‘We just wanted to make a difference’

Long-time Redcliffe Garden Centre customers have overwhelmed owners Ross and Gena Campbell with messages of support since they announced the business will close in the coming months, after 20 years.

The couple made the announcement on social media on July 7, after they were unable to renew their lease at Snook St, Clontarf. It is unclear what the site’s owner has planned for it.

Ross says he and Gena were left with no other option than to close, bringing forward retirement plans.

“It’s not a case of being able to relocate. It’s too hard to start a nursery from scratch with all the regulations,” Ross says.

“We’re at that age now, where retirement is beckoning. Once we realised this could be a great life, we were both united in wanting to retire.”

A firm closing date has not yet been set and will be determined by how quickly they sell the stock they have ordered in the lead-up to spring. They have honoured those orders to do the right thing by their suppliers.

“We want to be fair to our suppliers. We pre-ordered a lot of stock for spring, so if we drop that, they’ve got to find another buyer for it,” Ross says.

“Gen and I thought about it and thought, well let’s have a really good sale – 30 per cent off. The customer is having a win, we’ll still make some money and then we’ll scale it back from there.”

Gena adds: “It’s a good way to start the whole process. We’re lucky because it is the end-of-lease reason that we’re closing and retirement now. It means that we can do it our way. We don’t have anybody pushing us to do it faster”.

Ross says the sale also gives their team of 13 more time to find other work.

“We’ve already lost some staff, who have gone to other jobs and we understand that … we’re encouraging that. The others have been told that there will be work here for as long as the business is open,” he says.

“We’re trying hard to help them find a job.”

The decision to close evokes strong emotions and the couple says they have been touched by the gratitude and support they have received from customers.

“The grief, the mourning … there’s people who have come in and they couldn’t leave. They physically could not leave. They’re so upset,” Gena says.

Ross adds: “We never dreamt that this little business had such an impact on people. Gardeners are different, gardeners are the soul of the earth and they’re wonderful people. They are the best customers”.

More than just a shop

For many, Redcliffe Garden Centre has been much more than just a place to buy plants.

“A garden centre is a heart-based business. So, it’s different. There’s nothing you can compare it to. People come here often because they have a need to heal themselves. They come here for therapy, literally. They come here to make themselves feel better,” Gena says.

“That’s the hard part because we now have people who have said, ‘where am I going to go?’. We’re trying to say, you’ve got some other really good garden centres around.”

They’re encouraging their customers to support other garden centres off the Peninsula.

“Australia needs small business. They’ve got to support it. Most times, they’re very competitive. The scary part is small business is being swallowed up by big business … we know what happens then,” Ross says.

One of the highlights has been working side by side for 20 years, with Gena joking she only had to send Ross home twice during that period.

They have also enjoyed watching young staff members develop.

“One thing that I’ve really loved is watching families come in with young children and then watching those children grow up and have their own children (and come in). It’s been really special,” Gena says.

“We’ve been to (customers’) weddings, funerals … we’ve been to literally everything in between. We’ve got really good friends who are our customers.”

Ross knows every corner of the Peninsula, delivering plants to customers who have needed assistance.

“We would deliver a punnet of seedlings to a little old lady because she couldn’t drive. That punnet of seedlings meant that she could get outside and get in her garden,” Ross recalls.

“My mum gardened until she was 93 and she didn’t drive in the end, so she relied on someone doing that. Sometimes, we look at what people did for people we loved and it’s our job to keep these people outside and keep them gardening because it’s going to keep them alive,” he says.

Ross and Gena have worked closely with local schools, churches and community groups during the past 20 years.

“We’ve been very much a community-based support for them. It’s been wonderful. It really has. We will miss it,” Gena says.

They paid tribute to their team including Sondra Grainger who has been with them for five years.

“She is one amazing lady,” Ross says.

“She’s supported us every step of the way,” Gena adds

They said any employer would be lucky to have her and they hope she secures another job soon.

They also have one horticulturalist who needs to find work and some junior staff who are looking for new gigs.

“This crew, that we’ve got at the moment, has worked amazingly hard over the last week or so,” Ross says.

Heartfelt thanks

“We want to thank everybody for supporting us and for being friends,” Gena says.

“Without the people who walk in that front gate, we don’t have a business. The biggest percentage who come through that front gate are fabulous and that makes our job easier. We can be ourselves, we can be happy … if we’re happy, the staff are happy and everyone’s happy,” Ross adds.

“We’re sorry to … you feel like you’re just walking out and leaving them (our customers) and we’re really sorry for that,” he says choking back tears.

“We feel like we’re abandoning them,” Gena says.

“Our job is to make their backyard, their environment, their homelife better,” Ross says.

“We wanted to make a difference,” Gena adds.