Thompson and Morgan

Infobox_Company
company_name = Thompson & Morgan
company_type = Privately Held
foundation = 1855 Ipswich, United Kingdom UK
location = Ipswich, United Kingdom,UK products = Seeds, young plants (UK), and garden sundries
homepage = [http://www.thompson-morgan.com]

Introduction

Thompson & Morgan is an independently owned company based in Ipswich, Suffolk. They also operate a subsidiary company in Jackson, New Jersey, USA. Founded in 1855, Thompson and Morgan offer quality English plants, seeds and sundries worldwide through their websites.

General Overview

The company distributes their products through its mail order catalogues, the Internet and retail outlets. Their various websites feature over 8,000 products, showcasing the entire Thompson and Morgan range.

Seed catalogues are distributed to 163 countries worldwide. Thompson and Morgan seeds are stocked in the following countries: Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, USA, Canada, Korea and Japan.

History

As one of the oldest firms in the business, Thompson and Morgan retain both its identity and its reputation for innovation and quality. Thompson and Morgan's roots began in a small garden behind a baker's shop in Ipswich, where a young William Thompson's passion for botany grew.

His specialty was growing rare and unusual plants whose seeds were sent from countries all over the world. Not only did it provide a sense of adventure for William, it also established friendships with such scientists as Charles Darwin, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker and Sir Michael Foster.

From the back garden he moved to a nursery at the edge of Ipswich and then to an even larger one. Eventually there were three of Thompson’s nurseries in the town. At this time, William began to publish a magazine called 'The English Flower Garden'.

In 1855, after moving from that small 'starter' garden, William issued his first catalogue. William Thompson specialised in growing rare and unusual plants, seeds of which were sent to him from many overseas countries. His efforts made him one of the most distinguished plantsmen of his day and he was honored by the Royal Horticultural Society with the Victorian Medal of Honor in 1896.

With the seed-raising firm expanding, William Thompson started his partnership with John Morgan. John provided the business acumen that enabled Thompson & Morgan's continued solid growth. William passed away in July 1903 at the age of 80, having lived to see Thompson & Morgan become one of the country's greatest seed firms with a reputation for introducing more species and varieties to the British gardening public than any other company.

John Morgan spent the next ten years as sole owner until he partnered with Joseph Sangster in 1913. Joseph was a brilliant horticulturalist who was to add 4,000 plant names to the 2,000 already offered in the T&M catalogue. Joseph took full control of the company upon John's passing in 1921.

Joseph's son Murray joined the company in 1933 and the following year Joseph was elected President of the Horticultural Traders Association of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1939, T&M became a limited company and when Joseph died in 1952, Murray Sangster took control. His two sons, Keith and Bruce, joined Murray later. In 1973 they decided to expand their distribution centre in Poplar Lane, Ipswich from where the company still operates. In 1982 Bruce headed the company's expansion in the US after previously having a distribution base in Jackson, New Jersey.

In May 2002 Thompson & Morgan returned to independent private ownership.

The quality of the product is the cornerstone of the company's success, and quality control dominates every aspect of Thompson & Morgan's operations. In an independent study Thompson and Morgan were recently voted ‘Best All Rounder Seed Company’.

Catalogue

The first Thompson and Morgan catalogue was created in 1855. They now produce over 20 different catalogues that are distributed in the UK, US, French and German markets. Catalogues are distributed by mail and can be requested directly from the company by telephone or via their websites. The catalogues contain a wide range of gardening products and cultural information. Thompson and Morgan are the first UK Company to produce the innovative DVD catalogue.

External links

* [http://www.thompson-morgan.com/ UK Official site]
* [http://www.tmseeds.com/ US Official Site]
* [http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk/en/tokely Tokely's Tips - “Tokely’s Tips” is a popular feature on BBC Radio-Suffolk. Andrew Tokely is Thompson & Morgan’s Head Horticulturalist]