Meet the team behind Grasslands Nursery
Grasslands Nursery is a family-run plant nursery near Knutsford, Cheshire, established in 1984. Over four decades we have grown from a small family operation into one of the North West's specialist growers of hedging, pleached trees, topiary, Japanese maples and specimen plants — all grown and hand-selected on our 30-acre nursery. The advice you will find across this site comes from people who grow these plants for a living, every single day.
The Watmore family
Grasslands is a true family business, owned and run by two generations of the Watmore family with more than 120 years of combined experience between them.
Steve & Jane Watmore — Founders & Directors
Steve and Jane founded Grasslands Nursery in 1984 and built it from the ground up into the specialist growing nursery it is today, establishing the family ethos of top-quality plants and honest, practical advice that still runs through everything we do.
The next generation of the family now runs the business day to day:
Paul Watmore — Director
Paul is a director of Grasslands and a hands-on grower specialising in hedging and pleached trees. He oversees the growing and selection of plants, writes much of the expert advice in our guides, and is our spokesperson when journalists need an expert view.
Andrew Watmore — Transport & Dispatch
Andrew looks after transport and oversees the order picking & dispatch team, making sure every order is picked, packed and delivered in top condition.
Claire Watmore — Purchasing & Customer Service
Claire manages purchasing and catalogue management, and heads up our customer service & sales team.
Our teams
Behind the family is a team of around 40 — horticulturalists, plant-centre advisors, pickers, packers, drivers and customer-service staff — many with 10, 20 and even 25 years or more of service. These are the people who grow, select, pick, pack and deliver your plants:
Nursery Team (13)
Led by Dave C. and Victoria R., both long-serving horticulturalists, who head up our growing team: Max B., William B., Darren S., Anthony W., Samuel L., Aman V., Isaac B., Thomas C., Callum O., Jamie W., Michael V..
Plant Centre Team (4)
Headed up by Andrew O., with Lyndsey W., Vicky M., Michael N..
Order Picking & Dispatch Team (16)
Overseen by Andrew Watmore: Alexander B., Kevin C., Adrian B., Alan P., Matthew H., Pavel B., Stephen C., Mark B., Christopher S., Harry W., Darryl M., Jack B., Maxwell C., Gabriel I., Ion L., Paul L..
Customer Service & Sales Team (4)
Headed up by Claire Watmore: Emily C., Nadine H., Katie J., Gary W..
Buy from growers, not a faceless reseller
When you buy from Grasslands, you are buying directly from the people who grew the plant. And when you read our guides, you are getting advice from growers who plant, train and troubleshoot these plants every day. Have a question about choosing or caring for a plant? Get in touch — we are always happy to help.