The plants within a ‘collection’ are propagated from my own personal specimens or mother plants, therefore I know their provenance. Plants not within a ‘collection’ while for the main part will be derived from my own stock, may also be taken from other nurserymen and gardeners collections. It is impossible to keep everything I would like without owning half of Yorkshire!
The free exchange of ideas and plant material has been a part of horticultural practice amongst collectors and nurserymen for centuries. As big business gets more involved and plant breeder’s rights become more commonplace (even where no breeding occurred) the traditional nursery will inevitably become lost in a sea of bedding plants and plastic and the nurseryman no more than a middleman selling the same as every other middleman.
My two hopes for the future of gardening are that the distinction between garden centre and nursery becomes more obvious to the general public, and hopefully more appreciated, and that schools once again start teaching gardening within perhaps a “Rural Studies” framework as it encompasses so much information and embraces so many subjects. Perhaps the emphasis on “qualifications” for qualifications sake along with a school's academic reputation should be reigned in somewhat…..Only then might we start to get a population of “doers” as opposed to a nation of graduates the majority of which seem to me bugger all use to anyone….It has long been my view within the horticultural education system, (horticultural colleges in the main), that I would not employ half the tutors I’ve met let alone the students. Rant over. Hope you like the plants!!
