Grasslands Nursery

A Cheshire grower of hedging, pleached trees and specimen stock

Grasslands Nursery is a family-run plant nursery based at Over Peover, near Knutsford in Cheshire, where it has been growing plants since 1984. The operation is built around a simple premise the company states repeatedly: it grows what it sells on its own 30 acres, so the plant a customer receives is the plant that was seen. Horticultural staff oversee the stock from planting position through to sunlight, water and nutrition, and handle the picking and packing of orders.

The nursery positions itself as a specialist in hedging and in pleached trees, and describes its pleached range as one of the largest in the North West of England. Alongside that core it grows topiary, Japanese maples, olives, conifers, shrubs and specimen trees for gardens of different sizes.

Hedging: the widest part of the catalogue

Hedging is the range the nursery is best known for, and the catalogue is organised by species and by purpose. Among the named hedging lines are cherry laurel, Portuguese laurel, beech (Fagus), hornbeam, yew, box (Buxus) and privet, together with bamboo and Fargesia bamboo, bay laurel, berberis, eleagnus, euonymus, griselinia, hawthorn, holly (Ilex), lavender, Leylandii, osmanthus, Photinia Red Robin, pyracantha and thuja. The range also covers box alternatives and boxed leaf holly, evergreen and native hedging, fast-growing hedges and instant planted partitioning.

Stock is supplied in several forms, which the nursery uses as a way of organising part of its shop: pot-grown plants that can be planted at any time of year, root ball plants for larger established specimens, bare root plants for best value in season, and instant hedging for an immediate dense effect. Root balled hedging and bare root hedging each have their own section of the catalogue.

Pleached trees, topiary and specimen plants

Pleached and screening trees are presented as a solution for privacy above a fence line, with clear-stem trees that retain year-round structure. The catalogue lists them from £189. Topiary — clipped balls, cones and standards — is offered from £37.50, and specimen and garden trees from £24.75, a range that includes acers and native standards. Olive trees and specimens, described as silvery evergreens suited to sunny, sheltered spots and large pots, start at £33.50, while perennials and border plants begin at £9.95.

Beyond the species lists, the nursery groups plants by growing condition and garden purpose: AGM plants, plants for clay soil, for sunny spots, for shade, drought-tolerant plants, low-maintenance plants, fragrant plants, pollinator-friendly plants, plants that look good in winter, cottage garden plants, half-hardy and tender or exotic plants, pet-safe plants, and trees for carbon capture. A separate selection covers specimen plants, trees and shrubs.

Buying, delivery and trade customers

Orders can be placed online for delivery across mainland UK, with free delivery on orders over £400 to most locations; any charge for a particular postcode is confirmed at checkout. Bulk discounts of up to 15% are applied at checkout, and click and collect from the nursery is also available. The site states that a healthy-arrival guarantee applies to every plant.

Landscapers, garden designers, contractors and developers can open a trade account, which the nursery says brings its own trade pricing, priority on bulk stock and fast UK delivery. Trade enquiries are invited separately from the retail side.

Root ball orders follow a seasonal pattern: the nursery emails customers when stock is ready, and once plants have been freshly dug from the field a delivery date is scheduled. At the time of writing this profile, the site was promoting a root ball pre-order discount ahead of the season starting in October, with root ball hedging and root ball trees available to reserve at pre-order prices.

Plant-finding help and published growing advice

For customers unsure where to begin, the nursery offers a plant finder that asks about garden, soil and style and matches the answers to suitable plants. It also publishes hedging guides and advice, including articles attributed to Paul Watmore, a director at the nursery, on growth rates such as Leylandii and cherry laurel.

The site carried a rating of 4.7 out of 5 from 11,332 reviews at the time of drafting, alongside a figure of 4.72 from the same number of reviews elsewhere on the page.

Visiting the nursery

The nursery is open seven days a week near Knutsford in Cheshire, with free parking, more than 1,000 specimens to browse and the Snowdrop Café on site. Visitors are invited to see the stock in person before buying.