About Us
More detail about who we are and what we do.

We have been growing plants for a living since 1986 and bought the land here around 2010. It was a green field site when we bought it (part of a farm that was split into multiple lots to be sold) so the process of relocating the nursery took a number of years. Initially the only access was a field gate opening directly onto the road, so first we had to make the entrance safe to use. We had to install the infrastructure of access tracks, water and electricity supplies, we needed to build a barn to store equipment, put up polytunnels and build beds for growing the plants. Many of these steps required planning permission and we even had our mini-tractor stolen, so it was a bumpy ride on occasions! At the same time, we had to look after our existing nursery to continue to earn the money to pay for the new development and back then I was also caring for my my mother-in-law who was suffering from dementia. Oh and did I mention that we had to build a house here too? Looking back, I'm not sure how we did it all!

Early in this process, our son Torsten's physics teacher suggested that he should take the Oxbridge entrance exam. This made him stop and think about what he wanted to do with his life. I don't think it was quite what she had in mind when he decided to leave school early (already with a raft of top exam results) and join us on the nursery. Fast forward to the present day and he is now increasingly running things, as Nick and I start to think about sinking gently into retirement. 

The purpose of the move was to allow us to do things a bit differently. Looking back I think we were ahead of our time, because we had come to the conclusion that the use of plastic pots and peat was not sustainable. We're fundamentally different to most places - the principle here is that everything we sell, we propagate and grow ourselves - we don't buy in. That much hasn't changed for a great many years. We are proud to offer home grown plants! However, the important change was that here we can grow the majority of our plants in the open ground. This system has a number of practical advantages as well as environmental ones.

The plants grow more naturally, forming a lovely rootball in the soil, with no fear of root-spiralling or being pot-bound. The plant itself will be more compact and the wood firmer and riper, already acclimatised to the weather and needing minimal staking. Thus the whole plant is more robust than the equivalent one pushed on in a container under protection. This is becoming increasingly important as we experience periods of extreme weather conditions. They are root-balled and wrapped (not to be confused with "bare root" which is much less satisfactory) and we are having brilliant results in this manner. Our availability follows nature's cycle, typically being from December through to March.

We also offer a range of younger plants in 3 litre pots. These will inevitably be smaller and lighter but provide a cheaper option if cost is a concern. In many cases, I personally prefer them to be a little more mature than this before they leave home. We now incorporate a mycorrhizal fungi called Trichoderma into all of our potting compost. This symbiotic fungi colonises the roots and compost, inhibiting many fungal diseases as well as aiding the uptake of nutrients from the ground. Trichoderma is also known to produce plant hormones that promote root growth. This addition should aid the establishment of these strong plants in your gardens.

We will of course also have an extensive range of our rootballed plants from the open ground. We have a wonderful selection of special trees and shrubs to offer, in a range of older sizes, including some spectacular specimens.

Given that we have a huge collection of plants, and grow them in a wide range of sizes, there are so many individuals available that it is impossible to keep the catalogue up to date with individual prices and availability details. Therefore, it is much more satisfactory for me to personally check the actual plants for each enquiry in order to give you accurate size and price detail, as well as a photo of the specific individual (weather permitting). We price fundamentally by age rather than physical size, although inevitably there is some degree of correlation within the characteristics of the cultivar. In principle we are offering the following price groups this year (the majority being from the open ground as previously described). 
      - Strong and well rooted plants in 3L pots at £60 - £95 (dependant on variety)
      - Open ground plants will start in the £150 - £199 bracket
      - There is an excellent range around £250 - £399
      - Then there is an range of beautiful older / larger / more mature plants increasing in price incrementally with age and size, from around £599 - £699 - £799 and on up to £999
      - There are even more spectacular semi-mature specimens of many of the best forms available from around £1099 - £1299 - £1599 - £1999 - £2999 - £3999 - £4999 and so on up to £9999
      - And then there is a more limited range of the very best, most mature specimens at higher prices, up to and in excess of £10,000.

We simply have too many plants for me to be able to check and detail every option for everyone, so if any of these are potentially of interest, I would need you to give me an indication of your target price group on this basis please. That will enable me to personally check the actual plants to give you accurate size and price detail of the most relevant plants for your purpose.

Since we have such an extensive collection, we don't propagate all cultivars every year. Hence we don't have all cultivars available in all sizes every season and as the season progresses, things will sell out. Given the extent of our collection, it's often the case that we have a similar alternative available at an appropriate level. Feel free to let me know if an appropriate alternative might be of interest. I'm also happy if you want to describe the visual effect you want to achieve, if there are certain characteristics of shape, habit or vigour that are important to you. All these details will enable me to check the best plants to fulfil your requirements.

For many years we have been mail order specialists and after a brief hiatus, we are now offering a delivery service again.  We use a number of different delivery methods, dependant on the size and nature of the order. The plant size usually determines the method, whilst the delivery address defines the delivery cost, so do please let me have the relevant postcode if delivery is required.

Nevertheless, collection by prior arrangement is always welcomed. Indeed, collection of plants is to be encouraged, as being best for the plants. I know that some of you travel significant distances to collect your plants from us. The nursery was closed to visitors for the duration of Covid 19, but we worked hard to continue developing the gardens around the nursery and as a first step post-covid, this winter we are allowing folk collecting their plants to look round part of these gardens if they would like to. These areas include the Acer Glade, the Winter Garden, the Quarry Garden and the Woodland Walk and they display a great many of our stock and trial plants.