Do join us for a free behind the scenes tour of Coolings Garden Cente. The tour lasts about an hour and we’ll be meeting at Coolings at 1.45 pm to start the tour at 2pm.
Amongst today’s garden centres Coolings remain just that little bit different. Unlike most centres Coolings actually grow many of the plants they sell on their purpose-built production nursery at Rushmore Hill, so their plants really are locally grown. In the peak weeks over 50,000 plants enter the production cycle, all requiring careful planning to ensure everything ends up in the correct pot and all are sold at Coolings.
At the end of April each year the nursery, which is not normally open to the public, is opened for guided tours to see just how all this is done along with an insight into the challenges growers face with environmental issues as well as working with the weather. Highlights include the potting machines, the incredible robotic transplanter, our reservoirs holding millions of litres of rainwater, the hundreds of beneficial insects that are released into the glasshouses to fight pests such as aphids and of course our talented production staff. New for 2025 is our fantastic automatic plant trimming machine.
Coolings has a lovely cafe so why not plan to have lunch before the tour or a cuppa afterwards – if you’re not too busy buying plants, that is! We aren’t able to reserve tables and the cafe can get busy so do allow plenty of time if you are planning lunch before the tour.
Please sign up at our meeting on March 20th or let Kay Hart know via our WhatsApp group if you would like to come. There will be some car shares available so do let us know if you need transport to get there.