We visited Roy & Carol in May 2024.
Roy had been collecting cacti & succulents for the last 30 years. Most bought from Germany long before Brexit, and one even given to Roy by Carol as an anniversary present!
Roy stopped collecting last year due to age and physical limitations, and eventually this year decided to give up his collection completely. We got in touch, and on receiving photos I realised there were some prestigious plants there.
Timing was tight, with the RHS Malvern Spring Show round the corner, and in the middle of juggling prep for Malvern, plus childcare, I made the mad dash during one weekday. It was absolutely insane, to drive 5 hours across the country on your own just to collect plants, but that's me.
After leaving home at 5am,I arrived to a hallway full of cacti. Roy & Carol had started clearing them out of the greenhouse already, which was a huge help. They were aware I was coming on my own and wanted to help as much as they could.
A few hours, coffees and high fives later, the majority of the collection was safely loaded into the van. Huge thanks to Carol who helped load most of the trays in, as Roy was a bit unsteady on his feet and although he was insistent on helping, we were even more insistent he sat down and rested.
We had to leave quite a few plants behind, which was devastating, but with the collection being so far away I had no way of evaluating how many there were beforehand. Luckily one of our Instagram friends was willing and able to purchase the rest, which helped Roy & Carol out.
Most of Roy & Carol's cacti were labelled, and this information should be kept alongside the plants wherever possible to preserve this collection.