It all started with a work trip nine years ago…
…when I met Michelle. At the time, neither of us could possibly have known that nearly a decade later I’d be staying at her home in British Columbia, being shown some of her favourite places and speaking at the conference she organises. Over those nine years we’ve stayed in touch, initially very much through work, and somewhere along the way a professional relationship became a friendship, albeit one where distance means we rarely get to see each other in person. That, I think, is one of the things I love about working in this industry. You never quite know which conversations and connections are going to turn into something much bigger.
My trip to Canada also came at an interesting time. The previous four weeks had been something of a whirlwind. An unexpected change in my partner’s work meant a move out of the area and the beginnings of building a new life somewhere else, so getting on a plane to Canada felt like quite a change of pace.
For the first few days, work barely got a look in. Michelle and her husband Jamie gave me an incredible introduction to British Columbia, taking me up to Whistler via Porteau Cove, Squamish and Brandywine Falls, and then on to Vancouver and plenty of other places in between.
We went on a gondola that was considerably higher than I would have liked, walked for miles through the woods around Lost Lake, saw a bear, explored Vancouver, crossed the Capilano Suspension Bridge (which my stomach definitely didn’t thank me for) and ate an impressive amount of very good food.
There were mountains, lakes, waterfalls, enormous trees, rooftop jacuzzis, maple syrup and more coffee stops than I could count. After the previous few weeks, it was exactly what I needed.
Halfway through the trip, though, we switched into work mode and headed to the conference in Abbotsford. Having known Michelle professionally for so long, I already knew how good she was at what she does, but it was still brilliant to see her in action in her own environment. Organising an industry conference for 250 people is no small undertaking and seeing all the work that goes on behind the scenes, and watching Michelle manage it all, was pretty impressive. It was also slightly surreal to go from walking around mountains and drinking coffee together one day to being at a conference surrounded by delegates, speakers, growers and garden centre owners the next.
The conference also gave me the opportunity to learn much more about the Canadian horticultural industry, which turned out to be one of my favourite parts of the trip. There was plenty that felt familiar – garden centres might be separated by thousands of miles, but many of the conversations, challenges and opportunities are remarkably similar. What really struck me, though, was how friendly and welcoming everyone was, how generous people were with their time and how hard they all worked. I loved hearing about their businesses, comparing experiences and getting a glimpse into an industry that is very similar to ours in some ways and quite different in others.
One of the things I found particularly interesting was meeting people who had bought garden centres. In the UK, it sometimes feels as though almost every story we hear is about a garden centre being sold, so it was refreshing to talk to people on the other side of that story – people who had actively chosen to invest in garden centres and were excited about what they could do with them. I found those conversations fascinating, and there was a sense of optimism and ambition that really stayed with me. It was one of those useful reminders of why visiting another market can be so valuable. Sometimes the differences aren’t enormous, but they’re enough to make you look at your own industry from a slightly different perspective.
Of course, there was also the small matter of the reason I’d actually been invited – I had a talk and workshop to deliver. There were definitely a few pre-presentation nerves, but once I got started I really enjoyed the session and, most importantly, Michelle was pleased with how it went. After that I could relax a little more and enjoy the rest of the conference, listen to some of the other speakers and continue meeting people.
By the end of the week, we’d switched back again. Conference clothes were replaced by waterproofs and my final morning involved a very wet walk to see some waterfalls, followed, naturally, by one last garden centre on the way to the airport.
Looking back, I went to Canada to speak at a conference, but that isn’t really what I’ll remember most. I’ll remember the generosity of people who welcomed me into their homes, businesses and industry. I’ll remember conversations with people who were investing in garden centres and excited about what they could build. I’ll remember seeing a professional contact of nearly a decade, who has become a good friend, doing what she does best. And I’ll remember all the experiences either side of the work – the mountains, the food, the walks, the coffee, the waterfalls, the bear and a lot of laughing.
We spend a lot of time talking about networking and making connections in business, and sometimes I think that makes something very human sound rather transactional. The best connections aren’t necessarily the ones we deliberately set out to make. Sometimes you simply meet someone through work, get on, stay in touch and, over the years, the relationship evolves. You have no idea at that first meeting where it might eventually lead. In my case, nine years later, it led all the way to British Columbia – and I’m very glad it did.
