Bents Garden and Home

Wow, I officially am getting old when I review a garden centre and give it 5 stars! My grandparents would be so proud as they were always wanting to go out for a drive and day out to B&Q etc when I was a little kid…
But saying that — this isn’t B&Q or just some rubbish shop just selling plants and trees — it has everything you could want in life and was the perfect place to spend a wet and windy Friday off work with our 2 little kids. Here’s the ace points:
* A fantastic food hall serving food from local suppliers and so much tasty stuff — in house butchers, bakers etc
* Huge Reserve Wines area with great selection of vino on offer
* Possibly one of the best craft beer selections to take away — at least 30 different breweries from local to further afield.
* 3 great cafes and one specialising in tapas and champagne — PIMP living!
*loads of kiddy activities and sand pit etc, great kids toys shop
* loads of plants and outdoorsy stuff it that floats your boat…
* Good quality coffee — proper sized flat whites…
So there you have it — my new favourite place to hang out. You can keep your pretentious hipster joints — I’m hanging out here in future!

There is a spectacular bespoke bee hive in the middle of the plants section that is really worth searching out. Very charming with glass walls so you can see the fuzzballs making fresh honey right in front of you.

If you want a garden centre that offers high quality products and an extensive range then Bents is the place to head to. As well as the usual plants, garden furniture and tools it offers clothing, jewellery, home and cook wares and an amazing food section as well as one of the best cafes around. Although the café certainly isn’t cheap. You could quite happily spend a whole day at Bents especially around the Christmas period where they have the most amazing decorations on offer including German style village models and beautiful wreaths.

I would recommend going in January — the sales are truly immense. I stock up on crackers, cards, lovely gifts like candles & home décor & then stash in the loft — I’ve snapped up things at 75% off. Great craft shop at the back too, worth a look for the crafty gal you aspire to be.

The best garden centre in Manchester. They have a large selection of homewares, gardenwares, plants, flowers, pet stuff, clothing etc.
What I love about this place is the outside decking where people can eat outside and have their lunch. In addition to this space there is a weeping ash garden and childrens adventure play area with lots of toys and tricycles for the kids to play on. The parents can watch their kids play in a safe area and there is a sand pit inside the garden area.
This is my favourite place to have coffee and cake. The scones are massive here and the cake wedges are a decent size. For those on diets, the salads look amazing and fresh.
A place to take your mother. The prices are a bit expensive but the staff are knowledgeable, so have a chat with staff for advice and inspiration.

Excellent food with lots of variety. The Sunday roasts are worth making the trip for as well as the soups, quiches and award winning desserts.
The garden centre is the best around, with a huge selection of plants, furniture, clothing and more. Not necessarily the cheapest, but you’ll find things here that aren’t at other nurseries.

I have expressed my opinions about massive garden centres before but this one isn’t bad in the quantity and quality of what they sell for the garden.
In terms of everything else — there is too much. Most of the indoor section is taken up by books, clothing, furniture, food etc. Now if garden centres changes there name from garden centres to just ‘stuff centres’ I would understand a bit more but right now it bugs me.
The reason it doesn’t score very high with me is the prices. I would never buy anything from here for my garden because I know my local garden centre (which is over priced too) sells the same stuff (same brands and everything) and a much cheaper price. However, the displays are great. The obviously put a lot of time and effort into them which makes it a nice place to wander around when it’s not too busy.
Now to contradict myself — the hot tub area — not garden related totally but they go in the garden don’t they? Well I want one. And the display here didn’t change my mind about wanting one but at £16 000 I think I’ll carry on playing the lotto, and go to Costco and get one for £3000 and build it myself!
Now I don’t know about you but a £1 million pound re-​furbed café is asking for a visit, no? Yes. And the cost of the re-​furb is definitely reflected in the prices of the food. £8 for a sandwich? In normal circumstances I would gasp for air, but after an excruciatingly bad day filled with bad luck I thought why not? And now I know why not. My sandwich — roast veg with cheddar cheese on onion foccaccia was hard and dry. Fair enough it was made in front of me and I watcher the lady make it. But I couldn;t have it toasted coz the toaster was broken. The bread was hard and gave me indigestion and the filling of roasted veg was green peppers and one mushroom — which fell on the floor when I picked the sarnie up :(
Adam had a Greek Salad (£!10!!) which was DRENCHED in oil and he left most of it. The area we sat was like being in a hospital cafeteria, so the money had not been spent here! Overall a non-​good eating experience.
The best part of today’s visit to Bents was the lovely ice cream van outside. The lady in there shouted hello at us through the carpark becuase she thought she knew Adam. So we wen’t over and bought an amazing Oyster Delight 99. The best. Ever.
Over and out x

The café here is almost the centre piece, you come for the cake and perhaps have a look around the garden centre, which is very good too (if not a little weak on the plants at the moment, but it’s not the right time of year so i’ll let it slide). Everything from a smart greenhouse or jacuzzi to a £2.50 desk plants awaits you as you try and burn of a fraction of the calories from the café binge.
If its hot check out the ice creams, my personal favourite is the licorice. Massive glass greenhouse with nice seating makes for a very pleasant cake eating experience. Budget about £4 for a cake (but it’ll be worth it).
Did I mention they sell cakes.

Being an avid gardener, i can say i do visit most garden centers, i have been to Bents about 20 times for the food, not, sad to say for the plants.
The displays are wonderful but not that much different to any other and the plants are expensive in comparison. However the restaurant is truly outstanding and has to be seen to be believed it’s a wow factor and spoiled you are for choice. First class

This is a great place to visit. Great atmosphere and range of products.
Over Christmas time a spectacular display of Christmas trees and decoration with unusual designs.
Restaurant is over priced.

Bents Garden Centre is in Glazebury, there is a huge car park and this has recently been made larger as this is such a popular destination, especially at weekends, Bank Holidays and of course leading up to Christmas.
As I have mentioned Christmas I will begin with that. Wowthe christmas displays in Bents are worth visiting for alone, there are loads, of different colour schemes and trees. pinks, blacks, traditional, golds,
many and so lovely. Prices vary, I suppose you get what you pay for and everything is good quality.
There are of course the plants inside and in the huge outdoor area that is within a whopping conservatory buildingenormous and the plants and trees are superb. Prices are reasonable and plants are good quality.
There is a pet store, baby store, adult clothes, Edinburgh shop and one of my favourite areas. Yankee candles and diffusers!!! gorgeous and reasonably priced. Also a great selection of cards and gifts.
Now then, the restaraunt, wow wow wow… very high standard of food. Cakes, sarnies, soups, jackets potatoes, warm meals, the choice is great, the price is reasonable, the restaraunt is huge! Clean, spacious, friendly, lovely.
And toilets too! good standard!
A truly excellent place to visit, wonderful and Highly recommended.

This to me is much more than a garden centre and you could easily spend half a day visiting. I never really go just to by plants. I love to look round their range of gifts, and have something to eat in their absolutely gorgeous restaurant. It may be quite expensive, however whether you go in the day or in the evening the food is brilliant. In the evening there is even an al-​a-​carte menu. This is the best time of year to visit Bents as the Christmas displays are out of this world. The Christmas trees are amazing, and I once heard that when living in this area, the Beckhams bought their tree from here. A fab garden centre!

Totally fantastic. You could easily spend the whole day here. Its got so much. They have loads of fantastic gifts. Items on sale include mirrors and lamps, candles, soaps, jewellery, dried flowers flower arrangements, sweets, jams and sauces. Conservatories and the furniture to go in it. they have a pet shop selling top brands including Royal Cannin and James Wellbeloved. A branch of the Edinburgh Woollen mill, wild bird food supplies, They also stock beautiful traditional toys.
There are loads of dinner services displayed on fully dressed tables.
Outside there is an enormous array of plants, trees, anything you could want.(guaranteed for five years)
They have loads of gazebos in various settings and loads of statues and other ornamental items.
Inside one of hte very best things the restaurant. A huge area with various counters serving cakes salads, sandwiches home made pastries, ice cream, coffees, teas soft drinks and wine.
This is a multi award winning restaurant which deserves every award they receive.
The restaurant opens for evening meals and is a destination in its own right.
This is a truly magical place and it is not difficult to see why you sometimes get people travelling long distances to shop at this fantastic place.

Bents isn’t a day out it’s an experience. It’s got everything!
The garden centre and pet shop are great all year. But the best time is Christmas, the displays are just amazing they make you feel like a child in a winter wonderland. The prices can be reasonable to expenisve but everything is good quality.
The café however, is very expensive even though it’s lovely.

As with quite a lot of garden centres now — they sell more than just plants. But Bents is a little bit of a cut above the rest (although similarly the prices are too). Especially in terms of their Christmas displays and decorations. They have everything and in every colour! I seem to remember them having a black Christmas tree?!
There is also a café on site, the food is yummy but sooooooo expensive. It is very well decorated and very clean.
I found the staff to be very helpful if a bit fraught — but then it does get VERY busy around Christmas.

This garden centre has been updated, extended and modified over the years and is a lovely place to go to loose several hours of your day.
The christmas displays and gorgeous and not to be missed. But due to the popularity of this, it does get very very busy. There is extensive parking so thats not usually a problem.
Theres an indoor pet area, plants galore, gifts, books, clothes, walking sticks (for when Grandad looses his) outdoor furniture the list could go on.
The main down side to this place has to be the cost. The majority of things are expensive and I only go to buy Christmas things in their sale, where you can find reasonable priced items.
Its certainly worth a visit, but either take plenty of money or none at all and just window shop.
The staff are polite, professional and plentiful if you need to find someone to ask a question.

Fantastic place to loose a few hours, unfortunately its so expensive its beyond a joke.
At Christmas it is like a winter wonderland and really should be seen to be believed. The café is also fantastic and in recent years there has been a lot of money spent which really shows.
It is extremely well stocked and if you can’t find what you are looking for then it probably isn’t for sale. Staff and friendly and helpful and quite knowledgeable on the products they sell.

How I remember this place when I was a kid !! My mum and dad trawling around on a sunday afternoon. Now Im all grown up I see why its got a great selection, can be bit pricey though. The christmas display is really lovely too.

As Garden Centres go, this is the granddaddy of them all! I remember it starting as a small concern with plants and odd things to make your garden look better. It now covers a huge site and has examples of just about every garden feature imaginable. As the first review states, they win the Best Christmas Display so often, locals have forgotten that others enter! The Christmas Section, last year, took a group of us two hours to look around and I think we missed some bits!
The outside areas now include a huge ornamental lake where Bents display many of their waterfeatures.
The café/​coffee shop is hideously expensive, but with reason. I bought one of our clients a biscuit for £1.50 — yes, one biscuit! — When he picked it up, it was larger than the plate it came on and took him more than five minutes to eat. Also, it was obviously not mass-​produced!
This seems to be true of most of the things available — there are bargains, but, where things are expensive, they are extremely well made or rare.
Bents is a little difficult to find, but the best way is to travel along the East Lancashire Road to the turn off for Culcheth (near The Greyhound hotel and Service Station) and it’s there on your left. The carpark is enormous — even at the busiest times, with the centre heaving with people, there are spaces, but please note that it is one-​way!

Excellent range of plants, can be pricey, this has won the Best Christmas display for donkey’s years on the trot, well woth a visit in the festive season. For good quality plants you need look no further.