Hillier announces collaboration with The King’s Foundation

Hillier Nurseries and Garden Centres, one of the leading names in the UK horticultural industry, has announced its new partnership with The King’s Foundation, the charity established by King Charles III in 1990 dedicated to building sustainable communities and transforming lives. 

United by a shared commitment, this partnership will promote environmental sustainability, community enrichment, and educational initiatives, reflecting the Hillier dedication to making a lasting impact within the horticulture and retail industries. 

As part of the collaboration, Hillier will contribute its expertise to support The King’s Foundation’s community engagement and education initiatives at Highgrove Gardens, including supporting local schoolchildren to develop gardening skills, providing talks and workshops at Highgrove for the local community, and assisting with sustainability projects designed to inspire and engage communities. 

George Hillier, Chairman of Hillier commented, “We are delighted to be working with The King’s Foundation to combine our horticultural heritage with their inspiring vision for building sustainable communities. This partnership is more than just a short-term collaboration – it's a long-term investment in sustainability and education. By combining our knowledge with The King’s Foundation’s impactful programmes, we hope to make a lasting difference to many communities.” 

The announcement coincides with The King’s Foundation celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2025, a significant milestone in its mission to transform communities and improve lives through education, heritage preservation and environmental stewardship. 

Constantine Innemée, Highgrove Director for The King’s Foundation says “As we celebrate our 35th anniversary this year, we are thrilled to be working with Hillier to further our mission to protect nature and promote sustainability and introduce Hillier customers to our beautiful heritage sites across the UK.” 

For more information about the partnership, visit Hillier.co.uk or Kings-Foundation.org. 

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Editors notes

“To inspire the creation of green living spaces for now and the future” Hillier is one of the leading names in the horticultural industry, with 160 years of growing and retail experience.

Founded in 1864 by Edwin Hillier, the company remains a family-run nursery with the fifth generation now actively involved in the family business as it continues to grow.

Not only is Hillier the largest producer of semi-mature trees in Europe and grower of over one million plants at its Hampshire nursery, but it also employs over 750 staff across its nursery, amenity trees and 22 garden centre divisions and is a flourishing multi-million pound company. It proudly holds the world record for the most consecutive gold medals awards at the world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with 74 wins.

As one of the leading growers in the UK, Hillier is involved in many peat-free initiatives, including the RHS Peat-Free Fellowship, the largest peat-free collaborative research project globally. The company was amongst the first nurseries to become 100% peat-free across both its production nursery and retail garden centres, and all Hillier plants are grown in peat-free compost.

Recent successes for the company include the launch of its online shop, the substantial redevelopment of Hillier Garden Centre Newbury and the acquisition of the Rosebourne Garden Centre Group in November 2022, as well as sponsorship of BBC Gardeners’ World Live and BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair, and the incredibly popular free ‘Hillier Gardening Club’ loyalty program which now has over half a million members.

Renowned for being a leading breeder of plants in the UK at its 100% peat-free nursery in Hampshire, each year Hillier introduces amazing new varieties. Many of these have become essentials in British gardens and the company continues with the tradition of innovation and the introduction of new garden plants in the present day.