Cultivated Plant Conservation (NCCPG)

The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens
The World’s Leading Cultivated Plant Conservation Charity
NCCPG

Independent plant conservation charity NCCPG has moved from its long-time offices at RHS Wisley Garden to a new location nearby.

As of 3rd September 2007, NCCPG are resident at
12 Home Farm,
Loseley Park,
Guildford,
GH3 1HS,
telephone 01483 447540;
fax 01483 458933.
Staff e-mails and the website at www.nccpg.com remain the same.

Founded as a registered charity in 1978 to combine the talents of botanists, horticulturalists and conservationists with the dedication of keen amateur and professional gardeners, the NCCPG’s aims are to: encourage the propagation and conservation of endangered garden plants in the British Isles, both species and cultivars; encourage and conduct research into cultivated plants, their origins, their historical and cultural importance and their environments; encourage the education of the public in garden plant conservation. Through its membership and the National Collection Holders, the NCCPG seeks to rediscover and reintroduce endangered garden plants by encouraging their propagation and distribution so that they are grown as widely as possible. The NCCPG works closely with other conservation bodies as well as botanic gardens, The National Trust, The National Trust for Scotland, English Heritage, The Royal Horticultural Society and many specialist horticultural societies. National Plant Collection Holders are a remarkable group of people who voluntarily subscribe to the scheme’s ideals and stringent regulations. They come from every sector of horticulture both amateur and professional.

Almost half of the collections are in private ownership and include allotments, back gardens and large estates. Just under a third are found in nurseries, which range from large commercial concerns to the small specialist grower. 21 local authorities are involved in the scheme including Leeds City Council, caring for 11 collections and our newest local authority, Bournemouth Borough Council with their Abelia and Clethra collections. Universities, agricultural colleges, schools, arboreta and botanic gardens all add to the diversity and there are also a number of collections on properties belonging to English Heritage, The National Trust and The National Trust for Scotland.

Save our Plant Heritage – Pass it on. If you’re a gardener, a horticultural enthusiast, or just someone who values our natural and cultural heritage, think about this…our traditional British garden plants are disappearing.

Plants which were once grown in abundance have been lost forever; many others are dwindling fast. The small independent growers who introduced and cultivated hundreds of different plants are gone. And since many never recorded their work, their precious knowledge has died with them.

What is the NCCPG doing about this? Firstly there’s our network of 630 National Plant Collections each dedicated to one particular group of plants. Secondly there are our 40 Area Groups throughout Britain. Thirdly there’s our Demeter project to record the details of a vast range of plants

What can you do about this? Why not join us – just click here to go through to our home page and then click "join" for details of how to join and all the Membership Benefits.