The Orchard Nursery

The Orchard Nursery   

Extraordinary plants, extraordinary people, extraordinary place   

The Orchard Nursery is a Sunnyside Rural Trust propagation and training facility, located at The Serge Hill Project.

We work with vulnerable individuals, propagating and growing on a fantastic selection of perennials from Tom Stuart-Smith’s Plant Library. These plants are now available to buy, so please get in touch for more details here (plants@sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk)   

Sunnyside’s latest site to open is a purpose-built nursery located at Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith’s Serge Hill Project for Gardening, Creativity and Health.

The nursery is adjacent to The Plant Library, which includes more than 1500 different varieties of herbaceous plants, low shrubs and bulbs. This extensive collection, of both familiar and rare varieties, is a well-known resource for gardeners, designers, landscape architects and local community groups.   

As a key charity partner of The Serge Hill Project, Sunnyside has access to this plant collection – using it as stock beds from which to propagate plants for sale. This facility will create the opportunity for Sunnyside Rural Trust to grow a range of sought-after perennials on site for commercial sale whilst supporting and training vulnerable young people and adults with learning disabilities in horticulture.  

Sunnyside supports over 170 adults with learning disabilities, autistic adults and those with other forms of neurodiversity by offering training and employment opportunities. We currently grow upwards of 70,000 plants each year, including those for Tom Stuart-Smith’s Hampton Court Show Garden in 2021 and Arit Anderson’s Hampton Court Feature Garden in 2024. Every plant sold supports therapy, training and work opportunities for vulnerable people.   

The one-acre site includes a bespoke glasshouse from White Cottage, plant standing out areas and a mess room (known as ‘The Potting Shed’) for Sunnyside staff, trainees and those undertaking horticultural therapy.   

As with all of our sites, the work at The Orchard Nursery is influenced by social and therapeutic horticulture practice. The garden and greenhouse are safe and secure places to help people mix socially, make friends and learn practical skills, whilst also enjoying health benefits. 

In addition, many programmes at The Orchard Nursery are specifically focused on skills development and training that could lead to employment opportunities. Sunnyside runs a year-long work-skills apprenticeship scheme two days a week onsite, as well as a nursery skills and propagation training sessions. We also teach other employment-based horticulture courses onsite, including for local charity, Mission Employable. 

To discuss plant sales and orders from our exciting new Sunnyside site, please email plants@sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk   

For any other enquiries, including if you would like to join us as a trainee, please contact Orchard Nursery and Perennial Lead, Sophie McIntyre Peters please email sophie@sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk