Love your garden? Here’s how to make the most of local garden centres

Garden centre

If you enjoy gardening — whether it’s planting out borders, refreshing containers, or just browsing for something new — a good garden centre near is your best friend. And here in southwest London and Surrey, we’re lucky to have some fantastic ones.

In this post, we’ll share a few of our favourite garden centres, what to look for when plant shopping, how to plan your visit — and how we can help you turn those finds into a flourishing garden.

Where to go – garden centres we love

These local spots are full of inspiration and ideal for seasonal shopping:

• Petersham Nurseries (Richmond) – curated and elegant, with rare and high-quality plants

• The Palm Centre (Ham) – ideal for architectural and exotic planting

• Squire’s Garden Centre (Long Ditton) – great range, expert staff, and good seasonal stock

• Court Farm Garden Centre (Worcester Park) – a friendly local centre with a good plant selection and café

• Kew Gardens Plant Centre – unique plants and gift-worthy finds inside the iconic gardens

• Chessington Garden Centre – A spacious, well-stocked centre with lots of seasonal plants and shrubs

Each centre has its strengths — and all offer more advice, variety, and quality than a supermarket shelf.

What about supermarket plants?

You’ll often spot herbs, bedding plants and shrubs in supermarkets or DIY stores. These can be great for short bursts of colour in pots, but they may not always be the healthiest or best suited for long-term planting.

That’s why, for anything structural or lasting, we recommend garden centres or nurseries — where you can get:

• Plants suited to your conditions

• Proper labelling and growing advice

• Healthier, better-cared-for stock

What to buy when – seasonal planting tips

Spring (March–May)

• Plant: Perennials, shrubs, evergreens, roses

• Sow: Lawn seed, hardy annuals, veg

• Do: Mulch, weed,

• Look for: Lupins, clematis, salvias, soft fruit

Summer (June–August)

• Plant: Summer bedding, grasses, sun-lovers

• Do: Deadhead, water early, feed pots

• Look for: Patio plants, seasonal bedding for statement colour, pots and baskets

Autumn (Sept–Nov)

• Plant: Spring bulbs (tulips, daffodils, alliums), trees, perennials

• Sow: spring flowering Wildflower seed, autumn lawn renovation, moss killer, autumn/winter fertiliser (low N), top dressing and seed

• Do: Divide perennials, rake leaves, cut back as needed, scarify and aerate lawns

• Look for: Bulbs, ornamental grasses, maybe start bare-root or footballers. plants

Winter (Dec–Feb)

• Plant: Bare-root hedging, trees, and roses

• Do: Prune trees, mulch beds, plan new layouts

• Look for: Evergreens, structure plants, tools

How to prep for your garden centre trip

We’ve all gone to the garden centre for “just a few bits” and come back with a trolley full of impulse buys. Here’s how to shop smart and come home with the right plants:

1. Review your garden first

• Walk around and spot gaps or struggling plants

• Take note of sun/shade, dry/damp zones. Phones all have compasses on them if you’re not sure

• Think about colour, height, or texture you might be missing

• Remember at least 30% of your planting should be evergreen for structure

2. Get inspired before you go. Contact us and we can forward on some mood boards or web links for planting schemes

Check out:

• RHS Plant Selector – search by height, soil, and season

• Gardeners’ World planting guides – seasonal tips and planting combos

• Pinterest – full of mood boards and real garden borders

• Instagram #plantingdesign – for layout ideas and colour themes

Save a few images to your phone to help guide your choices.

3. Think in layers and themes

• Tall structure (shrubs, grasses)

• Colour bursts (perennials, bulbs)

• Fillers and ground cover

• A theme: wildlife-friendly, Mediterranean, low-maintenance?

4. Take measurements and set a budget

Knowing how much space you’re working with — and how much you want to spend — keeps your trolley (and your bank balance) under control.

5. Make a list (or a wish list)

Even if it’s rough, note your planting goals:

1. Fill a shady gap

2. Add summer colour to a border

3. Soften the patio edges

This helps you focus while you shop.

6. Ask for advice

Good garden centres have knowledgeable staff — use them!

Want to do the planting yourself — but not sure what to buy?

We can help with that too.

Let us design a planting plan for your garden, tailored to your space, conditions, and style.

We’ll prepare everything in advance — so when you visit the garden centre, you’ll have a confident, purposeful list and layout. That way, you get all the enjoyment of browsing and planting — without the guesswork.

And if you’d like a hand with the heavy lifting, we can:

• Install larger trees and shrubs to give your garden structure and impact

• Prepare beds and borders so you can get straight to planting

• Place key plants so your layout looks professionally designed

You stay hands-on, but with expert backup.

Let’s get planting

Whether you’re updating a few containers or planning a full border makeover, we’re here to help you make the most of your garden centre visit — and your garden itself.

Get in touch to start planning your next planting project.