I have driven past The Vale Stables and their signs indicating logs and manure for sale many times…read morethinking it was just a horse stables. It may well be this but when I walked past I was overjoyed to find a little garden centre that looks like it rose up from ground and grew out of the trees that hide it. It exists mostly outside with a lady, a cat and dog huddled round a wood burner, running the place. There are plants everywhere, planted in boots, old toilets, amongst carved pieces of wood, as well as in pots, for sale. Recently I picked up a pot of thyme for £1.50 but there were loads of herbs and flowers I could have chosen from. I also wanted some trays and pots to plant my seeds in so I asked if they had any. The lady told me they had loads and to help myself from the pile for no charge! This beats sterile and expensive landscaped garden centres I have tried to avoid since my childhood any day.

The Vale Stables is truly a hidden gem…read more A lovely rambling space packed with seasonal plants of all kinds, where the owners can be found warming their hands on a crackling wood-burner in all weathers - inspiring you to the outdoor life. They sell beautiful healthy plants which are so much cheaper than at any local garden centre. You can also buy wood and good quality manure in the autumn. The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. The owner, Gwen, and her daughter, have a wealth of gardening knowledge and will go out of their way to help and advise. My 3 year old boy loves to visit and see the hens, the dog and the river while I browse the plants on offer and soak up the atmosphere.

Fantastic range of plants in all sizes. They proved to be extremely helpful when it came to…read morestocking out my garden, showing a real interest in making sure I had the plants that would work for my garden and not just what they wanted to sell me! It's not like your normal garden centre where they just point you in the general direction, Palmers know their stuff and will educate you too if necessary. Great place to go for a walk too - like a tropical wonderland in places. Video link: http://www.youtube.com/v/crwN1bkjOzY

Great plants and great prices. It is great to go for a look around too especially on a nice day!…read moreStaff are really helpful and friendly.

Great place, friendly staff,prices ok, pp plants good, carpark small but if only they had a cafe it…read morewould be perfect.

It's little nursery tucked in the corner of the M60 junction near Sale. Chances are, driving past,…read moreyou don't even know it's there. Not sure what they do the rest of the year but this is the simplest, most organised christmas tree shopping I have ever done and I was well pleased with the product and the experience. You got 3 types of trees and 4 - 5 ranges of height, organised in rows. Bloody simple, and the trees look pretty good too. I don't know what are the prices but we paid £37 for a 5-6ft Nordman. Job done !

Nice large garden centre in the south lakes. Every thing you might need for the garden or country…read moresetting. Not cheap but it's all about quality.

My garden's quite small, but I found some lovely pieces here that make it look just terrific.read more

Carr farm is a nice place to go for your garden needs, me, i go for large english breckfasts. Best…read morearound.

Fabulous! very impressive!(One safety suggestion though:-when leaving the car park there is a very…read moredangerous unseen drop on the left side of the exit road.Be aware of it and you'll be ok).

TL;DR - A gardener's delight. Huge choice and incredibly low prices…read more Officially called "Pole Green Nurseries", but everyone I know seems to call this place "Brennan's". This place is an absolute delight. There's a car park on site, but from the road you can't really appreciate how much there is here. The main building has lots of plant food, pots and containers, ornaments and house plants. Then behind this you'll find a vast array of greenhouses filled with lots of plants - I'm particularly fond of all the fruit, vegetables and herbs they have for sale. I've had several tomato plants from here and they've all produced tremendous amounts of fruit. Then behind this is a huge outside area with all kinds of plants and you'll even find a variety of trees for sale, ranging from fruit trees and conifers to more exotic things like monkey puzzle trees. This place doesn't have the fanciness of many modern garden centres today - no gift areas, or greeting cards, or kitchen areas - and there's no cafe or toilets. But they have more plants than you could possibly imagine, and the prices are incredibly low. A monkey puzzle tree for under £15! Tomato plants for 75p! There's so much here that even with the low prices I could spend a fortune!

Not only a garden centre but also a nice place for a day out. There's a playground for the kids,…read moreand a lovely cafe, but best of all is the Birds of Prey centre. A must if you want to see something exciting! Take you old bread too for the ducks at the lake. The garden center itself is pretty goo, especially for seasonal things. There's also a pet shop with a good range of tropical fish.

This is a really well stocked garden centre it have varieties of plants and I really love their…read moreselection of roses. They have an aquarium and animals at the garden centre. As well as funitures, clothes and food shop. The restaurant and cafe served hot and cold food. I even joined the membership card where it costs a tenner. You'll get free 2 drinks each month and buy one get on free meals three times a year plus 10% discount. I've already made my money back on money i've saved. Really happy to have found this relaxing place to go to on a sunday.

The plants at Crooklands are fairly well labeled and no more ridiculously priced than at any other…read moreof the garden centers in this area. They have a good variety of tools and seeds, a wide range of pots of different quality and the usual assortment of garden ornaments. I was sorely tempted by the water-features, until I looked at the price labels! The cafe is quite spacious and has a terrace of about half the size again. The only problem is that I think £1.45 for a pot of tea or £2.25 for a capaccino is expensive. I did have a wonderful Ice-cream Sundae with 3 flavours chosen from 14(see photo)for £.3.50.

Crooklands is quite difficult to get to unless you have a car. there is a bus stop two hundred…read moreyards beyond it coming from Ulverston, but no pavement in between. it is worth the effort. the plants are well laid out and clearly labeled. it has it's own nursery attatched. the utilitarian items, such as tubs, forks and hoses are expensive. there is a very good cafe, with a terrace of about the same area as the cafe itself. they do full meals, I saw a party of people having the "Afternoon Tea" which was gorgeous looking. my capaccino and chocolate cake were scrumptious. they offer a garden design service which I havn't used, so can't comment on.