor spaces around the new building, including a small garden intended as a private area for patients and their families.
The garden centre’s garden designer Anna Childs and her team visited the site on several occasions, preparing the ground and planting suitable varieties of...
The busy restaurant at Otter Nurseries in Ottery St Mary has been awarded the highest rating by the Food Standards Agency in its most recent inspection.
With over 280 covers, the restaurant serves hundreds of hungry customers every day using fresh ingredients from approved local suppliers.
Restaurant Manager Anthony Adams, said: “In a big kitchen like ours there is a lot to keep on top of in terms of hygiene.
“We work extremely hard to achieve the highest of standards, including staff training. It applies to me too - I recently attended a four-day course in Exeter...
Otter Nurseries recently stepped in to help a village fete with a donation of flowers to give a much needed boost to the annual plant stall.
The stall at the Buckerell fete is always a popular attraction for locals, but this year due to ill-health and less than favourable weather conditions for growing, it was in danger of being understocked.
A local resident approached Otter Nurseries, and the team agreed to support the event by donating a considerable number of bedding plants.
General Manager, John Giblin said: “At this time of year we sometimes have surplus stock...
The kitchen team at Otter Nurseries in Ottery St Mary is over the moon after their homemade raspberry jam scooped gold at this year’s Taste of the West Awards.
This is the first time the garden centre has entered these popular awards that celebrate the quality of local produce in the South West. Otter Nurseries entered two of its jams, and alongside the gold gong for the raspberry, the strawberry jam collected a highly commended award.
Catering Manager Anthony Adams, said: “These preserves are made weekly in our restaurant kitchens by expert jam maker Liz Lee and they’ve...
Schoolchildren from a Sidmouth school have planted rocket seeds, some of which have been into space, with a little help from Otter Nurseries.
Marilyn White, founder of the garden centre in Ottery St Mary, visited St John’s International School with donations of seed trays and compost to assist with the experiment, organised by the RHS to see if there is any difference between ‘space seeds’ and normal seeds.
Two kilograms of seeds were sent up to the International Space Station on Soyuz 44S in September 2015, and British ESA astronaut Tim Peake took charge after his arrival...
During the current football season, the Feniton U15 squad has been sporting new kit sponsored by local family-run garden centre, Otter Nurseries – which may have given them a boost for their impressive performance.
The team has given a near-flawless performance during this 18 game season; so far they have won 16 games out of 16. They have scored 158 goals, conceding a mere 18, with the best score being 20-0.
Top scorers are Oscar Walsh and Sam Ayers who have scored more than 80 goals between them. Having just won their latest match against Brixington Blues, the team is now...
Otter Nurseries has donated special seeds of remembrance to be given to participants in the 2016 Ladies Twilight Walk in aid of Hospiscare.
1,000 packets of forget-me-not seeds will be handed out at the end of the walk, enough for everyone expected to take part.
Otter Nurseries Marketing Manager, Sabine Taylor said: “We are delighted to contribute to this event in this way. Many of those taking part will be walking in memory of a loved one, and the seeds can be planted afterwards as another way of remembering them.
“The forget-me-not is a self-seeding plant that...
