Earlier this year I finally decided to set up my own business as a
gardener and garden stylist and I have been so busy that I have hardly noticed
the summer fly by. Last week I had a welcome break in Stockholm which
provided lots of inspiration. It was my first ever visit and I timed it to
coincide with the big Formex trade show which focuses on Nordic interior
design. However, the first thing I did after dropping off my luggage at my
hotel was to scoot out to the suburbs for a much-anticipated visit to Zetas, a
beautiful garden centre for ‘garden gourmets’. The weather was hot and sunny,
and perhaps unwisely I followed Google's advice and caught a commuter train out to a tiny place called Stuvsta where I
hitched a ride with a local bus (I say ‘hitched a ride’ since it turned out that it wasn’t
possible to buy a ticket on the bus but the driver understood my crestfallen mumblings in svorsk* and very kindly let me travel
for free) which dropped me off right outside Zetas in a quiet residential area
full of clapboard villas.
Photo: The Keen Gardener @ Life with a Nordic Soul
I love plants and I enjoy shopping, but I don’t particularly
like shopping at garden centres – it always seems to involve a lot of effort to
find the plants I want. Zetas is rather different. Dubbed ‘gardening for
feinschmeckers’ (or if your German is rusty, ‘gardening for gourmets/garden
lovers’) it is entirely designed to give visitors a leisurely and pleasurable
experience. It’s located on a sloping plot and loosely terraced in the shade of
tall conifer trees with the scent of an extensive collection of roses wafting
in the air as soon as you walk through the entrance. Everything is grouped by
category, and within these categories plants are displayed in tonal groups of colour. This makes eminent sense to me – visitors can stroll around
and easily pick out plants that go well together rather than walking from end
to end trying to gather compatible specimens. Not only does this make it very
easy for visitors to spend money it also provides a relaxing and harmonious
environment with plenty of inspiring ideas to take home.
Photo: The Keen Gardener @ Life with a Nordic Soul
I had time for a late lunch in the shade before strolling
through the grounds and finally ending up in the garden shop, where I planned
to buy Zetas recently launched paint for terracotta pots. Sadly these are not
available to purchase abroad due to exorbitant postage costs so I made sure to
stock up with as many pots as I could fit into my suitcase. Once this heavy
rain stops I will try it out on my boring old clay pots in the garden.
Photo: pithandvigour.com
When the time came to leave I asked the lady on the till for
advice on getting back to Stockholm (wanting to avoid the tricky bus ticket situation), and she very helpfully gave me directions to a nearby
tube station with the parting words that if I didn’t find it I should come back
and she would walk me there herself. So sweet!
*Svorsk = Svensk-Norsk, ie when a Norwegian tries to speak Swedish (or vice versa).
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