Our History
Nestled in a quiet lane on the outskirts of town you’ll find Newquay Garden Centre. This perfectly placed little gem offers so much more than just your gardening essentials and as we found out, has a long history spanning over 70 years! We met up with the family behind this long-standing local favourite to find out a little bit more.
We understand the garden centre has been in your family for over 70 years, can you tell our readers a little bit about how and when the garden centre was established?
It was established in 1948 as a market garden where my parents Wilfrid and Mary started growing produce for the hotels in Newquay and it stayed this way into the 1960’s. In the early 1970’s we started growing bedding plants and gradually developed the centre with the introduction of greenhouses and polytunnels. My husband, Marc, and I came into the business in 1989 after returning from living in Australia and now with our son in law Jack working alongside us, we are proud to be a 3rd generation local family owned business.
Wow 1948, that is impressive! What do you think has been the key to the success of the garden centre over such a long time?
We believe that the success is down to our love and passion for growing plants and our pride in producing quality stock. Our loyal long serving staff have been influential in helping the business grow. Sourcing new products and being proactive have been at the forefront of our thinking throughout.
If people are looking for some inspiration or are unsure what may work best in their garden, can you offer some advice?
Our expert staff are on hand to offer advice and guidance. We are passionate about making your garden perfect for you, from producing our own soil & growing the plants in our poly-tunnels to selling a wide variety of plants, shrubs & trees for the home and garden including a great choice that are ideally suited for coastal areas. To complete your garden look, we also stock garden furniture, dining pods, pond equipment, BBQs, paving slabs & lots more!
You recently fully refurbished and re-opened your restaurant, The Potting Shed, what can your customers expect when they drop in?
We pride ourselves on delivering great customer service and consistent, delicious food. The Potting Shed menu has plenty of choice, suitable for all dietary requirements and with our in-house baker you will be sure to see plenty of variation amongst the cake stand. Our new pods are an exciting addition to our dining experience as they can be used all year round and even come with heating and usb connectivity. As stockists of the pods, we also sell these incredibly unique garden/living options (more information can be found on our webpage). Our brand-new external patio area has also been completed just in time for Summer so there s plenty of choice of where to sit and enjoy your meal!
So, what’s next for the Garden Centre?
We have huge plans for the near future with plenty of exciting ideas and developments to come. Planning has already started for many of our Autumn & Winter events including our well-loved Christmas display & grotto, which this year should be bigger than ever! We look forward to welcoming you all to enjoy it with us.