Colin Ward Interviewed by ‘Tropical Plant Guy’

Could you tell us about how you came to run a nursery?

“I’ve always had a keen interest in nature and plants. The nursery essentially started from gate sales and gradually grew into what it is today.”

You always have new plants and some real gems that I only ever find by visiting, such as the Viburnum awabuki. What are some of the rarer plants that you have?

“I’m very keen on woodland plants, which probably make up the bulk of the rarer species I have. There are many plants in my own collection that I have yet to propagate. Among them is *Asarum maxima* ‘Silver Panda’, which is taking a painfully long time to bulk up for propagation. *Zantedeschia ‘Hercules’* is another favourite, and I have a long waiting list for that one!
Rare plants are usually slower or more difficult to propagate, which is one reason for their scarcity. Fortunately, they’re too much hassle for the big garden centres and supermarkets to bother with. My stock patch grows bigger every year, and it’s impossible to list all of the plant gems I have.”

There is quite a large variety of ferns this year, and I am a big fan of ground ferns. What’s your favourite and why?

“*Polystichum neolobatum* is probably one of my favourites, as it stays beautifully evergreen throughout the year and is very impressive in the spring when the new fronds are unfurling. I also love the Japanese painted ferns, but these do require good moist shade.”

You grow quite a few ferns in your garden that you often invite visitors to take a look around. What are some of the larger ferns people can grow?

“*Polystichum setiferum* ‘Bevis’ has got to be one of the main ferns that achieve a good size, often growing up to a metre in height. *Osmunda regalis* is also very impressive, especially if grown near water.”

The last few years have been pretty poor in terms of weather, affecting many borderline plants grown in the UK with longer, colder seasons and lower levels of light. In terms of all-year-round evergreen performance and reliability, what would you recommend?

“Bamboo will come top of this list, provided that it is grown in the ground. There are several varieties of bamboo that are not thugs, so there’s no need to be frightened of them. *Fargesias* are probably the best varieties to grow. There are also some pretty good evergreen ferns as well. The hart’s tongue and polypody ferns, which are British natives, are brilliant and will often set themselves in the garden once you have them.”

There seems to be a lot of trends with gardening. Heucheras, Heucherellas, and Tiarellas have been popular in the last few years. What trends do you foresee, and what gardening trends would you like to see happen?

“Heucheras and their relatives are always very popular, as they are mainly evergreen and provide all-year-round interest. Trends are very much driven by the media, and if there is enough money behind a certain plant, then it can become trendy. This is not necessarily the best thing in gardening, and sometimes some pretty rubbish plants can be promoted to earn a fast buck. The ‘grow your own’ trend has built up over the last few years and seems to be peaking and leveling off. I would like to see more people growing plants for wildlife and also growing more unusual plants.”

You grow quite a few ferns in your garden that you often invite visitors to take a look around. I must ask you about the green wall; it looks great. What made you decide to choose the plants you did for the green wall?

“I chose Heucheras, Heucherellas, and Tiarellas for the green wall in the hope that they will still look good in the winter. This is a new style of gardening for me, and I am still learning about it, but I am pretty pleased with the results so far.”

Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions.

Nursery folk love their plants!

Thanks to Chris ‘The Tropical PLant Guy’. The orginal article in full can be found at https://tropicalplantguy.com/blogs/swines-meadow-farm-nursery-interview-with-colin-ward-peterborough-uk/