Been to your garden centre lately

Is it me or are garden centre prices going up and up? I paid a visit to our local today to see whats about for this season. I need a big pay rise! Leucojum

 

According to news reports, the price of garden centre plants is going to soar this spring.

 

Thanks David you have really cheered me up. Is it just rip off Britian or is it global??? Leucojum

 

Probably Global, most plants are importated from Holland.

 

Evening guys!

Typically we are VERY, VERY cheap here but ... most does come from Holland and places like our Giga Centre (put it in Garden Visits last year) are Dutch owned and do they ever ask for the prices ... thousands in many instances.

I frequent three particular places, one Portuguese, one Dutch (whom I've dealt with since 1989 where my Jacarandas and Oleanders came from amongst other plants) and one German and get very, very good prices in general. As mentioned above, Giga is mega-bucks and catering to the rich area of here.

 

i find here in Aberdeen garden centres are through the roof.they think we are oil workers
i like to go back home to the Clydeside centres better variety and prices.
i get my John Inness for �£ 2:99
and baskets from �£1:99

 

We used to have a lovely old fashioned garden centre .
It used to be a bit untidy but always had what you needed at a good price.
Always someone there to help and give advise.
Then it was taken over. :rolleyes:
Now we have a cafe and orniments ,plastic flowers and dog food.
Books and toys ,swings and slides and everything costs a small fortune.
It's posh and where before I would just get in my car and go and get what I wanted straight form gardening , I feel I have to get washed and changed and wipe my feet before going in.
That to me is not gardening.

Luckily we have a few within a few miles from where we live but one at a time they are becoming modern and expensive.
I get a lot of my gardening stuff from local fruit and veg shops and poundland or the market.
Much cheaper.

 

For plants I usually go to the N-Trust gardens at Hidcote near Chipping Campden and there everything is often less than half price.It's all raised on site and should you need any advice ,it's not unknown for the actual nurseryperson of that plant, be the one to give it!

 

Yip ... prices are rising quite alarmingly over here too :(

 

Maybe we should blame ourselves, we all have, me included favoured the garden centres, mail order or internet suppliers over the little old nursery down the country lane.

These little old nurseries have all but gone. There's only a couple left around our area and talking to them this could be their last year in business.

The garden centres today are purely commercial. They sell what what ever they can for a nice fat profit and it usually is not gardening related.

The assistants look at you as though you are from another planet if you ask them if they have got an onion hoe or where are your calendula or echium. The answer you get is "what are they" and when you tell them thay are gardeing tools and plants you get told "they are with the garden tools through there and the plants are outside".

But, have got any other choice?

Well that's my rant for today. Leucojum

 

Good rant Leu

 

We've two GCs within a five minute drive. One 'posh' one where the staff dress in the 'corporate uniform' and you load your basket or barrow,queue at the checkout then struggle out through the big doors.
The second one is a small family business, run by real horticulturalists who always have time for a chat and advice, a moan about the weather and the way prices are going. If your arms are full you'll get a help to carry things to the car.
No prizes for guessing where we prefer to shop!

 

I agree with you Dave I favour the small family run garden centres who always treat you more like a family friend than a punter.

I don't rate the larger garden centres the prices are way too high and far too posh for the likes of me......as for the ones with cafes we go to the garden centres to buy plants not to pop and have a cuppa 9 times out of 10 the cuppas are far lacking from the lovely cuppa you make at home!
Helen.xxx.

 

I was very dissappointed in one of our local family run Garden centres. We visited yesterday and I was amazed to see rows of daffodil bulbs all sprouting and looking neglected-there were no summer bulbs at all. The seed displays were maybe a quarter stocked and the packets they did have were very dusty.
The shelves were still stocked with christmas and halloween decorations with 50% off signs. I realise that it is had for these 'one man bands' to keep up with the Big Boys, but they could improve the takings by making the place more inviting. I get put off buying from these places because I think that I'm buying neglected low quality plants.


BTW I'm a newbie so hi everyone!

 

Hi Ethansmum and welcome.
I try to avoid places like Wyvales and go for smaller nurseries. I'm lucky to have one close by which has a pretty impressive array of plants at very good prices. You can also find bargains at farm shops and farmers' markets - well worth a visit.