Sorry, I've just mislaid my identity. Haven't seen a CD lying around have you?
Sorry, I've just mislaid my identity. Haven't seen a CD lying around have you?
Member since:23.05.2003
Reviews:24
Members who trust:12
In the world of gardening there's no escaping Wyevale. According to its website blurb it's Britain's biggest dedicated Garden Centre Group owning over 110 centres throughout the country.
Us Brits are pretty much a green-fingered lot. Our gardens are now 'outside rooms' and if you believe the hype require the same amount of attention lavished upon them as our homes. Blame Charlie Dimmock, Diarmuid Gavin and Alan Titchmarsh if you will.
WHY WYEVALE?
I tend to visit Wyevale because it has a far bigger choice of products than any other garden centre in my vicinity. Being big it has what business folk call 'buying power' to offer big deals. My local one is near Harlestone Firs, Northampton, a large plantation of fir trees and popular haunt for dogs walking their owners. Sunday afternoons regularly see a long string of cars parked outside the gates of Wyevale where the gathered masses can conveniently sip tea inside the nice and warm Garden Centre restaurant afterwards. Lying within its high perimeter fence are plenty of parking spaces to accommodate cars and also coaches - on a recent visit full of pensioners from Yorkshire of all places.
The centre, pre-Wyevale was previously a nursery-type affair with cold bare concrete floors and lofty panes of glass. Now, as if been left in a bag of super grow compost it's become enormous. So much so in fact, calling it a garden centre is a bit of an insulting understatement. After the expected stock of plants and gardening accessories come paving, gazebos, clothing, books,
candles, hot tubs, cakes, hamster cages, fish, artificial flowers… More on each of those later.
MY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
What follows is a recollection of my recent visit in January 2006 with the Centre in the throes of January Sales fever. Time to go into a trance…
Past three bags of compost for a tenner deal outside and my first stop is a large open-sided area for mostly half-hardy plants and bedding plants. Straight in my path a selection of pots planted with primroses, tulips etc in all their spring finery - allowing the less adventurous an easy way to brighten up their lacklustre patio it seems. Deeper into the jungle I come across grasses, ferns, patio roses. Stickers are plastered on dozens of them, flashing 75% off and 50% off! Mostly those which have died down for the winter like hostas and asters. Perhaps realistically 50% or 75% dead, but not being one to let a bargain slip through my fingers I decide to snap up a Carex variety of grass for a measly 75p. All the rage in designer gardening circles I believe.
PRICE AND VARIETY
PLANTS:
Finding the plant you're looking for is not too difficult here - they're organised by type - fruit bushes, herbaceous plants, bedding, herbs, bamboo etc in regimented rows then alphabetically by variety. Their stock takes in all the plants you are likely to want in your garden. There are also more exotic species such as tree ferns, varieties of patio palms and water plants.
I find that most plants here are pricier than garden centres within DIY stores such as B&Q but slighter cheaper than nurseries. What you are paying for though is the level of care bestowed upon them. DIY stores being the most neglectful, if you like. As a rough guide, trees are priced upwards of £20 and the average plant is priced at around £3.
GARDEN ORNAMENTS
Wyevale it seems is potty about pots. Or, perhaps more specifically, we, the general public are. Varieties include glazed ribbed and plain, wooden barrels, cool geometric metallic ones, terracotta pots from 3 inches up to 2 foot high, plastic Celtic-looking ones that look like tin (made from recycled plastic stuff), and even ones featuring Bart Simpson's head! . All pots are divided into the 'frost resistant' or 'guaranteed frost resistant' camp. A bit perplexing I think, but there is a care leaflet available in store to explain more. Not wishing to push my luck with the British weather I opted for the latter with a black glazed pot measuring 5 inches across for £3.99. I also picked up a Mekong pot of thick terracotta down from £4.49 to £1.12!
To take future pride of place in the stateliest of gardens, Wyevale have a fine display of classic Haddonstone pots accompanied by garden statues, bird baths, obelisks etc with hefty price tags attached. Plus other more down-market designs in grey, honey, stone and pink.
Spurred on by the designer gardening revolution, there is a varied selection of gravel, slate and feature stones, fountain sets both modern and traditional complete with pump. Also a large number of wooden archways with seats - not quite gazebos - the cheapest at around £150.
INSIDE…
Outside is just the half the story. Inside there are lots more product awaiting my delectation at the Wyevale Pleasuredrome. With carpet at my feet and a warm air around me, it feels pleasant inside.
Immediately I see many sorts of tulip bulbs, a bench displaying the weeniest of bedding plants for handkerchief-sized gardens, no doubt… Then seeds…the offer to buy any two Thompson and Morgan vegetable, plant or flower packets for a free packet of purple carrot seeds (I suspect not one of their best sellers) tried but failed to tempt me in.
"Purple carrots, well I never!" I overhead one shopper say. "Have you seen this offer…" butted in an over-enthusiastic member of staff. Onward… and past expensive wooden garden furniture, barbeques, tools (rather pricey), weed killers, propagators and various other garden accessories.
I remember seeing lots of garden books, and drawn at random from my memory: Men and their Sheds, a book on The Spitfire and Impressionist Art. Generally the discounted sort you see in The Works.
Nearby - CDs most of which are priced under a fiver. Some supposedly relaxing panpipe music wafts in my eardrums as I pass.
Tucked in a corner are magazines, around 20 titles and not just on gardening but women's, men's, technology, lifestyle ones etc. This place is starting to look like a supermarket. Blimey, they've even got carrot cakes, chutneys, biscuits and crisps!
What a browser's paradise this is with gifts and birthday cards to boot. A good selection here - candles, classy-looking but reasonably priced ornaments, a bronze-effect life-sized Labrador, pottery cherubs, wind chimes. Lots more of those 75% off and 50% stickers to tempt people like me in.
Not content with stocking just wellies they also have other clothes, in green and navy for horsy, outdoor types. Plus in pastel colours - fleeces, scarves and gloves.
Where are the indoor plants? Oh here they are… Almost by the checkout a slightly disappointing selection of plants of the small variety orchids, begonias, foliage plants, ferns, umbrella plants etc. No insect eating plants unlike some DIY Centres but they do have air plants with the paraphernalia you need to keep them alive.
That just about covers everything - apart from the other outlets they have dotted around the edge: Pet centre (not huge) selling the basic pet accessories. A quite large aquatic section run by Maidenhead Aquatics with many tanks of tropical fish, food, decorative bits for placing inside tanks etc. A wee outlet for hot tubs (sorry that conjures up some rather unpleasant imagery.) Oh yes and toilets, that pass the clean test. And a restaurant, rather a glorified caff actually.
And another thing, at Christmas much of the inside is taken over by Santa's grotto surrounded by herds of animatronic reindeer. Outside, a large inflatable Santa that wouldn't look out of place on a council estate.
Tuesdays sees the place gently buzzing with more than its usual share of people of advanced years mulling tirelessly over tomato or apple chutney; or dahlia or penstommon. The reason? Highlight of the week - National Wyevale 10% Discount for the Over 60's Day.
Staff are pleasant and don't rush your purchases through the checkout which matters to some people. From tuning into conservations with customers they also seem well equipped to answer basic horticultural questions.
IN SHORT
To stop this long review from growing to sunflower proportions, here are some quick notes on my experiences of Wyevale. An impressive selection of outdoor plants, but not indoor ones. A good place to browse for presents. Pots are keenly priced. Garden tools aren't. Plenty of products to transform your garden and draw upon ideas in all those garden shows.
To sum up - you will probably come out with something you hadn't planned to buy because Wyevale is a garden centre in disguise.
Wyevale - gardening on a large scale. There you are, Wyevale, a nifty slogan for you. That's £450 + VAT please.
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I love wandering around garden centres but do usually end up buying far more than I intended. Maureen
Surveyaholic 23.03.2006 23:19
Great review as fabfrog has written we used to always bring back a rabbit everytime we visited, well not everytime we visited but you know what i mean :O)
Im not a really big gardener but i do sometimes enjoy a trip to wyevale to have a nosey around!
fabfrog5 19.03.2006 22:04
oh yeah - talk about buying things you dont expect, my dads stopped taking my mam there as she always comes back with a rabbitt!! i love this shop tho, was there earlier today. As a complete beginner to gardening this shop is a treasure trove! the staff are so helpful too. well done on a great review! :) x
Advantages: Very good choice and array of plants, excellent cafe, attentive staff (if you can find one) Disadvantages: quite pricey, shopping baskets need updating, trolleys a nightmare.
debbie_marway 10.05.2004 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Wyevale Garden Centre
Advantages: Very good choice and array of plants, excellent cafe, attentive staff (if you can find one) Disadvantages: quite pricey, shopping baskets need updating, trolleys a nightmare.
debbie_marway 10.05.2004 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Wyevale Garden Centre
Advantages: Comprehensive selection of plants and expert free advice available all year round. Disadvantages: Can come out with more than you originally went in for.
Shekera 15.10.2001 (17.10.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Wyevale Garden Centre
Feb 21st, 2006
exceptional by (18%):
very helpful by (82%):
