The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into two separate businesses—based at Chelsea and Exeter—as it became unfeasible to run the whole operation from one location. There was a Veitch Nursery in Kingston at Coombe, on Kingston Hill. Famous plant hunters in the Victorian period employed by the Veitch family include the brothers Thomas Lobb and William Lobb from Cornwall and David Bowman.

Thomas Lobb (1817–1894) was a British botanist and, along with his older brother, William Lobb, collected plants for the plant nursery Veitch.