Dunstable
florist, The Cottage Garden Flower
Shop of Chiltern Road, has been trading
in the same family in Dunstable for
well over a century. Established in
1898 the business was originally a wholesale
nursery growing flowers and plants for
sale at market and from their current
site in Chiltern Road.
Ready for
market. Photograph taken at what
was then our extensive acreage
of glasshouses at Kirby Road,
Dunstable, now the housing development
of Long Meadow and the Kirby Road
Doctor's Surgery.
The War Years
The business was passed from father
to son in the early 30's and during
the war years was turned over to the
production of tomatoes and cucumbers
in a bid to help the war effort. Other
sites at this time included glasshouses
in Kirby Road, now built on and known
as Long Meadow.
A view of Chiltern
Road in the early 50's showing the cottage
that forms part of the current premises
standing alone on the far right. The
houses on the left form Union Street
and the whole area shown in this photograph
is now housing.
Interflora and Expansion
In the 50's the business passed to
the next generation of the family and
was steered the more towards the retail
side with the opening of another shop
in Middle Row, Chiltern Florists. In
the mid 50's the business became one
of the founder members of the Interflora
Relay Service in the UK. In the 70's
Beavingtons the florist of High Street
North was bought as an existing floristry
shop which had itself been trading since
the 30's and also run successfully for
a number of years.
An advert placed
in the Dunstable Gazette announcing
the opening of Chiltern Florists in
1959.
Consolidation
Following a move to consolidate the
business, Beavingtons was merged with
The Cottage Garden Nurseries in Chiltern
Road in the late 80's and became The
Cottage Garden Flower Shop as it now
stands.
Modern Day
Following retirement the business
made its most recent generational move
in 1993 to the great grandson of the
original owner who currently runs the
business and launched its online presence
in 1996, originally on some free webspace
before moving to www.netflora.co.uk
in 2001. The shop still trades from
the same premises in Chiltern Road and
continues to serve Dunstable and the
surrounding areas.
