Our Nursery Journey from a Dream

by Nick & Hannah Wade, Gardener's Delight Nursery share their Nursery Journey from a dream. We all have dreams but do we follow them? Their nursery is based in Barnstaple, Devon - 22 May 2026

We started Gardeners Delight Nursery with a farm field, a packet of seeds and a dream in 1991.

The nursery is set on a five-acre plot of which two acres are used for plant production and the remainder is set out for market garden growing along with a small orchard and a couple of bee hives.

We are in Barnstaple which sits between Dartmoor to the Southwest, Exmoor to the East and the Atlantic to the West, which means we get some very strong winds off the Atlantic and cold from the moors. The sea ensures pure air and extremely high light levels, so our plants are tough and strong.

The growing areas use a mixture of protected growing space, with a glasshouse, polythene, and net covered tunnels along with a large outside growing area. This allows us to protect young plants and seedlings before they go outside to mature, ensuring strong healthy plants that will easily grow in your garden. These plants are grown from seed, cuttings, division, and plugs using peat free compost.

There is a small retail area for plants, but the public are also able to browse through some of the tunnels where plants are growing on.

 

 Cirsium rivulare 'Atropurpureum'

Our passion is for growing perennials, especially for bees and pollinators, using peat free compost and no pesticides.  Perennials are taking over the nursery with in excess of fifty thousand plants a year being grown, but we also grow a range of seasonal bedding plants, alpines, shrubs, and climbers as well as contract growing for the National Trust, RHS, local councils and holiday parks.

We have attended plant fairs across the UK with our perennials for several years, and since 2023 started our larger show journey with a display at RHS Rosemoor, which gained the Curator's Award.

 

 Hannah & Nick

In 2024 we displayed at RHS Malvern Spring, RHS Hampton Court and Malvern Autumn gaining Silver Gilt awards at each and gaining Best in Show at RHS Rosemoor.

In 2025 we exhibited in the Grand Floral Pavilion at RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the first time and were awarded a Silver Gilt medal followed by our first RHS Gold Medal at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show.

 

 Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis 'Zambezi'

We also worked with a plant breeder and introduced Agapanthus 'Zambezi' to the UK at RHS Chelsea gaining third spot in the new plant of the year.

 

Eryngium x olivierianum Big Blue

As we move into our thirty-fifth year of growing, we are concentrating more on growing perennial plants for pollinators using peat free compost, without pesticides, along with reducing plastic waste and using as many environmentally friendly ways as possible to run our business and grow plants.

We started to use peat free compost ten to twelve years ago following a discussion with our teenage daughter who gave us a lecture on the planet and how we should look after it for the future generations. As a parent you know not to argue with a teenage daughter, so we set about finding an alternative to peat-based composts.

We had many costly disasters along the way with inferior quality compost and lack of consistency between batches. Working alongside compost suppliers we produced a blended mix which suited the diversity of species that we grow.

The compost must hold water in the summer but drain in the winter, so we add a bark type covering to the plants to help reduce evaporation along with deterring weed growth.

A slow-release feed is incorporated into the compost prior to potting along with any other feeds or biological forms of pest management that we require. The feed rate is strictly adhered to depending on species to help stop feed leaching out unnecessarily.

We purchase our compost in two thousand five hundred litre bags which has eliminated around two thousand polythene compost bags per year going to landfill.

To handle these large bags, we use a forklift truck and a machine called a bale breaker which they are emptied into. This machine feeds a large compost mixer and then to the potting machines.

For a small business, these machines were a large investment necessary to reduce both our plastic waste and labour. They have increased productivity which over time will help to pay for them and as we get older means no lifting of heavy compost bags.

We now only purchase pots that should be recyclable by waste collectors from 2026, and again not go to landfill.

We have installed solar panels on the potting barn to run the machinery and a borehole for our water supply so that we do not use water that is of drinkable quality from the mains system.

As market gardeners we have not used pesticides for twenty years as we did not believe them to be necessary. We use bio stimulants and an integrated pest management programme to control both pests and diseases across the nursery. As we have not used pesticides for a long-time, nature has taken over controlling pests naturally by increasing “Good Pests” such as ladybirds, frogs and grass snakes.

So, from a lecture on using peat-based compost by a thirteen-year-old girl we have progressed with a fully environmentally friendly way to grow our plants. ….. Little wonder that thirteen-year-old went on to become a teacher.

2026 will bring more challenges as we once again embark on a packed season of plant fairs and shows. Some are old familiar events, others in new locations as well as returning to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Only time will tell how the journey unfolds, but it makes the future exciting.

 

Congratulations to Hannah and Nick - winners of a Silver Gilt Medal at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026.

 

Website: www.onlineperennials.co.uk