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Notcutts Garden Centre, Oxford
Garden Centre Reviews
A first glance at the entrance to Notcutts, Oxford says it all. A
flimsy unimpressive wooden structure with no attempt to decorate it. But was the
garden centre the same inside? Read on. This is a totally independent GardenAction opinion of Notcutts Garden
Centre at Nuneham Courtney in Oxford. We never finished a complete review of Notcutts in Oxford because we were
not impressed by what we saw. Click any of the three pictures below to see the condition of
some of the plants at this garden centre. Not all plants were in this sort of condition, but
these are definitely not the only examples.
One good reason for visiting Notcutts in Oxford in June is that their
Mattocks exhibition garden of roses would be at its peak. We even took our movie camera!
As you approach the gardens there is a write up by Notcutts explaining what you will
find there. Click the picture on the right for the full write up. We were sorely disappointed. The pictures below tell their own story. Click any
picture to enlarge and see it more clearly.
The exhibition garden is in a very bad state and unlikely to inspire any
one. After that disappointment we visited the cafe. Possibly by then our
judgement was likely to be biased, but the cafe definitely disappointed as well.
The picture on the right is interesting. It shows the unattractiveness
of the cafe ceiling area. If you click the picture to enlarge it, there appears to be
wire flex hanging in a loop from the ceiling. Possibly it's something else, whatever it
is, it caught our eye! SUMMARY
Notcutts Garden Centre, Oxford
Click the picture to enlarge it.
T
The outside plants area looked uninspiring, tired and uncared for.
The label on the left reads "County Rose Cheshire". But the rose itself
is totally covered in bindweed.
The label on the right refers to the "Essex" rose which may or may not be there. It's
difficult to tell with so many weeds in the area.
On the left, the rose is infested with weeds which are spreading seeds
round the rest of the exhibition area.
The right hand picture is unbelievable. The weeds are twice as high as the
fast-disappearing roses.
Almost no attempt has been made to make the cafe a pleasant eating environment.
The staff clearly do their best because the cooking area is kept clean. The carpets
should have been replaced a long time ago. This cafe has our unreserved "thumbs
down".
We don't recommend this garden centre, or its cafe.
Name: Sarah Hunt
E-mail: Private
Date posted: December 17, 2011 - 10:17 am
Message: Can't comment on the selection of plants but I would definitely recommend the Santa's Grotto - very personable and friendly Santa which for once didn't scare my 3 year old daughter! Also enjoyed a very nice mug of hot chocolate in the cafe afterwards. I will definitely be going back.