First Impressions was founded in 1993 by Paul Hanby with a view to providing quality floral display systems to local authorities throughout the northern half of the United Kingdom.

Paul’s deep-rooted passion for horticulture, particularly the nurturing of young plants, resonates profoundly. His enthusiasm and pursuit of perfection are a contagion that imbues the entire workforce with a shared dedication to excellence.

Overseeing the nursery’s day-to-day operations is Joe Hamby, our esteemed nursery manager. With a keen eye for quality control and a firm grasp on staffing matters, Joe plays a pivotal role in upholding the standards we’ve come to be known for. His commitment ensures that the essence of our business thrives at the grassroots level, guaranteeing that every facet aligns with our core values of excellence and precision.

Our Business has grown steadily over the years as our understanding and knowledge of the market sector has developed into a finely honed skillset, we now confidently deliver our services as far afield as Bristol in the South East.

Through many years of trials and errors our services, products and displays have been refined to perfection. Our understanding of local authorities and integration with their own quality systems has led us to develop the high standards of delivery you can expect from us today.

Paul still has a very much of a hands on position, overseeing the entire operation at the nursery, you will also often find him out on the tools getting stuck in with the frontline delivery and maintenance teams.

Joe Hanby is the general manager at First Impressions, being involved in the business for the last 10 years and working up from the bottom Joe has an extensive knowledge of the day-to-day hands on running of the business.

Joe has introduced structured organisational systems to the business to assist with quality control, staffing movements and health and safety. Keeping everyone on time and to schedule is his passion.

PLANTING TEAM

We have four permanent long standing planting team members who are the key to the quality in the planted products we deliver.

Having over 35 years combined nursery and planting experience they all work together to ensure nothing is overlooked and quality is maintained.

Tending to the newly planted seedlings and cuttings right through to the final inspection before leaving our premises, pride in their work is a massive motivational factor.

Having won many awards for our hanging baskets is a measure of how they are committed to their all-important work.

DISPATCH AND MAINTENANCE TEAM

A six-man team of permanent dispatch and maintenance team members with vast experience are joined by up to four temporary members of our team ensure the units are delivered out to all our customers within our planned schedule.

Our delivery methods are refined and streamlined to gain further efficiency year on year. Prior to dispatch each unit is checked over and only top-quality units are released to dispatch.

Once out there a five-man maintenance team set about ensuring all the displays are kept in perfect condition with one man kept in back up to cover any unforeseen circumstance that prevents one of our maintenance team members from safely completing their duties.

TEMPORARY/SEASONAL WORKERS

Up to 6 seasonal workers are recruited to assist at the busy times, up to press these staff members return year after year to build on our experienced permanent staff members and create the perfect team to deliver you the perfect product.