Traditionally, glasshouses are heated with oil or gas, but our glasshouse heating is 100% renewable, thanks to a 30MW capacity biomass system that uses waste wood from other industries as its fuel source.

We water our plants using rainwater collected from our glasshouse roof, stored in our reservoirs that hold 30 million litres of water. The ebb and flood circular watering system we use ensures excess water not soaked up by the plants is cleaned and fed back into the system to be re-used.

To help us maximise the potential of our crops, our glasshouse roof is made with high light translucency, allowing as much light into the glasshouse as possible. In winter months, when light levels are lower, we use energy efficient LED lights to replicate natural daylight.

For decades peat has been the main constituent part of growing media used by the horticulture trade and consumers alike. We started research and development work into alternative materials in 2016, gradually reducing our peat use in line with voluntary targets.

After extensive trials we found we could produce the same quality and performance without peat, and made the decision to transition to peat-free from 2022 onwards. Using a combination of wood fibre and coir, in 2022 over 90% of the volume of compost we used to grow in was peat-free.

The small percentage of peat remaining is primarily for propagation, and we are carrying out extensive trials with our suppliers to completely remove peat from our supply chain. Our research in this area continues as we seek the perfect balance between performance and sustainability.

In recent years we have made significant steps to reduce waste in the packaging of our products. In 2019 we removed black plastic from our product packaging with all plant pots and packs now made out of recycled and recyclable materials. We have also been able to reduce the weight of plastic material per pack in a number of our packaging formats.

The plant labels and point of sale materials that we supply to our customers are also made from recyclable materials and we continue to look at alternatives to plastic packaging throughout our product range.

We grow a range of pollinating plants for our customers across our ornamental bedding and perennial ranges. These plants help consumers play their part in supporting wildlife in their gardens.

We actively seek to reduce the use of chemicals and have adopted alternative methods wherever possible. Throughout our glasshouse we use natural pest control, using an automated device to uniformly distribute beneficial insects across crops on a large scale.