J Golby & Son was started by John, (Jack) Golby after the First World War.  He came back from the war and started a small nursery selling produce from his front room in Alma Street, St. James, Northampton.  He married Emily, and their only child known as Fred, started working with him when he left school. At the age of 14 in 1928,  Fred helped with every aspect of the nursery life, from building greenhouses to selling and delivering produce around local streets.

The nursery expanded with Fred's help.  The heated greenhouses helped to grow early tomatoes and pot plants.  Also, they could grow a bigger variety of flowers for their burgeoning florist trade, selling all the produce through the newly acquired shop in St. James.

The second world war came along, and all production had to be turned over to growing fruit and vegetables.

After the war, Fred with newly married wife, Joan greatly expanded the nursery, purchasing land on Millway, Duston Northampton.

Fred started attending the local Northampton market.  This greatly helped with sales of what was quite a mix of produce ranging from vegetables, vegetable plants, bedding and perennial plants, cut flowers, tomatoes in the summer and holly wreathes for Christmas.

Fred's specialty was the dahlia.  In the nineteen forties and fifties, Fred became a dahlia expert.  Fred raised many new varieties and exhibited at many shows around the country - winning many prizes, also becoming a national judge of dahlias.

The dahlia went out of fashion in the nineteen seventies and with the help of Fred's children, Rosemary, Robert and John, expanded the growing of bedding plants, whilst still growing salad and summer flowers for the local market.  Rosemary keeping the florist side going at the St. James shop.

The first Garden Centre was opened in nineteen eighty-two.  This was a great success and own grown plants were always produced to supply the garden centre.

The centre was rebuilt in the late nineties.  Although currently the main building is leased to a homeware store, our ever-expanding range of plants and shrubs are retailed through their store.

Today we have a nursery at Spratton, Northamptonshire where we grow most of our plants that are offered here on our website.  Matthew and Joanna the fourth generation are now feeding their skill and knowledge into out nearly one hundred-year-old growing business.  We are proud of our heritage and here are just a few photographs to help illustrate it.  Thank you. 

A Gold medal from the 1979 Leicester show

  

Winner of the Lewis cup at Northampton Town Show 1974

 

Winners of the Lewis Silver Cup 1960 at Northampton Town Show

 

 

Fred in a field of Dahlias, from a newspaper article, late 1940's

 

A greenhouse of Cyclamen ready to go to market in the 1960's

 

Arum lilies ready for Easter orders growing on our Mill Lane nursery

 



A lovely colourful field of Flag Iris and Lupins on the Mill Lane Nursery