Hartley Botanic showcase greenhouse heritage

English Greenhouse and Glasshouse manufacturer, Hartley Botanic, is returning to the 2021 RHS Chelsea Flower Show with a stand celebrating and showcasing its business through the decades.

With an unrivalled heritage and reputation spanning 83 years, Hartley Botanic will bring four handmade structures, each representing a different era of its trading history. The stand will trace the manufacturer’s legacy from 1950s vintage Semi-Dodecagon Greenhouse to a modern-day Opus Grand Botanic. The show stand will be built and planted by Stewart Landscape Construction with design and styling by Llevelo Garden Design.

The Lancashire-based manufacturer has worked with gardening writer Matthew Biggs to uncover lost Greenhouse growing tips and advice from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 90s. Each Greenhouse will be dressed to represent the relevant decade using planting schemes, garden tools and accessories typical of that period. From the 1950s Semi-Dodecagon Greenhouse with its Hydrangeas, Pelargoniums, straw boater and deck chair to the Hartley Opus Grand filled with herbs, a large citrus tree, a palm and trendy hanging houseplants to represent modern planting, with peat free compost in biodegradable pots. The show stand promises to be truly a journey through Hartley Botanic’s legacy and the history of the Greenhouse as a whole.

The company was founded in1938 by brothers Vincent and Norman Hartley following their ground-breaking aluminium Greenhouse design. Today, the company is synonymous for crafting the finest Greenhouses and is a highly respected brand within the horticultural world.

In April 2021 the company was awarded a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the international trade category and in 2017 became the only aluminium Glasshouse and Greenhouse manufacturer to be endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Tom Barry, CEO of Hartley Botanic said: “Hartley Botanic has an unrivalled history when it comes to English Glasshouse and Greenhouse manufacture and generations of customers have put their trust in the hands of our expert, time served, highly skilled craftsmen. We wanted the stand to communicate this. As a historic business, we are in a unique position to be able to provide an overview of the way Greenhouse design and use has developed and changed over the decades. From the Semi-Dodecagon styles of the post war years, to the small highly practical, suburban Greenhouses of the 1960s and 1970s. It is also interesting to see some of the historical trends coming back into fashion today. As in the 1970’s, we are again seeing a resurgence in city dwellers buying smaller models so they can try growing their own for the first time – only this time, as a reaction to lockdown or another way to address sustainability concerns, rather than an attempt to live ‘the good life’.”

Hartley Botanic have won numerous Show Stand awards at RHS Chelsea including the Director General’s Linley award and Best Show Stand in 2014. For more information on the range of Greenhouses available and current show news please visit: http://www.hartley-botanic.co.uk

All images ©Hartley Botanic