Company History

In 1899 Mr George Boulton started the nursery business with the help of his sons and daughters. They grew herbaceous plants and violas.

George Boulton died in 1918 and was succeeded by his sons, Charles and Tom, who had recently been demobbed after serving in the First World War. During the 1920s, Charles and Tom steadily built up production to a full range of nursery stock and purchased additional land as it became available.

By the 1930s, the area devoted to the production of trees and shrubs had increased to 150 acres, and Boultons was emerging as one of Britain's most respected growers.

During the Second World War, the nursery was turned over to food production, and the available nursery stock was used to camouflage airfields and factories. Much of the vegetable production was grown to feed troops prior to the D-Day landings in 1944.

After the war, the nursery re-established production of trees and shrubs, and in 1946 the business was incorporated as Boultons Bros (Moddershall) Ltd. Throughout the 1960's and 70's production increased greatly, as modern methods of propagation were adopted and mechanisation was introduced.

Boultons were one of the early pioneers of containerisation, and their container unit at Moddershall was one of first to be designed and constructed as a mass production facility.

During the late 1970s and 1980s, the nursery became one of Britain's largest growers and suppliers of trees and shrubs, supplying the New Town Development Corporations.

The 1990's saw significant changes in the market; notably shrinking demand for bare-root stock and the growing dominance of the garden centres. The nursery responded by increasing its container facility and rootballing operations.

When Mr Chris Boulton retired in 1999, the nursery was acquired by the present owners who have sought to maintain the high reputation which the Boulton family earn over a century of good practice and fair dealing.