Dream comes true for young couple after 'monumental' effort to restore garden nursery in Harrogate village

Ben Preston and Laura Kennedy, both 35, began the challenge of bringing Cliff Bank nursery at North Rigton back to life in March 2022.

Now, after more than 12 months of hard work, the nursey is to reopen its doors to the public in just a week’s time after being out of action for almost eight years.

Laura Kennedy said: “It’s been a monumental journey to get to this point and I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved in the past year, but we couldn’t have done so without the support of all of our friends and family so I want to say a huge thank you to them.

“The scary part of it is that the journey isn’t over, in fact it’s just the beginning.

"We’ve got huge plans for Cliff Bank and I can’t wait to see them come to fruition but, in the meantime, we look forward to welcoming the gardeners of Leeds and Harrogate over the summer.”

Located on Harrogate Road, the nursery will specialise in rare woodland plants, unusual perennials and ornamental grasses as well as offering a yearly selection of hardy annuals.

The restoration saw the couple clearing the overgrown site, installing new polytunnels and creating selling space.

Ben and Laura also had to carry out the refurbishment of a derelict glasshouse that is now being used as an integral part of the site for growing.

Originally from Boston Spa, Ben has a wealth of experience in the gardening world.

After completing his degree in Horticulture, Ben spent time in a multitude of gardens across the UK including Great Dixter, Audley End and Goldsborough Hall.

Most recently, he oversaw the expansion of York Gate Garden as Head Gardener between 2017 – 2022. Ben also gives talks to gardening groups across the country and is a lecturer at Yorkshire School of Garden Design.

Laura, on the other hand, is new to the gardening game and has been in the NHS for the past nine years, currently working part-time as a mental health nurse.

While Laura is a far cry away from her hometown of London, she’s been immersing herself in the world of horticulture over the past year to get the nursery ready for opening.

The couple have been keen throughout the renovation at Cliff Bank to apply traditional gardening values with a modern approach, propagating from seed, cuttings and divisions.

Ben Preston said: “‘We’re really happy to be reopening the gates at Cliff Bank.

"It has seen many horticultural chapters over the years and hopefully we’ll be here for many years to come growing unusual plants and providing inspiration and knowledge for gardeners.

"Being a local lad and having a passion for plants, it has been a dream to open our own nursery so close to where I grew up.

"Our aspiration is to become a popular local nursery with a national reputation for growing interesting and unusual plants here in Yorkshire.’

The hope is Cliff Bank can provide inspiration for people to become more experimental wih the long-term ambition to offer on-site learning through skills workshops.

It will be relaunched on Saturday, May 27 and will be open Wednesday-Saturday, 9am-4.30pm until October.