Evolution Plants open day, plus a talk from celebrated US plantsman
Dan Hinkley
Following the successful launch of the online nursery Evolution Plants last autumn, owner and 21st century plant hunter Tom Mitchell is opening the nursery gates to the public for the first time, for a special open day on Saturday 10 May, 2014.
Passionate gardeners looking for something new to grow in their gardens will have the opportunity to visit the nursery, located in near Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, to see the amazing collection of perennials, trees, shrubs, orchids and bulbs from around the world, many of which have never been seen in the UK before.
Alongside the open day Tom is delighted to announce that gardeners will also have the opportunity to hear a talk given by renowned US plantsman, author and plant hunter Dan Hinkley, who will be talking about his recent plant hunting exploits in Myanmar, Vietnam and China.
The talk is now being held in the stunning Belcombe Court which is close to Evolution Plants in Bradford on Avon. Belcombe Court is a remarkable private garden owned by Paul and Caroline Weiland. It is rarely open to the public and this is a rare opportunity to explore the 50 acres of gardens, including a huge walled garden designed by Arne Maynard.
Due to the likely demand to hear Dan speak, the event will is ticket only, priced at just £5, redeemable against any plants bought on the day.
Tom will conduct two tours of the nursery, one at 10.30am and one at 4pm where he will showcase some of the new species Evolution Plants is cultivating. There will also be demonstrations of the techniques used in raising plants from seed and propagating rare snowdrops by twin-scaling.
Speaking about the open day Tom said, “As Evolution Plants is primarily an online nursery, we are really looking forward to welcoming visitors onto the 13 acre nursery site so they can see how we grow and propagate our diverse range of rare plants. We do not generally open to the public, so having this special day gives us a chance to
meet plant enthusiasts and introduce them to a whole world of temperate plants that many will be unaware of. We hope we can inspire our visitors to experiment with growing better, more interesting, more exciting garden plants, while contributing to the conservation of some endangered species in the process.“
He continued, “Having Dan Hinkley visit us to give a lecture is really exciting. The nursery that he founded, Heronswood, set the gold standard for plantsmans’ nurseries; he is the pre-eminent contemporary plant hunter and his books are essential reading for anyone interested in cutting-edge horticulture.’ His presentation on recent travels to the biodiversity hotspots of East Asia will be fascinating.”
For further details about the Evolution Plants Open Day and to obtain tickets to hear Dan Hinkley’s talk, please visit www.evolution-plants.com