As winter turns to spring, many gardeners are looking to buy plants online. Experts have shared their favourite nurseries for reliable, healthy greenery, from bulbs and perennials to houseplants. While local garden centres are great, online nurseries often offer a wider range, especially for specific plant types like shade lovers or hellebores.
Crocus is a well-known online garden centre with a helpful website and a wide plant range grown with attention to water use and emissions. Plants are pricier but come in good condition, with excellent customer service. Cornwall-based Burncoose Nurseries offers a great selection of homegrown camellias, magnolias and woodland plants, plus a useful planting ideas section.
Garden designer Lulu Roper-Caldbeck recommends Langthorns Plantery, a family-run Essex nursery known for unusual, top-quality plants. Oxfordshire's Burford Garden Co provides a stylish edit of perennials, trees and shrubs, though it is also on the expensive side. For more affordable options, Dobies is great for organic fruit and veg, Thompson & Morgan offers value, Gardening Express has a five-year guarantee, and You Garden provides entry-level information.
Perennials are garden stars, returning year after year. Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants is highly respected, with own-bred varieties and free planting plans. Many experts also praised Beth Chatto's nursery, which sells rare plants grown on site in Essex, with a beginner-friendly website featuring carefully chosen plant collections.
