National Collection of Irish Heritage Plants
The tremendous conservation effort by IGPS members and several Irish gardens has been recognised by Plant Heritage with the awarding of the status of National Collection in June 2021.
Plant Heritage, formerly The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens, was founded over 40 years ago to conserve garden plants as there was no single body coordinating cultivar conservation. Around the UK and Ireland there are now 650 National Collections, usually genus based, but other scopes are possible – linked to a particular garden or person perhaps. In Ireland we have National Collections of Olearia at Malahide Demesne, Potentilla fruticosa at Ardgillan Demesne, Arbutus at NBG Glasnevin, Agapanthus and Hosta at Bali Hai Nursery, Nothofagus and Eucryphia at Mt Usher, and Libertia at Dublin Zoo.
You can learn more about Plant Heritage and the work they do at https://www.plantheritage.org.uk
