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End of an Era –Closing down sale
 
We have made the decision to close the Garden Centre at the end of the year after all the Wreath Workshops have been completed. We are having a sale of some Preloved items and also 30% off garden centre stock and will be open 10am-4pm Tues, Weds, Sat and Sun for the next few weeks.
VAN GEMEREN & CO LTD was incorporated in April 1959 and was at the start, a rose growing nursery. Roses were grown on both sides of Mansfield Road the B6039. What is now the A617 Chesterfield bypass was originally the railway line and also had rose fields around it. The bare root bushes were sold by mail order, with adverts being put for many years in the Amateur Gardening Magazine. The other main customer was the Readers Digest with new subscribers receiving the free gift of a rose bush supplied by VAN GEMEREN & CO LTD. Ev remembers one lucky lady by the name of Mrs Rose being sent a bumper bag of rose bushes instead of the single one she should have had. The business employed dozens of local ladies who either worked in the offices handling all the orders or were involved in the packing of the roses. Working hours were flexible to allow those with families to work around school times. It was a happy place to work and we still get customers coming in who have fond memories of having worked here. The roses bushes were always strong , healthy and disease resistant and there was a lot of repeat business. When the mail strike of 1971 meant that the roses that had been grown that year couldn’t be posted out, a large sign was painted on the end of the building advertising 10 roses for a £1, the queues started and the garden centre slowly evolved. There’s been lots of changes over the years, supermarkets and online shopping haven’t helped but we’ve always tried to offer a friendly personal service and are extremely grateful to those of you who have become close friends as well as loyal customers.
We’ve got lots of ideas for the future and will still be around for a little while longer (we’ve got a lot of sorting to do).
With our best regards to you all and please come and check out a bargain
 
Ruth , Ev and family

We are a small family based garden centre just outside the village of Hasland, Chesterfield in the beautiful county of Derbyshire. We have been established for over fifty years, originally growing and selling roses all over the country.  We have diversified over time and nowadays we sell garden sundries, seeds, composts and outdoor pots together with a variety of gift ware and garden furniture. We try to stock things that are a little bit different to what you can find on the high street . We are a bit old fashioned in that we still believe in personal service for our  customers. You won’t be expected to struggle to find what you are are looking for , serve yourself and then load your purchases into your car without any offer of help. We like to have a chat with our visitors, pass the time of day or just talk about the weather. Our resident cat Flash is also usually around somewhere and loves nothing better than a fuss from our customers. We also have other specialist businesses on site including Chris Kirby Ltd ( sheds and summerhouses) , Bonsai trees and mower repairs. Please see our Other Businesses on Site page for more information. Our Facebook page for VAN GEMEREN & CO LTD shows up to date information.