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For sponsorship of only £4 a month you can follow one of the selected National Plant Collections listed below, with the opportunity to receive regular news updates, and expert advice throughout a gardening year. Select a collection to find out more.
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Vital conservation of garden plants
The plants held by our Plant Guardians are a vital part of our work to conserve garden plants. These are now being added to our newly launched searchable list. This collaborative and innovative project aims to bring more information about rare or unusual garden plants into the public domain. If you have more details on any of these plants, please let us know.
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Plant health and passporting
For anyone taking part in the Plant Exchange, we recommend that you read this guide to biosecurity produced by the National Trust.
As it currently stands, it seems that plant swaps organised within clubs and societies are not covered by plant passporting regulations. Presume that any plant you receive will not be passported and take appropriate biosecurity measures as in the link above. We keep a record of where plants have come from and go to, to ensure traceability in case of problems.
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"GENETIC DIVERSITY WITHIN POPULATIONS OF WILD AND DOMESTICATED SPEICIES, IS MAINTAINED"
Global context
The world of plant conservation is constantly changing and Plant Heritage has a role in supporting this in order to ensure resilience to environmental and societal change.
We were founded under the principle that we should '…conserve the unique gene pool of accumulated variation from centuries of selection and breeding, a resource of great economic potential and heritage value.' (Brickell, 1977).
This need not only remains but has been strengthened through the Convention on Biological Diversity 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which sets as one of its long term goals that ‘genetic diversity within populations of wild and domesticated species, is maintained’, with a target by 2030 ‘to maintain and restore the genetic diversity within and between populations of native, wild and domesticated species to maintain their adaptive potential, including through in situ and ex situ conservation’.
As an example of ex situ conservation of domesticated species, National Collections are contributing to global efforts to halt biodiversity loss.
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What are the threats to our garden plants?
- Changing fashions
Changes in styles of planting and taste can cause groups of plants to go out of fashion. We don't want to lose the range of cultivars available for when they inevitably come back into fashion. - Changes to the plant sales trade
The requirement for plants to be of a specific size and in flower at the point of sale by garden centres and supermarkets can lead to a diminution of the range of plants grown in our gardens. We are also losing specialist plant nurseries who carry a much wider range of plants. - Climate change
Climate change over time will have a continuing effect on the range of cultivated plants available to the UK.
- Pests and pathogens
Due to the nature of modern trade and travel there is an increasing risk of new pests and diseases being introduced to the UK. Recent examples of these include box blight, ash dieback, and agapanthus gall midge. - Loss of propagation or cultivation skills
A lack of horticultural skills, particularly in propagation, is causing a loss in the availability of specialist cultivated plants.
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The Royal Horticultural Society
Is a UK charity established to enrich everyone's life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place. Thousands of members of the general public enjoy RHS gardens and shows each year. The RHS supports Plant Heritage at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.
The National Trust
Is a charity founded in 1895 to conserve the nation’s heritage and open spaces for everyone to enjoy. The Trust owns and cares for over 200 gardens and parks. Working in association with Plant Heritage, The Trust conserves one of the world’s largest and most valuable collections of cultivated plants.
National Trust for Scotland
Is a an independent charity set up in 1931 for the preservation and conservation of natural and human heritage that is significant to Scotland and the world. It is responsible for conserving and promoting the nation's treasured heritage so that it can be enjoyed by present and future generations,including 190,000 acres of countryside, and 35 gardens nurturing 13,500 plant varieties.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Explore the world’s most famous garden and London’s largest UNESCO World Heritage Site. See our magnificent tropical glasshouses and discover 132 hectares of stunning landscaped gardens. Climb a treetop walkway, view collections of botanical art and learn about 250 years of science and history at Kew Gardens.
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE)
Is a leading international research organisation, delivering Knowledge, education and plant conservation action around the world. In Scotland, its four gardens at Edinburgh, Benmore, Dawyck and Logan attract nearly a million visitors each year. Its mission is to 'explore, conserve and explain the world of plants for a better future.'
The Irish Garden Plant Society
Formed in 1981, has taken a lead in researching, finding and propagating Irish heritage plants to ensure their survival. We actively promote Irish horticulture through garden restoration projects, exhibitions and joint ventures with other leading gardening groups and organisations. Always seeking to educate, our enthusiastic members enjoy regular talks, newsletters, workshops, plant sales and garden visits.
Our partners
