Our Environmental Policy 
Plants4Presents is a family business and we all believe that it is important to balance a quality service with a commitment to a sound environmental policy. Since the very beginning we have opted for cardboard and paper wraps and ribbons that can be recycled rather than cellophane and plastic that ends up in landfill sites. But over the last couple of years we have been striving ever harder to reduce the impact of our business on the environment.

Our Plants
Unfortunately due to the shorter day length in the winter and of course the colder weather, some of our tropical plants and citrus are not really grown commerically in this country and therefore we do import these by road from mainland Europe. However wherever possible we use Sussex and then British growers to supply our plants. Our grapevines and blueberries come from Dorset and our cyclamen, hyacinths, poinsettias and primulas travel just 10 miles to reach us in Sussex. For the last year or so we have been growing our own pesticide free peppers, tomato, herbs and banana plants and we intend to extend the range of our homegrown plants this year.

Packaging
All our plants are gift wrapped in recyclable gold kraft and unbleached recycled tissue paper, boxed in 80% recycled cardboard, decorated with paper and raffia ribbon instead of plastic and cellophane. Our Plants4Presents greeting cards have always been printed using vegetable inks on unlaminated and therefore recyclable board, however we are pleased to announce that since December 2007 all our cards are now also printed on recycled card.

Our nearly Organic Nursery
At our Glasshouses in Sussex we also grow vegetables for sale to local greengrocers and farmshops and we are currently converting 3 out of 4 acres to organic status with the soil association. This means that we are adopting environmental policies across the board and that our peppers and herbs will shortly be soil assocation credited.

Compost
As well as composting all plant waste we also segregate all office and packhouse cardboard and paper waste. This is then shredded and added to our growing compost heap for use in our vegetable area. In line with soil association standards all our peppers and herbs are now grown in peat free coir potting compost.

Fertilizer and Feed
Although our citrus trees do still receive a balanced chemical supplement all our other pot plants are fed using a nettle and comfrey 'tea'. Nettles and comfrey are collected from around the site and allowed to steep in a large tank, to produce a dark brown smelly liquid which is diluted and watered on to the plants either automatically or by hand. The benefit of this nitrogen rich 'brew' has been well documented and we have been really pleased in the boost to general plant health since we introduced this in July 2007.

Pest Control
We don't use any chemical pesticides in our nursery and we think this is particularly important as we send so many edible plants and trees. Instead we use a combination of horticultural soft soap, natural predators and sticky traps. You can find out more about natural predators and pest control at our sister site www.ladybirdplantcare.co.uk

But natural predators doesn't just mean nematodes and ladybirds. We actively encourage a range of beneficial wildlife within our nursery. Bees to aid pollination, Finches, Sparrows, Wagtails and lizards who help control slugs and caterpillars. We have a resident slow worm couple whom we believe have bred this year and our newest secret weapon against the mice and rabbits is our handsome black cat Merlin.