LANDSCAPING SERVICES
JOHNSONS OF WHIXLEY CELEBRATES 220 MILLION PLANT SUPPLY DURING A CENTURY IN BUSINESS
One of the UK ’ s largest horticultural nurseries , Johnsons of Whixley , celebrated its 100th year in business in June .
The family business was founded by war veteran Eric Johnson in June 1921 and was bought by John Richardson in 1964 ; it has been owned by the Richardson family since .
The company has sold around 220 million plants during its long history , supplying the commercial sector , garden centres and a long list of affiliated horticultural trades .
Notable projects include the Forth Road Bridge , HS1 , Royal Parks , The Athletes Village at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games , a five-star hotel , Grantley Hall , and the UK ’ s largest science campus .
Founder Eric Johnson started the company with minimum assets and a small piece of land bearing a couple of dozen fruit trees . He went on to produce a range of vegetables , fruit and garden plants that he sold directly from the nursery .
By 1964 , when Yorkshire horticulturist John Richardson and his Scottish wife Dorothy took over , the company was producing 150,000 plants annually , many of which were seedlings of hedge plants and rhododendron ponticum . The business employed 11 full-time staff and had a turnover of £ 30,500 .
Today , Johnsons has almost 200 acres of land and 120 employees , rising to 150 seasonally . The business sells between five and six million plants and trees each year . Despite the pandemic and Brexit , turnover for 2020 was £ 13.2m the second highest in the company ’ s history .
It remains a true family business , with 11 members of the Richardson family performing a variety of roles within the company . John , now 83 , is the company chairman and still works a four-day week . His son Graham is the group managing director and makes the business ’ s overall decisions , with support from his brothers Iain and Andrew , who are directors .
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