‘Under normal circumstances I would have passed on the opportunity’
Olivier Vergnault Senior Reporter
19:48, 07 Mar 2026
Leaf Creative garden centre in Huntley has now been rescued from administration
The new owners of garden centre which collapsed into administration have spoken of their plans to make it even better.
Leaf Creative Garden Centre, Huntley, off the A40, collapsed into administration eight years after first opening its doors.
Days after filing for administration, the garden centre, which opened in 2018, found a rescuer – Blue Diamond Garden Centres – which has now come out to say it will build on Leaf’s reputation for “high-quality plants, creative displays and innovative horticulture” and go beyond.
The two companies have already been working together. Over the past three years the Leaf Creative team has worked closely with Blue Diamond, including rebuilding a show garden at the group’s flagship Bridgemere garden centre in 2024.
Blue Diamond Garden Centres is one of the largest garden centre groups in the UK. It currently operates 52 sites and has around 4,700 staff, with existing Gloucestershire locations including 3 Shires Garden Centre at Newent and Nailsworth Garden Centre.
Regarding the acquisition of Leaf Creative Garden Centre, Alan Roper, managing director of Blue Diamond Garden Centres, said: “We have bought the business from the administrators.
“It’s a much smaller centre than we would usually acquire, so under normal circumstances I would have passed on the opportunity.
“However, I know Peter Dowle, the owner, and have built a positive relationship with him, so we worked with him and the administrators to find a satisfactory outcome for all parties.”
Peter Dowle, designer and lead at Leaf Creative Garden Centre, in Huntley, said: “becoming part of the Blue Diamond portfolio will continue with all the great things our customers have come to love, delivered by our fabulous team, but with even more to come.
“A revamp of the plant area is already underway as part of the new-look Leaf, while our original DNA remains throughout.”
Unphased by the change of ownership, the Leaf Creative Gardens team is had at work preparing another major exhibit at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The RHS creation will be an immersive garden that will guide visitors through a drought-resistant landscape into a tropical greenhouse and a lush display of UK-grown tropical plants with a dramatic waterfall.
Visitors will then continue their journey through a mist-filled grove of Japanese maples and flowering dogwoods into a scented jasmine arch, a vertical herb allotment and finally a contemporary take on a traditional cottage garden framed by climbing roses.
Last year, Leaf Creative Gardens – which remains a separate business designing and building gardens throughout the UK – helped deliver Blue Diamond’s first ever Gold Medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
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