CHOOSE GARDEN CENTRES BY COUNTY BELOW
PLANTS AREA: Great choice, good prices and an attractive area to wander round.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of the Flowerland, Iver plants area.
Plants Area Rating:
INTERIOR SALES AREA: Extensive choice, good for an afternoon's shopping or browsing.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of the Flowerland, Iver interior sales area.
Interior Sales Area Rating:
CAFE: If you are looking for a quick snack or tea and a cake, this cafe fits the bill.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of the Flowerland, Iver cafe.
Cafe Rating:
DOG FRIENDLY? They publish nothing on their website about their policy concerning dogs. We saw no signs at the garden centre either. The only clue we could gather is that one reviewer on TripAdvisor has left a comment that they were refused entry to the cafe because dogs were not allowed in the cafe area.
It's not really acceptable nowadays for a large garden centre not to have a well publicised policy describing how dog friendly their garden centre is.
VALUE FOR MONEY OVERALL:
Entrance to Flowerland,
Iver
OPENING HOURS FLOWERLAND, IVER GARDEN CENTRE |
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| Open | Close | |
| Monday | 9.00am | 6.00pm |
| Tuesday | 9.00am | 6.00pm |
| Wednesday | 9.00am | 6.00pm |
| Thursday | 9.00am | 6.00pm |
| Friday | 9.00am | 6.00pm |
| Saturday | 9.00am | 6.00pm |
| Sunday | 10.30am | 4.30pm |
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SIZE: Medium to large though not as large as might be expected of a garden centre of this size.
FOOD TYPE: Sandwiches and light meals, coffee, tea and cakes. See the menu picture below (click it to enlarge it).
Menu at Flowerland, Iver
FOOD QUALITY:
Part good, part not so good. We had a couple of toastie sandwiches, both were of
the same quality. The fillings (ham and cheese / chicken and bacon) were good.
The presentation of both toasties was good. The "toast" was pre-toasted, then
warmed, and it was rather soggy and not quite what might be expected of toast.
My guess is that the toast had been pre-toasted, the ham and cheese were added just before serving and were microwaved, giving the toast its rather limp texture. The crisps were not fresh nor very crisp. The coleslaw was tasteless and too rough cut.
Cheese and Ham Toastie, Flowerland, Iver
DECOR:
The cafe decor was basic with a few nice touches. The white bark on the tree
trunk separators was very attractive. The cafe had a choice of different seating
areas.
Most of the unoccupied tables were not cleared from the previous occupants. The tables and chairs were generally clean.
OUTDOOR SEATING:
The cafe has a covered outdoor seating area which was OK but the floor was
littered. The chairs were clean but the table top was rather grubby.
SERVICE:
Very quick service. We arrived at the cafe and were able to place our order
immediately. The idea is that you then wait near the order point (there are seats)
and then collect your food. This works well because our food was delivered in
less than
five minutes (we timed it!) and we took it to a table.
We realise that the service element was limited although good, but that's what this cafe is about, and their system works extremely well for a quick snack or drink.
VALUE FOR MONEY:
The
prices for the food on offer were good, the quality of the food was slightly
below average. So we rate the value for money at this cafe as average
SIZE OF PLANTS AREA: Very large, the largest we have seen for a long time.
PLANT SELECTION:
The large plants area is crammed full of plants and very few garden centres in
the UK can better the selection provided at Flowerland, Iver.
As the picture below illustrates, all the seasonal bedding plants sold at Flowerland Iver are grown on site, quite an achievement and the quality shines through.
History
LAYOUT:
Most of the plants area is solidly paved with just a few paths being gravel.
The majority of the paths are wide enough for easy access and they are almost all
completely level. Much of the main perimeter path is under cover, good for rainy
days.
Plants area
This is a very attractive area, the interest being provided by positioning the taller and larger plants well to break up the large area. Signage to plant groups is present but is often obscured at a distance because the signs are low and can be hidden by taller plants.
Plants area
VALUE FOR MONEY:
The cheapest
rose we found was £10, the cheapest clematis we could find was £12 but they were
only a few of those, the majority being priced at £15. Overall we came to the
conclusion that the seasonal plants grown on site were definitely cheaper than
average and other plants were slightly cheaper than average price.
SIZE: The interior sales area was large with a good proportion of shops such as Regatta Outdoors, Cotton Traders, The Works and even a kitchen design and sales shop.
LAYOUT:
As you enter the garden centre, the hall you walk through is full of exotic
plants, we presume mainly indoor plants, they also have a separate house plants
area.
Entrance hall
The space given over to conservatory, garden and house furniture is extensive. The choice of gift and household items on offer is also impressive.
Garden and conservatory furniture
The indoor sales area is functional with mainly wide and level paths although it is rather basic.
VALUE FOR MONEY:
The large
choice of goods for sale makes it difficult to accurately assess value for money
but we guess that it is slightly above average value.
ACCESS:
Disabled access is good all round.
ADDRESS:
Flowerland
Iver
Buckinghamshire
SL0 0EW
OWNER:
Family owned
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
01753 630909
EMAIL:
iver@flowerland.co.uk
WEBSITE:
Their website can be found
here.
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