Some National Plant Collections are brought together from plants already in a garden, others may be started from scratch
Linda Heywood, Echium collection holder
Why have a National Collection?
Anyone can have a National Collection - you'll find them everywhere from back gardens, window sills and allotments to parks, schools, zoo gardens, even a pub and a prison. What matters most is your passion for plants and your commitment to keep them safe so others can enjoy them in future. Collections can be held by individuals, organisations or groups of people.
Our Collection holders enjoy researching the history of their plants, tracking down new additions, talking to other plant experts, and becoming experts. Collection holders are often happy to share their knowledge too - whether in person through talks or visits, or perhaps through blogs, articles in the press or journals, or websites. We love to share stories and advice from Collection holders in our Plant Heritage Journal. We also work with Collection holders who want to do displays at events like the RHS flower shows, educating and inspiring thousands of people.
Collections have to be accessible to the public, but there are different ways to do this. Some people offer the option to view their National Collection by appointment, or as part of garden open days. We are happy to provide guidance on this.
Where to start?
Collections can be based around a plant's taxonomic group, such as Cyclamen species or Ginkgo cultivars. If it is a large plant group, it might make more sense to be the Collection around a subset of this, such as Sussex apple cultivars, or large leaved Hosta introduced pre-2000. Some collections are connected with a person or a place, such as the plants collected by Harold Comber at his home at National Trust Nymans. These historical collections may not all be the same type of plant.
We are happy to advise anyone who is interested in starting a National Collection. Even if it is the first germ of an idea, do get in touch with our friendly team. We also provide ongoing support and guidance, including through our network of volunteer Collection Coordinators. As a charity, our work is supported by our members, including National Collection holders.
If you don't have a particular plant group in mind, take a look at our Missing Collections page. There are still lots of plant groups looking for people to take care of them and we would love to hear from you.
We are also interested in creating duplicate National Collections, to help protect plants from risks like storms, floods, pests and diseases. These risks are increasing because of climate change.
Richard And Vicky Fox, collection holders of Heuchera, × Heucherella and Tiarella
© Plant Heritage
Starting a National Plant Collection
Once you've decided that you want to apply for a National Plant Collection, there are a few simple steps to take. You can submit a proposal even before you have started to collect any plants, then move on to a full application later. We will guide you through this process, along with your local volunteer Collections Coordinator. Please note that National Collection holders must be members of Plant Heritage, so if you're not yet a member, why not join today.
Step one
Fill in the simple, one page proposal form and send it back to us, along with a list of plants. You don’t need a large collection of plants at this stage, it can be a statement of intent. Feel free to get in touch with us or your local coordinator if you have questions.
Step two
The Proposal will be passed on to our Plant Collections Committee (PCC), a panel of horticulture experts who can provide advice, direction and contacts to help you get started. This committee meets quarterly.
Step three
Once the collection is ready you can fill in our application form, which details how the plants are grown, researched, labelled and recorded. You may find our Collection Holder's Handbook and Resources for Collection Holders pages useful to refer to at this stage.
Step four
Your local coordinator is available for support with the application process, and they will visit and review your collection so that all the information about it can be presented to the Plant Collections Committee.
What help will I get?
Any proposed Collection is visited by a local volunteer coordinator. They will work with you to complete your application, along with our dedicated conservation team.
We have a web-based plant recording system called Persephone that is available for free to anyone who submits a proposal for a National Collection. This is a helpful tool for you to keep all the pictures, information and research about your plants in one place, and we provide support with getting your plants lists together and recorded on there.
Plant Heritage also offers workshops – from plant photography and making herbarium specimens, to taxonomy. These will be advertised in our Collection Holder newsletter or events page.
Collection Holders are also supported by our local Plant Heritage Groups, who are full of like-minded plants people. Groups hold regular talks, visits, workshops and plant sales.
Submitting a proposal
All those submitting a proposal for a Collection need to be a member of Plant Heritage
Support the National Plant Collections
Want to help support the National Plant Collections and hear more from a chosen collection holder?
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