Mark and Nadine have been Rhino customers for many years and now own a grand total of 4 Rhinos! They were kind of enough to chat with me about their greenhouses and their love of gardening...
What do you both do for a living?
Nadine is a district nurse and I supply fertilizer, seed and chemical to farms.
When did you take up gardening?
We sort of started because of our parents who were always out in the garden so as soon as we could walk we joined them and I guess it just becomes second nature.
What one piece of advice would you give to gardeners?
Well it’s contentious but I would say to try and grow naturally. If you go down the chemical route then every year you have to use more and more because things develop resistance. Plant diseases are usually not as bad as they look. Every year we get late blight on the potatoes which looks terrible but when we lift them they are big and firm and healthy. The organic slug pellets are equally as effective as the toxic ones as are the organic caterpillar sprays. Nadine would say “wear gloves”.
What is your favourite thing to grow and why?
I like to grow my olives, lemons, limes and oranges in one of the Rhinos because it is very difficult to do in our climate, but not impossible. Nadine likes her exotic multi coloured tomatoes because they look pretty.
Do you have any pets?
We have two small mongrels, Toby and Raffle, but they are both 22 years old now so probably not for much longer. Raffle only has one eye but it doesn't seem to bother her much. I guess the bantams are like pets as well because they all have names and we do not kill them when they get too old to lay and two goldfish in an outside pond.
Why do you keep coming back to Rhino?
We use Rhino because they are the most cost effective greenhouses around. We spend about £900 on a Rhino which lasts decades where our neighbour, spends about £300 every year on ones that blow down every winter. You are nice people to deal with and really know your products extremely well so advice is always easy to get. Your optional erection services are excellent.
We love hearing about our Rhino owners, what they love to grow and their advice for other gardeners. Gardening is a community activity and we love being a part of it. If you have a Rhino (or Rhinos) and you'd like to be featured on our website, please do get in touch with us! We're on all the big social media channels.