General manager of Duchy Nursery since August 2008, Angie Coombs trained in hotel and catering management in Bristol between 1979 and 1982 before spending 11 years managing pubs and hotels in partnership with her husband, including a bar in Covent Garden.

From 1993 to 2001 she was with the National Trust as an operations manager, and more managerial posts followed within Cornwall’s food and drink sector, including a spell at the Cornish Pasty Association.

"In a threatening economic climate it is essential to move forward and continue to expand the areas of interest to broaden our appeal. It is an exciting opportunity to reach out and capture the imagination of a new generation of gardeners.”

Annabel Elliot is an internationally renowned interior designer and antiques dealer. Over the last eight years she has concentrated on her interiors business and been closely involved with the Duchy Estate working on Llwynywermod House in Wales, the refurbishment of Bovey Castle Hotel, the holiday cottages at Restormel Manor and many other private clients.

She has been working with the Prince of Wales to product source everything for the new building and interpret his vision of sustainability. The local recycled and salvaged artefacts that Annabel has chosen create the shop and café’s ‘Potting Shed theme and complement the contemporary and traditional Cornish craftsmanship on sale, which define the style and atmosphere of the building.
 

As local as the ingredients in his dishes, Richard trained at Cornwall College in his home town of St Austell and at Camborne before honing his art at the Watering Hole and Jolly Jack’s in Plymouth, the Glendorgal Hotel and the Fort Inn at Newquay and for Michelin-starred chef Kevin Viner at Summercourt near Truro.

“I like being part of a busy team,” he says, “where everyone has a job to do and they do it to the best of their ability. That’s how great food is made.” For the Duchy Nursery café he has created a menu offering a country feel but with a professional polish. The food is honest, homely and unpretentious, using local, seasonal ingredients supporting West Country producers.

General manager Angie Coombs, with her extensive catering experience, has been strongly supportive of Richard’s creative innovations in the Duchy Nursery’s new food offer.

Richard is married to Anna, from Brazil, studying civil engineering at Plymouth University, and they have a young son, George.
 

Born in Surrey, Jim Stephens says he knew from an early age that he was destined to be a gardener. As a child he spent summer holidays in Plympton in Devon exploring his grandfather’s five-acre nursery and garden, and began growing his own plants at the age of four.

After obtaining a National Diploma in horticulture he worked in the parks departments of councils in Hounslow, west London, Liverpool and Sheffield before moving to Cornwall in 1987. The following year he joined Duchy Nursery, starting at the bottom cutting hedges and rising through the ranks. “I particularly like the fact that you can develop a real depth of knowledge working here,” he says. “There’s always room to indulge your passions.”

His own passion is for conifers, magnolias and especially camellias, which thrive on Cornwall’s acid soils with an exuberance Jim has never experienced elsewhere; he has his own website devoted to them www.jimscamellias.co.uk and says his particular favourite is the delicate pink variety Annette Carol.

“Camellias are some of the first to bloom each year,” he says. “I always rush out with my camera to capture them.” Partner Sue, a fuchsia expert, also works at Duchy Nursery.
 

Petherick, Urquhart and Hunt is a full design and implementation service for the development of sustainable landscapes, gardens and outdoor spaces.

The company works with clients who have vision including private individuals, private estates, the public sector, charitable organisations and the commercial sector. Projects include Clarence House in London, Red Lion House in Cranbourne and Prideaux Place in Padstow.

With a strong conviction for preserving the environment and nature’s innate beauty, Petherick, Urquhart and Hunt are working with the Duchy Estate to create a sustainable future for the Nursery.