Miles Japanese Maples from Sussex celebrates a decade of growth
This May, Miles Japanese Maples returns to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the fourth time, celebrating a significant milestone: the nursery’s 10th anniversary.
To mark a decade of growing maples in West Sussex, founder Miles Hayward is taking a back-to-basics approach, curating a display that champions the art of growing from seed. However, in the run-up to the show, the final lineup won’t be finalised until just weeks from their appearance – in fact in the polytunnels at Storrington, a ruthless selection process will be underway – a kind of horticultural version of The X Factor.
The Audition Process
“Selecting trees for Chelsea is a bit like managing a talent show,” Miles explains. “If you were creating a boyband, you wouldn’t want five lead singers who all sounded the same, and it’s the same with the Acers – I will be looking for star trees that complement one another and bring different talents and aspects to the staging at Chelsea.”
The selection process is always a “nail-biting” wait-and-see process, and this year Miles says it will be no different due to a wet and miserable winter. “The trees are currently just sitting there, waiting to wake up and I have to be incredibly mindful of what I can transport safely to the 4.6m x 2.4m stand, but ultimately, the trees I choose will have to perform. It isn’t until they come into leaf – sometimes as late as mid-April – that I’ll know who has made the final cut. I don’t have a big buzzer to press – it will just be me, closely inspecting the emerging foliage and seeing how the colours and forms of the trees work alongside one another.”
The Science of Seeds
Miles will be staging a ‘Lindley Display’ this year, which differs from the traditional displays in the Great Pavilion as it is aimed at providing information and knowledge that will help inform and enthuse visitors about a particular topic. The central theme of this year’s display will be propagation of Acers from seed.
Miles adds: “I get asked about propagation all the time and I’m hoping that the display will highlight the rewards of growing from seed and demonstrate that it’s a simple process that anyone can try at home. The display will feature a range of trees, from seedlings to mature specimens grown from seed but also some grafted trees that will show the amazing variety of maples. I’m hoping to remind visitors that almost every famous cultivar we love today – those named varieties – originally popped up as a ‘weird’ chance seedling at some point in the last few hundred years. You never know, the seedlings you grow next year might produce an exciting new form that we’ve never seen before!”
To illustrate this, the display will feature a mix of less-familiar Acer species alongside established grafted cultivars, showing the lineage and history of these spectacular trees.
Miles is determined to showcase the diversity of the genus Acer. This is a particular passion, being Vice-Chair of The Maple Society of Britain & Ireland (TMSBI), and he intends to introduce visitors to beautiful trees they may not even recognise as maples.
“I want to share Acers that make people say, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen that before,'” says Miles. Potential “wildcard” for the display include:
- Acer buergerianum (Trident Maple): Beautiful, glossy dark-green foliage with three lobes, often used for bonsai but also planted as a street tree in Japan.
- Snake Bark Maples: Known for their striated bark, adding winter interest and structural diversity, these can have very un-maple like leaves.
- Acer campestre (Field Maple): Miles is even toying with the idea of including Britain’s only native maple, a personal favourite, to contrast against its exotic cousins.
A Decade of Dedication
Miles Japanese Maples has grown literally and metaphorically from a seed. Started in a back garden in 2016, the nursery now operates out of two large polytunnels just outside of Storrington and has been a member of the Plant Fairs Roadshow since 2018.
“I don’t tend to go for ‘New Plant of the Year’ at Chelsea,” Miles concludes. “I really love a lot of older cultivars or the unusual species that are rarely grown and I prefer to champion the trees that have dropped off the radar spotlighting those that may have been around for 200 years but have been forgotten. Bringing them back to the world’s most famous flower show feels like the perfect way to celebrate our 10th year.”
Miles Japanese Maples is part of the Plant Fairs Roadshow (PFR) – a collective of over 40 nurseries who host plant fairs at some of the best castles and gardens in the south of England. The PFR are supporting four stands at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show including: Daisy Roots from Hertfordshire, Pelham Plants from East Sussex, and Moore And Moore Plants from Billericay in Essex. www.plantfairsroadshow.
