The only unusual thing about the order received in the Spotty Boxes office for children’s wheelbarrows was that the caller wanted three.   Families often order two of the popular green wheelbarrows but three was a first.

Typical uses for the barrows include transporting leaves, weeds and, in the case of younger gardeners, favourite teddies and dolls who need a lift to the bottom of the garden.

In this case, the caller was the Domestic Bursar from Summer Fields School in Oxford.  Summer Fields  is a 7 – 13 boys preparatory school situated just a few minutes from the centre of the City of Oxford.

With plans for the Annual Leavers’ Day Lunch well underway, the Domestic Bursar had selected a gardening theme for the event and was searching for an unusual way of presenting the salads.  The children’s wheelbarrows seemed perfect, there were exactly three in stock and the barrows were dispatched the next day.

The wheelbarrow in the photograph contained a tempting mixture of tomatoes - red cherry, yellow cherry, plum, beef and tiger.  The second one held fennel, orange and rocket salad and the final barrow was used for a mixed leaf salad with nasturtium flowers.  The serving tongs were children’s gardening tools and the salad dressing was poured from a miniature watering can.

Domestic Bursar Ann Hannah commented,  “The day went really well and the boys and their parents enjoyed the gardening theme.  One gentleman even offered to buy the wheelbarrows from us, but they were not for sale!”