What is a National Plant Collection®?
A National Plant Collection® is a living collection of related plants maintained in cultivation from year to year for conservation and reference. Each Collection will have been built up over many years with the enthusiasm of a specialist searching for the rare, unusual and presumed dead as well as the dramatic and fashionable. Later these accomplishments have been recognised with the owner of the plants and experience being called a National Collection Holder. The scheme was originated and is still run by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG) / Plant Heritage (PH).
The collections are owned and maintained by a broad spectrum of garden enthusiasts ranging from large institutions, colleges and local authorities to nurseries, gardens and a large number of individual gardeners. These are all linked by one common purpose: to develop comprehensive, well-researched Collections of living plants, to conserve the genetic stability of named cultivars but variability of species, and to protect them against the vagaries of fashion, disease and extinction, thus ensuring the availability of an abundant variety of plant material both for today and for future generations.
A National Mentha Collection, or, a National Plant Collection® of Mentha, is a collection of living plants botanically classified together within the genus Mentha. To ordinary gardeners and herb growers, to cooks and chefs, to herbalists, these are usually known as mints.
There are four National Mentha Collections at the moment: one in Devon, one in Kent and one West Sussex and one in Gwynedd. Each Collection is different, to some extent, reflecting the preferences, growing conditions, facilities available and other interests of the NCHs.
The contact details of all four Mentha Collections can be found on the National Mentha Collections page
What is a
National Plant Collection?
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