The Nursery Team

Our nursery team at Cornwall Park works hard throughout the year to care for our shrubberies, annual gardens and nursery plants. Their days start off bright and early and each day can be different tackling a large variety of tasks. Some of these tasks include watering in the nursery, checking compost temperatures, pricking out annuals and sowing seeds. Other days are spent out in the park weeding, planting or trimming.

From Seed to Garden

Twice a year the team rolls up their sleeves for the big job of planning and planting the annual gardens. This starts with one of the team's favourite jobs - designing the gardens. Our Horticultural Manager – Jo, and her team meticulously design beautiful patterns for the gardens. They pick out annuals that will be beautiful, beneficial to insects and that suit growing in our park. The seed is then ordered, and the fun of sowing, pricking out and planting begins.

The team grows the park’s plants in a private onsite nursery. Many of our trees, shrubs, and perennial seeds are collected from the park, but are sometimes bought in. The seeds are sown in special seeding mix and then placed in the greenhouse to germinate. Once germinated they get potted. The trees will go up in pot sizes until they are ready to go into the park This is usually in a 100-litre pot by this stage. Our perennials tend to be in a two-litre pot, and the annuals are in plug trays. There are usually around 7000 trees and shrubs, and over 15,000 flowers and plants growing in the nursery.

Building Great Soil

Our horticulture team puts in a consistent effort to foster and sustain healthy soil within the park. They create and regularly turn compost to ensure it breaks down evenly and enriches the soil. To maintain soil moisture and provide a thriving environment for microbes, they mulch around plants with their own wood chips. They also shred the old annuals back into the garden to help feed the worms which enhances soil aeration and moisture retention, leading to more productive soil. All these sustainable methods ensure that the plants grow stronger and healthier, benefiting from the rich, microbe-friendly soil.

Guided Walks

Our nursery team, led by manager Jo, takes guided walks as part of our seasonal event calendars. You can learn more about how our nursery operates and the different plants, flowers, and trees growing in our ornamental and heritage garden beds. Learn the history behind the many different plantings around the park. Sign up for our email newsletter to be the first to know when our next guided walks are.