CHOOSE GARDEN CENTRES BY COUNTY BELOW
This independent review of Gloucester Garden Centre was written by David Marks and was last updated in July 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.
Gloucester Garden Centre has a history which dates back several decades. We can trace it back to 1975 when it was first founded. Over 10 years it was developed and eventually acquired by Jardiniere Garden Centres in 1986. Jardiniere have long ago disappeared from the UK garden centre industry.
They sold Gloucester Garden Centre to Blooms Garden Centres who later were taken over by Wyevales (later called the Garden Centre Group) although many of the Blooms Garden Centre still traded under the Blooms name. See our picture below when Blooms still retained ownership of Gloucester Garden Centre.
Blooms Gloucester Garden Centre
before Blue Diamond ownership
The Garden Centre Group subsequently sold it to Dobbies in 2018 for £2,000,000 (leasehold only).
It's interesting to note how garden centres present themselves after they have been acquired by a new owner. The picture below is a Google street view of how Gloucester Garden Centre looked soon after it was acquired by Dobbies - not much different from when it was a Blooms Garden Centre a couple of decades ago!
Dobbies Gloucester Garden Centre
before Blue Diamond ownership
The final twist in this rather long history of Gloucester Garden Centre comes when British Garden Centres bought it in January 2025. See our picture below for how the entrance looks now under British Garden Centres ownership, almost exactly the same!
Entrance to Gloucester Garden Centre now
Read further down this page for an in depth and independent review of Gloucester Garden Centre. In summary though, this garden centre has changed slightly in the last few decades and still has everything you would expect of a large garden centre. It is well worth a visit.
IS GLOUCESTER GARDEN CENTRE DOG FRIENDLY? Yes, Gloucester Garden Centre is dog friendly, so feel free to bring your dog along. They are permitted all around the garden centre and even the cafe. We did notice in the cafe that a small area was designated for dog owners and their pets.
Dog Friendly Notice at Gloucester Garden Centre
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SIZE: Large, the main cafe has about sixty or more tables inside and 30 tables outside. Clearly, British Garden Centres are putting much effort into the cafe offerings.
FOOD TYPE: The cafe serves a very full menu of food for all tastes at this garden centre. Breakfast service ends at 11.00, lunch service begins at 11.30. Our pictures of the menus below give a better idea of the food on offer.
Breakfast menu page 1 at Gloucester Garden Centre
Breakfast menu page 2 at Gloucester Garden Centre
Children's menu at Gloucester Garden Centre
Mains menu at Gloucester Garden Centre
Burgers menu at Gloucester Garden Centre
Jackets and Wraps menu at Gloucester Garden Centre
Light bites menu at Gloucester Garden Centre
Sandwich menu at Gloucester Garden Centre
FOOD QUALITY: We sampled the shredded crispy chicken with chips priced at £8.99. Every element of this dish was prepared as perfectly as you could expect from a good garden centre cafe.
The two wraps were truly stuffed full with crispy chicken and a delicious sauce. The chunky coleslaw was very tasty and the chips exceeded our expectations. Congratulations to Gloucester Garden Centre, we will certainly re-visit this cafe.
Crispy chicken wrap at Gloucester Garden Centre
DECOR: The decor both inside and out was pleasant. Nothing particularly special, with plastic tables and chairs, but the overall impression was good. The whole area was very clean.
Gloucester Garden Centre cafe view
OUTDOOR SEATING: The outdoor seating area at Gloucester Garden Centre was slightly unusual. The whole outdoor area was covered with one end open to the garden centre. The flooring was synthetic grass which is something we dislike. However the whole area was an attractive area to be seated.
It also has the significant advantage for customers because it can be used as an 'outdoor' seating area even in rain conditions. Overall we were impressed.
SERVICE: Service (to your table for most items) was prompt, speedy and pleasant at Gloucester Garden Centre. First you choose a table and with the menus on each table there is a folded note you can use to indicate the table is now taken and you are ordering your food.
Our choice of food was delivered about ten minutes after sitting at our chosen table. Overall, very speedy and pleasant service.
Gloucester Garden Centre has a carvery every day of the week. We didn't get a chance to sample the food from the carvery but we will report back in the near future.
VALUE FOR MONEY: Taking into account the food, service and decor, value for money in the cafe is very good.
The cafe at Gloucester Garden Centre was awarded a Food Hygiene Rating of five out of five by Stroud District Council in April 2025. Click here for full details.
SIZE OF PLANTS AREA: The plants area is reasonably large. Signage to indicate where plant groups can be found are clear and the shrubs are arranged in alphabetic order.
PLANT SELECTION: A good selection of healthy plants.
LAYOUT: The basic layout of the plants is mainly rows of plants in troughs. However they have broken up this basic design just enough to make this a reasonably attractive area. The paths are solid and wide.
Covered area at Gloucester Garden Centre
There is a large covered area and the main paths are also covered. Signs to plant groupings are very clear from a distance and the shrubs are arranged in alphabetic order.
Plants area at Gloucester Garden Centre
At one end of the outside area is an 18 hole mini-golf course (see picture below for prices) and judging by the number of people using it, this is very popular.
Mini-golf at Gloucester Garden Centre
VALUE FOR MONEY: Roses start at £15 (three for £40), clematis start from £18. Value for money is good for a garden centre of this type.
SIZE: Not the largest but can still be described as a large garden centre interior sales area.
LAYOUT: Paths are wide and solid and eminently suitable for wheel chair users. The area is very clean and free from obstructions.
Interior sales area
Gloucester garden centre interior sales area is large and includes a decent sized Cotton Traders and The Works. They also provide a good selection of women's and men's clothing in a separate section. Surprisingly there is also a good sized luggage section.
The layout works well, avoiding the boxy feeling of many garden centres. You will find everything you would expect of a large garden centre in the interior sales area.
VALUE FOR MONEY: Average for a large garden centre.
Disabled access is good at Gloucester Garden Centre. Paths inside and outside are solid and wide enough for wheelchair access
ADDRESS:
Gloucester Garden Centre
Bath Road
Gloucester
Gloucestershire
GL10 3DP
What 3 Words Address: ///squad.loss.bricks (click here to go there)
OWNER:
British Garden Centres (privately owned)
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
01452 721081
WEBSITE: https://www.britishgardencentres.com/
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