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Britain is a nation of gardeners, our long history of collecting, breeding, and growing plants gives us a hugely diverse garden flora.
There are numerous charities supporting the conservation of nature or artefacts, but Plant Heritage is unique in its aims to conserve and cherish garden plants.
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Plants are essential for all life on earth
Plant Heritage carries out vital work in the United Kingdom. Plants are essential for all life on earth and with the current global challenges such as climate change, emerging pests and diseases, and changing fashions too, cultivated plants are threatened and we need your help in continuing our work.
Your gift would help fund our National Plant Collections® scheme, which is at the heart of the conservation work we do, creating individual living libraries of cultivated plants across the country.
Agapanthus 'Indigo Dreams'
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Our conservation strategy
Once it’s gone it’s gone! Plants growing in gardens
might seem safer than those in the wild, but they can
easily be lost forever if nobody is looking after them.
Plant Heritage is the only organisation with the aim of
conserving garden plants across the British Isles and Ireland.
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USEFUL RESOURCES
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Plant Guardian scheme
If you’d like to be involved in garden plant conservation but can only look after one or two plants, why not consider our Plant Guardian scheme.
Sponsoring the National Collections
If you want to support the National Plant Collections and hear more about the work of a particular collection, consider Sponsoring the National Collections.
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The National Plant Collections®
National Plant Collections are also made available for people to view, either by appointment, on special open days or as part of a garden open to the public.
They contain about 95,000 plants, held across over 700 collections. Together this represents a huge resource for gardeners, nurserymen, garden designers, researchers, plant breeders and those interested in historical gardens and landscapes. Having these plants part of a registered conservation scheme ensures that they will be a resource for generations to come.
FROM MIGHTY OAKS TO MINATURE ORCHIDS, NATIONAL PLANT COLLECTIONS COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.
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National Collection holders
You don’t need a huge garden, some collections are held in the tiniest of spaces; greenhouses, on allotments, or even indoors.
Holders can be individuals, botanic gardens, plant nurseries, local authority parks or groups of people, who share the collection across different locations.
Rubus Collection Holder Barry Clarke, Hampton Court 2019
Jackie Currie tending her Allium collection on her allotment
Copiapoa, Matucana and Turbinicarpus, Chester Zoo Collections
© Plant Heritage
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Argyranthemum
Often grown in pots, their large daisy shaped flowers add bursts of colour from late spring to the first frosts. Their long blooming season attracts a range of pollinators too, including honeybees.
Argyranthemum 'Vancouver'
© Plant Heritage
Caryopteris
Best in a sunny border or gravel garden with free-draining soil, these fluffy blue-purple flowers are striking in late summer and early autumn, providing late-season nectar for butterflies and bees.
Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Heavenly Blue'
© Plant Heritage
Clethra
Also known as Summersweet, these fragrant flowers and their nectar attract a wide variety of butterflies and songbirds in the summer, and seeds in winter.
Clethra barbinervis
Marwood Hill Gardens
Erysimum
Commonly known as wallflowers, are spring to summer-flowering plants that provide vibrant displays of colour. Many varieties are hardy perennials and have attractive evergreen foliage, adding structure and aesthetic value to the garden even after the flowers have faded.
A National Plant Collection of Erysimum - perennial is held by Simon Weeks: Erysimum 'Butterscotch'
S. Weeks
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Get involved and help
Within our network there are numerous opportunities to get involved and help with our activities that support our vital work in plant conservation.
- Group volunteers - helping with events, visits and plants sales
- Local representatives - would you like to be the Plant Heritage contact in your local area?
- Seed collecting/packing volunteers - simply collect and donate seed from your garden, or offer to help with packing and labelling seed. Seed collecting instructions are here
- Digital Plant Conservation volunteers - who help prepare plant records and photographs for upload to our database, Persephone
- Office volunteers - supporting the conservation team, digitising our paper records, labelling and sorting photos, helping fundraising activities and our events
- Fundraising volunteers - from holding a coffee morning, to a cycle race or running a marathon, there are many ways to raise funds to support our conservation work
- Collection coordinators - we have a team across the country who visit and support local National Collection Holders
- Plant exchange coordinators - who organise the plant exchange for local members - a chance to receive rare and unusual plants
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Johnsons Seeds
Johnsons Seeds sells a range of flower and vegetable packet seeds. Johnsons sponsor our membership leaflet, offer a pack of seed to welcome new members to Plant Heritage.
Melcourt
Melcourt is a leading name in non-peat based, professional quality, multi award winning, growing media, composts and bark mulches. They support our displays at shows.
Brother UK
Brother UK produces high-quality plant labelling machines and tapes, useful for Collection Holders. Previously they have sponsored our Directory, and support our raffles.
Bayntun Flowers
Bayntun Flowers are organic flower growers who sell to florists and hold workshops and study days throughout the year. They specialise in historic tulips and rare and unusual flowers and foliage.
Floral Tours
Floral Tours is the only group travel operator that specialises only in horticultural and floral tours. We specialise in tours and visits for flower and gardening Clubs including Plant Heritage.
Wacks Wicked Plants
Wacks Wicked Plants are a small, independent, North-Yorkshire based, Chelsea gold medal winning specialist nursery, and we grow, display and sell carnivorous plants online, at flower shows and at the nursery.
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Individual
UK Individual Membership from £40. Member renewals. You can add Membership Plus (Persephone plant recording).
From
£40.00
Annually
Joint
UK Joint Membership from £60. Member renewals. Add Membership Plus (Persephone plant recording).
From
£60
Annually
Student or people under 35 membership
UK student membership or people under 35 - membership from £12. New members, member renewals and Membership Plus (Persephone plant recording).
From
£12
Annually
Group and organisation
Purchase a gift for a gardening friend, offering access to rare and unusual plants. Incudes a special gift of Johnsons seeds and Showa gloves too.
From
£40
Annually
Our partners
