GIVEN THE CURRENT Spring freeze it appears to be foolhardy rather than fun – but one Moray business is hoping that by next week the heat will be turned up as they mark International Naked Gardening Day!
Staff at Mackenzie and Cruickshank’s in Forres have stripped down more than the plants – and are encouraging shoppers to try naked gardening for themselves when the ‘big show’ arrives on May 7.
Seven brave members of staff got in some practice this week – of all weeks, when snow was falling on parts of Moray and the temperatures dropped to near freezing. However, owner Peter Wilson said that they wanted to get involved in the day simply because it is so unusual!
He said: “It’s really just a bit of fun and we wanted to see what our customers would make of it all, and it’s definitely something a bit different.
“It’s a day celebrated globally that has been marked for a few years now and it seems to be growing in popularity every year, so we thought we would give it a whirl too.
“We would suggest to people that if the Scottish weather is not so good to give it a miss, and we would urge people to be careful when using their secateurs, other than that it’s just a light-hearted thing to get involved in.
“What we really want to remind people is that gardening is a great way to spend your time, whether you are clothed or not.”
Shoppers will be given the chance to join in the fun – but Peter is assuring them that they have a plan in place that would spare any blushes – or cause concern for the local constabulary!
He added: “I don’t want to give too much away, but we do have a little gimmick in store for people to come on down and try out – but don’t worry, we are not expecting anyone to strip bare and to be clear all our staff will be fully clothed too.”
Coffee shop manager Thirza Cruickshank said she was surprised at how eager the staff were to get their kit off: “I can’t get over how brave the staff were it just shows how much of a team we are.”
Whilst, Caroline Milton added: “I really enjoyed having a laugh and a giggle. Hope the customers will have a giggle with us too. It just shows it’s never too cold to pop out and get some gardening done!”