Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
DIGDEEP FOR OUR NURSERIES
They’re feeling the pinch after plant shows were cancelled – but you can help by mail-ordering from these brilliant nurseries online
Given the thousands of events that have been cancelled – including the Chelsea Flower Show – the disappearance of this summer’s many local plant shows has barely registered. But for small nurseries, this has been devastating; many rely on plant shows for sales, and they’re now bursting with high-quality stock that they need to sell.
Although nurseries have had to close to the public, many of them also do mail order and, as long as courier companies are able to deliver (which is the case as we go to press), you can still get all the plants you need delivered to your door. Britain’s nurseries are one of the glories of our gardening industry. By supporting them, you can help ensure they come through the current crisis and will still be there in the years to come. Here are some of the most interesting mail-order nurseries: Burncoose in Cornwall (burncoose.co.uk) specialises in beautiful magnolias, but also offers a range of more unusual plants. As its name suggests, Hardys Cottage Garden Plants in Hampshire (hardysplants.co.uk) sells herbaceous perennials that are perfect for a cottage garden, and has an impressive 1,200 varieties to choose from. Bluebell Cottage Nursery
in Cheshire (bluebellcottage. co.uk) is another good all-rounder, with friendly, knowledgeable service. Plants are divided into categories, so you can choose by soil condition, rate of growth or colour. Swines Meadow in Lincolnshire (swinesmeadowfarmnursery.co.uk) stocks everything from bamboo and conifers to perennials and shrubs.
Beth Chatto’s Plants in Essex (beth chatto.co.uk) has an excellent range and lots of information on the website on planting for different conditions. In Suffolk, Hedgehog Plants (the interestingplantnursery.co.uk) sells perennials (with a good range of shade-loving ones), trees and shrubs.
If you want to try something unusual, Crug Farm Nursery in Gwynedd (crug-farm.co.uk) has numerous rare plants, many collected on the owners’ worldwide plant-hunting expeditions.
Ashwood Nurseries in the West Midlands (ashwoodnurseries.com) is best known for spring plants like hellebores and hepaticas, but in summer it’s a good place to buy herbaceous plants, grasses, ferns and conifers.
Fibrex Nurseries in Warwickshire (fibrex.co.uk) has Britain’s best range of pelargoniums, as well as a great selection of ivies, ferns, begonias and hibiscus. If it’s grasses you’re after, try Knoll Gardens in Dorset (knoll gardens.co.uk). For gorgeously coloured pinks and carnations, as well as pelargoniums, there’s Allwoods in
West Sussex (allwoods.net). To buy wonderfully fragrant violas, log on to
Wildegoose Nursery in Shropshire (wildegoosenursery.co.uk); it also sells perennials and grasses. For more exotic plants like cannas, tree ferns, agapanthus, red-hot pokers and even olive trees, there’s Todd’s Botanics in Essex (toddsbotanics.co.uk). Another good place to source exotic plants is Suffolk’s Shrubland Nurseries (shrublandparknurseries. co.uk), which sells succulents, houseplants and tender plants, as well as hardy plants for summer.
A beautiful summer-flowering shrub that looks great in an exotic border is the abutilon, which has vibrantly coloured, bell-like f lowers: Paddock Plants in Hampshire (paddockplants. co.uk) lists around 40, as well as a range of other perennials. Another treasure is the echium, which can reach up to 5m tall; Echium World in Nottinghamshire (echiumworld.co.uk) has the biggest range of them.
For those keen on alpines, there’s Border Alpines in Devon (borderalpines.co.uk), the Alpine And Grass Nursery in Lincolnshire (alpinesand grasses.co.uk), and Hartside Nursery Garden in Cumbria (plantswith altitude.co.uk), which also sells dwarf conifers and hardy ferns.
If you’re a heuchera fan, try Plantagogo in Cheshire (plantagogo.com), which boasts over 400 varieties. Old
Court Nurseries in Herefordshire (autumnasters.co.uk) has a fantastic collection of Michaelmas daisies, great for late-summer colour. For clematis, try Taylors (taylorsclematis.co. uk) in South Yorkshire or Thorncroft in Norfolk (thorncroftclematis.co.uk). For anyone whose garden lacks light, a good choice is Long Acre Plants in Somerset (plantsforshade.co.uk).
Ivy Hatch in Kent (ivyhatchplant supplies.co.uk) lists a wide range of succulents, herbaceous perennials and alpines, with a broad collection of salvias. The extensive catalogue from
Woottens Of Wenhaston in Suffolk (woottensplants.com) is very strong on daylilies, with 600 varieties.
Binny Plants near Edinburgh (binnyplants.com) specialises in peonies, with more than 300 varieties, and also stocks perennials, trees and shrubs. Another peony specialist is
Claire Austin Hardy Plants in Powys (claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk), which has perennials galore, plus a selection of useful themed plant collections.