Haskins Garden Centre, Dorset

It's definitely that time of year again. The gardens are beginning to bloom and the weather is starting slowly but surely to get better and with it lifting people's moods, encouraging them to think about doing the garden. We only moved into our new house in December so our garden hasn't seen any action from either of us this year, but we're starting to get excited about what we can put where, etc. Neither of us are gardening experts but with a bit of advice from parents, we trundled off to Haskins to take a look at what they had on offer. There are four Haskins garden centres around, but the ... more

Haskins is probably Dorset's most popular Garden Centre. It has many factors in its favour. It has a large range of products - house plants, garden plants, composts, garden tools, pots and planters, ponds, aquatic plants, fish (goldfish, koi, etc.), a small pet section (the baby bunnies are an absolute must - they definately have the 'ahh' factor!), a gift and book section - in fact something for everyone. Also on site is the popular shop of 'Hobbycraft' - if you are a 'craft' person then this is THE shop to use. There is also a cafe in the main shop with a small outside seating area as well ... more

Haskins Garden Centres Most of the Haskins Garden Centres are based in and around the south of England, my local store is in Longham (which is in between Bournemouth and Wimborne in Dorset). We have many garden centres in this area of the UK, but none so expensive as Haskins, they try to make up for it by providing you with a nice coffee shop, very nice store and very knowledgeable staff, but their prices are very high, much higher than any other garden centre locally. On the same sight as the garden centre is their Hobbycraft Store, this is quite the opposite to the garden centre, the prices ... more

I cannot be more enthusiastic about any other garden centre in my area, yes the prices may be slightly higher than other stores but all the plants I have purcased frrm Haskins have been of the best quality with no problems such as vine weevils. The staff are always very helpful and the range of plants stocked is far better than other garden cantres in the area. The staff will also help locate plants and even order them in if possible. Even though the prices are high it is not the most expensive in the area, this label would go to Stewarts garden centre, another very good garden centre but much ... more

Went to Haskin's near Longham for the first time on Saturday (18th Aug 07) as it was miserable outside and I wanted some seeds to plant and occupy myself for the day. The store is quite big and there is plenty of plants and garden tools to be distracted over. Initally I was quite impressed. Inside, the plants were well organised and tidy. Outside, however, was a different matter. Once you go though the back where the outside area is, quite a lot of the plants were knocked over, precariously leaning against one another or completely upside-down. Whether it was just a sudden one-time gust of ... more