At the nursery we are constantly trying to be aware of and reduce our impact on the environment and have an ongoing schedule of ideas and ways that we can achieve this.

In 2023 we installed two rainwater collection tanks amounting to collecting a massive 90 cubic metres of water saving capacity. This water used for on site production within the grow houses and display areas. This not only saves money and mains water but is also better for the plants as it contains no chemicals.

Our plant production department now uses a peat free compost, making it more environmentally friendly. Many gardeners simply don’t realise that the extraction of peat damages natural habitats & wildlife and releases CO2 emissions. We, and our compost suppliers are fully committed to delivering a sustainable horticultural peat free policy and extensive plant trials are ongoing to produce natural products that perform consistently. In the meantime, it is important to use lower peat or peat free compost wherever possible. For more info on this please read our PEAT FREE PLEDGE here.

Did you know that 80% of our bedding plants are grown in polytunnels on site, just a few metres from the outdoor display areas? We are committed to providing the best quality plants for your garden whilst cutting their impact to zero air miles. Look out for our homegrown logo in the bedding area. Most of our other plants are all British grown too and we endeavour to source them locally, from Westcountry suppliers.

There are now 140 new solar panels running a 48kw system generating a production of over 57,000 kWh of electricity since they were installed in November 2022. This green energy is now used to power the lighting in the polytunnel growing areas and the restaurant. All our oldest grow houses have now been replaced with newer, more energy efficient buildings, lowering our heating costs and usage.

All the plastic pots and trays used in our plant production department are recycled by ourselves or returned to our suppliers for recycling. Similarly, card, glass, paper, wood, toner and printer cartridges and most other plastics are recycled and we offer a battery recycling facility. All our other plastic waste is recycled with a local business and the cardboard is recycled through Exeter City Council. We encourage our customers to either bring their own bags, purchase a paper bag or use one of our recycled boxes for their purchases, we get a great deal of these from other local businesses who have no use for them!

We have a policy to stock products from local suppliers wherever practical; this particularly applies to our restaurant, café, plant area and food market where we are currently stocking over 25 local food suppliers from within a 30 mile radius. The coffee beans used in our cafe and restaurant are all fairtrade.

All of our timber structures and furniture are supplied using FSC certified timber using sustainably managed forests.

The range of environmentally friendly products stocked in our garden chemical section has grown in recent years due to more awareness on the importance of keeping pollinators as an important part of your gardens ecology. This range includes organic and natural based bug killers, plant feed, snail & slug control and weed killers, the majority of which are child & pet safe and bee friendly.

Bernie Bee is our environmental champion, look out for him throughout the store and on social media recommending all our eco friendly and organic products, bee and wildlife friendly plants and organic growing options.