Where do you shop?

Morning
Havnt been around for a while....... Still awaiting spinal surgery but booked in now

With the takeover of another group of garden centres by the garden centre group ( formerly) wyevale where do you buy your plants , compost , etc from? One of the national groups? Or an independent ?
This morning it's been announced that cadburys Stewart's and a few others collectively known as the garden leisure group have been taken over.

Will all garden centres look the same?
Will they all sell the same plants at the same prices
Or will the independent make a comeback? Ie specialist , expert advice etc

Be interesting to hear your views.......

 

I shop at a local independent garden centre, but it is still run on the same lines as the bigger ones, I guess that must be what people want, no specialist stuff.

Val

 

My local is ex-Wyevale, now Garden Centre Group.

I buy multi purpose there when it is on offer.

I buy seeds there when they are in the 50p-a-packet sale

I buy plants there when they are on the 50% off shelf

for the rest the prices are outrageous and I shop at local nurseries, or online, for plants. But clearly things there are selling, and the tea-room does a roaring trade (personally if I wanted to go out for a cuppa then a tea room in an impersonal garden centre warehouse would be the last place I would choose).

 

We had a really good, family-owned independant Garden Centre at Podington. It excelled at everything.....good range of plants, good for sundries, good for presents.
Don't know if it's still going or has been taken over, but I think the son was going to carry on when his father retired. Over here, it's mostly chains like Jardiland. Overpriced, diseased plants and staff who don't have a clue about what they're selling.
On the bright side, there are some good specialist nurseries...

 

I find The Garden Centre Group very expensive nowadays for plants, a couple of years ago their perennials were £7 now some are £13
They were selling weeds a few weeks ago for £2 each, Dandelions, plantains etc.
I could have made a fortune from my lawn at that rate.

 

You're not going to believe this but I've never visited a chain garden centre
Unless you count B&Q or Home base.
All the garden centres around here are small nurseries or the local market on Saturday.
Like Kristen says most of my seeds and plant purchases are done online.

 

We used to have a lovely family run nursery were I'd buy my plants not expensive and they always had things that were a bit different, gorgeous gardens to look round where you could see the plants you bought growing, but unfortunately the owners decided to retire and it closed last year, their gardens still open a couple of times a year where you can make a donation to charity and collect seeds from anything you fancy, we do have another nursery thats quite good but these days if I can grow from seed then I do, last year I had seed from the seed swap on here and this year I'm taking advantage of the RHS seed scheme, anything thats a bit tricky I'll buy, often online, and compost when its on offer at B&Q.

 

If I need a lot of something, trees or whatever, I tend to buy online. Otherwise I shop at the local market, B&Q, independent garden centres or grow from seed bought all over the place.

 

Local independent family run nursery (we have a few good ones in the area), nice people. decent prices, good quality stock and a good variety of other necessaries e.g. composts, pots, fertilisers. Enjoy buying there.
Will not go within 1km of the chains which are a complete rip off or those garden centres which are majority overpriced bric a brac tat and extortionate foody things.
Online I often buy seed or things I cannot source locally and always on the lookout for the odd bargain when I'm out.

GG

 

It's about 14 miles to my nearest Wyevale so I only call in whilst either shopping at Lakeland or passing going away on hols, and the only thing I've bought from them this year was 19 pkts of 50p seeds.

The only plants I normally buy are a few trays of bedding for the front garden from B&Q and Homebase when they have an offer on, but I always keep an eye open for reduced stuff that will thrive with a bit of TLC plus I might get some seeds from as a bonus, like 24 sweet pea plants (many of them multi-coloured) that were reduced to a couple of pounds at B&Q because a few in a corner were wilting. I got loads of flowers then let them go to seed and now have approx. 3,500 seeds that would cost about £60 off ebay buying in bulk.

 

It just seems to me a general lack of choice, lack of customer service, and high prices is the way forward... Or so it seems
Having worked for both the multi and the independent sector as garden centre manager I am concerned that garden centres are being cloned. Boring displays in the same place . Average selection of plants..... " oh you want advice? ..... I will get my book" service ...... what ever happened to customer service.. A bit of banter? In a few years time I believe there will be a resurgence of independent plant centres ( maybe smaller than garden centres) offering great value , a friendly smile, a nice to see you....... Like the good old days .........

 

Lucky enough to have quite a few independent nurseries near to where I live and work . Its best to avoid anywhere with a Coffee Shop as that increases all prices by 50% ! Then again my favourite independent , Pimbo GC at Up-Holland has just opened a coffee shop

 

Doug, I visit Wyevale and occasionally Haskins, (Mc Penny's is too far) but I prefer my local Holme GC near Wareham, although being small, it has different plant to the shed and chains.
I get my compost from the Plant Centre at Upton CP where I 'work'.

 

Hi shiney
I agree nurseries are going to be cheaper than garden centres because in basic facts garden centres are convenience stores selling all products under one roof.
But it should be cheaper to buy everything under one roof and have a coffee rather than drive around four /five different nurseries getting what you want..
£13 for an herbaceous plant is outrageous. .........