Raised in our own tunnels
Two thirds of the perennials, herbs and bedding begin as seed or cuttings twenty metres from the till. They meet Welsh border weather long before they meet yours.
Nursery / Glasshouse / Kitchen
Grown slow.Sold straight.
Four acres of tunnels, benches and open ground above the Wye. Nearly everything here was potted by the same hands that will answer your questions — and we will happily tell you when the answer is to buy nothing at all.
1,400+varieties propagated on site each season
2009Family run since
1,400Varieties on site
92%Peat-free stock
7 daysOpen every week
Why people drive here
Fewer aisles.
Better plants.
We are a working nursery with a shop attached, not a shop pretending to be a nursery. That single fact changes everything you take home.
Advice with nothing attached
Bring a photo, a leaf in a sandwich bag, or a very sorry cutting. Four RHS-trained growers, none of them on commission and none of them in a hurry.
The Potting Shed kitchen
Coffee roasted in Newport, cardamom buns out of the oven at seven, soup from whatever the kitchen garden surrenders. Muddy boots are the dress code.
On the benches now
Plant in autumn,
coast all summer
Warm soil, cool air, rain you did not have to carry. September to November is the one window where the roots do the work for you while the top growth sleeps.
Right now: bare-root hedging by the bundle, nine hundred bulb varieties loose in the barn, and cut-back perennials at a quarter off. The planting guide is free at the desk and better than most books.
This season's list
Overheard at the till
Muddy people,
kind words
★★★★★
“I came in for compost and left with a plan for the whole north-facing bed. Rhian drew it on the back of a seed packet. Everything she chose has thrived.”
★★★★★
“The houseplant room is dangerous. Beautifully labelled, sensibly priced, and they actually tell you which ones will die in your flat.”
★★★★★
“Did the winter pruning workshop with my dad. Two hours, six apple trees, one very good sausage roll. We've booked the grafting one already.”
Open every day
Nine till six,
rain or otherwise
Llanfair Lane, Tintern, NP16 7QD. Forty free spaces, level paths the whole way round, and a kettle that never really goes off.
Our story
A field of thistles and two people who wouldn't let it go
One leaking Dutch light greenhouse, a trestle table at the gate, and a refusal to grow anything to somebody else's timetable. That is still roughly the business plan.
How it began
We were told nobody wanted plants grown slowly
Rhian Vaughan trained at Pershore and spent eleven years growing for the wholesale trade — watching perfectly good plants get skipped for being a fortnight behind schedule. In 2009 she and her brother Tom bought a scrubby smallholding above the Wye and started growing to their own timetable instead.
The first year they sold 300 plants from a trestle table at the gate. Last season it was just over 41,000, and Rhian still writes most of the labels by hand.
2009
The smallholding is bought. One greenhouse, one rotavator, no electricity to the top field.
2013
Three polytunnels go up. We stop buying in bedding and start growing all of it ourselves.
2017
The Potting Shed café opens in the restored stone byre. The cardamom buns become a problem.
2021
Peat-free across all home-grown stock, two years ahead of the retail deadline.
2025
Rainwater harvesting now covers 80% of irrigation, and the workshop barn hosts 40 sessions a year.
What we believe
Four things we won't compromise on
Peat stays in the bog
All home-grown stock is raised in peat-free coir and bark blends we mix on site. The remaining 8% is bought-in specialist stock we're actively replacing.
Right plant, right place
We'd rather lose a sale than sell you a acid-loving camellia for your chalky, wind-blasted front garden. We'll tell you, kindly, and suggest three that will love it.
Local first
Our compost comes from a family firm in Herefordshire, the café flour from Talgarth Mill, and the pots are collected, washed and reused each spring.
A garden centre should be a nice place to be
Benches in the shade. Water bowls for dogs. A wildlife pond you're allowed to poke about in. Nothing tannoyed, nothing rushed, and a loo that's actually clean. We think that matters as much as the plants.
Who you'll meet
The people in the tunnels
Ask for anyone by name. Nobody here minds being interrupted mid-watering, and most of us are glad of the excuse.
Co-founder & head grower
Pershore-trained, eleven years in the wholesale trade before this. Writes the labels, mixes the compost, and will happily sketch you a border plan on the back of a seed packet.
Co-founder & nursery manager
Runs the trade side, the irrigation and the wildlife ponds. If you need 400 metres of native hedging costing by Friday, Tom is your man.
The Potting Shed kitchen
Bakes from six, cooks whatever the kitchen garden hands her, and has never once written a menu more than a day in advance.
Glasshouse room & houseplants
Responsible for the hand-written care cards and for talking people out of buying a calathea for a north-facing hallway. Runs the container masterclass each spring.
Fruit, trees & sharpening bench
Forty years of orchard work and an alarming memory for rootstocks. Teaches the winter pruning session and puts an edge back on your secateurs while you drink your coffee.
Ten people, one very long hosepipe
Rhian and Tom are usually in the tunnels. Ceri runs the café, Elin looks after houseplants, and Dafydd knows more about apple rootstocks than anyone should.
Come and say helloPlants & shop
What is good this month
Stock turns over weekly, so treat this as a guide rather than a catalogue. Everything is nursery-only: we don't post plants, because plants and couriers have never got along.
Hardy perennials
9cm£7.50
Geranium 'Rozanne'
Violet-blue, flowers June until the first frost. Utterly unkillable ground cover for sun or part shade.
2L£11.00
Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
Inky black stems, deep violet spires. Cut back after the first flush for a second show in September.
2L£12.50
Echinacea pallida
Drooping pale-pink petals on tall wiry stems. Leave the seedheads up — goldfinches will thank you.
1L£6.50
Alchemilla mollis
Chartreuse froth and those famous raindrop-catching leaves. Self-seeds enthusiastically, which we consider a feature.
3L£14.00
Hakonechloa macra
Japanese forest grass. The best thing you can plant at the edge of a shady path, no argument.
The glasshouse room
Houseplants, honestly labelled
Every pot in the glasshouse room carries a hand-written card telling you exactly how much light it wants and how often it wants watering — in English, not symbols. If a plant needs 70% humidity we say so, rather than letting you find out in February.
12cm£16.00
Asplenium nidus
Bird's nest fern. Loves a steamy bathroom.
17cm£32.00
Monstera deliciosa
Well-rooted, already fenestrating.
9cm£9.50
Ceropegia woodii
String of hearts, trailing 40cm+.
Through the year
What's worth coming for,
month by month
Nothing here is forced under heat to arrive early, so our benches run a fortnight or so behind the supermarkets. That's deliberate.
Jan–FebBare root
Bare-root season
Fruit trees, native hedging bundles, hellebores in flower and the last of the winter pruning. The quietest, best time to ask long questions.
Mar–Apr9cm stock
Seed, sowing & early perennials
Vital Seeds racks restocked, seed compost by the bag, first flush of 9cm perennials out of the tunnels and onto the outdoor benches.
May–JunPeak season
Bedding, tomatoes & herbs
All home-grown and properly hardened off. Tomato and chilli plants from mid-May, twelve varieties, none of them F1 supermarket types.
Jul–AugIn flower
Late colour & pot-ready shrubs
Salvias, agapanthus, grasses and anything that keeps a border going into September. Watering advice given free and often unasked for.
Sep–OctBest window
Bulbs by the scoop
Around 900 varieties loose in the barn — narcissi, alliums, tulips, camassia. Bring a bag or use ours. Perennials cut back and reduced.
Nov–DecFrom November
Wreaths, greenery & trees
Locally grown Nordmann firs, foraged wreath materials from the hedgerows here, and the wood burner lit in the café.
Also in stock
Trees, shrubs & the practical stuff
Fruit trees
Around 30 apple, pear, plum and damson varieties on M26, MM106 and St Julien A rootstocks, including Welsh heritage apples like Pig Aderyn and Bardsey. Bare-root from November. From £28
Native hedging
Bare-root hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, field maple and dog rose, sold in bundles of 25 with a five-year replacement promise on anything that fails. £38 per 25
Compost & sundries
Peat-free multipurpose, loam-based John Innes, leaf mould, well-rotted manure, plus terracotta, tools and seeds from Vital Seeds. From £6.95
Trade & landscapers: we hold a 10% trade discount on orders over £250 and can grow to order with 12 weeks' notice. Ask for Tom, or send a plant list through the enquiry form.
Send a plant listWorkshops & events
Learn it in the barn, with your hands
Twelve people maximum, in the stone barn beside the top tunnel. Tools, compost and tea provided. You leave with something you made, grew, or finally understand.
Coming up
14Feb
Winter Fruit Tree Pruning
Two hours in the orchard learning the open-goblet shape, spur pruning and how to rescue a neglected apple tree. Secateurs and saws provided; bring gloves.
08Mar
Seed Sowing for Beginners
Compost mixes, sowing depth, pricking out and hardening off. Take home four trays of your own sowings plus a season's worth of seed.
26Apr
Container Planting Masterclass
Build a long-season pot that looks good for eight months. Includes a 40cm frost-proof terracotta container and all plants and compost.
17May
Wildlife Gardening Walk
A guided hour around the nursery ponds, beetle banks and unmown margins, then practical planting for pollinators. Family friendly, under-12s free.
21Jun
Summer Solstice Supper
Long-table supper in the glasshouse: three courses from the kitchen garden, local cider, and a plant swap. Our favourite evening of the year.
Before you book
What a session in
the barn is actually like
No slides, no clipboards and no one asking you to introduce yourself to the group. Just doing the thing, properly, with someone who knows.
Twelve people, no more
Small enough that everyone gets their hands on the tools and their own questions answered. Most sessions run with eight or nine.
Everything provided
Tools, compost, plants, aprons and a written handout to take away. Wear something you don't mind getting compost on and bring gloves if you have a favourite pair.
Tea, cake and a warm barn
There's a break halfway through with something from Ceri's kitchen. The barn is heated from October, and the accessible WC is thirty seconds away.
Absolute beginners welcome
Every session assumes you know nothing and have never held a pair of secateurs. If you already garden, ask the awkward questions — our tutors enjoy those most.
If your plans change
Tell us more than 48 hours ahead and we'll move you to another date or refund you in full. Inside that, we'll do our best to fill the place and refund what we can.
Reserve a place
Hold me a spot
Fill this in and we'll email you within one working day to confirm the place and take payment over the phone. No deposit needed to reserve.
Gift vouchers for any workshop are available at the till or by request — printed on seed paper you can plant afterwards.
Private groups of six or more can book the barn on a weekday. Popular for birthdays, work away-days and hen parties who'd rather make a wreath than wear a sash.
Pricing
Every number, out in the open
No membership, no points card, no mysterious surcharge at the till. Plants are priced on the pot, services are listed below, and anything that fits neither gets quoted before we lift a spade.
Plants, by pot size
9cm£6.50 – £8.00
Young perennials & herbs
Home-grown, ready to plant straight out. Buy five, pay for four — no need to ask.
1–2L£9.00 – £13.00
Established perennials
A full season ahead of the 9cm stock. Most flower in their first summer with you.
3–5L£14.00 – £26.00
Shrubs & ornamental grasses
Two to three years in the tunnels. Cut back and reduced by 25% once dormant.
Bare rootFrom £28 / £38 per 25
Fruit trees & native hedging
November to March only. Hedging sold in bundles of 25 with a five-year replacement promise.
Indoor£9.50 – £32.00
Glasshouse room houseplants
Hand-labelled with light and watering needs. Terracotta and repotting priced separately.
Services
Help getting it home,
and into the ground
All prices include VAT. We'll always tell you when a job is simpler than you think and you don't need us.
Local delivery
Within 10 miles of Tintern, one van load, weekday mornings. Free on orders over £150.
£15 flat
Planting service
Two growers, a half day, everything planted, watered in and mulched. Compost charged at cost.
£190 per half day
Border design visit
An hour on site, soil and aspect assessed, then a planting plan and plant list by email.
£75, refunded against orders over £400
Pot repotting
Bring your houseplant in and we'll repot it at the bench while you have a coffee. Pot and compost extra.
£4 per plant
Grow to order
Send a plant list with 12 weeks' notice and we'll raise it for you. 20% deposit at the point of order.
Quoted per list
Tool sharpening
Secateurs, loppers and shears, sharpened and oiled by Dafydd. Drop off any morning, collect the next day.
£6 per pair
Workshops & groups
Barn sessions and private bookings
2 hrs£32 – £38
Standard workshop
Seed sowing, pruning and similar. All tools and materials included, twelve places maximum.
2.5 hrs£65
Masterclass with materials
Container planting and wreath making — you take home the pot, plants and compost.
Evening£14 – £45
Walks & suppers
Wildlife walks from £14, under-12s free. The solstice supper is £45 including cider.
PrivateFrom £420
Whole-barn hire, weekdays
Six to twelve people, session of your choosing, tea and cake from the café included.
GiftYour choice
Workshop vouchers
Any value, printed on seed paper you can plant afterwards. Valid two years.
Trade & landscapers
Straightforward trade terms
10% off orders over £250 and 15% over £1,000, applied at the till or on account. Thirty-day accounts available after two settled orders — ask for Tom and bring proof of trading.
Bulk compost, bare-root hedging and grow-to-order lists are all quoted individually. Delivery within 25 miles is £35 per load, or free above £600.
Send a plant list“Prices are prices. If you find a mistake on a label in your favour, we'll honour it — and if a plant fails within a year through no fault of yours, bring us the pot and the receipt and we'll replace it.”
Visit & contact
Llanfair Lane, high above the river
Ten minutes out of Chepstow, twenty from Monmouth. Follow the brown signs off the A466 and turn in at the gateway with the enormous copper beech.
Opening hours
- Monday – Friday09:00 – 18:00
- Saturday09:00 – 18:00
- Sunday09:00 – 18:00
- Café last orders30 min before close
- Christmas Day – 2 JanClosed
Find us
Fern & Field Nursery
Llanfair Lane
Tintern, Monmouthshire
NP16 7QD
Parking: free, 40 spaces, two accessible bays by the entrance.
Bus: the 69 stops at Llanfair Crossroads, a six-minute walk.
Get in touch
Phone
01291 555 140
Access: level tarmac and compacted paths throughout, accessible WC, assistance dogs and all well-behaved dogs welcome on leads.
Fern & Field · NP16 7QD
The Potting Shed café
Lunch, in a greenhouse, in the rain
Ceri's kitchen runs on whatever the garden gives her. Everything is made here, the coffee is roasted in Newport, and there's always a proper vegetarian option that isn't an afterthought.
Garden soup & sourdough
Changes daily. Usually leek, always generous.
Welsh rarebit with pickled onion
Made with Tintern ale and mature cheddar.
Cardamom bun
Baked at seven, gone by eleven.
Flat white
Bara Coffi beans, roasted in Newport.
Enquiries
Ask us anything
Plant problems, trade lists, group visits, or whether we've got the good hellebores in yet. We read everything and reply within one working day — usually with a photograph of the bench in question.
If it's urgent, ring us on 01291 555 140. Someone will answer, though they may be holding a hose.