Hardy’s Exotic Plants
To travel across unknown seas in search of exotic plants required daring and a passion for horticulture. T.L. Mogford’s wonderful novel ‘The Plant Hunter’ brilliantly describes the fear, moral quibbles and excitement of travelling through China in search of the illusive icicle tree. He gives a great insight into the risks and sometimes craziness involved in acquiring exotic seedlings and his descriptions of the specially made cases and cabinets for housing them are particularly beguiling.
Every year when we travel a mere few hours to visit Cornwall we visit Hardy’s Exotic Plants, each time promising ourselves that we won’t buy any more plants and each time we come away with pots filled with treasures which have tantalised us beyond our determination. It’s a gem of a place all looking quite ramshacklely gorgeous, one plant spilling into another, little seedlings nestled around the base of quite a different species meaning that sometimes when we get home we realise a little plant which we hadn’t noticed has piggy-backed along in the soil of something else. Some things are labelled, some not; some for sale, some not. Plants soar and tumble and burgeon creating a whole experience of being immersed in an exuberance of lushness, marvel and exotica. It really is not a place to be sensible and come away with nothing, so again this year we will make our promise of restraint and again I hope we break it.
The Plant Hunter Returns