Conservation through Cultivation

Plants as we know them today will be very different tomorrow. As plant breeding continues, fashions come and go, as well as habitat loss in the wild, many plant species and their bred varieties will quietly disappear over time. To collect species and hybrids within a chosen genera in British gardens, those plants and their genes will be kept safe from extinction.
 

" We keep rare plants growing… "

Much like an art collector is accumulating original oil paintings to preserve their superb condition. Or much like a zoo keeps endangered species to ensure their survival.

So with this idea the National Council for the Conservation of Plants & Gardens (NCCPG), or short Plant Heritage, has been founded as a registered charity in 1978. It was "to combine the talents of botanists, horticulturalists and conservationists with the dedication of keen amateur and professional gardeners to encourage the propagation and conservation of cultivated plants in the British Isles; encourage and conduct research into cultivated plants, their origins, their historical and cultural importance and their environments; and encourage the education of the public in cultivated plant conservation."

There are many ways of supporting this scheme. 

One of the easiest ways is probably to sign up and become a member. Just by being a member and joining Plant Heritage in the promotion of plant conservation already helps a lot and comes with a few perks. Once a member one could set up their own NPC by starting to research and collect plants leading towards the application of NPC status. Although this is time consuming and requires a fair amount of passion and space to grow your favourite plants. The more special the plant the better. Or become a plant guardian, where instead of growing many specimen within a genera only one or two rare species or varities are enough for the application. Or simply donate without any further comittments.

More information can be found on the Plant Heritage Website here.