CHOOSE GARDEN CENTRES BY COUNTY BELOW
This independent review of Frosts Woburn Sands Garden Centre was written by David Marks and was last updated in September 2025.
This is an in depth review by a real human as a result of visiting this garden centre, no Artificial Intelligence is involved!
We reviewed the inside and plant sales areas, took pictures (see lower down this article) and checked out the cafe. The cafe check involved ordering and tasting the food and reporting our findings for you to judge.
Initially the site operated as a nursery growing mainly tomato plants and chrysanthemums. This was a wholesale business rather than a retail one. Starting in the horticultural trade immediately after the Second World War was not a popular choice!
War torn Britain was recovering from the war and growing more vegetables and flowers was the furthest thing from most people's minds. But Harvey Frost was a man with huge determination and he slowly built up the business over the next few years and employed the most modern technology available at the time. The business developed into growing plants, principally chrysanthemums, zinnias, dahlias and others for the cut plant trade.
By the early 1960s Harvey Frost had spent many years in the horticultural industry and watched with interest as the Americans developed new techniques to grow huge amounts of pot plants for sale in retail outlets. He grasped the opportunities of this new growing method and in 1962 opened up his first retail garden centre on the grounds of the nursery at the current Woburn Sands site.
The risks were considerable because only a few other entrepreneurs had, at that time, adopted the American growing methods and made them work in the UK.
The Frosts Garden Centre at Woburn Sands proved very popular however and business quickly grew under the guidance of Harvey Frost and his two sons, Adrian and Brian. Further Frost garden centres were successfully developed over the next six decades and they became very successful and popular.
However, in 2022 the end loomed into sight for the Frosts Garden Centre empire. During that year they sold their Millets garden centre to Webbs and their Brampton Garden Centre to Notcutts.
In 2024 the remaining two Frosts garden centres were sold and, almost in the blink of an eye, 80 years of garden centre history disappeared forever.
Frosts at Woburn Sands was sold to Blue Diamond in August 2024 and the Willington branch went the same way in November 2024.
See our in depth article about the history of Frosts garden centres here.
PLANTS AREA: Large and with a good selection of healthy plants.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of Frosts, Woburn Sands plants area.
INTERIOR SALES AREA: Very large, huge range of goods, pricey.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of the Frosts, Woburn Sands interior sales area.
CAFE: Good decor, prompt service, good food.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of the Frosts, Woburn Sands cafes.
Entrance to Frosts Garden Centre, Woburn Sands
IS FROSTS, WOBURN SANDS CENTRE DOG FRIENDLY?
Frosts at Woburn Sands is mainly dog friendly. They do ask dog owners to sit in the designated area of the cafe (see the picture of the sign below). Also dogs are not allowed in the Food Markets.Recognised Assistance Dogs are permitted to accompany their owners in all areas.
Notice outside the cafe at Frosts, Woburn Sands
Woburn Sands Garden Centre, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Dobbies Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Other Buckinghamshire Garden Centres
There are two cafes at Frosts, Woburn Sands, the main restaurant and a smaller cafe called the Eatery.
MAIN CAFE / RESTAURANT
SIZE: The main cafe / restaurant is a collection of separate eating areas which each having their own character. The largest area is the first one you will see. But before you choose a table, walk a little further past that into four more separate seating areas and then choose where you want to sit. The additional areas tend to be quieter and less crowded.
Larger seating area
at Frosts Woburn Sands
Breakfasts are served from 9am to 11.30am Monday to Friday / 8.30am to 11.30am on Saturdays / 9.30am to 11.30am on Sundays . The menu for the breakfast can be found here. It's a standard type menu for a large garden centre. Two items are marked as Vegetarian, one item is marked as Vegan, none are marked as Gluten Free.
Additional seating area
Lunch starts at 12pm and goes onto 3.30pm.The menu for the lunch can be found here. It has a good choice of different foods, several of which are vegetarian, vegan and / or gluten free.
We have been unable to find a children's menu on line but Frosts at Woburn Sands definitely do offer one. See the picture below for serving times and the meals on offer.
Children's menu at Frosts, Woburn Sands
FOOD QUALITY: The quality of the food when we visited the cafe was good. The new owners (Blue Diamond) took over ownership of the entire garden centre in August 2024 and many of the TripAdvisor reviews refer back to how standards have deteriorated under the new owners. This may have a small amount of truth in it but is a rather nostalgic view.
We had reviewed the cafe back in 2022 when it was run by the previous owners (Frosts Garden Centres) and standards, in our opinion, remain very similar.
We sampled three of the cafe offerings, the Ploughman's, the three egg omelette and the soup of the day. All three were well-presented and tasty.
The Ploughman's (see the picture below) had a good selection of cheese, ham, piccalilli, egg, pickles and side salad. The ham was particularly tasty although the pickled onions were not to our taste or texture. It was a filling meal.
Ploughman's at Frosts Woburn Sands
The three egg omelette was well filled with ham and cheese, well cooked, hot and served with a tasty portion of chips and side salad (see picture below). Again it was a filling meal.
Omelette at Frosts, Woburn Sands
DECOR: The main cafe / restaurant is a dedicated modern area with decor that is attractive and well laid out. The tables and chairs are clean and quickly cleared after use. The impression is one of a rather upmarket and pleasant place for a snack or a meal.
OUTDOOR SEATING: The main cafe / restaurant has a good sized outdoor seating area next to a large pond and with attractive plants in the background. which is not covered but has plenty of large umbrellas.
Outdoor seating
SERVICE: When you enter the cafe you choose your table, note its number and then order your food at the main counter. All service is to your table.
Our drinks were served to our table within a few minutes and then ten minutes later our food was served. The staff were pleasant.
VALUE FOR MONEY: Given the decor, levels of service, menu choice and the quality of the food, this cafe / restaurant offers good value for money.
The Eatery Cafe could easily be missed because it is on the opposite side of the road from the main garden centre - it is next to the Food Hall.
Eatery / The Market cafe menu at Frosts
The decor inside the Eatery is rather more rustic compared to the main cafe / restaurant. The tables and chairs are wood and it is a very pleasant are. The menu offers good food and the prices are lower than the main cafe.
The cafe / restaurant at Frosts Woburn Sands Garden Centre was awarded a Food Hygiene Rating of five out of five by Milton Keynes Council in August 2024. Click here for full details.
SIZE OF PLANTS AREA: The size of the plants area is large.
PLANT SELECTION: A good selection of well maintained plants. Blue Diamond (who own Frosts) offer a five year guarantee on their hardy plants which is as good as it gets.
LAYOUT: Under a quarter of the plants area is covered, the rest is open to the elements. The paths are wide and the impression of the whole area is one of uncluttered space.
Covered plants area
The overall design is reasonably attractive. There are very few signs to indicate where plant groups are placed so you need to wander around to find specific plants. Paths are wide, on solid surfaces with no significant slopes. The area is easy to navigate for wheelchair users.
VALUE FOR MONEY: Roses start at £23 which is rather expensive, a few clematis start from £18 but most are priced at £20. Prices of plants are on the high side.
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE STALL
Near the front entrance of the garden centre is a very large fruit and vegetable stall. The produce looks in excellent condition and they sell many fruit and vegetables which are often difficult to find. We can highly recommend this stall as an attraction in its own right.
Large fruit and vegetable stall at Frosts Woburn Sands
A word of caution is needed concerning the inside sales area. Many people enjoy wandering around the interior sales area of large garden centres however the manner in which Frosts, Woburn Sands is laid out forces you to walk round rather more than you might wish.
The area is a maze of pathways and it's difficult to understand some times exactly where you are and how to get to a specific area. Possibly OK for fit people but for the elderly or those with disabilities it could be a problem. For example, finding out where the toilets are is not the easiest task!
SIZE AND LAYOUT: The size of the main interior sales area is large. The paths are meandering and misleading although they are wide enough for access.
Interior Sales area
A huge amount of space is devoted to women's clothing much more than other large centres. I may have missed it but I saw no men's clothing. If my memory serves me well (it is a very large garden centre!), the large Food Hall is not in the main garden centre, it is across the other side of the road.
Food Hall at Frosts, Woburn Sands
Garden accessories, clothes, garden furniture, barbecues, cards, gifts, homeware and more. They have a large and interesting houseplants section.
VALUE FOR MONEY: Above average for a large garden centre.
Excellent inside and out. The car park is immediately outside the entrance
and on level, hard ground. There are disabled parking bays.
ADDRESS:
Frosts Woburn Sands
Newport Road,
Woburn Sands,
Milton Keynes,
Buckinghamshire MK17 8UE
OWNER:
Blue Diamond Garden Centres
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
01908 583511
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