Cliff Bank Nursery

20/02/2026

Narcissus 'January Silver' giving us a little cheer in February, a much better week on the rain front.

19/02/2026

Flash back to 26th July..., two of my favourite plants last summer. Verbena x baileyana 'Purple Haze' and Bupleurum falcatum 👌🏻. The former selected by , top work sir.
Both will be available this year. The full plant list will be coming out soon I promise. 🌱

13/02/2026

A chance meeting with Julian Jackson in December at the nursery, and just over a month later the creation of this beautiful walnut seed box.

Designed simply around the size of the brown paper packets I use, with a capacity for a thousand packets. Everything beyond that was Julian’s creative flair — and what flair it is. A thing of pure beauty.

The pleasure of opening the brass catches to reveal the treasure inside. Spring-loaded wooden dividers, cut to perfection, sit 0.5 mm wider than their channels, compressing seamlessly to divide each species.

My tiny seed empire has begun. Just 22 species so far, all collected on the nursery in 2025. The list will be going online very soon…🌱🌱🌱

And just a note before I’m inundated with requests: this is a one-off piece, and Julian doesn’t take commissions.

02/11/2025

11/10/2025

Salvia's of the moment this morning. 11th Oct 🌱.
1. Salvia microphylla 'Delice Aquamarine
2. S. bullata 'Dark Form'
3. S. confertiflora
4. S. discolor
5. S. microphylla 'Blind Faith's
6. S. leucantha
7. S. 'Phyliss Fancy'

04/10/2025

The nursery will be closed today (Sat 4th Oct) due to the high winds. See you next week 🌱

02/10/2025

Ginger flower power on the nursery today. 🤣🌱.

28/09/2025

The end of a truly wonderful era at Dove Cottage Nursery, which closed its gate for the final time yesterday. I visited on Friday to thank Stephen and Kim for all the inspiration and knowledge they have shared over the years.

Dove Cottage has taught me so much since I began my gardening journey and has been one of the main inspirations for starting my own nursery. Stephen and Kim have always been so generous with their time, and I carry countless special memories of visits there—driving over to Shibden at first light to explore the garden and study the superior selections of perennials and grasses they collected from the continent and bred on the nursery.

Their work has shaped the very core of my gardening philosophy and the plants I love. Many of my most treasured plants have been purchased there over the past 10 years, and I will continue to offer them at my own nursery in homage to what I truly believe was the best nursery in the North of England.

Here are a few photos—not from their final hour, but from my many visits over the years. Thank you, Stephen and Kim 🙏🏻

10/09/2025

A lovely piece written about our nursery in this month's September addition of RHS The Garden Magazine. Thank you Natalie Ashbee for the words and for the great photos. 🌱🌱🌱

10/09/2025

A lovely piece written about our nursery in this month's September addition of RHS The Garden Magazine. Thank you Natalie Ashbee for the words and for the great photos. 🌱🌱🌱

24/07/2025

Our strong selection of Dahlia merckii 'Alba' has loved the warm weather this summer. We propagated a number of plants from basal cutting this spring to build our stock and will be offering it from late April next spring 🌱🌱🌱. The first batch will be small plants in 9cm, that will produce a strong flowering plant in its first summer. If you would like to be added to our order waiting list, drop us a message.