London’s 11 Best Garden Centres and Plant Shops

London’s 11 Best Garden Centres and Plant Shops

19 May, 2020

Words by
Rae Boocock



Tucked
in London’s concrete jungle, there’s a miscellany of
garden centres, and thanks to easing lockdown restrictions, several
of them are coming back into bloom. Whether you’re a green-fingered
gardener or simply want some leaves to brighten up a desk space,
these are the capital’s best places to find the plants, pots and
tools you need.

While some lockdown measures are still in place, do check ahead
for altered opening times and the garden centres’ individual social
distancing policies. Many are offering click-and-collect services
as well as no-contact delivery.

Plants, pots and tools for green-fingered Londoners (and
gardening novices)


shopping

The Boma Garden Centre

Kentish Town

Touted as “London’s friendliest garden centre”, family-run Boma takes its name from a Swahili word often used in African game parks to describe the central meeting point (the owners are South African). In Kentish Town, it looks like an urban jungle. You’ll find beds and borders planted out as if in an actual garden – great for inspiration, as is the personal plant-shopping service. It’s geared towards city spaces, so you’ll find a good range of flora and garden accessories suited to small patios and terraces.

Address

51-53 Islip Street, NW5 2DL

+44 20 7284 4999
Go to website


shopping

Alexandra Nurseries

Penge

There’s something so ethereal about this ramshackle garden centre that it’s regularly hired out as an events venue. Sustainable gardening is the raison d’être here, so the plants you’ll find tumbling out onto the pavement are all sourced locally, be they herbs from Surrey or Sussex-grown perennials.

Address

56B Parish Lane, SE20 7LJ

+44 20 8778 4145
Go to website


shopping

Clifton Nurseries

Maida Vale

It’s fitting that Little Venice’s mansions give way to one of the Big Smoke’s most majestic patches of green, where plants have been peddled since 1851. We love the exotic Palm House, though there are decent ranges of perennials, shrubs, ceramics and garden tools. Not green-fingered? Clifton’s design service is among London’s best – these guys were responsible for planting up Selfridges’ dramatic rooftop garden and have a handful of gold medals from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Take a pit stop at The Quince Tree Café.

Address

5A Clifton Villas, W9 2PH

+44 20 7289 6851
Go to website


thingstodo

Petersham Nurseries

Backdropped by Richmond’s meadows, this jumble of greenhouses
and gardens have a certain bohemian vibe that’s unlike most
traditional garden centres. Carved out of the grounds of Petersham
House in the 70s, it was bought by positive-living enthusiasts Gael
and Francesco Boglione in 1997 and transformed into the
world-renowned plant nursery and Michelin-starred café you see
today. Whiling away several hours here is easy.

Address

Church Lane, Off Petersham Road, Richmond Surrey, TW10 7AB

020 8940 5230
Go to website


shopping

Camden Garden Centre

Camden

More plants are no bad thing for the environment, but buying them from Camden Garden Centre is great for the community too. This social enterprise offers employment and training to the long-term unemployed, homeless, ex-offenders and recovering addicts. Moreover, it has an award-winning selection of garden goodies, making it a go-to for sourcing patio furniture, pots for your balcony or houseplants to cheer up your desk space.

Address

2 Barker Drive, NW1 0JW

+44 20 7387 7080
Go to website


shopping

Croxted Road Garden Centre

Herne Hill

This family-fun garden centre is far from London’s biggest or best, but what it lacks in status, it makes up for in charm. Set over a tiered outdoor area, cascading ferns give way to fruit trees, bird baths and the like, while ready-to-plant veggies spill onto the pavement in summer. Head here on a Sunday, when nearby Herne Hill Market is in full swing.

Address

Croxted Road, SE24 9DB

+44 20 8674 4366
Go to website

This image is on holiday

shopping

Alleyn Park Garden Centre

Dulwich

The indie boutique of London’s horticultural scene, Alleyn Park is regularly ranked among the UK’s best garden centres. The owners’ passion for plants is one that really blossoms here – you’ll spot fruit trees, herbaceous perennials and the like sourced from small suppliers around the country. Do keep an eye out for Basil and Mittens, Alleyn Park’s resident cats.

Address

77 Park Hall Road, SE21 8ES

+44 20 8670 7788
Go to website


shopping

Battersea Flower Station

Battersea

A slither of a space beside a railway line in South West London isn’t the most obvious spot for an award-winning garden centre. To enter Battersea Flower Station is as if stumbling across a woodland strung with hanging lights, bunting and other colourful ephemera. No garden? No problem; there’s an on-site florist too.

Address

16 Winders Road, SW11 3HE

+44 20 7978 4253
Go to website


shopping

Conservatory Archives

Hackney

Not all of us are fortunate enough to be blessed with outdoor space. While many garden centres stock a good few houseplants, Conservatory Archives has an unrivalled selection of indoor-friendly tropical flora. The owner is a fashion-designer-turned-horticulturist, and it shows; the shop looks like an interior lover’s Pinterest board, with bulbous leaves and trailing ivy against peeling walls. There’s a second branch on Lower Clapton Road, too.

Address

493-495 Hackney Road, E2 9ED

+44 7444 760 607
Go to website

This image is on holiday

shopping

The Chelsea Gardener

Chelsea

Just off King’s Road, on a site that once belonged to Royal Brompton Hospital, this grande dame garden centre is geared towards Londoners with a small garden or conservatory. Take a deep breath as you wander through the orangery before stopping at the café for a botanical-themed bevvy. Like this? Visit The Palace Gardener, its sister centre in Fulham.

Address

125 Sydney Street, SW3 6NR

+44 20 7352 5656
Go to website


shopping

N1 Garden Centre

Hackney

“Making London an urban garden, one home at a time” is the mantra at N1, a design-forward centre which opened on the site of a derelict button factory in De Beauvoir 1998. The staff here are especially good – come to them with questions about compost or what mix of herbs you should use to populate your windowsill. There’s a second site, W6, in Hammersmith too.

Address

25A Englefield Road, N1 4EU

+44 20 7923 3553
Go to website

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