Exciting times for the centre which has just secured planning permission for a mighty expansion
A warm welcome awaits – Planters nursery and garden centre, along with cafe and farm shop, by the Kent border(Image: Ben Taylor)
The owner of a garden centre metres from the Kent border, which bought plant stock from Merriments which closed suddenly, has secured planning permission to expand. During the spring, Ben Taylor and Emma Davies will be doubling the size of independent Planters plant centre and nursery in Hurst Green in East Sussex, which is in the same village Merriments had been.
Planters is “200m the other side of the Kent ditch” said Ben, the enthusiastic owner of Planters, and himself born and bred in the county. The expansion will mean Planters, beside the A21, can offer more choice and stock of home-grown plants, vegetables, herbs and soft fruit.
And crucially, it will mean the centre can grow more than 50 per cent of its own plants. As KentLive reported in November 2024, Merriments near Hawkhurst shut a few weeks before Christmas, as the freehold had been sold.
Its staff were long-serving and highly knowledgeable, with many starting at the centre when it opened 35 years ago. It was a Royal Horticultural Society partner garden, and offered gardens to walk in and watch birds, and a licensed restaurant famed for its Sunday roasts and Christmas lunch.
However, back to Ben’s plans and with permission from the council to go ahead with the work at Planters, he’s keen to create something gardeners and visitors will be excited about. He said: “Our aim is to give the Weald community and beyond an inspiring and sustainable alternative to garden centres that stock the same ranges since they buy from the same wholesalers and often import from abroad.
Ben Taylor has just secured permission to double the size of the plant centre and nursery at Planters in Hurst Green and it will open by the spring(Image: Ben Taylor)
“We currently grow around a third of the plants we sell and plan to increase this to over half. By producing our own plants, we have the freedom to hunt out and trial new garden-worthy plants suitable for the local soil.
“We also try to be as sustainable as possible. We’ve added solar, which generates half of our electricity; we are fully peat-free and only use recycled plastic pots that can be put in recycling bins after use.”
Ben bought Planters farm shop and cafe in 2024 “with a vision to open a plant centre” on the four-acre plot behind the farm shop. He had been studying commercial horticulture at Hadlow College in Kent when the purchase opportunity came up.
Emma Davies, formerly the owner of popular The Walled Nursery in Hawkhurst, had been working at Merriments for three weeks when it announced its closure. It was a huge shock for customers and, of course, the 30 staff who worked there.
Ben and Emma opened Planters, a plant centre and nursery, in the spring last year, with some staff from Merriments and some of its stock. There was already a cafe, farm shop and antiques barn on site.
More seating has been added at the popular cafe at Planters in Hurst Green (Image: Ben Taylor)
Ben, who hails from Borough Green and who moved back to Kent in 2018, said: “We also acquired all of Merriments’ unique and rare stock of plants, including many tender varieties that I had to keep at home in my loft over the winter months, as we didn’t have a polytunnel at Planters at the time. Our first season was a success, drawing many of the previous customers from Merriments and other nearby nurseries that had closed in recent years.”
An indoor and outdoor furniture section was added to the shop during last summer, and then a Christmas shop. They have also added more seating to their popular onsite cafe, and spruced up other areas.
He said Planters was in an excellent location with its “rich horticultural surroundings, such as Sissinghurst, Great Dixter and Scotney Castle”.
Get more news from KentLive straight to your inbox for free HERE
Comments are closed.