The vast majority of the compost used at the nursery is peat free. Reducing use of peat helps conserve valuable peat bogs – an increasing rare habitat across Europe and UK. Not only do peat bogs support specific flora and fauna, they are also an important carbon sink.
Bark is applied as a mulch to the top of our pots, around the plants to help retain moisture in the compost; helping manage the amount of watering required.
Our growing tunnels are heated by the sun, just giving show plants a little boost and some protection from the weather ready for show season.
The nursery is planted with trees, encouraging wildlife and biodiversity to help manage pests across the nursery. Beneficial insects are introduced to the tunnels when necessary to help manage pests in a sustainable manner.
As much as 80% of our plants are propagated on site, reducing the need for transportation.

What we are doing about our plastic pots?

We have not started using the taupe pots because we feel that at this stage they only serve to confuse; yes they are recyclable but so are our current black pots. The advantage of taupe pots is that taupe is a colour that can be "seen" by the sorting machines which sort out our recycling. However, many council's will still not recycle PP5 plastic whether it is black or the currently more expensive taupe pot - Hampshire included (we welcome feedback on this as we realise that this is an evolving situation).

At the nursery we re-use our pots until they are no longer fit for purpose and then recycle all our recyclable plastic waste with a local, commercial recycling centre.

We have been looking at various plastic pot alternatives with the specific aim of using them for our mail order service. Some of the most promising products are currently only in their trial stages and we are eagerly waiting for them to become commercially available.

NEW! A little something you may like to consider?

If you are visiting the nursery, we are making it possible for you to return Hardy’s 3L and 1L pots, clean and in good condition, for a credit of 2p per pot towards any plants purchased during your visit that day.

Hand your pots to one of our nursery team, who will be able to give you a voucher in exchange for your pots.