Sunday, January 08, 2012

A Plantaholic's Dream

What else would a plantaholic's dream be but to be surrounded by so many beautiful plants, hundreds, if not thousands of wonderful plants. And that's how it felt when we paid Plantaholics a visit last time we were in Cornwall.

Cornwall Plantaholics is a family run nursery business that supplies several other plant outlets as well as their own little shop a few minutes away from their propagation greenhouses. Their operation is mainly plant propagation from cuttings as well as growing from seeds. I was intrigued by this nursery when I first spotted them selling some Agave bracteosas on Ebay a few years ago. At that time this plant was a rarity (and to a degree it still is) and to see someone selling several of these at that time made me think that there is something more special about this seller. And I was absolutely right when we were given a tour of their propagation area.




We were warmly welcomed by the lovely owner Jane and several of her family members who showed us around the nursery. What struck me at first was the sheer scale of the place, I was initially expecting that it will be a much smaller operation but was pleasantly surprised to see it much, much bigger than I thought and the diversity of the plants that they propagate. And equally as impressive is the general tidiness and how organised the nursery is, considering that manpower is kept to a minimum with most of the work done by  Jane and a few of her family members only.

The lovely Jane showing us around
Restios galore!
Aeoniums...
and other succulents, just a few of what they have!

Jane is a true plantaholic, knowledgeable, passionate, and truly enthusiastic about plants. We had a great time touring the place, getting an insight into the operation of a nursery supplying other retailers, and talking lots and lots about rare and unusual plants. And speaking of rare, unusual, and exotic plants, there is no shortage of these in her nursery.


Aeonium tabuliforme
The nursery is like an Aladdin's cave, thousands of lovely plants and lots of rarieties that I wasn't expecting to find there. And I thought the Agave bracteosa was as unusual as it will get, much to our delight it wasn't and she has loads more plant treasures waiting to be spotted all over nursery. Fortunately, as their main operation is propagation, most of these treasures are in multiple numbers of varying degrees, which is great if you just have to have more than one! There are a few exceptions of course, like the ones below and are not (yet) for sale.

Agave ferox (variegated)
Camellia sinensis (variegated)
Nolinas, Yuccas, Dasylirions, Agaves, Cordylines, Restios, etc. are just a few of the exotic group of plants that they propagate and sell. The variety of plants they have are so diverse that I find it difficult to remember in detail the other plants they sell without the aid of the photos we've taken. 




Definitely a place I'm looking forward to visiting again when we're down in Cornwall, especially as a plantaholic ourselves, we're always after plants that are extra special, and they certainly have some of them :-)


Mark

Cornwall Plantaholics

14 comments :

  1. I agree. It really is exciting to see plants en masse like this in a greenhouse. It may seem odd - but I don't find mass planting out-doors anywhere near as impressive.

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  2. Wow, what a fantastic nursery. They have so many of my favorite plants. Restios are fantastic when massed like that, as are the Aeonium tabuliforme. I have one tabuliforme and it's great, but to see a whole ocean of them!

    What did you end up buying?

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  3. Esther, it does look impressive doesn't it? Seeing all those plants neatly lined up and in order, it almost reminds me of being in a department store. It also puts you in a better mood to shop if plants are displayed neatly like that :)

    A. tabuliforme is a fab plant indeed Gerhard :) Restios are lovely plants but I find the group generally tricky to grow in our location, but in your area you can indulge in it much more than we can. I went home with a few Nolina seedlings and a Beschorneria albiflora, all doing well in the greenhouse at the moment.

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  4. How impressive! All looks very clean first off. That always impresses me. The variety looks fantastic also. Very well cared for nursery.
    Cher

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  5. Wow what a great nursery visit! I've only seen Aeonium tabuliforme singularly, it's an impressive sight to see a whole swath of them. I long for a shaggy Restio too, maybe this year is the one.

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  6. How impressive! I don't think I've seen a nursery with quite so many unusual and interesting plants.

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  7. Very impressive. I'd forgotten that I used to have a A. tabuliforme - my bereavement, long forgotten, has now come back full force. Make sure to take a van with you when next you visit.

    Dave

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  8. What a fabulous post, I loved all the super pics. Its so nice that a small family run nursery is doing so well.

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  9. Always love a good nursery tour! I've heard the name before, I might have spotted them on ebay as well. I found a Agave bracteosas late last season and bought it on impulse. Happy I did as it's a strange one indeed.

    ! Great photos ~ !

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  10. Indeed Cher, it's a very well cared for nursery :)

    Loree, swathes of A. tabuliforme does look great, like what we saw in Tresco last year. I might give restios another go this year too, one or two might do well :)

    Glad you liked it Holley!

    David, probably best not to take a van as it will seriously hurt our pockets, lol!

    Libby, how true that it's nice to see small family run businesses doing so well :)

    Nat, glad you liked it being a nurseryman yourself :) A. bracteosa is a superb plant!

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  11. That's indeed an Aladdin's Cave for us gardeners, plant and nature lovers. The place looks big from your picture. How is it maintained with so few people? They must be great plantaholics and hard-worker to spend every waking hours tending all those plants.

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  12. Wow, that's a lot of plants! I love the different colors of those succulents. That's a lot of homes and gardens to beautify.

    [I have been commenting last night at home for the previous post of the great work on the pond, but i wasn't able to make it through. I said the pond looks more like a swimming pool than a pond for koi because it is so deep. But who knows the koi might like it deep. Mark, are you an engineer? Those works are for masons!!! hahaha.

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  13. I`ve been looking for an Aeonium tabuliforme for a while , don`t really know if I want to say thank you for the post or hate it as I will spend more money .
    Really nice threat , the plant look really healthy
    Thank you

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  14. Hi KL, it's an Aladdin's cave indeed :) The place is well maintained as they are well organised in propping and arranging their stocks. And Jane is passionate about plants.

    Andrea, I love all of those succulents too! Must pick up more next time we visit them. Not an engineer nor a mason here I'm afraid, lol!

    You're welcome Sal! :) Which also reminds me to buy a couple more A. tabuliforme next time we visit them again!

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