Are you ready for a plant picture extravaganza? A couple of weeks ago, Dean and I had the joy of finally getting our fingers prickled at Abbey Brook Cactus Nursery. A pilgrimage we tied in with a weekend at the most beautiful wedding. Polar opposite events with all my favourite things.
Like many specialists plant nursery operations, Abbey Brook Cactus Nursery now in Matlock, Derbyshire – grew out of hobby which started with 6 plants in 1947 (in Sheffield) and it was the first commercial nursery in the world to declare in 1963 that it would not deal in field collected material, decades before the current awareness of environmental issues. My kind of mindset.
The owners Brian and Gill work their magic every day with all these thousands of gravel loving beauties. It’s on my list of dream jobs, learning, propagating, cultivating and nurturing. In each of the greenhouses, you are greeted with a sea of succulents and cacti all in their burnt sienna pots. I love the combination of greens, dusty turquoises and terracotta.
This place has a magic that you really must experience for yourself, nothing fancy, modestly run and wild – our visit was everything we hoped and more.
As you can imagine, we came home with more than a handful of new green friends.
You just can’t even imagine how nature can create such shapes, patterns and flowers. They are other worldly, alien and beautiful. I was on my hands and knees taking photos under the benches of the old, dried and temporarily forgotten, piles of pots and cobwebs.
Some of the specimens are an unbelievable size, some sown in 1945?!! No wonder it is a national collection. We chatted with Brian and Gill, wishing we could adopt them as extended family members, absorb some of their knowledge and help out on the weekends – if only it was closer.
I am going to leave you now – but there are lots more photos to see below. I went crazy and this is only half of the pictures! Hoping you will enjoy seeing them as much as us.
