Our local one is quite small and has always been good ... staff who have been there for years and who know their stuff ... prices are comparable with Notcutts who are our other local one ... best selection of houseplants I’ve seen anywhere for a good few years and less non garden related tatt than most GCs (except at Christmas) ... the little privately run cafe is good too ... it’s just around the corner from my old workplace so I was often there when I worked ... but rarely now.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I was in our local Blue Diamond GC yesterday, 'local' being 15 miles away, and there were a number of people in there in Wyevale uniform. I nearly had kittens as the first thought was that Wyevale were taking them over. I'd forgotten that Wyevale is actually the one being sold.
Speaking to Blue Diamond staff they were intimating that a lot of training of Wyevale staff would be required as Blue Diamond want to be considered the 'Gold Standard' in both their garden centres and their restaurants.
What has always impressed me with BD is not just the quality of the plants but the quality of plant care too. The first thing I notices on our first visit was the number of staff watering and dead heading plants, not just firing a hose in the general direction.
Haven't found a good Wyvale yet. The one near firstborn in Worcester is awful. The one in Rugely where I used to work is even worse. They took over a garden centre on the Bridgnorth to Wolverhampton road a year or so ago and it went to the dogs. Previously it had been a good garden centre. We have a couple of Webbs Garden Centres near us which are good and of course Ashwoods. Don't think I have ever been to a Blue Diamond GC, well, not that I am aware of.
The blue diamond in trentham nr stoke on trent is my local and is very good. Good quality, lots of variety and nicely laid out. They don't however have any idea on how maintain the 100's of potted roses they stock...but that is a fairly minor complant
Yvie I am using Rowberrys a lot lately I love it there and Woodrow nursery is another favourite. I know you are near me have you tried either of them. Woodrow is a proper old fashioned nursery no cafe or anything but excellent quality and good prices too!
I buy a lot in my local wyvale but only from the reduced bins. I find them full of bargains if you know what you are looking at. Where I am the wyvale is the cheaper of the 2 garden centres that are within a mile of each other. The other one is a Haskins. It is lovely but plants is a very small part of the shopping experience there.
To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.
It seems to me that's the common factor @Sussexsun "plants is a very small part of the shopping experience there." So many garden centres are coffee /furniture shops with a few token plants. Maybe it's time to get back to basics and put the "garden" back into "garden centres"?
I don’t think a garden centre without All the extras would survive where I am. They need the money bought in by the sale of the Radley bags, posh wellies and household goods. if someone just wants plants and is a novice they get them along with the food shop in Morrisons or lidl. As they brand out past a few bedding or simple shrubs they might go to one of the large diy sheds garden sections. Those with more experience or who know exactly what they want will go to one of the nurseries. wyvale and Haskins fill the gap of the Sunday afternoon shoppers who want a nice afternoon out. They are not looking for a particular plant nor do they want to spend the time waiting for it to flower. They want a flowering plant to look nice on their patio whist they bbq and drink a gin and tonic. So they go to an over priced garden centre where they buy a plant which has been forced into early flower in a giant greenhouse somewhere. They want to have something to eat and drink in the over priced cafe and they want to look at and buy all the random tat that is sold. Thry go home with their overprice plant after a happy afternoon out. The plant graces their patio for the summer but is dead by Christmas. But they don’t mind as the cycle will continue next year.
To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.
I don't mind " the extras" but when the gardening stuff becomes the sideline, I give up. I blame " Friends " for all this coffee shop malarky. Some folk seem to be incabable of going an hour without stopping for one. Don't even start me on the free coffee at Waitrose. ggrrrr
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
They took over a garden centre on the Bridgnorth to Wolverhampton road a year or so ago and it went to the dogs. Previously it had been a good garden centre. We have a couple of Webbs Garden Centres near us which are good and of course Ashwoods. Don't think I have ever been to a Blue Diamond GC, well, not that I am aware of.
So many garden centres are coffee /furniture shops with a few token plants.
Maybe it's time to get back to basics and put the "garden" back into "garden centres"?
if someone just wants plants and is a novice they get them along with the food shop in Morrisons or lidl. As they brand out past a few bedding or simple shrubs they might go to one of the large diy sheds garden sections. Those with more experience or who know exactly what they want will go to one of the nurseries.
wyvale and Haskins fill the gap of the Sunday afternoon shoppers who want a nice afternoon out. They are not looking for a particular plant nor do they want to spend the time waiting for it to flower. They want a flowering plant to look nice on their patio whist they bbq and drink a gin and tonic. So they go to an over priced garden centre where they buy a plant which has been forced into early flower in a giant greenhouse somewhere. They want to have something to eat and drink in the over priced cafe and they want to look at and buy all the random tat that is sold.
Thry go home with their overprice plant after a happy afternoon out. The plant graces their patio for the summer but is dead by Christmas. But they don’t mind as the cycle will continue next year.
I blame " Friends " for all this coffee shop malarky. Some folk seem to be incabable of going an hour without stopping for one.
Don't even start me on the free coffee at Waitrose. ggrrrr