Ashton Hall Garden Centre
Lancaster, Lancashire
Directory / Garden Centres / Lancashire
70 garden centres listed in Lancashire.
Dozens of garden centres and nurseries across Lancashire are listed here, and the biggest cluster by far is in and around Preston, where the countryside towards the Fylde and the Ribble Valley holds a large share of them. Burnley and Leyland come next, followed by smaller groups around Chorley, Accrington, Blackpool and Thornton-Cleveleys.
Further out, there are single entries spread from Ormskirk and Skelmersdale in the south west up to Lancaster, Morecambe and Bolton Le Sands in the north, plus Colne and Rossendale in the east. Barton Grange Garden Centre and Ribblesdale Garden Centre & Nurseries are both in the Preston area, Bay View Garden Centre is at Bolton Le Sands, and Pimbo Garden Centre & Coffee Shop is in Skelmersdale. Because the county is long and the roads run north to south, it usually makes sense to start with whichever cluster is nearest and use the map to compare a few before setting off for a big plant-buying trip.
Where they are: Preston (24), Burnley (6), Blackpool (4), Accrington (3), Lancashire (3), Leyland (3), Thornton-Cleveleys (3), Wyre (3), Chorley (2), Ormskirk (2), Poulton-le-Fylde (2), Southport (2) and more.
Lancaster, Lancashire
Leyland, Lancashire
Lancashire, Lancashire
Lancashire, Lancashire
Blackpool, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Bolton Le Sands, Lancashire
Chorley, Lancashire
Wyre, Lancashire
Southport, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Accrington, Lancashire
Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Cockerham, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Burnley, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Burnley, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Burnley, Lancashire
Leyland, Lancashire
Colne, Lancashire
Wyre, Lancashire
Rossendale, Lancashire
Lytham Saint Annes, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Leyland, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Blackburn, Lancashire
Blackpool, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Accrington, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Ormskirk, Lancashire
Morecambe, Lancashire
Skelmersdale, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Chorley, Lancashire
Burnley, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Ormskirk, Lancashire
Wyre, Lancashire
Barnoldswick, Lancashire
Chatburn, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Burnley, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Accrington, Lancashire
Blackpool, Lancashire
Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire
Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
Burnley, Lancashire
Preston, Lancashire
Southport, Lancashire
Claughton, Lancashire
Lancashire, Lancashire
Blackpool, Lancashire
Carnforth, Lancashire
Lancashire is one of the wetter parts of England, as Atlantic weather drops a lot of rain on the way to the Pennines, so drainage matters more than watering for much of the year. Parts of the east, around Burnley, Colne and Rossendale, sit on acid upland soils that suit heathers, rhododendrons and blueberries. The flat mosslands around Ormskirk have dark, fertile peaty soil that is famous for vegetables, while the Fylde coast has sandier ground and salty winds. Coastal gardeners do well with tough shrubs such as escallonia and griselinia as a windbreak, and anyone on heavy clay will find raised beds and grit for bulbs worth buying.
Lancashire has a long tradition of family nurseries alongside the larger chains, so it is worth asking which plants are grown on site and which arrive on lorries. Home-grown stock tends to be used to the wet and wind already. Check how plants are kept: shrubs sitting in waterlogged pots or with moss on the compost may have been there a long time. For hedging, compare bare-root prices from November to March against potted plants. If you garden on the coast or high on the moors, ask staff which varieties have actually survived locally, and look for a decent range of ericaceous compost if your soil is acid.
Garden UK lists 70 garden centres in Lancashire, spread across 25 towns and villages including Preston, Burnley, Blackpool. Each listing shows the address and contact details on file, and owners can claim their listing to add opening hours and photos.
Plants that like steady moisture do best, such as hydrangeas, ferns, hostas, astilbes and most fruit bushes. On acid soil in the east, rhododendrons, camellias and heathers thrive. Near the coast, choose wind-tolerant shrubs like escallonia, olearia and sea buckthorn.
Improve drainage first, by digging in organic matter and grit or by building raised beds. Avoid walking on wet clay, and pick plants that tolerate damp roots. Water butts are still useful, because even wet counties have dry spells in late spring and summer.
The bare-root season, roughly November to March, is the best time for value and establishment. Plant when the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. Beech, hawthorn and hornbeam all cope with Lancashire's climate, and many local nurseries sell them in bundles.
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