Double act

Continuing our series on nurseries, Humaira Ikram meets the couple behind The No Name Nursery in Kent, which specialises in unusual perennials and tender exotics and has sustainability as its core value

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Sandwich in Kent has provided Steve Edney and Louise Dowle with many aspects of their life together, not least the curious name of their business, The No Name Nursery (No Name comes from a shop and street in Sandwich). It is also where they met, when working together at The Salutation Gardens.

Reflecting the couple's strong visual sense, the nursery looks decorative and colourful, even on a rainy autumn day, but it's rooted in their passion for plants. They love perennials and shrubs, but also have their own special interests, reflected in their four Plant Heritage National Plant Collections on site. There are two for Steve: dark-leaved dahlias and plectranthus; while Louise holds persicaria and pseudopanax collections.

Admiring the attractive and well organised setup, it's surprising to discover that the couple had a few twists and turns to get here. Steve was brought up in Thanet and recalls stories of some real deprivation and hardship. He was lucky to have a grandmother who took him under her wing and introduced him to gardening, which calmed his mind and gave him a love of plants.

Louise experienced a few careers, including work as a pub landlady, and seamstress, but found her groove when she joined the team at The Salutation Gardens. Steve was Head Gardener there for 17 years and when the house, The Salutation, was sold a few years ago, they decided it was better to garden on land they owned themselves, so they saved up to buy their nursery site, just a few miles away from Sandwich.