PLANT HERITAGE, NATIONAL PLANT COLLECTIONS® 

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In 1978 the National Council for the Conservation of Plants & Gardens, (NCCPG), was founded in order to preserve the UK's great biodiversity of garden plants for the benefit of horticulture, education and science.

This was done by creating 'National Plant Collections' to encourage the conservation of cultivated plants in the British Isles and by supporting and publishing research into these plants, their origins, their historical and cultural importance and their environments, and helping to educate the public in the importance of cultivated plant conservation.

The charity is organised into area groups, each with its own Committee which includes an Area Collection Co-ordinator and details of the activities of our local area group, Grampian & Tayside, can be seen on its website.

The NCCPG is now more generally known as Plant Heritage and there are over 650 National Plant Collections® which fall into three categories, Provisional, Full and Scientific.

For a number of years we have had a collection of ~70 Rowans, but I felt that as there were several other collections in the UK, it was unlikely that a further collection would be wanted. However, it then occurred to me that all of the other collections were in England and those specialising in Rowans were in the North-West, (Jodrell Bank Arboretum & Ness Botanic Gardens), which has a dryer climate than we do in the East of Scotland and that a Scottish collection might be considered. Therefore, I made an application and, in March 2014, we were granted full collection status.

One of the conditions of holding a collection is that the holders must allow public access to the plants and we are happy to show individuals or small groups around the collection if given a few weeks notice by email. No charge is made for a visit but we welcome a donation towards the upkeep of the collection. The best time to visit the collection would be in the Autumn from the start of September to the end of October to see the berries and Autumn colour. We are quite difficult to find and I suggest that visitors look at or download a map of the route to Redhall from Kirriemuir.

It is also a condition of holding a National Collection that the collection material is made available to the public. We do this by donating trees to Plant sales and offering them for sale to visitors.