We’re well into our first PYO season now, and it’s been a real surprise just how much pleasure people get from coming.
We love it, and know what a special place it is, but it’s always lovely to see other peoples reactions to our abbey setting and our flowers.
We’ve had comments such as “it’s so lovely I nearly cried”, “I’m so excited I don’t know what to pick” and quite a few comments about what a treat it is. Lots of our visitors have bought a VIP card or come back already, which is fantastic, as people coming once is nice, but people coming back means we’re doing something right!
It is a treat - we’re so used to ‘Keep off the Grass’ that being let loose with secateurs and told to go for it is a real novelty. People are also loving wandering up to the top field to see what’s there. It is a bit wild & wooly at the moment (somehow it was neater & tidier when we weren’t open yet and there was no-one to see it!) but the views are stunning, and as people are usually on their own up there, they can just meander and take it all in.
We’re definitely still learning - what grows best, what people like to cut, what goes over too quickly, what gets left etc, but the biggest takeaway so far this year is that we seem to have really struck a chord and given people something that in many cases they didn’t’ even know they needed.
We’re absolutely delighted by the reaction, and still get a huge satisfaction in casually saying “yes, we’ve only been here 4 months”, as people can’t believe it! We will be adding, changing and developing things for next year (including over 3000 speciality narcissus & tulip bulbs), but the core idea giving people time with friends in a field of beautiful flowers in a beautiful space is definitely a hit.