Those who subscribe to garden seed catalogues will be aware that Thompson and Morgan of Ipswich, England produce one of the most comprehensive, colourful and sought-after annual catalogue for home gardeners all over the world. It is a treat to look forward to every January and is so packed with growing tips and cultural information about plants of all types that people tend to regard each issue as a valuable addition to their library. In fact, the company’s latest edition is no longer available due to an unforeseen number of requests this year.

For those who are not yet on the mailing list, the Thompson and Morgan Seed Company will need a bit of an introduction. Elizabeth MacFarlane, of New Maryland, knows the company details because she recently had an opportunity to visit its head office while on a garden tour of East Anglia. "I was impressed with the amazing variety of plant types that the company sells seeds of", she says "and I recognized names of Canadian seed suppliers, such as Vesey’s of P.E.I., on the shipping labels of seed sacks that were stored in the facility’s cold storage". Thompson and Morgan not only provide seeds for home gardeners in every region of the world, but they also sell seed to other companies on a wholesale basis.

Thompson and Morgan traces its beginnings to a small garden behind a baker’s shop on Tavern Street, Ipswich, in the south east of England. The garden was tended by William Thompson who was an avid, amateur botanist and gardener. He specialized in growing rare and unusual plants from seed which he obtained from friends and colleagues in many overseas countries. He was an acquaintance of such famous scientists as Joseph Hooker and Charles Darwin and was recognized as a distinguished plantsman by the Royal Horticultural Society who invested him with its highest accolade, the Victorian Medal of Honour. Thompson began publishing a seed catalogue in 1855. The company’s 2004 issue was its 149th!

Thompson’s business grew steadily through the late 1800s and he soon realized he needed the assistance of a financial expert. That’s why he formed a partnership with John Morgan who was a local businessman with sound money management skills. The partners’ association continued until Thompson’s death in 1903. Each year the pair introduced more species and varieties to the British gardening public than any other seed company.

Over time other family members and their partners were involved in company management and new species procurement. Today, there is not only the large packing facility and head office in Ipswich, England, but there is a North American distribution base in Jackson, New Jersey, USA. Both facilities have the ability to ship seeds worldwide.

"I was shown seed packets with Japanese, Swiss, French, Spanish and English labels", says MacFarlane, when describing how the company deals with their variety of foreign markets. She was also introduced to the staff who operate the company’s automatic seed packet fillers and sorters. "They operate amazingly complicated machines that deliver precise amount of seeds into individual envelopes and then glue them shut before dropping them into pre-labeled storage boxes that go off to the warehouse".

MacFarlane was surprised to find that each order placed with Thompson and Morgan is prepared manually by long-time staff members. "I would have thought that machines would be doing that job too", she notes but she was told that because each home gardener’s order is so varied, there is little efficiency in having a computer program available to coordinate this job.

"The ladies that prepare the orders actually deal with twenty different customers at a time, using customized trays", describes MarFarlane. The staff check and double check before they put the order in the mail, which is part of Thompson and Morgan’s pledge to their customer. "The quality of the product is the cornerstone of the company’s success and quality control dominates every aspect of Thompson and Morgan’s operations", says company promotional literature.

MacFarlane’s favorite part of her Thompson and Morgan tour was the walk through the seed trial plots where specimens from the company’s newest selections are being tested in field settings. She was also impressed with the display of potted plants that grace the front entrance of the company’s sales office. "Their collection of impatiens, begonias, geraniums and fuchsia were very impressive and made me want to get seeds of these varieties for my own garden next year".

Thompson and Morgan have a web site that interested home gardeners can log on to for catalogue ordering details. It’s at http://www.thompson-morgan.com

originally published in the Fredericton's Daily Gleaner newspaper.