Meet the couple who have brought an exotic plant world to the village of Spetisbury, growing a pteridophile passion into a living
It was a birthday gift from a doting aunt which unfurled Jurgen Schedler’s passion for ferns. His wife Elaine recalls: ‘We presumed he’d spend the £150 birthday money on a racing car experience – instead he bought an Australian tree fern!’
That Dicksonia Antarctica, as is its fancy Latin name, journeyed with them when Jurgen and Elaine moved from London to Dorset. Nearly 25 years later, that same fern reaches over eight feet tall and has pride of place in the courtyard of their small nursery – a specialist haven for hardy exotics.
Crawford Hardy Ferns is Dorset’s only specialist nursery of its kind. The courtyard is planted with rustling bamboos, beautiful ferns and exotic palms from around the world. Up the steps on the garden level, there are even more stunning specimens – plants that you’d expect to find in sunny Spain rather than a rather gloomy Spetisbury!
German-born Jurgen and Elaine, a South African, are clearly a great partnership. ‘We met in South Africa when Jurgen was working as a chef,’ says Elaine. ‘He persuaded me to travel with him to South America and we’ve been together ever since – travelling, working and sharing our passion for plants.’
Since her retirement from the corporate world, Elaine is even more involved in the nursery, managing the admin, website and orders and helping Jurgen tend the plants.
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
Bad hair day
The nursery is gearing up for its busiest time of the year, with hundreds of pots organised in regimented rows. Giant ferns are unfurling their coiled fronds after a winter slumber protected in a polytunnel. Here too are hanging baskets draping elegant, feathery foliage in a palette of greens.
Elaine and Jurgen watch their weather apps like hawks. A late frost could be fatal to some of the specimens – in late March many still have their crowns cosseted in protective bubble wrap. Jurgen says tree ferns are hardy to -10ºC, although the foliage may suffer at -2ºC.
Easily rolling out the Latin tongue-twister names, he shows me around, tenderly touching the tactile leaves, some of which are as soft as velvet. The Yucca linearis – an exotic hardy plant with spikes jutting in chaotic directions – is ‘always having a bad hair day,’ he says.
Jurgen also confesses to chatting to his plants. ‘Why not? My babies are good company!’
He holds his ear to the sky: ‘Listen, you can hear them whispering in the wind.’
And, like every doting parent, Jurgen wants only the best for his palms and ferns. He’s a committed pteridophile – someone passionate about ferns – and he has a reputation for occasionally refusing to sell a plant. If he doesn’t think someone will look after it properly, or if it’s one he truly loves, he just won’t sell it!
‘These plants demand patience. Many will only grow about 30cm in 10 years. With a little love, the right kind of care and some time, they will reward your garden with architectural beauty that’s hard to beat.
‘It can also be a major investment: some of the more established specimens I have cost more than £1,000.’
This ‘vetting’ of customers goes hand-in-hand with free and very friendly advice. Visitors are encouraged to wander around the nursery or sit in the sunshine in what is essentially the couple’s own back garden. Elaine says: ‘It’s great for people to see the plants growing in situ, to see how big and beautiful they will get.’
Their passion and deep expertise make Crawford Ferns a go-to for landscapers and garden designers. Some trees have taken starring roles in show gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
That’s a positive in a challenging world: small nurseries across the country are closing at an alarming rate. ‘Brexit has made importing plants a huge problem, with increasing red tape and restrictions,’ says Jurgen. ‘I work closely with a nursery supplier who brings my palms from Spain into Bristol for me, and we use a plant supplier in the north of the UK for our ferns. Co-operation among the wholesalers is key.’
