In the October sun this place ignites with the colours of red and yellow scattered across the sky…read moremaking autumn feel so much more magical. Walking through Westonbirt Arboretum felt like being in some sort of fairytale where all the leaves glitter like jewels and the comforting sound of crunching leaves beneath your feet, it made me feel excited that Autumn was here. Information is provided for each section of trees giving the name and age and interesting facts leaving you almost bewildered how something we see everyday can then become so magical. There is a tea room located at the start of the Arboretum which is pleasant for a hot up of tea or some autumn soup after visiting. The Arboretum also hold special events around Halloween where lights are placed in the trees and a guided tour at night takes you around the site to experience the trees in a different way once again. Ignited with fairylights instead of the sun the trees are still the star of the show. I have not visited in summer, but I am sure it would still be a pleasurable experience to see the trees in full bloom and to picnic on the site, but this place will always be kept for Autumn in my eyes.

A world class tree collection in a lovely part of England but, crikey, £9 for a walk in the woods?!…read more It's a shame Westonbirt Arboretum is so pricey because seeing trees from around the world in a landscaped setting should be something we can all enjoy. Plenty of bigger and more picturesque forests are found throughout the country and are normally free to visit, but you'll not find Japanese maples, Indian bean trees and sequoias in those. However, at Westonbirt where these gorgeous exotic trees are there to see there isn't actually that much information about them. It's basically two woods - one with dog walkers and one without. Between the two is a car park and a lovely restaurant, cafe and shop selling food at reasonable prices with rural views. So where is my £9 going? No doubt to somewhere good but how about it helps pay for more information about each tree. Without cellular data in the area to allow me to look up names, I was left just looking at Latin tags and wondering what the trees were. Quercus Quercus Quercus.

lovely staff, fantastic range and prices (I fill a car every month) and the plants do brilliantly…read more once in the ground, pots and baskets. They also do pre-planted baskets and pots all year and their indoor Christmas pots were beautiful and put a smile on all my family's faces. They also sell bulbs at the perfect time for planting and their half price pot collection cannot be beaten on variety or price anywhere, incredible display for a bargain price

Now I have crossed over into my 30s I feel drawn to Sunday's shopping at garden centres and looking…read moreat homeware options....as nurseries go this has l to be a five star experience. There were some hardcore Sunday shoppers here and rightly so this place is beautiful. Full on country side vibe with every possible flower and shrub imaginable! I got my trolley and causally stilled around the centre settling on buying some sunflowers and other really hard to pronounce types of flowers for my mom and dads front garden. I have no idea who named some of these varieties of flowers....but they went innnnn...I won't lie a lot of them I couldn't pronounce but I gave it a good go..with varying results.... The flowers here are super cheap too the sunflowers were like 1.50 each and most pots are below £3...bargains galore!! The only thing to note is the tills are busy...people are flocking for a wide for those bargain blooms so set out an afternoon for this trip it's definitely going to take you a a few to see everything and pay....but that's the vibe surely...loved it.

This garden centre is enormous and stocks everything you could ever want for the garden and more,…read morebut I do find it quite expensive compared to other places. I believe the Father Christmas there is well worth a visit. The fish shop nextdoor is well worth a visit, too.

A little off the beaten track but well worth a visit. Originally stopped here for a coffee but the…read morerange of fresh food on offer meant I decided to have lunch here. The tarragon chicken and rhubarb and red currant crumble with Earl Grey ice cream were delicious and the cost very reasonable. I dined outside to make the most of the sunshine and surroundings. A quick tour of the walled garden, where the cafe is sited, revealed that most of the ingredients I had eaten were sourced only a few yards away. Fruits growing in the garden included apple, pear, raspberries, blackcurrants, apricots and kiwi fruit and I'll definitely be making a return visit here. A real hidden gem

This is a very large garden centre situated in West Monkton, just to the East of Taunton. It has a…read morelovely range of trees and outdoor plants, plus an enormous gift centre with crockery, local foodstuffs, etc. The cafe sells nice cakes and a wide range of cold and hot drinks.

From the owner: Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centreread more

e purchased a Hermamn tortoise from the pet shop and aquatic…read morecentre .within two months we had to have it put down .The vet said the animal had been malnourished and that type of tortoise was not suitable as a pet. Probably imported from abroad . We have had no reply to our emails to the Garden centre. Do not make the same mistake as us and buy a tortoise from this shop .There is a very good chance it will have been mistreated and sadly is likely to share the same fate as ours.

Main cafe if always overly busy and so crowded, no proper menus on the tables or around the cafe,…read morejust what the specials were. Went to the ice cafe onsite, ordered some food and it was put onto a hot metal plate (no warning about it being hot) and my wife burnt her fingers picking up the food from this. Overall food was pretty poor quality and only after we paid we were told we would have to wait for one of the mains. This main didn't come until after I finished one and we had to chase them for it. Food+drink were very overpriced as well. For the shopping side of Whitehall, it's very overpriced.

I love this lady, she used to have a shop down the road from me in Staple Hill, but has now moved…read moreto the altogether more funky and creative Paintworks business park. Boo for me but hurrah for her. She now has the space to hold workshops on flower arranging - they cost just £35 for an hour and half lesson including all the materials. She also has wedding events for those looking for ideas for that occasion. The staff all produce lovely bouquets and seem to be genuinely excited about putting something together when you go in and pick out some flowers. They have won gold medals at Chelsea Flower Show - its not just gardens at the RHS show in London, they have a huge floral marquee attracting florists from around the world and to win a gold is remarkable stuff.

I actually came across this nursery because it sells riding gear such as hats, headcollars, bits,…read moreriding gloves and saddles - but first and foremost it is, of course, a nursery. It offers a good balance of practical and ornamental gardening products, and the staff are on hand to offer planting advice if you need it - with less 'tat' than you find at some other big garden centres. Apart from selling plants, trees, shrubs and flowers, Oakley Green is also well-known for its huge range of pots, containers and garden ornaments - there are literally thousands lined up, in every shape and colour, and I love rooting around to find something a bit different for our patio. You can also pick up the usual gardening essentials such as compost, tools, fencing materials and sheds - plus even some children's play equipment, log cabins and conservatories. If you live around Westerleigh there's no need to venture further afield for plants or garden gear, as they sell everything you need. Oh, and they claim the on-site Acorn Café does a good Sunday roast - but I can't vouch for that as I haven't tried it myself.

We visited the garden centre to find a solution to water/look after our few houseplants while on…read moreholiday. It was so fun to wander around we were there for over an hour. We did ask for help after not finding anything in the Watering & Irrigation section, and were pointed to a small section near the tills. We actually came away with a water mat solution from the outdoor plant section. The centre also has an air conditioned restaurant and home section.

Kemps garden center Cafe…read more Very Friendly staff, quick service, massive portions with reasonable prices. They even do a slimming world breakfast which is perfect for me! And you can even pick up any garden plants etc and gifts from the gift shop.

We visited this garden centre yesterday, and although we enjoyed looking around outside in the warm…read moresunshine, we were disappointed with the service in the tea room ........we ordered our tea and paid for it , and sat down .....shortly after the tea was brought to us but the cake never arrived. we waited for a short time and then my husband went to enquire where the cake was....the young lady who had served us was sitting and adjusting her footwear and said 'yes it's on it's way' .... a few minutes later the other lady who was working brought the cake to us and said 'she went out to feed the birds and didn't tell me it hadn't been brought to you'!