britishgardencentres.comReviews 

I signed up to British Gardens Centres at the NEC as I knew they had recently taken over my local garden centre. The chap at the stand was very friendly and the stall was interesting and inspiring.
I have now been again to my local centre which is still as delightful as ever plus has a new range of gluten-free cakes in the cafe.
My daughter and I bought loads of plants that afternoon.

Amazing stand, outstanding plants. Brought a fab rose.

Great display at the nec but very disappointed when we went the following week to claim our free scabius plant & there weren’t any left even though the off doesn’t finish for another 4 days

Friendly and helpful staff, beautiful plants at good prices.

I have never visited the Gardeners World Live before and I was completely overwhelmed with how wonderful it was. Stalls theatre and all the professional and amateur gardens -A novice gardeners paradise- made you feel like anything was possible . Very well run thank you

The gentleman was friendly and polite. I asked a few questions and got answers.I look forward to visiting the Grantham venue.

We always visit the branch in Ambleside at least once during our week stays in both June and November. The store is just lovely and the staff very friendly and helpful. We always buy something during our visits whether it be a new gadget, bird food or plants.

I ordered a weber bbq on Friday and it arrived via dpd on the Satuarday. Fantastic service and price. Thank you

Bought a tray of 6 Petunias and a little flower pot man at the newly Staplehurst one .. got the flowers home , they were laying in water .. I planted them and they were just hanging over ! .. I gave them a few days , and 4 had died .. I took the four back as I thought they should not have died , I had planted them right .. the customer service was appalling ! .. I had no receipt, but I had proof on my Apple wallet that I had bought them there , they said they had been eaten !! .. would not do anything due to no receipt ! .. but the manner was very unprofessional .. I will not be going back there !

Holders of membership cards were given preferential treatment to purchase Lavender Ardeche Air Force, reduced offer, before the public on Saturday 6 June 2026. When we arrived they had sold out soon after opening and are not having anymore in. Pathetic marketing!

Around a week ago we purchased a BBQ and other items taking our spend to over £500. So far this year our spend, at the same branch, has exceeded £1,000.

During the building of the BBQ there were missing items. We emailed the BBQ supplier directly (not the garden centre) who subsequently sent out a pack of items. Unfortunately, some screws were still missing so we sourced our own.

Today we rang the garden centre to check if they had the required patio gas bottles in stock. Surprisingly, disappointingly and distgustingly the garden centre said that as we do not have an empty bottle to exchange they cannot sell us the required gas bottle.

The BBQ was delivered on 1st June. From our enquiries we understand the decision not to allow customers without a bottle to purchase a full bottle of gas, was taken on 28th May.

No where in the garden centre BBQ showroom area does it state that customers require a gas bottle to exchange in order to purchase a full bottle of gas.

If we had been informed of this decision we might have decided to purchase a charcoal BBQ, instead of the hybrid one, that is now of little use, until we can identify a supplier who will allow us to purchase a gas bottle without having one to exchange.

We will investigate our rights as a consumer and update this review accordingly.

Hitchin Garden Centre - Cashier did not check items for reduced bar codes and charged me full price for 2 out of 3 items. This is very poor service. The Cashiers surely should know to check for reduced bar codes. Its not a hard job. Some will go above and beyond, while others don't even do the bare minimum. Not happy!

Millbrook Garden Centre, Gravesend, Kent purchased recently by British Garden Centre appears to have lost its restaurant appeal. Our recent two visits have proved disappointing with choice, overall uninviting food appearance plus decline in the number of people enjoying themselves.

Although a ‘stand alone’ toastie was never on the menu even at the risk of asking only to be told, No. It had to come with dry bulky chips and green salad leaves. One could, however, have a pre packed sandwich to enjoy with a drink.

Now, like so many after a change of management this has lead to a decline. No pre packed sandwich.

Not everyone wants a piece of cake, sausage roll etc., or cooked meal, just a ‘stand alone’ sandwich or toastie which doesn’t cause an overload to the digestive system. Those customers with smaller appetites, many in retirement which garden centres largely depend on and who, just want a sandwich.

Please just think a little more about what it is that people really would like.
Thank you

Waited 45 minutes for a cup of coffee. Won't be coming here again.

A few weeks back I visited the Shinfield branch and went to the restaurant with my parents
We were informed that there was absolutely no salad so my mother order a tuna sandwich no salad and I ordered a soup and roll
After 10 mins we were told there was no tuna ! So she changed her order to egg sandwich when it arrived her bread was so dry and my roll was warm but it had been heated to hide the fact it was stale because after 5 mins it was as hard as a stone
The poor young lad on the till was alone with a queue so we had no one to talk to but the girl in the till in the shop who I did tell
Later I sent an email to the branch manager who replied that she had passed on the complaint to the restaurant manager who would respond but no acknowledged of the experience or apology
Needless to say I never have heard from the restaurant manager ever
Do not go there is my advise it was a total waste of money and awful service they just don’t even care

Spend quite a bit in the Garden Centre in the Morpeth area. Mostly, I am very happy with the quality and assortment of plants, shrubs, etc,. However, for the amount of money this company takes, they don’t provide free WiFi to their customers.
In today’s world of technological living, a simple customer WiFi connection, would be a very welcome service!!

I was very disappointed today with the attitude of the manager at the Hitchin Garden Centre. I was at the pay desk buying two bags of Lawn and Turf Dressing. On previous occasions I had been told by the cashier not to take bags of compost etc to the till but to just say what I wanted and I would then be able to pay for them and load them into my car afterwards. I said that I had picked up one bag from the damaged bags section which meant I would pay full price for one bag and only £3 for the damaged bag. The manager was standing nearby and overheard the conversation. He said "Are you sure the bag came from the damaged bag section as there were none there earlier?" It felt like he was suggesting that I wasn't telling the truth!
I was taking aback and have never been spoken to like that in the Garden Centre in the 50 years or so I have been going there. I said he could check the bag if he wanted to and waited for him for a few minutes outside the centre but he did not arrive.
NOT HAPPY!

Ref British Garden centerRugby CARVERY… 12.39 Thursday 7th May 2020

A Shocking Carvery Experience!!!!!
Well, hasn’t this gone down since it first took over. I’ve been here a few times in the very beginning it took over from Dobie’s. With family and friends.The meals were fantastic. Service was brilliant on that counter. Haven’t been for a few weeks. Decided to treat myself to a carvery meal and cake off the other counter. I paid for a large Carvery, the girl disappeared after plating the meat,& Yorkshire pudding I commented some oft the vegetables look disgusting overcooked and a mushy mess. The young girl rushed off saying she’s about to renew the pans of vegetables then she rushed off while I holding on my plate. I noticed a lot of vegetables that I thought looked ok-ish to plate up whilst waiting. But The green beans look like they’ve been there overnight or shriveled up overcooked and the cauliflower was just a dish of absolute mush the carrots carrots didn’t look appetizing. The peas looked dried and shriveled. The mashed potatoes looked brown on the edges dried up look like they’ve been stood there a while. I took a spoonful on my plate tasted it. It was cold just didn’t look fresh. & healthy, none of the vegetables looked freshThere was no gravy. And after I’ve been stood there for about 8 minutes - to no avail as no one came back. What was on my plate Was unappetizing and really coldI had to go to the cake counter, put in a complaint ( I’ve been stood waiting for long enough on the Carvery and no one came) appalling!!! Anyway the lady on the till at the cake counter she was Very helpful very apologetic, . I Went back over to the cavery a young man came I explained to him about the cold food and how disgusting & overcooked some of it looked in the pans the young man said we’re waiting for it to be cooked. It’s in the oven be another 20 minutes. I explained I couldn’t wait here for another 20 minutes and the service has gone down hill big time of a lot since it first took over. . I just couldn’t believe this carvery in my estimation this place has truly gone down , absolute rock bottom. I feel like they got the best in here to serve up the best cooked food in here at the very start of take over to commission it so to speak. once they got it up and running they moved the best chef s Onto another venue of theirs, this is what I feel I’ve seen this before and khow how it works. I won’t eat here again but I have to because my refund was placed on their restaurant card. . I just can’t believe the shocking service and the state of the food it didn’t look fresh.. cauliflower was a dish of overcooked mush the green beans were overcooked shriveled up like they’ve been there overnight . I requested a refund as I didn’t want to eat here again. It was then I was asked to hand over my meal. It was taken into the kitchen to speak to the “boss” .. I would’ve thought the very least the so called unprofessional boss would’ve come out and had a word with me but no, The lady on the till was told to put a refund on their card and hand it back to me. I will not bring my family or friends here again as I have done previously. I came in to treat myself and what an awful treat it was since it took over from Dobie’s. In the meantime, my coffee went cold as they tried to sort things out, but the lady at the till on the cake counter mature lady was very helpful very apologetic issued me a refund on one of their cards and apologised . I said to her it’s not her fault. It’s the other counter SERVICE & food an a management issue. I will not be back here once Ive used up my refund. And I will use it up with a portion of cake and a coffee each time until the card is used and you won’t see me here again.. another thing whilst standing in the queue on the carvery counter, customers were sharing their thoughts to me about the poor service And I will be sharing my reviews and terrible experience with all my friends and family. Ps the cake I can recommend the only good thing there was and since it’s bought in it can’t go wrong can it. Now I’ll place my review on Google reviews

I visited Grantham's newly opened garden centre on Saturday 2nd May. It was busy, as I expected. I went to buy compost and needed help to get it loaded into my car. The entrance had changed and opened straight into the compost and plant display area. There was a lot of choice with the compost but no one to help.
The plant displays were directly parallel to the compost limiting the space in a crowded area. I walked through the store to try to find someone to help and was appalled at the very bed use of space throughout. I felt bombarded. I still couldn't find anyone to help. I managed to find some succulent compost which was second on my list. I no longer felt like trawling through the store again to purchase garden compost. I paid and left. The till operator was surly. I didn't bother to express my opinions.
I won't be back.

Staplehurst recently changed from Millbrook and is significantly worse for it.
As a vegan I'm not expecting a huge amount of food choices, but their menu has changed with the takeover and apart from a burger there are no breakfasts, sandwiches, wraps, light bites etc available. I asked at the till if there were any sandwiches etc that could be changed to vegan and was told they had vegetarian chicken bites.
Staff uninterested- and also no handsoap in toilets and very little toilet roll.
Such a shame as we were regular Millbrook visitors, but this is definitely not a positive for the area.