Really enjoy reading your newsletter and seeing the photographs of the garden. Totally agree with the idea of using nurseries but sadly don't have any close to where I live. I regularly visit the Lake District where there are some excellent nurseries with plants grown in "hard" conditions. PS Please can you take a photo of your beautiful cat
Hi Jack, thanks for rebublishing this article, perhaps you could include a list of your favourite nurseries in the UK that you use and would recommend? I live just over the thill from you on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales and love reading your garden progress. I too garden on clayish loam but am not quite as exposed as you are. I'm always looking at your planting to see what survives and thrives in the soil conditions and what we can get away with in regards to hardiness... Keep going you're getting it right for me with your articles and frequency of publishing.
Thanks for the feedback, that’s great to know the wild way has been useful so far.
I have started a little list of nurseries here: https://www.jackwallington.com/sustainable-environmental-plant-nurseries/ which reminds me I need to add a few more! It started as just my favourite nurseries but I’ve started adding some I haven’t used but are also sustainable to cover more parts of the country for people.
Thank you for writing this. I own an online bare-root peony nursery in New York State (USA) and think about this topic near constantly.
Sadly reducing plastic has proven more difficult than I'd hoped. If I store/ship the roots in paper only I find they dehydrate and/or mold. This year I plan to trial bio-degradable plastic instead. Not ideal in some ways but hopefully better. My goal is to make our model progressively more sustainable each year.
On the plus side, I notice online customers generally put in big orders and LOTS of roots can be packed into 1 small box. I think there's a real "plant miles" reduction there.
On your newsletter overall, I only signed up a few weeks ago but it's currently my favorite read on substack. thanks for putting in the effort. Looking foward to listening to the podcast!
I was really interested in a grower’s perspective thanks Cath, it’s certainly a challenge for all of us and not just on you the grower. I can see why plastic is a challenge. I imagine it will get to a point where recyclable or bio plastics will have to be used for some plants, bare root and paper wrapped for others.
Size and roots is important, as you say, you can fit a lot of plants in one box in this way!
Thank you for the thoughts and kind words about the newsletter that is very good to know.
Thanks Jack. This was very useful. At my work, a very green eco friendly warehouse is being built and I’ve been asked to write a wish list of plants. Your list of nurseries will come in great help. I want to make choices that are sustainable, drought tolerant, provide food and habitats for pollinators. I’m excited but also a little bit terrified as this warehouse is going to be up for awards.
Thanks for raising the question about mail order plants. I don't have a car and, thankfully, there is one nearby nursery where I do cycle to pick up some plants. But they don't have everything. So, with no car to drive to the father out nurseries, mail order seems like a good – and probably more sustainable – solution for me.
Also, beautiful snowdrops! My snowdrops here in Pittsburgh, PA, are just starting to poke out of the ground.
Yes when we didn’t have a car mail order was an absolute gardening essential 🤗 thanks in our new garden it has some slightly early snowdrops which are exciting.
For me it’s just fine, the first thing I turn to when you publish a new one. Haven’t listened to the podcast yet but have it downloaded for this weekend.
Really enjoy reading your newsletter and seeing the photographs of the garden. Totally agree with the idea of using nurseries but sadly don't have any close to where I live. I regularly visit the Lake District where there are some excellent nurseries with plants grown in "hard" conditions. PS Please can you take a photo of your beautiful cat
Haha Rumbles will be delighted with this request!
I don’t think I’ve ever visited a nursery in the Lake District, I’d love to go to some, something to explore this year.
Thanks for the feedback, I’m glad you’re enjoying the newsletter!
Hi Jack, thanks for rebublishing this article, perhaps you could include a list of your favourite nurseries in the UK that you use and would recommend? I live just over the thill from you on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales and love reading your garden progress. I too garden on clayish loam but am not quite as exposed as you are. I'm always looking at your planting to see what survives and thrives in the soil conditions and what we can get away with in regards to hardiness... Keep going you're getting it right for me with your articles and frequency of publishing.
Hi Christine,
Thanks for the feedback, that’s great to know the wild way has been useful so far.
I have started a little list of nurseries here: https://www.jackwallington.com/sustainable-environmental-plant-nurseries/ which reminds me I need to add a few more! It started as just my favourite nurseries but I’ve started adding some I haven’t used but are also sustainable to cover more parts of the country for people.
Thank you for writing this. I own an online bare-root peony nursery in New York State (USA) and think about this topic near constantly.
Sadly reducing plastic has proven more difficult than I'd hoped. If I store/ship the roots in paper only I find they dehydrate and/or mold. This year I plan to trial bio-degradable plastic instead. Not ideal in some ways but hopefully better. My goal is to make our model progressively more sustainable each year.
On the plus side, I notice online customers generally put in big orders and LOTS of roots can be packed into 1 small box. I think there's a real "plant miles" reduction there.
On your newsletter overall, I only signed up a few weeks ago but it's currently my favorite read on substack. thanks for putting in the effort. Looking foward to listening to the podcast!
I was really interested in a grower’s perspective thanks Cath, it’s certainly a challenge for all of us and not just on you the grower. I can see why plastic is a challenge. I imagine it will get to a point where recyclable or bio plastics will have to be used for some plants, bare root and paper wrapped for others.
Size and roots is important, as you say, you can fit a lot of plants in one box in this way!
Thank you for the thoughts and kind words about the newsletter that is very good to know.
Thanks Jack. This was very useful. At my work, a very green eco friendly warehouse is being built and I’ve been asked to write a wish list of plants. Your list of nurseries will come in great help. I want to make choices that are sustainable, drought tolerant, provide food and habitats for pollinators. I’m excited but also a little bit terrified as this warehouse is going to be up for awards.
Thanks for raising the question about mail order plants. I don't have a car and, thankfully, there is one nearby nursery where I do cycle to pick up some plants. But they don't have everything. So, with no car to drive to the father out nurseries, mail order seems like a good – and probably more sustainable – solution for me.
Also, beautiful snowdrops! My snowdrops here in Pittsburgh, PA, are just starting to poke out of the ground.
Yes when we didn’t have a car mail order was an absolute gardening essential 🤗 thanks in our new garden it has some slightly early snowdrops which are exciting.
For me it’s just fine, the first thing I turn to when you publish a new one. Haven’t listened to the podcast yet but have it downloaded for this weekend.
Thank you Ian, that’s great to know. It’s so hard to know exactly what people will like.