The National Collections are an amazing way to protect the UK’s favourite garden plants for the future. Through our network of passionate members and dedicated volunteers, we are safeguarding 95,000 different plants, but we need to do more and to adapt to climate change.
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Beneficiaries
Situation
Despite the increasing popularity of gardening, the diversity of our garden plants is more at risk than ever. Small independent nurseries are struggling and big commercial outlets offer a limited choice. More people live in rented accommodation and gardens are getting smaller. On top of this, we face more extreme weather and new pests and diseases. This means every year important groups of plants disappear forever, reducing biodiversity and our ability to adapt to future environmental challenges.
Solution
There are thousands of garden plants not yet protected in the National Plant Collections. We also lose around 20 existing Collections every year due to age, ill-health or if those looking after them move house or change jobs. By raising awareness of the importance of saving our garden plants we’ll inspire the next generation of Collectors. We’ll also enable existing Collectors to maintain or safely pass on their collections through training, workshops and 1-1 support.
