Setting up shop at one of Gloucestershire's best-loved cultural attractions, Exedra Nursery is officially opening its gates on Saturday 10 September 2022.
A brand-new venture from the husband-and-wife team who formerly owned Miserden Nursery, the independent plant centre will stock homegrown plants and herbaceous perennials — with the majority of its plants raised on-site, making them tough, hardy and used to the Cotswold climate.
Green-fingered customers can also pick up diverse plants from a handful of carefully-selected UK nurseries — including snowdrops, which Painswick Rococo Garden is famous for.
There will also be the opportunity to pick up gardening tools and accessories from the on-site shop, with everything keen gardeners need to help revive their gardens after an extremely hot summer.
Owners Steve Richardson and Julie Dolphin ran the highly-regarded Miserden Nursery for six years, growing the business to almost three times its original turnover and amassing a loyal following of customers.
In addition to the new retail area at Exedra Nursery, they have built a dedicated growing space to continue to grow their much-loved perennials. With around 400 different types, customers can expect to find unusual blooms, as well as the more traditional cottage garden classics.
The growing space will eventually include a polytunnel, too, enabling the nursery to propagate and overwinter some of its more tender plants.
Continuing its commitment to sustainable gardening, Exedra Nursery uses exclusively peat-free compost to raise its plants, in addition to recyclable pots, organic feeds, natural pest controls and watering with captured rainwater.
Julie Dolphin, owner of Exedra Nursery, said: 'We are excited and delighted to
finally be opening the doors to our new nursery. It’s going to be packed to the
rafters with terrific plants including a wide range of herbaceous perennials
that we grow on site here at the Rococo Garden. We’ll also have carefully
selected plants from other UK nurseries including roses from David Austin
Roses, herbs, climbers, shrubs and later in the season bulbs and Christmas
trees!
'Autumn is actually a great time of year to plant. The soil is warm but the climate is cooler with higher levels of rain and we don’t have to water as much to get those roots established. The recent drought has made us all think about the importance of water conservation. We could still do with more rain though!'
Exedra Nursery is located next to Rococo Garden's new admissions entrance and café site, with no fee to enter this part of the attraction.
Its opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday, from 10am to 4pm, and it will officially open on Saturday 10 September 2022.
