Our Suppliers
We work with a community of top quality British growers and harvesters around the country. We thought you might be interested in hearing a little about who our suppliers are and what they do.
Alba Trees
Alba are a byword for quality in the forestry sector. Based in Scotland (the clue's in the name), they produce a lot of cell grown plants - 30 million a year, apparently. We must be one of their teeniest customers! They're Plant Healthy certified, as you would expect.
All Things Rural
These days ATR are pretty much a specialist wildflower seed supplier. We've had a relationship with them for many years, and they ship most of our wildflower seed orders for us.
Adam's Apples
Adam's Apples are a brilliant Devon based fruit tree nursery, specialising in heritage varieties. They're in the middle of converting to being fully organic but have always grown sustainably. Oh, and they're champion cider makers too!
Anglo Aquatic
...are rather bigger than the nurseries we usually deal with! We use them for lilies, which we can't find elsewhere. They're based in North London and supply the trade.
Blooming Wild Nursery
Steven and Lindsay are based just down the road from us in Somerset. They run an immaculate small specialist nursery selling mostly native wildflowers.
British Hardwood Tree Nursery
BHT Nursery are a second generation family business based in Lincolnshire, specialising in native British trees. They grow themselves, as well as sourcing plants from other UK growers, mostly local.
British Orchids
British Orchids is Suzanne Noble, in Hereford. Suzanne has had many years of experience with wildflowers and wildflower seed, but has more recently started specialising in British orchids, under the guidance of renowned authority Phil Seaton. It's a fiddly business, involving laboratory and horticultural skills, and needs much patience.
British Wildflower Plants - British Plug Plants
Linda Laxton started BWFP in the 80s at North Burlingham in Norfolk. Since then the next two generations have started work at the nursery. they have become a byword for reliability and quality in a tricky market.
Cheviot Trees
Cheviot Trees are a traditional wholesale nursery based in Berwick-on-Tweed, specialising in cell grown native plants. The company is a member of the Plant Healthy scheme.
Exmoor Trees
Exmoor Trees is a small remote nursery on... Exmoor, in Devon. It specialises in growing cell grown native plants. It's apparently the highest nursery in the UK - and possibly the most beautiful! Plant Healthy certified.
Griffin Nurseries
When we need larger trees we often turn to Griffin Nurseries in Sussex, where they have been trading since 1989. The company is a member of the Plant Healthy scheme.
Ian Sturrock
Ian is Mr Welsh Apple. He has a small nursery in Bangor, where he grows half forgotten heritage Welsh fruit varieties.
Lindengate
Lindengate are an environmental charity working with mental health. They're based near Aylesbury and grow native Black poplars for us.
Niwaki - Gardening Tools
Jake Hobson is a leading authority on topiary. He has spent many years in Japan, and now imports top quality Japanese kit into the UK through his Shaftesbury based company Niwaki.
Oakover Nurseries
Oakover is a wholesale nursery in Kent. Since it started in 1976 it has grown to 400 acres, and now supplies retailers and the forestry business across the UK. The company is a member of the Plant Healthy scheme.
RJ Trees & Hedging
Ray Jenkins is an industry veteran, who set up his own nursery in 2021. Based outside Ross-on-Wye, it specialises in native hedging and woodland plants. The company is a member of the Plant Healthy scheme.
R.V. Roger - Fruit Trees and Trees for Bees
Royston Valentine Roger founded his nursery in 1913, when he paid £200 for half an acre of land and a shop in Pickering, just south of the North Yorkshire Moors. His grandson Ian runs the business today, from the same site. It's a thriving growing nursery, and one of our key suppliers of heritage fruit trees in particular. Plant Healthy certified.
Salix RW - Pond Plants
Salix River and Wetland are one of the country's leading aquatic specialists. They spend most of their time working on large scale bio-engineering products, but we're very lucky to have them as suppliers of plants and preplanted coir products too. Head grower Andy Cooper is based in their nursery in Norfolk.
Shipton Bulbs - Woodland Bulbs
Shipton Bulbs is based in deepest Carmarthenshire - don't try to get there! It's a smallholding in an enchanted wooded valley where John and his partner live, from native British species to the uber-exotic. Here he is with one of his adughters. Like his father Eric, John travels the world, usually on plant related trips. And he was at the first Glastonbury Festival. A man with stories to tell.
Tom The Apple Man
Tom Adams is an exciting new grower who has recently set up his nursery in Shropshire. His nursery is organically certified, and he grows his trees according to agroforestry and permaculture methods. His specialty is rare old fruit tree varieties from Wales and the borders.
Welsh Mountain Cider
Chava and Bill make natural cider from an old high altitude 6 acre orchard in the Cambrian mountains. They write, consult, plant and grow interesting traditional cider varieties for sale too.
Zane Wyatt
Zane is a specialist grower of oxygenating plants for ponds and rivers. He runs his own super secret nursery in the depths of rural Cornwall.
Wildflower Seeds
We deal with most of the wildflower seed producers and harvesters in the UK, but are always looking for more. They are small businesses with years of experience behind them, mostly regional. They include - well - let's think - in no particular order: All Things Rural, Heritage Seeds (photo below!), Emorsgate Seeds, Scotia Seeds, Will Steele, Wyndrush Wild, Kevin Wharf, Ecohab Wildflowers, Higher Blacklands Farm on Exmoor, the High Weald Landscape Trust, Goren Farm, Bright Seeds, Wildflower Turf, Kent Wildflowers, Brychgoed Farm in Powys... I think that's everyone - so far!
Contractors
Our seeding, groundworks, ecological and planting contractors are experienced specialist UK businesses. Dan Williams in Devon does most of our planting; he has spent all his working life in forestry and horticulture. We also work closely with Clarkson & Woods, an ecological consultancy based in Somerset.