After setting up an online as a works vendor whilst analyze at university , Will Purdom is the proprietor of Botanico , an on-line greenhouse specialise in the sale of tropical plants that grew from a side hustle into his full - prison term business .
He grows and sells over 700 species of plant online and is also the holder ofthe National Collection ofImpatiens , which features 45 dissimilar mintage .
I speak with Will about his humble beginning and ambition for the hereafter .
How Did You Get Into Gardening?
“ It all started a prospicient time ago , when I used to develop oak trees with my mom , ” excuse Will . “ I was around 3 old age sure-enough .
“ I loved being out of doors and it just developed from there . I used to go on gardening holidays with my parents quite often . One time , I got given some banana seminal fluid . I was say they would n’t grow , but I deal to get them to germinate .
“ From there , every class it grew , soI started to grow bamboo seminal fluid . I had so many at one full stop that I take off to sell them online when I was around 17 .
“ I was making good money out of it , which is where it all begin . ”
What Then Led You To Create Botanico?
“ I go to college and did an extended diploma in Horticulture before extend to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh where I did a degree in Horticulture & Plantsmanship .
“ During that prison term , I kept flow my business online . I used to have volunteers go around to my house to irrigate my plant whilst I was aside at university . Then , I ’d come back in summertime and sell all of my plants !
“ Over clock time , I develop it in various ways , including my techniques for packaging technique and my cognition of customer needs . ”
What Is It About Tropical Plants That Interest You?
“ They ’re just weird and I like that ! ” he joke .
“ There [ are n’t ] many untried people in horticulture , so it veers towards the traditional a heap of the fourth dimension .
“ the great unwashed do n’t always realise the diversity that some ofthe more tropical plantscan whirl . There is so much out there that people do n’t realise .
“ We also hold the internal collection of Busy Lizzies and the mutation within that genus alone is absolutely awe-inspiring ! ”
What Does A Day In Your Working Life Look Like?
“ I get up and dispatch all of my parcels in the morning , ” shares Will .
“ After that , it could be anything from sorting through the nursery fund , prickle plants out or doing online marketing tasks . It ’s so wide-ranging . ”
What Is Your Proudest Career Moment?
“ I ’m not really the sorting of soul to excogitate on things ! ” he laughs .
“ I just acquire plant . I won an eBay award once which was quite special . ”
Do You Have Any Upcoming Projects You’d Like To Share?
“ We are currently diversifying quite a moment as a company . We are obviously known as an exotic plant company and that will still remain , but we are also going to release a perennial and wild flower range next year .
“ I think we are releasing around 400 new plant species , which is really exciting . ”
What Is The Biggest Lesson That You’ve Learnt From Horticulture?
“ We all get so wrapped up with daily living , myself include , that sometimes it ’s deserving stopping , make a look and just appreciating what ’s around you .
“ Otherwise , you escape it all . ”
