Our Nursery on BBC Gardeners’ World

Last summer, we were delighted to welcome Gardeners’ World to the nursery. Joe Swift spent the day with our founder, Philip, learning more about how we grow, train and prune our trees, and exploring the thinking behind our approach.  This was aired on the BBC during December as one of their winter special features. And we're so proud of how beautifully it turned out. 

You can watch the full feature here: 

The importance of pruning

For us, pruning is not about imposing shape for the sake of appearance. It is a careful, considered process that begins early in a tree’s life and continues as it matures. Every cut has a purpose, whether that is to encourage strong structure, balance the canopy, or support the long-term health of the tree. This philosophy sits at the heart of everything we do at the nursery.

During the visit, Philip demonstrated how we assess each tree individually. No two trees are the same, even within the same species or form, and pruning decisions are always made in response to the tree in front of us. By working with the natural growth habit of the tree, rather than against it, we aim to produce specimens that are resilient, well proportioned and suited to life beyond the nursery.

Joe’s visit provided a valuable opportunity to share this process with a wider audience. Much of the work that goes into producing high-quality trees happens gradually and quietly over many years, often unseen. Seeing these techniques discussed and demonstrated on Gardeners’ World helped to shine a light on the importance of skilled, early intervention in tree growing.

The feature offers insight into how and why we prune our trees the way we do. We hope it provides useful guidance and inspiration, whether you are planting your first tree or managing a more established landscape.

We are very grateful to the BBC and Gardeners’ World team, and to Joe Swift in particular, for taking the time to visit the nursery and help us share our approach with their viewers.