Florrie shook her head. ‘And despite trying multiple times, they won’t transfer the lease to me. They’re adamant that all of Great-Aunt Ada’s possessions need to be removed by the last day of the month. Thankfully, Isla and Drew have storage space at the farm that they’ve said I can use. Still, it’s going to be a mammoth task, and I’m not ready to say goodbye to the cottage.’
‘And they’ve sent you a couple of letters outlining this, I believe?’
Florrie took the letters out of her bag and relayed all the information from the telephone calls.
Jaydon looked over the letters. ‘Okay, according to these documents, the property and its contents, including The Vintage Flower Van, belong to W. Houston Property Developers. Even though it is theirs to keep, anyone with any ounce of decency would let you keep the van so that the business could continue operating, especially considering the fact that it’s been the heart of the community for sixty years and is an iconic and historic family-run business.’
‘We’ve got to try and keep The Vintage Flower Van up and running. I promised Aunt Ada. It’s about the sentimental value it holds, not the monetary value.’
‘All we can do is appeal to their better nature. Flynn also mentioned the Flowers in Bloom competition is fast approaching. I know Ada won the competition many years in a row.’
‘Ada’s garden is one of the primary reasons people travel from all over to come and see Flowers in Bloom. Ada’s garden looks like it should belong to a stately home,’ commented Flynn.
‘The competition started out many years ago,’ Florrie explained, ‘when all the keen gardeners in the village came together and invited the community to come and view their gardens. Then the next year they began selling tickets and donated the money to charity. Tickets are sold from Hamish’s shop and the morning they go on sale people queue for them because there are only a limited number. Flowers in Bloom has grown over the years and has become a nationally recognised event amongst garden enthusiasts. It’s been covered in gardening magazines, and one year the TV showGardener’s Worldpresented the show from Rose Cottage. It’s become quite famous in its own right,’ she said proudly.
‘And this is the same garden that they’re proposing to bulldoze in order to build new properties?’ Jaydon raised an eyebrow. ‘Surely W. Houston Property Developers would know the history of the cottage?’
‘You’d think so, but even if they do, would they care? Probably not as long as they’re making money,’ replied Florrie.
‘Do you know what’s specifically happening to the cottage?’ asked Jaydon.
Florrie shrugged. ‘Your guess is as good as mine. They won’t rent it to me and they claimed it’s not up for sale.’
‘My educated guess is they possibly have a two-tier plan. If they’re successful and planning permission is granted, they may let the cottage go to rack and ruin, claiming it’s unfit to live in and easier to knock down so they can build more new houses on the land.’
‘That’s criminal.’ Florrie was horrified.
‘I’ve seen it before. They make a hefty profit that way.’
‘I’m not going to let that happen,’ Florrie’s tone was defiant. ‘But I do fear the likes of me standing up to them will have no effect whatsoever.’
‘Don’t underestimate the power of this community and social media,’ reassured Flynn.
‘That’s exactly what Isla said.’
‘And she’d be right,’ said Jaydon. ‘This afternoon I’ll draft a letter regarding The Vintage Flower Van and I’ll send it over to you by email. Once you’ve okayed it, I’ll send it to W. Houston Property Developers.’
Flynn passed Florrie a pen and a piece of paper. She scribbled down her email address and handed it to Jaydon.
After Jaydon took photos of the letters with his phone, he looked over at Florrie. ‘The key here is to get all this noticed. You need to snowball publicity about The Vintage Flower Van. Does it have its own social media account?’
Florrie shook her head. ‘Aunt Ada couldn’t get to grips with doing her accounts online, never mind posting on social media. I tried to show her all the reels I’d created about Buttercup Barn but she liked using the old-fashioned way of word of mouth and reputation.’
‘I’d set up an account for The Vintage Flower Van. Create content and post online including all about its history. Show it off with all of the wonderful flowers. Tell everyone you’ve taken over the business after the passing of your great-aunt – making it clear that it’s a family business that’s spanned decades and generations. If you can increase the followers by appealing to the masses, W. Houston Property Developers will be forced to sit up and take notice. And if they still refuse to play ball, then you post all about how the business is being forced to cease trading after sixty years because of—’
‘Idiots with no common sense,’ interrupted Florrie.
‘I’ll leave you to decide on exactly what to say in the posts.’ Jaydin smiled. ‘And entering Flowers in Bloom is a must. To be blunt, you need to win. But no pressure!’ he said, trying to lighten the growing tension in the room. ‘Believe me, people are going to get behind you. They’ll feel very passionately about saving the gardens from being demolished.’
Florrie knew Jaydon was talking sense and she was determined to make sure that everyone in Scotland knew about The Vintage Flower Van and the proposal to flatten the land. ‘I’m going to make it my mission to not only win that competition but also to make The Vintage Flower Van as famous as possible.’
‘So, just to recap,’ said Jaydon, ‘I’ll get the letter drafted this afternoon and emailed across to you. If you’re happy with it, I can then get it sent to them straightaway.’
‘Can I just ask how much it’s going to cost me for your services and advice?’ asked Florrie, a bit worried that she hadn’t asked sooner.
‘Absolutely nothing. I’m happy to help you out in memory of Ada. Like I said, I was very fond of her.’
‘That’s very kind, thank you. Next Wednesday’s bunch of flowers is on the house. I insist.’
