More than half of garden plants previously grown in the UK are no longer offered for sale, as flower fashions and modern gardening trends have reduced the diversity of blooms. Plant Heritage, a charity dedicated to conserving cultivated plants, is asking the public to choose unusual plants for their gardens and even start national collections of rare blooms to prevent them from dying out.
The charity is exhibiting its first show garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in May to raise awareness of at-risk plants and encourage people to grow a wider variety of flowers. The homogenisation of gardens, driven by a tendency to choose the same generic varieties from garden centres, could have negative impacts on nature and biodiversity, they warned.
Of more than 133,000 cultivated plants assessed by Plant Heritage, more than half are no longer reliably offered for sale in the UK. One in six are recorded growing in only one or two locations. A spokesperson for the charity said: 'Nurseries only stock a limited range and what’s in fashion changes, so keeping plants safe relies on people valuing what they have in their garden or public parks. We don’t treat plants as precious heritage in the same way we do objects.'
Gardens are getting smaller and increasingly paved over, and many people do not know how to propagate plants, leading them to buy easy-to-grow varieties from garden centres. A diversity of plants is important for garden wildlife, providing food and shelter for pollinators. The charity runs 'national collections' of plants that safeguard certain species, recognised internationally as 'ex situ' conservation. Some plants in collections are extinct in their home countries, such as Brugmansia (Angel trumpets) kept at Kew Gardens in London.
The charity’s Chelsea garden will feature examples of 'living libraries' of plants already safeguarded within national plant collections, alongside those still in need of a 'missing collector'. Collections to be featured include Geum, Boehmeria, Polypodium and Thalictrum, while the garden will also champion plants without a collection such as Aquilegia and Verbascum, to encourage future custodians.
Gwen Hines, Plant Heritage’s chief executive, said: 'We hope to inspire more people to join our growing community in safeguarding our nation’s favourite plants. Whilst plants in your garden may appear safer than those in the wild, they can still be at risk, so it’s crucial that we protect our garden plants.' The charity advises that the easiest way to propagate most plants is through taking cuttings, with tips including using clean tools, trimming to just below a leaf joint, and potting in well-draining compost.
