Garden Centres

Garden centres “an establishment where plants and gardening equipment are sold.” Quite a broad definition. This means Garden centres can be all shapes and sizes, with no guarantee of quality, we can help you.

The main advantage of garden centres is their ability to look after plants, they should have invested in covered areas, watering systems, windbreaks, benches and trained staff, to make sure the plants are looked after.
Good garden centres will have knowledgeable staff, a wide range of quality plants and inspirational displays.
Often plants are grouped by use such as shade, sun, hedges, plants for a purpose etc. They may be also grouped by types such as shrubs, perennials, trees, bedding plants and herbs.
This makes Garden centres a good choice for beginners, you can ask advice, check your purchases are suitable and use the local knowledge of the staff.

Garden centres can vary in size, some are family owned with local knowledge, national and regional groups also exist with central plant buying and some are retail growers selling their own plants to the public. They all have advantages and disadvantages

Types of Garden Centre

Destination Garden Centre

Large garden centres developed to offer more of a day out experience with cafes, cook shops, food and gift items and large Christmas displays.
Many are independent centres, sometimes family-run, they still sell a lot of plants and have covered areas allowing you to shop even when the weather is bad.

There was a spell in the 1980’s when small independent gardens were bought up to create chains of garden centres, sometimes it worked and the centres grew and prospered, more often the garden centres lost there local identity and quickly went downhill.
Garden centres groups can be national or local and when done properly they can be good.

There are still some good small plant centres who have resisted the seductive glitter of Christmas and stayed true to the old garden centre traditions.They need your support if you have a favourite let us know for our good Independent garden centre list

A somewhat indistinct group they can be small or large with varying levels of service and stock. What makes them stand out is their growing knowledge and the ability to sell homegrown product often at very reasonable prices. There are distinct advantages when selling your own stock, the plants are much fresher and in better condition and because there are no transport costs, prices can be lower.

However just calling yourself a garden centre is no guarantee of quality, there are good and bad centres.

How can you tell the difference?

Training and standards

Check if the garden centre is a member of a trade organisation, as this shows some level of commitment to plant quality, staff training etc.
HTA the horticultural trade association has a garden centre members list and runs the nationwide garden gift voucher scheme, this is a good place to start. They also produce a wide range of helpful leaflets and run training schemes for staff.
GCA the garden centre association grew out of the HTA and promotes excellence in garden centre retailing, they have retailing standards that must be met and regular inspections to keep the staff on their toes.

Plant quality

Look for the obvious signs, dry, dead or damaged plants. If you see plants lying all over the place and pots covered in weeds take care. Also, have a look at the climber section if the plants are tall and tangled together there is a serious lack of maintenance.

Signs and information

Look for a good point of sale information, clean and tidy with staff recommendations and local knowledge.

Look for undercover areas and windbreaks

Greenhouses and shade structures protect the plants from wind and frost damage, investing in structures is a sign of a good garden centre, they care about the quality of the stock.

Look for plants stored under benches and on trollies.

Nobody thinks it is a good idea to store plants in the dark see our kept in the dark guide. If you see plants under benches or squashed together you need to take care

Kept in the dark