Garden Centres - Is It Just Me ?

Looks really nice, and its great to see, I watched the video, they have all mod cons, and probably some automation, plants looked healthy, and you can tell by the piccies, they love what they do, and it shows in the cleanliness of the place (not always a deciding factor), it shows they are proud of what they do.

 

Honestly

 

They are really enthusiastic and can offer meaningful advice. Plus it is on the edge of the pennines so if plants thrive there, they will thrive in our garden. I'd never considered the cleanliness but youre right -- it is always well presented and clean.

 

I just looked at your link and that garden center looks very much like most of ours. I don't know any here that have cafes or any other type of eatery within them. Seems so "Ikea" to me to do that. I guess I'm just used to the way things are here.

I don't buy many plants. Just the ones that I have failed to grow from seed on my own or once awhile, bulbs but I do like looking at row after row of beautiful plants.

 

Hi Ex Ramsgate Cuttings, I only buy that same branded products that the large garden centre's sell.

 

This business about NPK levels. Someone on this 'ere forum looked at the price and % of NPK in the more common plant feeds. The post is quite old but will probably still be found with a search. In a nutshell - Phostrogen gives you the most NPK for your wonga.

 

There are very few Garden Centres here @CanadianLori that don't have cafes, some chains have large restaurants and some have large home ware areas bigger than the plant sales areas.

 

Most garden centres around here have gone down the road of turning themselves into sellers of christmas decorations, food, furniture, etc.
Not really sure why they still call themselves "garden centres" anymore, that idea went out about 20 yrs ago, maybe more.
I have no problem with the fact that they have had to diversify, they were selling a basically seasonal product.

Lets face it nobody buys garden stuff from October to Easter do they?

Its us, the public, who have made them change.

 

This is partially true, the big garden centres spend lots of money on marketing statergies, they will put a display up, and film peoples interaction with the display, and then change it a bit and film some more, they take this data and model the shop setup according to their customers data.
They did this with a company called Ball colgrave part of Ball hort and pan america seed, who deal with seed and breeders of plants to sell to nurseries etc, with this data they produced a fact sheet of colour combinations and the people likely to buy it, you can download more recent versions of the colour combos called Trends by Ballcolgrave in google, and download the pdfs. In originals, I will see If I can dig them out, but from the data they reported the colour combo of reds pinks and whites where prefered by woman with the age range of 45 -65 who are 12% of the average gc footfall for this colour scheme, blacks and reds perticularly with cordyline or other spikey plants were prefered by men of the age range of 40-50 and are 5% of the average footfall for this colour scheme, and on it went covering 6 or so colour combos. Its moved on now to feeds etc, with prefered coloured packaging in other arangments, this is why they look the same in set up, they work from a plan designed by demographics fro there sector, supermarkets do it too, and is part of the reason for loyalty cards, they know what times you shop, what your average spend is, and ehat you bye, and statistically what you are likley to bye, I dont know if you watched the dispactes program last week on amazon using vast quantities of data to predict, same thing.

 

Great thread this. Masses of room for participation. Forgive me if I stray a bit now and then.

On the matter of high rates etc. So often we hear comments about the High Street and online buying. Locally (Eltham) the High Street has lost so many of the old shops, now it's mainly charity shops, eateries and tacky shops. The latter is my term for those often gaurdy painted premises offering a vast range of plastic ware. Give credit where it's due. Mr Patel & Co are at least trying to support themselves and appear most grateful whan you buy a roll of bin liners for £1. I raise my hat to them. So why the rapid decline.

I tend to believe that the local councils are feeling the pinch. Grants from central government have mostly gone. Councils are now funding peoples rents and council tax bills. OK, I get Rent benefit and council tax benefit. No fault of my own. Believe me even at 80, if I could go out and earn my keep, I would.

So it seems that councils have really been forced to increase business and commercial rates. Then our lifestyles are changing and online shopping is taking over.

Back in 1984 Thanks to a member (Hestletine) of HM Gov. I was chucked on the compost heap, my terminology. My job with the MOD was no longer required. Thankfully due to ill-health, I was put out to grass on medical grounds, so my pension has been paid ever since.

I came up with the idea of setting up in the nursery game. At that time glasshouses, poly tunnels etc were popping up everywhere. Within the horticultural world, many British growers were being bought out by the continentals, mainly the Dutch. Me and many other Brits, couldn't get a look in. Attending a horticultural trade fair at Alexander Palace. I met a Dutch grower, nice chap and as I have always found the Dutch to be friendly. He was so shocked at learning the true situation, eg: How the British plant industry was being swallowed up. Perhaps a blessing in disguise but my health never improved, so I never lost fortunes.

I am pretty well covered for garden centers and nurseries. Just on the A20. Ruxley Manor Garden Center is the largest. Next door is Ruxley Nursery. Then Thompsons. People are so often misled. Pots have a label with the sellers name etc on . So one tends to believe, this plant was grown here. Wrong! It was actually grown in the lowlands of Holland and shipped over here. I truly feel so sad and sorry for many garden lovers in this country. The dark dismal days of Christmas over and we often tend to overlook winter. Suddenly word goes forth. B&Q have got their plants in, and often the garden centers will be loaded with spring plants. Money changes hands and in go the plants. A look out of the window and.........Oh no, a heavy frost. The contintals have sold us a lost leader. Difference in climate etc. So soon we will be back buying more plants. What was that song? When will you ever learn.

That's for tonight. Time for my medication. Steward. My usual if you please.

 

Personally I prefer the small independent garden centres - where there's one member of staff on hand manning the till and everything else .... but he knows what he's talking about. However he doesn't get chance to impart much info cos he's so busy .... lol. Luckily I have a few of those near me and they stock some fabulous and on occasion hard to find plants. I don't want 2 coffee shops and a restaurant and a glut of overpriced nonsense.

"andrews" ....Have I outgrown chain garden centres or have garden centres evolved into something that doesn't suit my needs ?
You just want quality ...... and the evolution of major centres seems not to provide that any longer.
Having said that I prefer smaller independent places I've actually had some of my most marvellous plant buys from Morrisons ... sturdy, resilient, impressively long flowering and ridiculously cheap.

Perki ... your Gordon Riggs in Tod [or is it Walsden] used to be a total favourite of mine too. The GR in Rochdale is where I bought the most splendiforous euonymous japonicus ,a choisya ternata and an otto luykens in 2016. All reasonably priced and all are doing sooo well. Bought some cyclamen [hardy ... huh] late last year from there though and they've all failed ... whereas the Aldi ones for less than half Gordon R price have been fab. Agree with you however that the diversifying is taking away from the main aim of a garden centre and they are creeping the other way and getting more expensive. I bet Gordon would be disgusted at what his place has turned into really. Don't you ?

I guess shopping around is the best.

 

I use independent nurseries for plants; as even if they haven't grown them on site they know what they are talking about.
I used to get compost, grit, fertilisers etc from a local agricultural merchant, then they sold the site for housing (access and expansion problems). So now I get these items where ever they are a reasonable price.
Dislike garden centres where you cannot find the plants for Christmas decorations, bird food and furniture. Saturday mornings before lunch are a good time to go. Avoid Sundays as round here a lot of people go to garden centres for Sunday lunch and get dressed up and there's me like an unkempt scarecrow shambling around lowering the tone of the place..