Johnsons Nurseries of Whixley sent more than 17,000 plants and trees to Rockliffe, the resort near Darlington that reopened in September after a big refit.

More than 17,000 plants and trees grown by Johnsons Nurseries, the family firm at Whixley between York and Harrogate, have gone into the new gardens at Rockliffe, the five-star resort near Darlington that reopened at the beginning of September.

Rockliffe sits in 375 acres of historic parkland. Its multimillion-pound redevelopment restored the Grade II-listed Old Hall, improved the accommodation, added new places to eat and built a standalone restaurant pavilion called Atlas. The gardens and outdoor spaces were remade around the renovated and new buildings, and that is where the nursery came in.

What went into the ground

The planting scheme was designed by Colour Landscape Architects. Johnsons supplied the stock: shrubs, trees, instant hedging, ornamental grasses, flowering perennials and topiary, chosen to give the grounds something to look at in every season.

The list includes mature Scots pines, multi-stem Amelanchier lamarckii and Magnolia trees, instant hedging of Carpinus betulus (hornbeam) and shaped Taxus baccata (yew) topiary. In the borders are Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’, Geranium ‘Rozanne’, Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’, and the grasses Calamagrostis and Deschampsia, which the nursery says were picked for “seasonal colour, texture and movement”.

Rockliffe's red-brick main building at sunset, with new terraced planting, benches and steps leading down to the lawn in front
The front of Rockliffe's main building, with the new terrace planting and lawn below it. Photo: supplied by Johnsons Nurseries

Planted in a hot, dry summer

The planting itself was not done by a contractor. Rockliffe’s own Estates team, led by Head of Engineering and Estates Phil Mennell, put in the thousands of plants and trees, the hedging and the new lawns. According to the nursery, they did it through one of the hottest and driest summers and against tight deadlines, to have the grounds finished before the resort reopened.

“This has been one of the most ambitious landscaping projects we’ve undertaken at Rockliffe, and I’m incredibly proud of what our Estates team has achieved,” Mennell said. “Working closely with Johnsons Nurseries has been invaluable, ensuring we had the quality and variety of plants needed to bring the designs to life. It’s been fantastic to see the gardens transform, and I’m looking forward to watching them establish and mature for our guests to enjoy for many years to come.”

A paved terrace with outdoor sofas and chairs, surrounded by beds of purple flowers and grasses, with clipped hedging and mature trees beyond
Seating on the new terrace, ringed by grasses, purple-flowered perennials and hedging. Photo: supplied by Johnsons Nurseries

Emma Fletcher, a director at Colour Landscape Architects, said the nursery was involved well before anything was delivered. “Johnsons have been a great support on the delivery of the new gardens at Rockliffe, assisting us on species choices and availability from early design stages and providing flexibility in deliveries to align with the challenging project programme,” she said. “We are delighted that the completed gardens have been so well received, and a large part of that is the impact that the planting beds and stock have had.”

Not the nursery’s first job there

This is not the first time Johnsons has worked at Rockliffe. Graham Richardson, the nursery’s group managing director, pointed back to the restoration of the resort’s walled garden.

“We’re incredibly proud to have supplied the plants for Rockliffe’s newly transformed gardens as part of this prestigious development,” he said. “From the restoration of the historic walled garden to this latest transformation, it’s rewarding to see how the grounds have evolved. The finished gardens look fantastic, and we’re delighted to have played a part in creating outdoor spaces that guests can enjoy for years to come.”

Low evening sun over a wide paved terrace at Rockliffe, with lavender-coloured flowers and shrubs in the foreground and a long two-storey building on the right
Evening sun over the new terrace and its borders. Photo: supplied by Johnsons Nurseries

The nursery at Whixley

Johnsons was started in 1921 by Eric Johnson and taken over by John Richardson in 1964. It traded as Johnsons of Whixley Ltd from 1993 and became Johnsons Nurseries Ltd in the winter of 2023. Its head office is on Gilsthwaite Lane at Kirk Hammerton.

The firm describes itself as one of the largest commercial nurseries in the UK. It grows for landscaping schemes and lists past work including the Forth Road Bridge, the Royal Parks, HS1 and the Athletes’ Village at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. It also runs a trade cash and carry, Wholesale Xpress, which it says is the only one of its kind in the north of England, selling to gardeners, landscapers, hotel groups, developers and estates. Its plants also reach DIY chains and independent garden centres across the country. The nursery holds the ISO 9001:2015 quality and ISO 14001:2015 environmental standards.

The nursery put together a video tour of the site:

A tour of the nursery at Whixley. Video: Johnsons Nurseries
A border of a clipped evergreen ball, broad-leaved plants, purple and small white flowers beside a lawn, with a red-brick building and a large tree behind
A new border beside the lawn at Rockliffe. Photo: supplied by Johnsons Nurseries

The nursery’s hedging guide and tree size guide are on its website, and it can be reached on 01423 330234.

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