British gardeners are a fortunate bunch. The diversity of plants in our gardens is jaw-dropping – the RHS estimates that there are 400,000 cultivars growing in gardens in the UK. Many people put this down to geography and climate, as well as plant breeders, while others cite the legacy of the British Empire and colonial-era plant collecting. One thing we can all agree on, however, is that our gardens would be poorer without the specialist nurseries that grow and sell these plants.
This makes a spate of recent nursery closures all the more unsettling. Marchants Hardy Plants in East Sussex – founded by Graham Gough and managed until its closure last autumn by nursery manager Hannah Fox – is just the latest to join a growing list that includes bulb nursery Broadleigh Gardens, herb experts The Cottage Herbery and lavender specialist Downderry, as well as The Botanic Nursery, which was known for Digitalis, fruit tree specialist Thornhayes Nursery and alpine grower Slack Top Alpine Nursery.
Some nurseries threatened with closure have, however, been saved by new management and relocated, such as Avon Bulbs from Somerset to Lincolnshire, and fern and pelargonium specialist Fibrex Nurseries to a new site in Worcestershire. Cotswold Garden Flowers is staying put, but founder Bob Brown is handing the reins over to his son Edmund.
Slow going
There’s no mystery as to why life as a grower is harder than ever, with a cluster of new challenges causing or contributing to these closures. Modern nurseries have to deal with the loss of markets overseas post-Brexit, plant passports making transport more complex, the Covid pandemic, the withdrawal of peat as a growing medium, escalating labour, heating and water costs, the costs of decarbonising production and an increasingly unpredictable climate.
It is heartening, therefore, and admirable, to see that people still aspire to grow plants for a living, and that new nurseries continue to open and meet these challenges, though one might ask why they feel it is worth it. Jonny Bruce hopes to open The Field Nursery by autumn this year. The Great Dixter alumnus has faced a long road to get to this point, and says he still has a lot to do, but his enthusiasm remains undimmed. “There are few gardening moments more exciting than seeing a seed germinate or feeling a cutting to find that it has rooted, and it is equally satisfying to find that same plant thriving in a garden,” he says.
I left De Hessenhof in 2020 with the idea of starting a small, organic nursery, and it has taken almost five years to make that dream a reality.
Jonny Bruce, The Field Nursery
“When I left Dixter, I wanted to work in a nursery and was fortunate to secure a job at De Hessenhof in the Netherlands, where I ended up for over four years. This pioneering, organic nursery highlighted the disparity in how plants are grown and the poor quality of the mass-produced plants available. I left De Hessenhof in 2020 with the idea of starting a small, organic nursery,” he continues, “and it’s taken almost five years to make that dream a reality.
There have been many challenges, but the first and most significant was (and continues to be) access to land. I spent about three years looking for an appropriate, affordable site.” Jonny eventually found a completely blank slate – a field, hence the name. “Another major hurdle was planning permission, which took more than a year to secure.”
Indeed, many of the new start-ups talk about the difficulties of finding a good site, and cite costs as being the major problem they now face. “It was my ambition to open a nursery, an idea that came from complete naivety. Starting from scratch is far more challenging than I imagined,” says Lynne Moore, owner of Moore and Moore Plants in Essex, who has grown perennials from a rented site since 2016, selling at plant fairs and shows, and who won a Gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show last year.
“To start with, you have no infrastructure, no customers and no reputation – these take time and money to grow. I don’t have enough of either yet to develop the nursery or employ staff, but I love growing plants.” Her plants are all grown peat free. Few nurserypeople now openly criticise the looming peat ban, but she fears that some will retire rather than attempt a transition.
We want visitors to buy plants, but also for the garden to be a genuinely restorative space
Jack and Laura Willgoss , Wildegoose Nursery
No Name Nursery in Kent was also set up from scratch, in 2019, by Louise Dowle and Steve Edney. “Finding a site we could afford took years, as most plots are bought by developers,” says Louise. “It was important to set up the nursery without creating a debt burden, so nearly everything is second hand, reused or recycled. Sometimes, you have to make the thing you want to be part of; we get to make the best environmental choices and we don’t open to the public like a traditional nursery, or do many big shows.”
Finding a derelict or neglected site can help lower initial costs. This is what Jack and Laura Willgoss of Wildegoose Nursery in Shropshire did with an old walled kitchen garden; and how it became possible for father-and-son-team Glenn and Dean Charlton to open Hooton’s Walled Nursery near Rotherham last year. “It was always dad’s dream to set up a nursery and I’m keen to keep traditional propagation skills going,” says Dean, who trained and worked at Beth Chatto Plants & Gardens and Great Dixter. “We are lucky to have taken on an existing nursery, as although the neglected site needs substantial work, the infrastructure was here.”
A juggling act
In Somerset, The Blooming Wild Nursery, which grows perennials and wildflowers, was bought by Steven and Lindsay Lister in 2022. “Having our own nursery was an ambition, but finding the right land in a suitable location was difficult. When an opportunity to acquire and expand a small nursery with an established market arose, we jumped; here we could grow the business and make use of our horticultural experience,” says Lindsay.
Seagate Nurseries in Lincolnshire has been under new ownership since 2018. “Starting from an established site probably reduced investment, but it was a hard time,” says owner Chris Davey. “The impact of the pandemic was massive; people couldn’t visit and we didn’t have mail order. But it allowed us to become peat free and tailor our offering.”
Louise from No Name admits it is not a career for everyone. “There are easier ways to earn a living,” she says. “It’s exhausting, seven days a week.” Dean from Hooton’s says he can’t afford to pay staff yet, so is grateful to have his dad and family helping. Jonny Bruce has had a similar experience. “Progress can sometimes feel slow. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it alone. Friends and family have been so supportive, and Daniel Carlson is my right-hand man who has been there almost every step of this journey. To save money we are doing as much as possible ourselves.”
Another new entrant to the market is Cliff Bank Nursery in Yorkshire, taken on by Ben Preston and Laura Kennedy in 2022, again on a derelict site. “Prioritising what we need so we can afford it is fundamental,” says Ben, who was previously head gardener at York Gate in Leeds. “There are many plates to spin and it is hard work, but we enjoy it. Being organised is key, and not growing too many things at this early stage – which is a challenge for us as plant lovers. Changeable weather also makes things hard. It affects the way we grow and when tasks are done, and changes what and when people buy.”
Target markets
Many nurseries have recognised a change in buyers’ habits. “The nursery has not been worth opening in 2024,” says Chris Davey at Seagate Nurseries. “Plant fairs are key – people are mad to buy there – while mail order keeps us ticking over.” This path of focusing first on plant fairs is followed by many fledgling nurseries, including No Name Nursery, as well as Henrietta Huntley’s Freckles and Flora in North Yorkshire, and Toby Shuall’s Zophian Plants in East Sussex.
But keen nursery goers need not fear. Many nurseries still feel that interaction with customers is important. “Nurseries offer character and individuality,” explains Dean of Hooton’s. “I enjoy selling plants and giving advice, possibly even inspiring someone to become a gardener. We want to make Hooton’s a destination.” It’s a sentiment echoed by Ben from Cliff Bank. “Our biggest inspirations are destination nurseries that propagate and grow their own plants. Hopefully we’ll add one more to plant lovers’ lists.”
Hannah Fox, the former nursery manager at the now closed Marchants Hardy Plants, also strikes an upbeat note. She plans to open her new micro-nursery, Bright Green Fox, by the spring, offering a grow-to-order scheme for garden designers and selling at open weekends and plant fairs.“We had so many people devastated by the loss of Marchants and bemoaning the loss of nurseries in general,” she says. “Actually, I think it’s quite an exciting time, with new nurseries popping up all over the place. There are plenty of new people with vision to offer a fresh perspective, and help the world of horticulture to evolve.”