Digital Dig – uncovering Britain’s lost plant nurseries

Digital Dig is a virtual volunteering project, with more than 165 volunteers helping the UK uncover and document its hidden horticultural history

Digital Dig and our collections

We have a rare and unique collection of more than 28,000 plant nursery catalogues from more than 2,000 individual nurseries, dating back to 1612, most of which have never been seen by the public. This collection is a fascinating environmental and social history archive, tracking the changing face of gardening infrastructure over time.

Creating a digital heritage

As part of the Digital Dig project, volunteers have been mapping the locations of the plant nurseries in the collection, making them searchable to enable easier access to this rich historical resource. You can see the results of their ongoing work on the plant nursery map, which features more than 2,000 nursery locations across the world. As cataloguing work continues, new locations will be added to the map.

We are also continuing to digitise early nursery catalogues which a team of volunteers are transcribing. This work has made digital images and transcribed lists of plant records stocked by selected significant nurseries at particular points in history accessible to audiences online for the first time, thanks to funding from the Heritage Fund.
Heritage Fund logo

Award-winning Digital Dig Volunteers

The project has attracted a pool of volunteers with varying interests and skills, many of whom have not had the opportunity to volunteer with the RHS before. We currently have a group of 20 volunteers transcribing early nursery catalogues and in nine months they have completed more than 2,800 pages. The ‘geo-tagging’ work has also seen 145 volunteers researching locations for more than 2,000 UK nurseries featured in the nursery catalogue collection. 

We are pleased to announce that thanks to the hard work and commitment of the Digital Dig volunteers we have been awarded the ARA Archive Volunteering Award 2023. The judging panel gave the following feedback:

“The project demonstrated the value of flexible, remote volunteering to increase the number, geographic catchment and age range of volunteers. There was a clear impact on the service through increased awareness, new audiences, creative engagement as well as significant transcription and geotagging of the particular collection that was at the centre of the project. The use of low-cost online tools meant that the project really delivered in terms of the funding and the content delivered and made accessible.”
Archives and Records Association

Digital skills for young people

As part of the Digital Dig project, we worked with 12 Digital Ambassadors aged 16–25 to create online content inspired by RHS nursery catalogues relating to their local area. Half were students at The Urswick School in Hackney, and the rest were members of the Museums Partnership Reading Youth Panel.

Ambassadors received specialist digital skills training in live-action filming and stop-motion animation to share the stories they uncovered within the collection. See a set of short Digital Ambassador films below.

A third Digital Ambassador project is planned for autumn 2023 working with a group in Lewisham.

Uncovering hidden stories

Watch a set of short films created by our Digital Ambassadors

Short film screening at the Museum of English Rural Life

Created by Digital Ambassadors

The story of wisteria coming to England

Created by Justin, Javan and Nick

Loddiges Nursery, hot house of the world

Created by Ade, Dani and Arzu

Short film screening at the Museum of English Rural Life

Created by Digital Ambassadors

The story of wisteria coming to England

Created by Justin, Javan and Nick

Loddiges Nursery, hot house of the world

Created by Ade, Dani and Arzu

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.