The real reason garden centres are dying
Come and share your thoughts....
Hi darling, I’m Kendall, a horticultural therapist. Here on my Substack, I share tips on how to use your garden to grow your personal power in a world that tries to keep women stuck, exhausted & burnt out. Come grab your trowel and join the rebellion, we’ve got a patriarchy to dismantle.
Welcome to the Seed, the place where we learn to resource ourselves in the garden so that we can unlock more joy in our lives.
For those of you who prefer to listen rather than read:
I was asked for my opinion on this topic by a journalist towards the end of last month but my views didn’t suit the narrative of the article they ended up publishing. So I figured I’d share my thoughts here and invite you to share yours too. Because a world without garden centres is a sad, sad scenario.
The problems
Not actually selling plants
I went to a garden centre last month and the vast majority of things for sale in there were homeware trinkets- not plants. I know it’s winter time so there aren’t as many plants available but the same is true during the rest of the year, acres of prime plant retail space given over to overpriced tat.
Outdated uninspiring displays
My visit was right at the end of January and they still had their Christmas display up. Admittedly most of it was on sale, but it doesn’t make you feel inspired when you see the same display you’ve been seeing since October. What is the reason to go back if you know it’s going to be more of the same stuff. Say whatever you like about TikTok but it’s changed the way people think, they want new and exciting and if you want them to keep coming back and shopping with you, you need to change it up at least once a month.
I’d love to visit a really funky and inspiringly designed space with displays that get my heart racing rather than something that appeals to my gran or my 2 year old daughter who has a borderline obsession with Santa.
Stuck appealing to the blue rinse brigade
Is a blue rinse still a thing? I should ask my hairdresser.
This is one of the things that pisses me off the most about the gardening industry and media. They are still focused on selling to the over 65’s.
Young (read middle aged) people like gardening too you know!
I ordered some plants from an online retailer last year and ever since I’ve been bombarded with catalogues selling me jar openers and walking frames. Which tells you all you need to know about who they think their target market is.
But if garden centres are to survive they are going to need to diversify their client base and start giving them a reason to visit. I’m sharing some ideas for this later on in the article and would love to know your thoughts in the comments too. You can download the app by clicking the pink button below and come join the conversation.
The rise of online retailers
Some people claim that the younger generations prefer to buy online. And whilst I can’t doubt the convenience of it. The actual experience of it is somewhat of a damp squib.
Personally I don’t buy plants from Amazon as you can’t guarantee what you’re getting. I’ve heard horror stories of people being sent seeds of invasive species instead of what they actually ordered.
Without wishing to teach you to suck eggs invasive species are not good for the biodiversity in the UK. A prime example is the Spanish bluebell which was introduced to the UK and then immediately started out competing the English bluebell. And as a result numbers of the native variety have dwindled to terrifyingly low levels.
And on a very basic level you want to receive what you’ve paid for right?
But what about online gardening retailers I hear you cry.
Whilst many companies have pivoted online and seem to have a very good offering available. I find the quality of the plants from most of the online retailers poor.
There’s a very famous brand that creates a gorgeous brochure (which I have to admit I do browse for inspiration) but every single time I’ve ordered from there there’s been a problem with my order. Plants arrive damaged or dead, if they arrive at all. And their customer service is terrible so I waste more time trying to get a refund or replacement than I’ve saved by ordering online.
The only exception to this is an amazing bulb supplier called Peter Nyssen. I buy all my bulbs from there and the one time I had a problem they sorted it straight away and with minimal input from me. Thats the sort of customer service we like to see!
Plus I do like to go and see, touch and get a sense of the plants in real life in the garden centre. I make it a real experience. I go alone, kids are far too distracting. I know what I want to buy (so I don’t blow my budget) and I spend time wandering the offerings so i’m able to choose the best quality plants in the colours and shapes that I want.
I also love to browse the sale section to see if I can get myself a bargain. I share my tips on how to do this and not waste money here.
The solutions and ideas for improvement
Garden centres have a real opportunity to make shopping for plants a wonderful nourishing experience that wouldn’t cost them a lot but most of them don’t seem to want to do that or don’t know how.
People still have gardens they just don’t know what to do with them. Experts like myself and Garden centres have a real opportunity to educate people and help them see that gardening doesn’t have to be difficult or take hours and hours of time.
Some of the gardening activities I share here in my membership the Seed are just 5 minutes long- that’s 5 minutes you can take for yourself to quiet your mind and lower your stress levels. As a nation we could definitely do with this!!
Appeal to the younger generation
And anyone who likes to have fun! Garden centres have a real opportunity to gamify gardening. They could host regular challenges such as:
How many bags of compost can you move in 2 minutes
Create a beautiful hanging basket in 30 minutes
These would support people to realise that gardening doesn’t have to take hours and it creates a buzz in the local community raising the profile of the garden centre and encouraging more people to visit.
Create inspiring indoor house plant displays
Set up their indoor plant displays so people can imagine them in their own house. This wouldn’t have to cost loads of money, they could head to Facebook marketplace or the local free Facebook groups for props. And then set up the ‘rooms’ with soothing leafy green plant displays so people could actually get in them like at IKEA and imagine the plants in their own spaces.
Offer Gardening Workshops
Garden centres could get experts like myself in to run workshops and engage the local community. Or get their plant knowledgeable staff to run them. Some examples could be:
They could even give all attendees a small money off voucher to spend on plants, tools or seed sowing equipment- they’ll always spend more, thereby increasing sales.
But what they’re really doing is establishing themselves as the experts, as the place to go for garden advice. And lord knows we need someone to cut through the bullshit and spurious garden advice out there on TikTok!
Display ready made borders
This would give people a reason to return every month. To be inspired, hell even to take cute pictures to post online and market the garden centre for free.
They could use the knowledgeable staff they have, to create ready made borders with the plants still in their pots a la Chelsea Flower Show and have a sign that says ‘To recreate this entire border in your garden, take this ticket to the till’.
Once the customer has paid for their order, the entire selection of plants is loaded into their car along with a planting guide so they can recreate it at home.
p.s. If you’d like me to create this for a border in your garden you can book a Garden Glow Up here.
Collaboration with local creatives
The one thing garden centres have too much of is space- especially in the Winter. Instead of cramming those spaces full of uninspiring, old-lady gardening clothes (that’s a rant for another article), they could offer spaces for local artists to pop up and run workshops and sell their wares.
This fosters connection with other local businesses, will bring a new crowd into the garden centre when the artists shares about the pop-up with their community and offers something new and different to the regular customers.
What do you think garden centres could do to encourage more people to buy from them? Come let me know in the comments.
If you want to be part of a gardening community where you can learn to garden without judgement, a place where you can share your wins and your struggles without feeling like a failure, then come and join the Seed as a paid member.
It would be remiss of me to not mention my bloody brilliant masterclass Learn how to prune your plants. Which is THE only thing you need to watch if you’re a complete pruning beginner or you’re finding yourself procrastinating over getting your pruning done.
Come and do it along with me
Excellent! Love it. Definitely on the same page. Had a similar discussion at a recent press event.
I have an exceptional independent garden centre near me. Yes it’s half lifestyle but quality. Plants are superb. Ever changing seasonal displays and a vast range with specimen trees and shrubs too. Seasonal courses events hosted by recognised gardeners and big brands.
Then there’s the chain garden centre up the road. Looks like an abandoned post-apocalyptic mall inside. Sorry looking neglected plants and tat. Endless tables of cheap wasteful bedding that should have been consigned and banished to the Victorians. Died heather?! Don’t get me started on the ‘garden accessories’… absolute garbage. All destined for a local landfill within a year. The only time I visit is to buy their neglected plants at a fraction of the RRP, so in a weird way I’m grateful that they’re so hopeless 😂
I am so happy I found you on Substack! I would totally join workshops/classes if my nearest garden centres would offer some