Am I just being a scrooge or are all the garden centres suddenly morphing into Santa's Blooming Grotto??? I absolutely adore Christmas and go Christmas potty from 1st December onwards but don't they realise I still need to get onions, garlic, broad bean seeds, and other such 'gardening-related' items and I don't need fluffy moving polar bears, directional signs for Santa, church candles smelling of mulled wine and several million baubles!

Phew, rant over...may as well start my Christmas list then. A shed, a subscription to GYO, Tender by Nigel Slater, a waterproof gardening jacket, diamond earrings

Me too, I like garden centres to be for gardening. Not department stores.

All the big garden centres are the same, more gift centres/restaurants nowadays & from October onwards you have to fight your way past the tinsel to get in! We have Bents not far from us which wins awards for it's Christmas displays & restaurant, not sure if it's ever won anything for it's plants though!

I need to go to a garden centre at some point this week to buy a plastic greenhouse and a cloche, what do you think my chances are of being able to buy either?

I went to my local Wyevale a couple of weeks ago to buy some seeds and they hadn't got a single seed in the place, they'd emptied it all to put the christmas stuff in.

If all else fails send Santa a letter

I love my local nursery - unfortunately for some reason they told me they weren't buying any garlic or overwintering onion sets this year.

Robin, I agree with every word you say. They are also getting ludicrously expensive. When I first started gardening they sold plants, tools, seeds and potting compost, if you wanted a posh coffee and a slice of carrot cake you had to get it elsewhere. The one we use now frequently has coach parties from the local OAP's homes. I don't mind them getting out for the day, and it is set in some rather lovely formal gardens, but it seems that it's becoming less of a garden centre and more of a tourist destination every time we go. It does have a children's farm attached though, and I'm as guilty as anyone of dragging my grandson to that.

Originally Posted by Bex

I need to go to a garden centre at some point this week to buy a plastic greenhouse and a cloche, what do you think my chances are of being able to buy either?

I went to my local Wyevale a couple of weeks ago to buy some seeds and they hadn't got a single seed in the place, they'd emptied it all to put the christmas stuff in.

Usually our local garden centre has a whole 'industrial shed' allocated to seeds and now...three 1m shelving racks!! Hence the lack of broad beans. Surely broadies are a common veg to grow this side of Christmas??

I know that there are lots of online options but isn't it nice to go and rummage, feel the seed packets and pick out the nicest onion sets

Yesterday's visit to the garden centre resulted in me inhaling all manner of stinky substances - when I investigated a bit further it was....fake bl**dy snow. ARGH

Gosh I do sound like a scrooge Perhaps I should try to look at this a different way....I could buy candles for the shed I haven't yet bought but when I do it will look like a tranquil haven on my allotment (or a bonfire should it get too hot); I could get sparky husband to bodge an electrical supply and buy moving polar bears to scare away the bunnies; I could buy the 'Santa Please Stop Here' signs in the hope he does and the reindeers leave me plentiful supplies of manure and I could stock up on coffee cake to keep me going whilst I sit and reminisce about the elusive broad bean

there is another side to this - in that main stores (Wilkos, B&Q et al) all stock gardening equipment and plants.

So who started it first?

Originally Posted by RobintheBobin

Gosh I do sound like a scrooge Perhaps I should try to look at this a different way....I could buy candles for the shed I haven't yet bought but when I do it will look like a tranquil haven on my allotment (or a bonfire should it get too hot); I could get sparky husband to bodge an electrical supply and buy moving polar bears to scare away the bunnies; I could buy the 'Santa Please Stop Here' signs in the hope he does and the reindeers leave me plentiful supplies of manure and I could stock up on coffee cake to keep me going whilst I sit and reminisce about the elusive broad bean

Well that's all my Secret Santa ideas for you down the plughole **goes off to have another think**

Originally Posted by piskieinboots

.

So who started it first?

I think it was the chicken or the egg one of the 2 ....jacob

Hmmm...she muses...perhaps I could get the stuffed, moving chicken as a BOGOF with the polar bear???

The garden centres around here also turn into Santa's grotto, some of the rubbish they sell is unbelieveable, do people really spend good money on such trash. I have been stuggling to get onion sets and garlic in the garden centre's. I bought some onion sets at a show, and my mil has got me some garlic from Tuckers.

Originally Posted by piskieinboots

there is another side to this - in that main stores (Wilkos, B&Q et al) all stock gardening equipment and plants.

So who started it first?

Huh our Wilkinsons has removed garden stuff for their christmas lines. Won't be back till after christmas