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Hi Rob, - I do a border planning and planting service, is that what you're looking for, or are you wanting to DIY?
Wholesale nurseries expect a list to pick from or for you to choose plants yourself, even the best are not usually keen to give you help other than to suggest alternatives. -
Good books to start with are What plant Where by Roy lancaster and right plant right place. - Or go to Wisley as they have lots of plant lists for appropriate sites.
Hi Robert,
Try Evergreen Exterior Services Ltd, 21 Croydon Lane, Banstead, Surrey, SM7 3BW - Horticultural Nurseries - Wholesale, for plants. You have to be Trade to join them but it's free. I think they are the biggest wholesaler, or one of the biggest in the South East for really cheap, good plants. Don't think they offer any advice, planting schemes etc..though.
Debbie
Just to clarify, as a Wholesale Nursery, we do support our customers, do offer advice on site, and also do FREE site visits for our customers for FREE plant advice.
Steve is still learning after 32 years in horticulture, whilst Tina ran her own Garden Design business and has been in horticuluture for 17 years. That's over 50 years experience from T&S Plants.
Gone are the days as a supplier when we used to hear the old timers phrase, "Your plants are over there mate". Some suppliers have moved on, and T&S Plants are leading the way.
We have had two site visits to support our customers booked this week.
With a note about Evergreen, our customer lost a big order as his client already had a "Trade" card for Evergreen. Trade cards are easy to get then as 4 in the same road also had them?
T & S Plants said:
That's good to see, so long as you are making money from offering the extra service (and not upsetting local designers!)
I used to use Tendercare a lot when I was doing design-and-plant, and they would certainly design a planting scheme as well as supply the plants, but at a large extra cost to a retail customer. I think it worked out about the same cost for a design-and-supply, at trade prices, as the retail cost of the plants, so it was almost easier to let them do the design work! Of course, that was only on jobs with planting costs in the £000s, as you need enough trade discount to play with if you're going to include a "free" design service that's got to be worth somewhere in the hundreds.
I agree about the trade cards being too easy to get. I've said before that I struggle to supply plants in smaller quantities from trade nurseries, with my time included, for the same price the client can pay at a local garden centre. Let them have access to the trade prices and it's hopeless. I understand trade nurseries seeing easy money from opening to anyone, but it's not a long-term help to the trade, which ultimately cuts off their core business.
T & S Plants said:
Have an account at evergreen and we had to provide a business invoice and a business card perhaps they have tightened up on this lately. Evergreen also have an outlet at Covent garden flower market no trade card required there but its £5 to take a vehicle onsite and get there early for the best plants I tend to get there between 5 and 6am to avoid the traffic on the way back.
Loads of great trade nurseries around Chobham in Surrey ... many though really don't have the time or inclination to help plan your borders ... it all depends whether you want your border to look like a pigs breakfast or have some rhyme and reason ... like in all things, you get out what you put in!
Remember what Steve Martin says to John Candy in Trains,Planes and Automobiles ...
"For goodness sake HAVE a point ... it makes it SO much more interesting for the listener"
Well this goes for having a point when planning a border too ... and most trade nurseries are there just to sell plants ... but if you just want a random selection of plants that have no particular affinity with each other other than what they currently have in stock then give any of the wholesalers a try ...