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OPEN 9am-4pm (Nov' 1st - Feb'1st)

Bedding Plants near Buckhurst Hill

Bedding Plants for Summer & Autumn

We have all kinds of bedding plants at Clockhouse

Most of the plants that fall under this heading are sold from number 1, 2, 3 & 4 greenhouses during the months of April, May, June and July. Generally speaking these groups of plants are not hardy or at most half-hardy which means that they are for summertime selection. The majority are annual plants, meaning they survive one year.

Bedding, as the name suggests are traditionally used in beds or borders whilst patio plants are for tubs, pots, baskets and other containers. However there are no hard and fast rules, some bedding can go in pots and some patio’s can go in the ground. Half hardy plants may survive from year to year if provided with frost protection during the winter months.

Fuchsias can be found in number 2, geraniums in number 3 and miscellaneous varieties such as surfinias and bacopa are in number 2 & 4. All of our patio plants are grown in 9cm (3.5”) pots which gives our plants a sizeable, sturdy root system. Despite using a pot which most mass producers shy away from, we still keep the majority of our range under £ 1.50 per pot.

There are too many varieties to list them all, name by name, colour by colour. Here are a few of the more common, best sellers. ACALYPHA, BACOPA, DIASCIA, FUCHSIA (double, single, hardy, trailing & upright), GERANIUMS (trailing, upright, scented, ivy & zonal), HELICHRYSUM, LOTUS, NASTURTIUM, MILLION BELLS, OXALIS, PETUNIA, SUFINIA, TORENIA & VERBENA.

In addition, every year we strive to bring you at least a couple of new varieties. Annual bedding plants are also grown by us, on site. This area is too big to have any one person in charge, so responsibility is shared among a number of staff members. We provide bedding plants for both Spring-Summer and Autumn planting.

For our pot grown bedding we prefer to use the same size pot as we do for patio plants. Just because the plants are less expensive than patio’s we feel, the quality should be the same. This theory follows through to our box grown bedding where we use two styles of cell format.

The packs (or boxes) that we now use for bedding plant production are fully roadside recyclable as long as they are cleaned after use. The first is the ‘The Ten Pack’. This box gives you 10 plants of a perfect size for potting on or planting straight out in the warmer months. The second box is for those varieties that may be slightly more expensive to produce, or that may require more root space. We call this box the ‘The Six Pack’ and as the name suggests, this holds enough soil for six plants.

Seasonally we offer hanging baskets and containers pre-planted with our own selections of patio and bedding plants. These are ideal gifts or just perfect if you do not want to make then yourself.

From September we offer a range of Autumn / Winter bedding plants. Some of these, like winter PANSIES, if planted early, will give you colour before the frosts arrive & pick up again once the cold weather subsides in the spring. Some, like WALLFLOWERS, you plant in the Autumn in readiness for Spring flowering. For late Winter / early Spring we grow a large selection of POLYANTHUS & PRIMULAS in 9cm pots. These are often the first splashes of bright colour available to gardeners.

Shopping At Clockhouse

Garden retail like it used to be.

Here at Clockhouse Nursery we pride ourselves in providing reasonably priced plants & the products you need to grow them effectively.

That is all.

So, no need to wade through the tide of unnecessary paraphernalia that you will find in most modern garden centres.

No need to worry about parking either as we have over 150 spaces available.

Please Note !

We are a CASHLESS establishment. Accepted payment metohds: credit / debit cards (contactless or otherwise), Gift vouchers & voucher cards, Apple or Android Pay.

This IS perfectly legal: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender

Accessibility

The vast majority of our sales areas are accessible to all. Pathways are either tarmac or concrete both outside & inside greenhouses. We have done our best to make sure that most areas can be reached by wheelchair users although in few areas this has not been 100% possible to achieve. It is an ongoing aim of ours to improve on this situation further.

You will find three designated wheelchair friendly parking zones adjacent to the shop entrance plus several other parking spaces around the car park which provide ample space for easy access to a vehicle once parked. We provide Male, Female & Accessible toilet facilities. Should you need to borrow a wheelchair, we have two, free to use, ‘push along’ style chairs on site. These are available on a ‘first come first served’ basis & you cannot book or reserve their use in advance of your visit. We advise that wheelchair users are accompanied during their visit as there are some slopes that may prove tricky for inexperienced users. Our site is on a natural gradient & we have managed to mitigate this in some areas but not all.

Should you require any internet based services to assist you, you can log onto our free WIFI whilst you visit. Just ask a member of staff for the access code when you arrive.

We have six ‘St Johns Ambulance’ trained first aid operatives within our staff. They are fully qualified in the ‘First Aid At Work’ training module. There are a number of first aid kits at their disposal around our site including an AED device.

Visit Us

In the Spring and Summer we’re open 9am - 5pm, 7 Days a week, including Bank Holidays!

We are a CASHLESS retailer. Accepted payment metohds: credit / debit cards (contactless or otherwise), Gift vouchers & voucher cards, Apple or Android Pay (Free WIFI available).

In the UK it is not illegal for businesses to refuse cash as payment and, in the same breath, it’s not illegal for them to refuse card payments, either. See what The Bank of Engand say here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender

Our Autumn and Winter times are 9am - 4pm, 7 days a week.
(Nov 1st - Jan 31st) Excluding Christmas closures.

Here is a calender showing roughly what times of year different plants are available.

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Established in 1928

Not many Garden Centres can boast over ninety years of history, and yes, we have seen many changes over that period. Indeed change will continue as we strive always to supply the best in plants and facilities. One thing, however, will never change:

The core philosophy first introduced by Archibald John Mills way back in 1928 remains - the philosophy that built the company’s reputation, sustains it now, and will guide it in the future:

The best way to keep gardeners happy is to offer them plants of the highest quality, sold at reasonable prices.

Read more

Horticultural Trades Association.

We are proud members of the HTA, the Horticultural Trades Association, which is ‘the’ UK’s garden trades association. The HTA has, for over 100 years, promoted the interests of its members and the industry at large.

Being a member offers us various benefits and for you, the customer, the membership should provide you with some reassurance that we are an establishment of quality that takes its responsibilities to its customers seriously.

It also enables us to offer you access to HTA backed schemes such as the national gift vouchers which are redeemable at other HTA partner businesses across the country.

Perennial GRBS

We are also proud to say that our chosen charity is Perennial GRBS (Gardeners Royal Benevolent Society). We are a Perennial Partner which means that we make an annual contribution to this worthy cause whose sole aim is to help people in many branches of horticulture including arboriculture, farming, professional gardening etc during their hours of need. Occasionally we will attach a donate button to our Facebook posts which will enable you to donate directly to this charity should you feel so inclined. Our industry is eternally thankful to those who are able to donate even the smallest amount. To find out more about their work please feel free to visit their website https://perennial.org.uk/

Dog Friendly.

We are a dog friendly establishment. We are listed with www.dogfriendly.co.uk who’s aim is to provide a directory of dog welcoming businesses accross the UK. All that we ask of you as a dog owner is that your four legged friend is kept on a lead at all times whilst wandering around the Nursery and that you clean up after them should the enivitable ‘accident’ occur.

You may access all areas of the Nursery with your pet but we ask that on busy days, you avoid queing at the tills with them especially if they are not very good around strangers. This area can feel a little confined & we feel that for anxious dogs it is best avoided. Most of the time however, you are welcome to queue & pooch may even get a dog treat if they are allowed.

One thing that we frown upon severly is the leaving of dogs in cars whilst owners are shopping. There is no excuse for this here & we have been known to release pets from boiling hot vehicles by all means at our disposal.

Get in Touch

Please feel free to send us a message or ask a question directly via this e-mail form.