The Plant Library Pop Up Plant Sale– with plants propagated by Head Gardener Mille Souter and The Orchard Nursery, via Sunnyside Rural Trust
Early autumn is the perfect time to stock up on and plant new plants in your borders, pots or in your clients’ gardens.
Join us as Tom Stuart-Smith’s curated Plant Library of over 2000 species of perennials and bulbs hosts a number of special plant sales, with stock propagated from The Plant Library by Head Gardener Millie Souter and Sunnyside Rural Trust trainees, via the on-site Orchard Nursery.
From sunny-sited Mediterranean plants such as Salvia interrupta x candelabrum to Epimedium ‘Spine Tingler’ for damper more shady corners, as well as a new seed collection this is an exclusive chance to buy a curated list of plants and seeds on site where they are grown, across a wide range of species including unusual varieties of familiar plants.
These events are free but ticketed. Please reserve a ticket in advance.
Stock list of The Plant Library plants available to buy, from 9cm to 2l pots include:
Anthericum ramosum
Aster ‘Chilly Fingers’
Artemesia lactiflora ‘Elfenbein’
Campanula trachelium
Epimedium ‘Spine Tingler’
Ligusticum scoticum
Macleaya × kewensis ‘Flamingo’
Patrinia monandra
Peucedanum rablense
Salvia azurea
Salvia interrupta × candelabrum
Salvia × jamensis ‘Nachtvlinder’
Seseli hippomarathrum
Sesleria autumnalis
Silene fimbriata
Succisa pratensis
Symphiotrichum ‘Coombe Fishacre’
Xanthogalum purpurascens
Information - The Plant Library and The Orchard Nursery
The Plant Library
The Plant Library is set in an old orchard and includes more than 1800 different varieties of herbaceous plants, low shrubs plus 400 bulbs set out in a grid system. The collection is a unique educational resource for anyone interested in plants and design managed by Head Gardener, Millie Souter and a team of volunteers.
The plots are constantly edited, with the intention of forming a collection of plants that are both beautiful and useful to gardeners and designers. The emphasis is on plants that are long lived and tolerant of our increasingly hot and dry conditions. A collection of drought tolerant plants from warmer, drier climates is situated at the top of the site, planted in half a foot of sharp sand. The more shady and comparatively damp lower
part of the site is home to woodland plants and others that prefer the moisture-retentive clay soil. The middle area includes plants that prefer
conditions somewhere between the two extremes. Each group of plants has its own QR code to help identify them.
The Orchard Nursery
The Orchard Nursery is a Sunnyside Rural Trust propagation and training facility, located at The Serge Hill Project. We work with people with learning differences propagating and growing on perennials from Tom Stuart-Smith's Plant Library. This unique collection of plants is available to buy at Serge Hill events and visits can be arranged by appointment via plants@sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk.
Images copyright Yeshen Venema
Visitor Information and accessibility
Visitor Information
Parking onsite is limited so please car-share or come by public transport wherever possible.
Please note this is a no smoking and no vaping site.
Accessibility
Accessible parking for those who require it is available directly outside The Apple House. There is step-free access to the building and all areas. However, there are many potential trip hazards and uneven surfaces that may be encountered whilst visiting the gardens, along with gravel paths that aren’t suitable for walking frames with wheels. The gardens are extensive so there’s a lot of ground to cover. Please be aware that due to the ongoing building works around the Orchard, there may be additional hazards to look out for.