Husband and wife team, David and Ann Green, started trading as Chapel Cottage Plants on March 6th 1989, from their home premises of Chapel Cottage. David had previously spent 12 years with another perennial grower for whom he was nursery manager at the time of his departure.Having experience with growing containerised perennials, David and Ann decided to produce a range of perennials in 1-litre square pots. This allowed for a range of plants to be available in the later spring to summer months, where the smaller P9 container considerably reduced the shelf life of the plant.

By the end of their first year, 70,000 pots had been produced, all potted by hand. These were packaged in correx trays with point of sale pictures and labels, and resulted in very strong sales. This method of packaging the plants is still used today. The expansion rate has been phenomenal. The growing need for increased production has bought many changes with it, including production area, automation and work force. Today over 700 varieties are available with an annual production of over 2,500,000 1-litre, 150,000 2-litres on the nursery now covering 13 acres.