Where it all Began

Reinhard Biehler left his native Bavaria in 1964 to seek work as a rose budder in Lincolnshires thriving rose industry. He travelled from Germany on his Heinkel Tourist scooter, which is still on display here at Baytree. He started rose budding at Market Deeping, later getting a job at for Geest in 1970 This job involved budding roses in a field opposite Baytree House, which was then only a 7 acre small holding. By this time Reinhard had married a local girl and started a family so he decided to buy the house and in September 1970 started trading from a market stall on the side of the road. Reinhard and Yvonne worked hard and soon business was booming. Before long the small stall had become a shop with selection of raised beds sporting various shrubs and of course plenty of roses. Reinhard's insatiable appetite for growing and selling were the talk of the area and word soon spread, more buildings sprouted and soon a cafe and tarmac car parks where added.

Every year seemed to spawn a new building, a new range of products, the snowball had gathered pace and nothing seemed to stop it, and it's still rolling! Forty years on and Baytree is one of the biggest garden centres in the UK, Wembley stadium would fit inside the boundary of the Garden Centre. Every department seems to be able to boast about it's size, and we fill each one with a comprehensive range of products to suit every taste and budget. The awards have been rolling in for decades, not just for our display work around the country but also in recognition of our customer service and value for money at the garden centre. Baytree is still very much a family business, all three daughters and their husbands now help to run the centre and of course, Reinhard is still around in his never ending quest to become good friends with every customer he meets . There are now over 100 members of staff at Baytree, some have been here almost as long as Reinhard! People in the garden centre industry talk about the size of Baytree. People who visit us talk about the diversity, the inspiration they glean from the displays, the value for money they get, the fun they have here, the friendly, knowledgeable staff and of course their new best friend from Germany.

This job involved budding roses in a field opposite Baytree House, which was then only a 7 acre small holding. By this time Reinhard had married a local girl and started a family so he decided to buy the house and in September 1970 started trading from a market stall on the side of the road. Reinhard and Yvonne worked hard and soon business was booming. Before long the small stall had become a shop with selection of raised beds sporting various shrubs and of course plenty of roses. Reinhard's insatiable appetite for growing and selling were the talk of the area and word soon spread, more buildings sprouted and soon a cafe and tarmac car parks where added.

Every year seemed to spawn a new building, a new range of products, the snowball had gathered pace and nothing seemed to stop it, and it's still rolling! Forty years on and Baytree is one of the biggest garden centres in the UK, Wembley stadium would fit inside the boundary of the Garden Centre. Every department seems to be able to boast about it's size, and we fill each one with a comprehensive range of products to suit every taste and budget. The awards have been rolling in for decades, not just for our display work around the country but also in recognition of our customer service and value for money at the garden centre. Baytree is still very much a family business, all three daughters and their husbands now help to run the centre and of course, Reinhard is still around in his never ending quest to become good friends with every customer he meets . There are now over 100 members of staff at Baytree, some have been here almost as long as Reinhard! People in the garden centre industry talk about the size of Baytree. People who visit us talk about the diversity, the inspiration they glean from the displays, the value for money they get, the fun they have here, the friendly, knowledgeable staff and of course their new best friend from Germany.