Veitch Nurseries

Caradoc Doy has been researching the story of the Veitch Nurseries of Exeter & Chelsea and is available for bookings to give illustrated talks,. This includes the nurseries of John Veitch in Killerton (Established circa 1770's), James Veitch in Exeter (Est. circa 1832), James Veitch & Son in Exeter (Est. 1839), James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea (Est. 1864) and Robert Veitch & Son, Exeter (Est. 1864)

Please make contact for bookings and availability.

Please do not hesitate to make contact if you have any information relating to the history of the Veitch nurseries or if you know of someone in your family who may have once worked at any of the nurseries.

54 High Street,
Exeter. Image from a Private Collection
James Veitch & Son Nurseries' Seed Shop, 54 High Street, Exeter.
Sometime between 1839 & 1864.

Araucaria araucana
The famous Monkey Puzzle Avenue at Bicton, Devon. Now Bicton College of Agriculture, pictured in about 1881.
James Veitch & Son, Exeter sent William Lobb to South America in 1840. In so doing, they became the first commercial nursery in Britain to send out their own plant collector. Amongst other things, Lobb successfully sent thousands of seeds of the Monkey Puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana back to the nursery in Exeter (in 1844). Although already known and grown in Britain, this highly sought-after tree now became widely available for the first time, making the Veitch Nursery instantly well-known. Most importantly, the success of the sales from this tree enabled Veitch to consider sending a second collector abroad. This he did by sending William's brother, Thomas to the Far East in search of orchids in particular.

The famous Monkey Puzzle Avenue at Bicton (College). Copyright © Caradoc Doy
The same avenue, pictured in 2002.

The Wellingtonia & Monkey Puzzle Avenue at Veitch's Coombe Wood Nursery, circa 1881.

The Veitch Heritage Garden, Southernhay, Exeter.
The Veitch Heritage Garden , Southernhay in Exeter, planted by Exeter City Council.

The Bradstone Bicentenary Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2004. Celebrating the contribution made by various plants collectors between 1804 and 2004.

The Royal Albert Memorial Museum, (RAMM), Exeter, where about 100 objects including many interesting ethnographic items found by various Veitch Nursery collectors are held.

Veitch Memorial Lecture
At the end of every July, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter holds a plant-orientated lecture in memory of Sir Harry Veitch.
For details of this year's lecture please click here.

References:
Bean, William Jackson, Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, Eighth Edition, Vol. I (A-C), 1970, Royal Horticultural Society.
Bean, William Jackson, Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, Eighth Edition, Vol. II (D-M), 1973, Royal Horticultural Society.
Bean, William Jackson, Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, Eighth Edition, Vol. III (N-Rh), 1976, Royal Horticultural Society.
Bean, William Jackson, Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, Eighth Edition, Vol. IV (Ri-Z), 1980, Royal Horticultural Society.
Bean, William Jackson, Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, Eighth Edition, Supplement, 1988, Royal Horticultural Society.
Hatfield, Miles, Harling, Robert, Highton, Leonie, British Gardeners, A Biographical Dictionary, 1980.
Heriz-Smith, Shirley, The House of Veitch, A Horticultural Record, 2002, Royal Horticultural Society.
N.C.C.P.G., The Magic Tree, 1989, Devon Books.
Royal Horticultural Society, RHS Plant Finder, 2005-2006, Royal Horticultural Society.
Sargent, Charles Sprague, Plantae Wilsonianae Vol. I, 1913, Cambridge University Press.
Sargent, Charles Sprague, Plantae Wilsonianae Vol. II, 1916, Cambridge University Press.
Sargent, Charles Sprague, Plantae Wilsonianae Vol. III, 1917, Cambridge University Press.
Shephard, Sue, Seeds of Fortune, 2003, Bloomsbury.
Veitch, James Herbert, Hortus Veitchii, 1906, James Veitch & Sons.

plus various other articles and catalogues.

Please contact me by email if you have spotted any errors in the details about the Veitch Nurseries or the plant collectors exploring for Veitch. I would also welcome any further information or references which help to fill any gaps in the above.

Links to other sites are for reference and further information.
No responsibility will be accepted for advice or views expressed by other organisations.

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