5 YEAR GUARANTEE Family run, independent garden centres
As family owned and operated garden centres, community and knowledge are at the very heart of what we do. Our Director Edward Boult purchased the site, home to our first Centre, Tenterden Garden Centre, in 1999 and has been driving the business forward ever since.
Our Ethos
We may own and operate four Centres but we are still very much a family business, focused upon excellent customer service, quality plants and value for money.
We believe in supporting local and UK businesses as much as possible, from locally sourcing produce for our Coffee Shop & Restaurants to working closely with UK nurseries and growers, to select the very highest quality plants & shrubs for you.
We pride ourselves upon the quality and value of our plants, as well as impeccable customer service. That is one of the many reasons we are proud to be a part of the Garden Centre Association (GCA); an industry governing body that grants membership only to the country’s leading Centres. Wherever you see the GCA logo you are guaranteed expertise, impeccable service and the highest quality.
We are passionate about horticulture, wildlife and the environment. The longer we can spend outside in our gardens the better! You will often find local wildlife charities and groups at our Centres, raising awareness of their work and offering information and advice to those that seek it.
We employ like-minded, experienced horticulturalists at our Centres to ensure we maintain our exceptional levels of customer care. We think that the Grovewell Group is an exciting place to be and we are always keen to hear from people that wish to be a part of it. Keep an eye on our careers page for the very latest job vacancies at our Kent based Centres.
We understand the costs involved in running a family. That’s why we aim to keep our family fun day events as affordable as possible. Where an activity is not free we try to keep charges to an absolute minimum and that way the whole family can enjoy a day out. We believe our events are worth their weight in pocket money!
We support our local communities wherever possible, sponsoring local teams, schools and businesses, donating raffle prizes and working in partnership with local charities. It is not unusual to find a local nursery school or primary school class visiting our Centres to learn about the fish we care for and plants we stock.
We guarantee quality. That is why we are delighted to guarantee all our hardy plant stock for 5 years. Hardy plants include Shrubs, Trees, Conifers & Roses. That means that any hardy plant that fails to thrive, provided it has received reasonable care, and is returned to us within five years of purchase with a valid receipt, will be replaced. For full terms and conditions check our Plant Guarantee.
1999 Where it all began
We took over the site in April 1999, these photos show the site as it originally stood. Quite different to the Tenterden Garden Centre our customers know and love today. Originally a cut flower nursery and farm shop, the family owned business has operated as a small independent garden centre since the mid 1980s. Since 1999 the Tenterden business has expanded enormously and now attracts over 100,000 visitors to the garden centre every year.
2003 Extensive changes and improvements
Over the years we have made extensive changes and improvements to the Tenterden site. Expanding the outside plant areas, coffee shop & restaurant and gardening store, refreshing the plant tunnel canopies and even opening an aquatics & pet centre!
2009 Expanding with Canterbury
In 2009 Canterbury Garden Centre near Herne Common was opened as a result of our excellent reputation and growing business at Tenterden. Since opening our Canterbury store we have added 675 metres of outdoor covered space and 600 square metres of additional coffee shop and retail space. The Centre also boasts its own Living World Pet & Aquatic Centre.
2016 Bringing a Folkestone site back to life
The local community and surrounding areas at Canterbury Garden Centre embraced us, and combined with our knowledge and hardwork we were able to acquire our third centre near Folkestone in 2016. Previously the home of McFarlane’s Butterfly & Garden Nursery, our team battled to bring the expansive site back to life just in time for the May Bank Holiday. We have retained many of the sites original features, although sadly the popular Butterfly House was too badly damaged. We are making improvements to the Centre and hope to breathe life back into the site.
2018 Adding a fourth Centre to the family
In 2018 we added our fourth Centre to the family, Hamstreet Garden Centre just outside the busy town of Ashford. Previously a Wyevale Centre, we are expanding and upgrading the site, with planned renovation work already undertaken on the popular coffee shop & restaurant.