An inner-city garden centre has finally opened in the back garden of a much-loved plant shop on Gloucester Road.
Wild Leaf, which resides at number 43, has opened the garden centre to introduce more sustainable ways of gardening without the need of a car. The shop also features a new terrarium bar and workshops for customers, who can learn how to create some exciting plant additions to their home.
There are also herbs and flowering perennials from The Hairy Pot Plant Company ready to buy. New stock has all arrived and is neatly displayed in the shop's back garden - including Dalefoot peat-free composts and locally grown herbs by shop owner Tya's father, which are also grown in peat-free compost and in reusable bamboo pots.
Read more: How to keep house plants alive, from banana skins to bug wiping
Back in April, the team told Bristol Live that they were very excited to offer a UK grown, peat and plastic-free option to Bristol's gardeners, adding: "Most gardeners are aware of the environmental impacts of peat and plastic use and are keen to find alternatives." They also pointed out that most garden centres being situated on the outskirts - or even outside of - Bristol means that those in the city would need to add to their carbon footprint by using their car for each trip.
The Wild Leaf team, who moved into their current store in March 2021, believe that they are the "first independent plant shop within walking distance from the city centre and with easy transport links" to offer this garden centre option. The garden centre and the shop's workshops have proven to be a success so far, with a number of sell-out 'Eggarium' workshops seeing customers get together to create their own egg-shaped terrarium - with a discount on products for on night only and a good old chinwag over some refreshments, too.
Shop owner Tya told Bristol Live: "When I opened Wild Leaf, I wanted to give people a way to bring nature into their lives. I also wanted to give my customers solutions that enabled them to garden (indoors and outdoors) as sustainably as possible.
"Wild Leaf’s new inner-city garden centre provides a way for people to access garden plants without using a car, and a way to keep the use of peat and plastic as low as possible."
Take a look at photos of the latest 'Eggarium' workshop, as well as the shop's new garden centre in the gallery below.
Want our best stories with fewer ads and alerts when the biggest news stories drop? Download our app on iPhone or Android.
