BEHIND THE PLANTS: Hoyland Plant Centre

Our plant nursery is situated in the ex-mining village of Hoyland, at the foot of the Pennines in South Yorkshire. We are a small family run business and have striven to create a reputation that encompasses our ethos for growing high-quality plants and 100% customer satisfaction.

Our journey into the world of horticulture as a plant nursery began 35 years ago, growing an array of hardy garden plants. We have always had a keen interest in South African plants, sparked many years ago when Steve was a student at Cambridge botanical gardens. Our specialist plant nursery is now solely devoted to the cultivation and propagation of Agapanthus, Clivia, Tulbaghia, Nerine and Amarines. We currently house three National Plant Collections (Agapanthus, Clivia and Tulbaghia) and are passionate about the conservation for future generations to enjoy. Along side this we also breed new cultivars and have introduced more than 20 new plants.

A typical year would see us displaying our plants around the country at flower shows, something we have done for many years. Unfortunately, earlier this year we found ourselves hugely affected by the Covid 19 pandemic. All the flower shows were cancelled along with gardening groups which we attend and give talks. It is a challenging time for us but we are delighted to be able to offer our plants and goods via mail order on our website www.somethingforthegarden.co.uk. We have just opened our 'Christmas Shop' online, you can find gift ideas that can be delivered directly to your chosen recipient in time for Christmas, or grab a bargain in our Autumn sale!

Growing tips:

• Agapanthus- these are fantastic summer flowering garden plants. The evergreen cultivars are best grown in containers and sheltered in the winter. The herbaceous cultivars can be grown outside in the ground all year, being hardy in UK winters they make excellent border plants. They flower for long periods in summer with masses of spherical flowerheads in a plethora of colour breaks. All Agapanthus benefit from full sun and a high potassium feed every 2 weeks April-September.
• Tulbaghia- these clump forming understated plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground. They produce a continuous display of dainty flowers ranging from pink, purple or white from May-September. If grown in pots put them somewhere sheltered over winter, if planted in the ground cut back to 3cm above soil level and mulch. They require very well drained soil and full sun.
• Nerine bowdenii/Amarine- these are hardy bulbs that send up a striking display of pink/white in Autumn. They require full sun, free draining soil and most importantly the necks of the bulbs should be above the ground to get baked in the summer, they can also be grown in containers.
• Clivia- these and are a tough and resilient house plant, producing spectacular flowers in Spring and have evergreen elegant strap like leaves which are attractive when not in flower.. They do not like direct sunlight but will grow well in partial and dense shade, this makes them suitable too be grown in the home where other house plants will fail. Clivia roots need a lot of air around them, so the compost must be well drained and slightly acidic. A lower phosphate feed is recommended from early February to late September every 2 weeks.

  To find out more, visit Hoyland Plant Centre

  Below: Hoyland Plant Centre are proud to be multi-award winning RHS Master growers.