EXCELSIOR DRIED FLOWERS

Well one year the bottom fell out of the leek market and unfortunately it was not worth us cropping them, so we left them in the ground and they went to seed. At this time of year, there is a local agricultural show very close to us, we had then been trading as Excelsior Dried flowers for two years. At this show, Excelsior used to have a stand. We used to put on all of the fresh dried flowers that we had growing at that time of year, and of coarse one of those crops was our leeks that had gone to seed. Well we started cutting for the show early on Friday morning and finished setting up our stand 11.30 pm. On the night, my brother Andre and Nicky (his wife) slept at the show ground for the night, to make sure none of our products got stolen.

Saturday came around, all of us at the show ground bright and early, putting the finishing touches to our stand, well what a day. Trade started off a little slow, but by dinner time we could see that the LEEKS were going to sell so my father Ivan, started cutting like mad! He was cutting Wheat, Delphinium, Eryngium, Static Tatarica, static, Helicrysum, etc.and of coarse LEEKS. These were banded together in 5s for 50p! Well we had specially printed for Excelsior some wrapping paper for all of the products that we sold. Well, at the show in the mid afternoon I remember glancing around the side of my van that I was serving people out of as fast as I could, and seeing our wrapping paper every 3 to 4 people apart, amazing all with Leeks in them that day we cleared a 5 Acre patch of Leeks.

After this show and a few more we where still growing dried flowers, sending them all over the world for a few years, until the trend changed back to exotic dried flowers, which started selling better, so we imported from far and wide and still do.