Visiting

Please be aware that visits are strictly by appointment only, with no exceptions. Having been completely closed to visitors for the duration of covid, we are now striving to move forward. As such, for this planting season we will be allowing folk collecting their pre-ordered plants to walk round the display planting at the time of collection. We appreciate the distances that are driven in order to collect from us, so we are pleased to offer this.

The accessible areas of display planting currently extend to approximately 2 acres. Most plants are labelled, which may not be to everyone's liking aesthetically, but clearly it's helpful. This includes a dedicated Winter Garden, a glade of Japanese maples, part of an old Quarry and a Woodland Walk. However, there is significantly more that is not yet open to visitors; some of which can be seen from the existing paths. Developing and maintaining these areas, which are home to our wonderful collection of plants, is our passion and we look forward to making more of these accessible in the future.

As described elsewhere, we are a relatively small nursery, and in no way a Garden Centre. We have no staff to cover for us if we are otherwise engaged. This means that it is essential that we know you are coming. I cannot stress this enough. 

Please be politely advised that anyone arriving without an appointment will not be welcome.

Please do keep to your appointment time. The gate is currently locked at all other times. Therefore, please email me if you are delayed or need to change your plans. This is very important please as I may have other customers or commitments scheduled. At nearly 50 acres, our new site is much larger than the old one, so there is the potential for us to be working several fields away. To be blunt, we have too much to do to waste time waiting for customers who are late. I'm sorry if this seems rude, but we have a lot to do here!

For those of you familiar with our old site, be aware that we are doing things a little differently here, so please do email me to discuss your requirements.

I will email directions at the time of confirming your collection day and time. These are very important even if you use satnav or other digital navigation aids, because in rural areas postcodes inevitably cover a wider area and will not pinpoint us exactly. As a guide, we are situated a few minutes north of Wellington, Somerset, so some 30 minutes from where we used to live. If you use Google maps, then do so with care (as described on the emailed directions). There are inconsistencies with the information it gives which we are having difficulty fixing!

This is a working nursery, not a public garden. I regret that I must ask you to leave your dog in the car and request that children are kept under very close supervision. Please wear appropriate footwear and take care at all times. Please respect our request to keep to the paths. The beds and even the grass are thickly planted with bulbs, which will not be visible at all times of year. Walking on these areas when the bulb noses are just below the surface can cause enormous damage. So please keep to the paths. Please respect our instructions as to where you may and may not walk. Anyone who ventures into other areas will be asked to leave.

Although I am totally committed to our principles of open ground growing as being so much better for the plants, its only downside is the lesser “convenience” by comparison with container growing. Our open ground plants growing on for sale are lined out over a number of acres (we have approaching 50 acres here in all). In addition to modern health and safety in the workplace regulations, the other matter of concern these days is bio-security. We operate a closed collection here (ie we rarely bring plants onto the site from outside sources) thus minimising the likelihood of introducing pests and diseases. Given the prevalence of serious diseases around the country (referring to the plants in this context!) we avoid external footfall around our growing-on plants. Hence even prior to covid, access was restricted to the all weather paths around the display planting and that will remain the case. As a result, it is not possible to walk round the growing areas (either the open ground plants outside or the youngest container grown plants in polytunnels) so it is not possible to choose specific specimens in person.

Therefore, we prefer to illustrate our sale plants via individual photographs and it is best to discuss the detail of your requirements and the suitable possibilities by email. Be aware that I will not be able to give you accurate availability information whilst you are here because that is something I need to do with the benefit of the computer and by looking at the actual plants. It’s not something I can do off the top of my head. It is not possible to lift the open ground plants "whilst you wait". They would need to either be pre-ordered for collection on the day or delivered / collected subsequent to your visit. 

It may be possible to take certain of the younger pot grown plants away with you on the day, but it is important to understand that we are not a "garden centre". Even the 3 litre plants are on "growing beds" not "sales beds". Typically, a number of plants will be reserved awaiting collection or despatch, so just because a plant is physically there, it doesn't mean that it is available, since it may already be reserved for someone else. It can take time therefore to sort out the availability status of a list of wanted plants, which it's not always possible to do on the spot. 

Daphnes are the one group which are usually possible to collect whilst you are visiting, without pre-ordering, but prior discussion is best for everything else.

It may be relevant to also be aware that due to limited space, only a small selection of our complete collection is actually planted in the currently accessible display gardens. Particularly in the context of our larger collections like Acer and Magnolia, there are far more options and combinations of features possible than are on display. In addition, plants are very much "individuals" (this may be particularly relevant with Japanese maples where their architectural shape is intrinsic to their appeal). Although the sale plants are all named cultivars and will display the characteristics of that cultivar, each one will have a unique shape and "feel". Hence, at the stage of discussing your requirements by email, the more information you can give me as to the visual effect you're seeing in your mind's eye, the better I understand the effect you want to achieve, the better able to help I am. I'm quite good at interpreting people's requirements and finding the perfect plant...it's what I do!

Please be aware that there are no facilities on site, for which I can make no exception. Please don't embarrass us both by asking! There are however public conveniences in Wiveliscombe only 5 minutes north of us, where there is ample free parking and some fabulous small shops and cafes. 

Can I also remind you please that we do not currently take plastic in any form, nor can we accept cheques any longer. Pre-booked orders should be paid for by bank transfer prior to collecting. Daphnes collected on the day can be paid for by cash. Alternatively these days, if you have a banking app on your phone, it should be possible for you to make a transfer whilst you are here. In which event, we would provide our bank details.

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