In May 2006, Painshill was awarded full collection status for its John Bartram Heritage Collection, by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG). The collection is based on the lists of plants sent as seed to Hamilton (and others) as part of the Bartram/Collinson seed box scheme.

John Bartram (farmer and natural scientist) collected seeds (and also plants) from the north eastern seaboard of North America, sent them by sea to England, where they were distributed to subscribers by Peter Collinson.

In 1748, Charles Hamilton at Painshill received his first box of seeds from the subscription. One or two of the trees grown from those seeds can still be found in the Park today. 

In 2004, following in Charles Hamilton’s footsteps, Painshill received its first consignment of plants from North America, from Woodlanders Nurseries in South Carolina.

Since then we have sourced more plants and seeds from North America, which can be traced back to parts of the USA where John Bartram collected 250+ years ago, including Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia.

 

Magnolia acuminata

Halesia carolina

Rhododendron periclymenoides

Other plants in the National Collection have been found in the UK, such as Rhododendrons from Millais Nurseries in Surrey. David Millais’ stock plants were grown from seeds his father collected in the USA.

Our American Roots’ partner RGB Kew has also helped develop the collection by growing plants from cuttings taken from trees and shrubs where the origin is known to have been from the east coast of the USA.