The story about coolplants
Dear customer,
Coolplants.com is the online nursery of Alpine plant nursery Cathy Portier in Bruges: a small, specialized nursery with a big heart for special plants. For more than 40 years we have been growing and collecting plants that you don’t find everywhere: rock plants, special perennials, unusual bulbs and tubers, low-growing shrubs, conifers and botanical rarities from mountain regions all over the world. In our range you will find strong, useful plants for garden lovers, but also rarer species for collectors and plant connoisseurs. Not everything is always available in large numbers. Some plants are slow to grow, some are seasonal, and others are only occasionally available in small quantities.
A small nursery, not an anonymous webshop
Coolplants is not a big webshop with warehouses, conveyor belts and extensive automation. Behind Coolplants, it’s mainly the nursery itself: plants that are sown, propagated, potted up, cared for, checked, prepared and shipped.
Many plants literally go through our hands several times before they end up with you.
We don’t take part in the race for ever faster, bigger and cheaper. We prefer plants with character, an honest range and careful shipping.
With love for plants
At our nursery, we work as carefully as possible. Chemical products are avoided, materials are reused wherever possible and potting soil is given a second life after treatment whenever we can. Pots, trays and packaging materials are not simply thrown away if they can still be used. This fits with how we look at plants: with attention, patience and respect for everything that grows.Who is Cathy Portier?
Cathy Portier is the driving force behind Coolplants and Alpine Plant Nursery Cathy Portier. What started as a specialised nursery for rock plants and alpine plants has grown into a wide range of special garden plants for enthusiasts all over Europe. In addition to growing and caring for plants, there is also the selection of new varieties, preparing orders, packing plants, answering questions, maintaining collections and gardens, and participating in plant fairs at home and abroad. In short, a well-filled agenda.Sometimes good work takes patience
During busy periods, the plants at the nursery come first. This means that replies to emails or tickets can sometimes take a bit longer, especially in high season. Do you have a question about a plant, your order or shipping? Feel free to contact us. We’re happy to help, but always in a way that remains manageable for a small nursery. Thank you for consciously choosing special plants, carefully grown and shipped with love.