And speaking of Beeches

It seems an appropriate follow up post as I've mentioned planting out a Beech on our previous blog post. Rather than a plant, it's about Beeches Nursery which we visited last Saturday morning.

It was a gloriously sunny day but still feeling tired after a hard week's work, we opted not to get stuck in straight away in the garden but decided but to have a leisurely drive down to Beeches Nursery in the morning and taking in the beautiful scenery of Cambridgeshire and Essex on the way there. It's not too far away from us, perfect as we were back early afternoon feeling refreshed and ready to do some gardening.

Beeches is one of my favourite nurseries and was really looking forward to visiting for the first time this year. It's not an exotic nursery as such nor do they sell lots of large or mature specimen plants, but a nursery specialising in herbaceous perennials and shade loving woodland plants. Most of their plants do originate from far flung areas hence can be classed as exotic in that sense, if not at least some plants do help create the look. We needed a few more understory plants this year so was really looking forward to it, as expected I wasn't disappointed.

It comes across as a small nursery, situated in a residential area with a rather unassuming entrance way. But beyond that it's like an Aladdin's cave, it goes on and on on different levels with treasure troves of plant gems to dazzle anyone who visits and into such sort of plants.

The plants are conveniently grouped together depending on their type and general requirements, and alphabetically arranged too which makes it so convenient to browse and track down plants that you may be after for. Because of this, browsing is always such fun here, not only is it easy to find what you're after but you also discover lots of beautiful gems along way, a delight for plants people but bad for your wallet! But it's hard to just leave some of those gems behind, you just have to have them. But speaking of wallets, it's actually one of the most reasonably priced nurseries we've ever been to and you can go home with lots of plants for your buck, so not so bad for your wallet!

One thing that also strikes me whenever we visit is how neat and tidy the place is, it is immaculate and the plants for sale are totally weed free. Quite how they manage it with just a handful (but obviously adequate) of staff is a bit of a mystery but it is admirable nevertheless. And if you have any question or queries, the staff are more than happy to help and guide you with your purchases.

Erythronium californicum 'White Beauty'

Beschorneria albiflora

Erythronium revolutum 'Harvington Wild Salmon'



Euphorbia x pasteurii

Whilst there we were also telling each other how 'Cornish' the place is, and that this nursery is the closest to having that Cornish Nursery feel to it, outside of Cornwall that is and being reasonably near us. I adore Cornwall and the plant nurseries you can find there, with the myriads of exotic and unusual plants not available elsewhere, and usually run by dedicated plantspeople who are knowledgeable (and usually very helpful!) in their trade.

It was an enjoyable morning spent there, helped a bit by the gorgeous weather but mostly due to the fine selection of plants they have. We came back with a modest but well chosen amount of plants, a bit more than we were expecting but it was all part of the experience. Most of them have been planted out in the afternoon and looking forward to how they progress in the season, and for years to come.




So if you are near or find yourself within the area, and you like the sort of plants they sell, do pop round there and have a look. You probably won't come out of there empty handed :-)

Mark

Beeches Nursery