another Brassada - Mem. Bert Field

[Dorsetman]

Bert was head grower at an old-fashioned orchid establishment in Sussex, UK- now no longer operating ( Stonehurst Nurseries) One of the old school it is said ( was said - not many of his generation left I think). The sort of chap who wore a green baize pinafore and always had a pocket-knife which he would sharpen on a whetstone, and use to cut up plants when dividing them.
I hardly ever bought from the nursery - I knew of its reputation as a centre for virus propagation - unintentionally, but Bert never cleaned his pen-knife, except perhaps to wipe it on his apron before he used it to cut up his sandwiches.He didn't believe in all this new-fangled science. Ah, the good old days...

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