William and Louise Friend run a small, 'friendly', family run business that run two plant nurseries; one located in Margate, Kent (Kent plant nursery map) on Kent's North East tip, near the original 'Botany Bay' and the other at Mucklestone near Market Drayton on the borders of Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire, near Bridgemere Nurseries and Dorothy Clive gardens. {Staffordshire Plant Nursery Map).
At our Kent plant nursery we specialise in coping with the problems of growing plants in chalky, coastal conditions and are always happy to give advice and select plants for a particular situation. Our second plant nursery at Mucklestone in Shropshire specialises in Woodland and Meadow plants. i.e. those plants better suited to the cooler, wetter, more acidic conditions prevalent in the north and west of Britain. Between the two we sites we are able to offer a uniquely comprehensive range of plants for gardens across Britain.
Our aim is to make it easy for both the novice gardener or garden expert alike to source unusual, reliable and easy to grow plants , tailored to your own growing conditions to give you years of trouble free pleasure. We believe that , to stay happy and healthy, tending a garden is a key part of fulfilling our human need to manage and improve our living environment and interact with the natural world around us, of which we are all a part.
Both Nurseries are set in delightful locations, as part of larger farms, and on the edges of conservation areas, each with charming old buildings. Both sites owe much of this character to the stewardship of each side of William's family over countless generations, 'The Friends' at Northdown, and William's maternal family, the Hinchliffe's, in Mucklestone, many generations of whom served as the parish Rector. Each farm also continues to serves as a hub of local community life, with a nursery, farm and business centre at each, offering premises for local businesses, groups and charities. At each site William, an oxford trained botanist, has planted extensive areas around the grounds with his collections of plants , so that plants can be propagated from stock, proven to do well in the area. Visitor's are encouraged to explore the grounds at each site to see and compare growing specimens of the plants they are interested in, both collections are fully indexed.
You can choose your plants from our online plant list that is available in PDF or Excel format. To find more click ordering plants from botanyplants.co.uk
We hope our web site with its extensive catalogue section will help you find and select plants suited to your garden or grounds especially those plants you have found difficult to source elsewhere. We have published this catalogue in PDF and Excel format so that you can choose the format that suits you best. When browsing the catalogue the plants that are grown and propogated at East Nothdown Plant Nursery have the RHS location code SEND. However plants can be collected from both location if sufficient notice is given. Please visit our blog for news of upcoming events and useful fact sheets.
