During the hour and a half that we spent chatting with Peggy and Debbie Chin it was clear that they were having a light morning. They said plants and flowers have their own Christmas market, though what we learnt from them much later was that plant lovers do much of their Christmas shopping earlier in the year. Christmas trees are bought several months earlier and replanted on the buyers’ premises. By the time Christmas comes around all that is left to do is the decoration.
Peggy and Debbie are a pair of amiable sisters who own Garden Land, one of the country’s most respected plant nurseries. Garden Land’s business premises is situated opposite St Stanislaus College on Brickdam. There is no commercial signboard hanging and you could easily miss the place.
It’s easy to tell that the Chins are dedicated horticulturalists. Though not entirely uncaring of the commercial significance of the enterprise, they