Size matters

Architectural Plants in West Sussex is no ordinary nursery. Stupendous specimens of some of the world's most dramatic plants are on display

- Charles Quest-Ritson

ARCHITECTURAL PLANTS near Pulborough in West Sussex is not merely a nursery. It is a horticultural wonderland, populated by plants of amazing size, and the first point of reference for designers, garden owners and organisations in search of full-grown perfection. Here, you’ll find thousands of trees and shrubs trained to whatever size or shape is needed, with experts on hand who can help you hone your selection.

Angus White, who launched the company in 1989, defined architectural plants as ‘plants that have their own “architecture”, with strong, sometimes spectacular, shapes that bring a distinctive year-round presence to a garden’. Later on, he added that the best plants combined ‘strong, eye-catching outlines, delicious textures and combined shades of green rule’ and cited eucalyptus, bamboos, hardy palms, hardy bananas and evergreen magnolias as good examples. He soon developed a market for large specimen plants for immediate impact, including tree ferns, cordylines and arbutus—all very popular still today. He also laid out a display area luxuriantly furnished with olives, agaves and Italian cypresses that was a pleasure to visit in its own right. ‘Nobody ever created anything of interest by being timid,’ he declared.

Business boomed and Mr White began to look for a new place in which to expand his operations. The current site, acquired in 2014, is perfectly located, next door to Sussex’s principal Horticultural College at Brinsbury on the main A29 road. It now runs to 32 acres of display houses, 11 greenhouse poly- tunnels and numerous plant collections.