What's the Secret?
Among the High Street's focal businesses, the Secret Garden greengrocery and florists have thrived in the village for nearly twenty years under Nick and Eileen Ive. The secret, as so often, is a mix of personality, hard work, good products and service, and the right market.
Nick, always cheerful - though admittedly we haven't asked Eileen to confirm that - enjoyed his Saturdays on a market stall far more than a three-year apprenticeship in non-vegetable electronics, and after running a greengrocery stall at Perivale Station he rented his Thames Ditton shop in 1987. When opportunity arose thirteen years later to buy it at auction, along with the two adjacent shops and the flat above, the Ives seized their chance. The small triangular shop next to the florist was hard to let, and a year ago they moved the greengrocery there, letting their former shop to the Five Rivers Delicatessen (which looks like being another success story). The self-sufficient florist business has now been let to a young couple, leaving Nick and Eileen free to concentrate on greengrocery. The village is a good place to trade, they say, with few hassles - and no problems with shoplifting or vandalism.
Their weekdays begin early: Nick leaves before dawn to drive the lorry to Western International Market near Heathrow, buying fruit, vegetables and flowers wholesale each day for quality and freshness, and getting back around eight o'clock. Meanwhile Eileen gets to the shop shortly after six and goes to work on the daily orders for local pubs, schools and institutions including the Home of Compassion, which collectively account for two-thirds of the trade.
During the mornings in particular, discerning villagers make their way to the Secret Garden where they can buy seasonal produce, fresh farm eggs and exotica such as chillis, kohl rabi, sweet potatoes, root ginger and limes - all selected by Nick on the basis of what's available, what's good and what's good value. Many of the clientele are older, and maybe wiser: Nick and Eileen would like to see some younger residents shopping there too. Time might be a factor for working couples: but the Secret Garden will make up a box of fruit and veg to order and deliver free to homes within a reasonable distance of the shop. And quality? We asked one younger customer on leaving the shop. He replied: "No contest. We do a supermarket shop at least once a week but we got tired of their greengrocery produce that was unripe or wasn't fresh, and finished in the bin after days in the fridge. Okay, some things you can't get in the village, but what you do get is better and cheaper here. I can pay £1.15 for an avocado in (an Esher supermarket) that goes from unripe to rotten. Or I can pay 75p here for one that ripens up perfectly in a couple of days. If satsumas are on sale, I know they're OK - I get offered one to taste. If they aren't on sale, it's because Nick couldn't find any decent ones at market. The seasonal produce is very good."
In reaction to the supermarkets' good-looking but flavourless greengrocery imports from far-off countries, local organic fruit and veg boxes are a recent trend in many neighbourhoods. Does the Secret Garden buy direct from small producers such as local allotment holders? "No, but we're open to that kind of thing," says Eileen. "A while ago we ordered some fantastic apples from an English supplier who grew traditional varieties with lovely flavour. But nobody would buy them because they had spots and blemishes on the skin (no insecticides or wax used, you see)."
Nick and Eileen's shop has become a key part of village life, attracting shoppers to the High Street and contributing to the small social nexus around the triangle. Many customers are known by name, and often stop to chat. During the hot spell last July, they stayed a while longer to enjoy one of the few public places in the village with air-conditioning: those vegetables are pampered. Many slipped a contribution into the box for Joanna Huxster's trek by rickshaw from Bangkok to Brighton to raise funds for the charity MIND (TDT Vol 38 Summer Issue: ' Tuk to the Road').
Yes, The Secret Garden is now a Village Institution.
Secret Garden: High Street, Thames Ditton
Open: Mon-Fri 0700 to 1500
Sat 0700 to 1300
tel:020 8398 9759