"mollymac" wrote in message
...
(with a snip..)
2. Does anyone know what the best garden centre near Basingstoke is?
I'm
in Old Basing, have lived here just over 2 years, and have still not
discovered a really great one (for comparison, I'm thinking of Ayletts on
the ring road nr. St. Albans, Hertfordshire, which always had a fantastic
choice of plants).

Ayletts is hard to beat - one of the top garden centres in the country.
You've been spoilt if Ayletts is your main experience of garden centres !

For good-priced bedding and sundries, I like LongAcres on the A30 around
Bagshot way. Theres is also a Hilliers, Country Gardens and Notcutts along
the same stretch between Sunningdale and Camberley so maybe worth taking the
A30 for that stretch of the M3 if/when you do that journey. Hilliers &
Notcutts are better for shrubs IMO. While you're in the area, the M&S at
Camberley is second only to Marble Arch - open 7 days. For sheer choice of
perennials & shrubs I hack down to Wisley. Bit expensive but I still love
it - I'm like the proverbial kid-in-a-candystore The bookshop is also an
expensive place for me to visit ... )

Have fun exploring ! Diane