If you are thinking about a Father’s Day gift and your Dad loves his garden then I have found the perfect gift for you and for him! Perhaps it might make sense to you that you join with your siblings to split the cost between you all. I’m all for that idea as it enables the family to buy a present that is not only practical but will last for years. This garden storage boasts a large capacity of 490 litres, but let me put that more easily as it is approximately 55 x 53 x 137 cm or 22 x 21x 54 inches. This means Dad will be able to store all of his much needed garden tools in one place and then be able to sit on his storage box and have a rest with a cup of tea. In fact I think the family will be fighting Dad to sit on his storage box! I am sure all the family will find lots of items that will benefit from being put away inside this box and be kept safe, dry and handy to get at.
Made from weatherproof polypropylene, this durable garden storage box will provide an instant solution for outdoor storage and seating. As it is waterproof you don’t have to worry about items getting wet as all items will be protected from whatever the year brings forward. Another huge plus point for me is that this box is so durable, as unlike similar boxes made from metal or wood, this storage box will not rust, peel or stain. Plus I have huge trust in the Thompson & Morgan brand who have created the Garden Gear range.
If you only have a small outside space with no room for a traditional garden shed then this is a super problem solver. This storage box has a reinforced lift-up lid that can be easily secured with a padlock to keep your items safe, but note that a padlock is not included. With its reinforced hinged lid, this storage box has a dual purpose as garden seating. The storage box also features a clever metal strut which keeps the lid in an open position so you are able to access the box without the need to hold the lid open yourself, now that really does work for me. This brilliant box also comes with a 12-month guarantee. The storage box really is easy to construct but I did get some help as I really needed another pair of hands as this box is really such a generous size. But please don’t worry about assembly as it does come with an easy-to-understand manual, with lots of pictures!
Price: was £149.99 now £89.99
Dimensions: L146.5 x W61 x H64cm (Assembly required)
Internal Measurements: W1433 x D579 x H613mm
Weight: 9.3kg
Capacity: 531.5L
Colour: grey
Visit: thompson-morgan.com
Despatch: Within 7 Days
Please note that due to the weight of this product this is a red lorry item, delivery will take between 5 and 7 days and is charged at £9.99.
Taken from the Thompson & Morgan website:
About Us
Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant company. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy. In addition to our longstanding UK presence, the brand also operates throughout the world through its international website and offers its popular seed range through major garden centres across Europe.
Our product range has also expanded to include an award winning seed range, young plants, bulbs, seed potatoes, onions and garlic sets, soft fruit and fruit trees as well as an extensive range of gardening supplies. All have been carefully selected through stringent testing and trials to make gardening a pleasure and a success for our customers. In addition, we also offer a wonderful range of Christmas gifts sent with a personalised card to both the gardeners and non-gardeners in your life!
Our team has been behind the development of several award-winning plants, including the stunning Rudbeckia ‘Cherry Brandy’ and Buddleja ‘Buzz’™.
Thompson & Morgan is very pleased to offer a UK based customer services division who can respond to your horticultural queries as well as resolving any queries you may have regarding your order or why not join our thriving Facebook community for additional advice on gardening and plants.
If you prefer to choose your seeds in a local garden centre, Thompson & Morgan sells a large range of flower and vegetable seeds through major garden centre chains in the UK and Europe. If you are growing plants for resale, our Direct2grower division supplies a large range of seeds and British Grown plug plants to commercial growers and seed wholesalers.
Seeds are a perfect choice for marketing promotions – please consult our Promotional Seeds website for further details of the services we can provide to support your campaigns.
History
More than 150 Years of Accumulated Horticultural Knowledge and Experience
The UK has a rich horticultural history and there are many well known personalities who have given their names to plants, garden styles and modern day horticultural companies. Among the companies that have founded the country’s seed industry a few names still survive, although their independence has been surrendered. Yet, as one of the oldest firms in the business, Thompson & Morgan retains both its identity and its reputation for innovation and quality.
It all began in a small garden behind a baker’s shop in Tavern Street, Ipswich, tended by William Thompson, the baker’s son. He started work by helping his father but, stricken with ill-health, he began studying botany and passionately cultivated the garden at the back of the shop in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. He was soon to acquire the name of the ‘baker botanist‘. From the back garden he moved to a nursery at the edge of Ipswich and then to an even larger one. Eventually there were three Thompson nurseries in the town and William began to publish a magazine called ‘The English Flower Garden‘.
In 1855 his first catalogue was produced and this was to be the forerunner of an unbroken line stretching through to today. William Thompson specialised in growing rare and unusual plants, seeds of which were sent to him from many overseas countries. It brought him a spirit of adventure, earned his business a reputation for exciting introductions and gave him the friendship of such great scientists as Sir Joseph Hooker, Sir Michael Foster and Charles Darwin. As one of the most distinguished plantsmen of his day his skill in raising plants of the Western United States was recognised when, in 1876 a volume of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine was dedicated to him. This was a rare honour. Twenty years later the Royal Horticultural Society invested him with its highest honour, the Victorian Medal of Honour.
The seed raising firm expanded and William Thompson entered into a fortuitous partnership with John Morgan. Although Morgan was by no means a botanist he was a shrewd businessman with sound financial knowledge and he was able to offer capital resources that enabled the expansion of the enterprise to be soundly financed.
William Thompson died in 1903 at the age of 80 but he had lived to see Thompson & Morgan become one of the country’s greatest seed firms with a reputation for introducing more species and varieties to the British gardening public than any other seed company – a tradition that continues to this day. William’s death left John Morgan the sole owner of the business until, ten years later in 1913, Joseph Sangster became a partner.
A brilliant horticulturist and talented administrator, having previously been the manager of Lissadell Gardens in Ireland, Joseph was to add 4,000 plant names to the established 2,000 already in the Thompson & Morgan catalogue. He took over the company completely when, in 1921, John Morgan died. After ten more years, a site on London Road in Ipswich was purchased and two years after that Joseph was joined in the company by his son Murray. Murray had already received horticultural training in Edinburgh as well as having work experience at Slococks, the then well-known nursery of Woking, Surrey. The reputation of the company had grown to such an extent that whenever someone somewhere in the world wanted the seed of a particular plant, more often that not it was Thompson & Morgan who were able to supply it.
In 1939 Thompson & Morgan became a limited company and when Joseph died in 1952, Murray Sangster took control. He was later joined by his two sons, Keith and Bruce, both of whom had received horticultural training. In 1973 they decided to expand their distribution centre to Poplar Lane, Ipswich from where the company still operates. One year later, in 1974, Murray retired and Keith and Bruce Sangster took over the management of what was to become one of the most progressive horticultural companies in the world. On Murray’s death in 1994, Keith and Bruce became sole owners of the company.
In 1982 Bruce headed the company’s expansion in the USA after previously having a distribution base in Jackson, New Jersey. In 1999, the company became part of International Garden Products Inc., of Boston, MA, USA. In May 2002 Thompson & Morgan returned to independent private ownership.
In the late 1990’s Paul Hansord, the Managing Director at the time, developed an innovative range of Young Plants which were to be delivered throughout the UK. This side of the business has gone from strength to strength, leading the way in mailorder plants.
Imaginative marketing techniques have made Thompson & Morgan the industry’s pace-setters and have helped keep the company dynamic and young at heart. The quality of the product is the cornerstone of the company’s success, and quality control dominates every aspect of Thompson & Morgan’s operations. All suppliers have to stipulate seed germination rates, regular checks are made by Thompson & Morgan’s management of all contracted growers’ crops and every consignment of seed is rigorously tested in the laboratory and trial grounds by the company’s technicians. Finally, the seed inserted into the well-known and distinctive Thompson & Morgan packets. With every packet comes the company’s guarantee as to its viability.
To assist the amateur gardener Thompson & Morgan have tried to take the mystery out of gardening practices and engender the maximum enjoyment from growing seed. With this in mind the company published a 32-page booklet ‘The Germination Times’. The publication has received much praise from both beginners and experts as a definitive addition to the subject, and a further example of the way that Thompson & Morgan’s innovative approach to marketing is founded on long, practical experience. There are now also extensive growing guides and tips available online.
