Our Principles
Quality.
Everything we sell is of a standard which we would want to use ourselves - we don’t sell anything we wouldn’t grow or use in our own gardens! We source high quality goods from the UK and the Netherlands to make sure that the Harpins Gardener never needs to worry about the quality of the plant - only how much space they have left in their garden! A large proportion of our stock is exhibition quality - our bulb growers exhibit annually in the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands, and we stock sweet peas grown by local man David Matthewman who has repeatedly won awards for his sweet peas at the Chelsea flower show. And these are just some examples of the quality of our plants. Rest assured that when you buy from Harpins you are buying plants exhibited at the world’s best garden shows, and tools and fertilisers used by horticultural experts.
Sustainable.
We source products that don’t have to travel too far in order to reduce our carbon footprint - we always source the best product that is closest to us. We use as many growers in Yorkshire as we can, and our remaining suppliers come from the rest of the UK or the Netherlands (not too far from us since we are very near the port at Hull!).
Plants are naturally good for the environment, but we don’t want our business to offset the good that plants do by smothering them in throwaway, plastic packaging. When you order from us you will receive your plants in a recyclable cardboard box (which contains a high grade of recycled materials within it). Our mailer bags are made from corn starch and can be reused - once worn out simply compost, and it will break down naturally. Even our notecards are made from 100% recycled paper. We aren’t perfect - we need to use a plastic tray to prevent your plants from moving inside the box - however, we don’t create any additional waste by using only trays used to deliver plants to us - meaning no additional waste is created. Over time we hope to move to reusable trays, but we have not yet found any that are suitable.
We are firmly of the belief that preserving the planet for future generations is our collective responsibility and we are working on reducing our carbon footprint and wastage, and also stocking more eco-friendly products. Our first goal for this year will be to introduce animal feeds for Britain’s endangered native species, such as hedgehogs and bees.
Being The Difference We Want To See In The World.
It always saddens us when we see an unloved, paved over garden or patches of unloved dirt. Growing plants is such a brilliant and easy way to help the world whilst also making your own patch that bit more homely. That is why we aim to help all novice gardeners with our advice and selection boxes. We are always updating our media channels with gardening tips and have designed our selection boxes especially so that the beginner gardener can easily improve their patch. Our goal is to get Britain growing again and to share our advice and expertise to make our gardens and public spaces loved again!
In addition to our advice services, we have also been involved with a number of charity initiatives. In 2020 we ran a garden competition to raise funds for local lad Oliver Stephenson’s cancer treatment, and raised money for Leeds charity Simon on the Streets. We hope to be involved with more charitable organisations this year so check our about us page for updates.