Guest Blog by Dom the Gardener

Since August 2024, I’ve been quietly working on something very special – and I’m very excited to finally share it with you! Tucked away on the beautiful Rempstone Estate, nestled between Corfe Castle and Studland, we've been developing our very own plant nursery.

It all started just under a year ago with six empty, uncovered polytunnels left behind by the previous owners. Our first major task was to figure out how to re-cover them with fresh polythene – something neither Dan or I had tackled on this scale before.

We spent much of autumn and winter watching the weather forecast like hawks, waiting for the perfect conditions to get the job done. After a lot of hard work, a few lessons learned (turns out polythene and wind do not mix well…), we had all the tunnels covered by the new year.

At Careys Secret Garden, we already grow an incredible collection of unique and exciting plants from around the world. The aim of the nursery is to scale up propagation of these beautiful varieties so we can offer them for sale – both at the garden and online. One of our tunnels is now brimming with our favourite salvias, scented pelargoniums, and citrus plants, ready to be propagated and shared. We’ve also got a large space outside where we have lots of hardwood cuttings from our food forest, which will be for sale as bare root in the winter.

We’re also growing a gorgeous selection of cut flowers for florists and events – our tunnels are now bursting with colour from dahlias, cornflowers, sunflowers, and so much more. One of my favourite moments each day is enjoying my morning coffee surrounded by the blooms, listening to the buzzing of bees and insects. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the nursery evolve from a bare patch of land into a vibrant, living ecosystem full of life and colour.

Alongside the flowers, I’ve also been growing plenty of veg – cucumbers, chilli peppers, tomatoes, and cape gooseberries – which we supply to local businesses and will turn into delicious salads back at the garden.

If you’ve visited Carey’s Secret Garden or follow us online, you’ll know that sustainability is at the heart of everything we do – and the nursery is no different. We don’t use any pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides, and many of the Permaculture principles we follow in the garden have been woven into the nursery as well. My personal goal is healthy plants, healthy soil, and a thriving, balanced ecosystem.

Thanks for reading

Dom

If you'd like to get in touch about wholesale orders, cut flower orders or anything else nursery-related, please feel free to reach out to Dom on nursery@careyssecretgarden.co.uk.