This year, the heady scents of New Leaf Plants’ beautiful clematis and climbers are being heightened by the sweet smell of success. Happily, the Worcestershire-based nursery has won the Nursery Stock Grower of the Year award – a category of Horticulture Week’s 2019 Business Awards that was proudly sponsored by ICL Professional Horticulture.

The family-run nursery, which is owned by David and Nicole Higginson, grows some 600 stunning varieties of clematis – the widest range in the UK – and more than 400 varieties of other climbing plants, such honeysuckle, wisteria, and jasmine. The business works closely with ICL to help raise its young plants, which thrive with help from ICL’s bespoke compost and fertiliser mixes and our AngelaWeb software.

David and Nicole are proud to reveal that their business’ unique selling point is that it propagates 95% of its plants – meaning that the nursery is nearing its goal of being fully self-sufficient. The decision to propagate on site is one of many innovations that have been initiated by New Leaf Plants’ David and Nicole – a pioneering pair who took over the business some five years ago. Under their leadership, the business (which supplies clematis and climbing varieties to the garden retail sector) has relocated to a 30-acre site in Sedgeberrow. To date, around £1.5m has been invested in new growing structures. The coming years are expected to see further investments take plact as David and Nicole do all they can to ensure that this successful, innovative nursery leads the way – operating as efficiently and sustainably as possible.