Nursery donations help charities bloom

Art makers from Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre with some of the £600 worth of plants donated by Johnsons of Whixley.

The company, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in June, is marking the occasion with a donation of plants to a different charity each month.

So far, the business has gifted hundreds of plants worth more than £600 to Henshaw’s in Knaresborough, Hope Pastures in Leeds, York Teaching Hospital Charity and the Blue Cross at Thirsk.

The nursery also hosted a raffle and cake sale recently, raising £1,000 for the Huntington’s Disease Association. It will also donate plants worth more than £2,000 to Foss Park, a new mental health facility in York.

Johnsons of Whixley’s marketing manager, Eleanor Richardson, said: “The last year has been a challenge for many charities; people haven’t had the funds to donate like they usually would. It’s great to give something back to local charities and help their outdoor spaces bloom.”

Johnsons has supplied more than 230 million plants throughout the UK since it was founded in 1921; notable projects include the Royal Parks and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.