Notcutts

The first job I ever had was at Notcutts Garden Centre’s tea room. I had to wear a straw hat and a green dickey bow tie. I was paid 2.13 an hour, before the minimum wage took effect.
I got fed up of the low pay and the ridicule over the hat so I left after a couple of weeks. I also used to burn my hands on steam on the machines that I served tea and coffee from. It took me 15 years to build up the courage to come back here to do a shop. I bypassed the tea room as I didn’t want to relive my days of financial exploitation.
I don’t have much of a garden at home, but I revisited here to get some flowers to put on my balcony. I live in a block of flats and the only gardening I get to do is on the balcony. It is a passion of mine and I have grown some lovely flowers and herbs in the past in the small space I have been given.
Notcutts have a great selection and they are a family run business that has been established for many decades. The only problem with this place is the price, their competitors can sell the same products at a discount, whilst Notcutts still charge full whack. Not great if you are on a budget like mine.

When I used to live in Norwich, they had a Notcutts and we would visit semi-​regularly to buy slightly pricy gifts, plants or have something to nibble in the café. I used to love it, more than any other garden centre, as there was something extra ‘posh’ about it.
Imagine my joy to discover there’s one just down the road in Solihull! So this is now my place to go, if I’m that side of the city, and need to surround myself with pretty fragrant things and older people. Around xmas, this is a bit of a wonderland and totally worth taking your kids to, as alongside the decorations for sale, the whole place transforms into a glittering fake-​snow dream-​like grotto. Perfect!

This is the granddaddy of all the garden centres in the greater Birmingham area. It does exactly what it says on the tin and much, much more. If you are after some good garden ideas it is worth a visit just to help you with inspiration for your own backyard. There is a wealth of outdoor plants, trees, sheds, fencing, patios etc.
There is a good choice of outdoor and even indoor furniture. In addition there is plenty of other shopping to be done with outdoor footwear and clothing, local farm produce and gifts.
Really you should just go ahead and make a day of it — this would include enjoying coffee or lunch in their ample restaurant that serves lunch, cakes, jacket potatoes, soup, sandwiches. There is an outside seating area if the weather in good.
For £10 you can join their annual discount club and receive 10% off everything, sometimes increasing to 20%, and enjoy two free coffees a month.

Notcutts is a fabulous garden centre, just off Junction 4 of the M42, and near to Tesco Superstore.
As well as offering an enormous selection of plants and flowers, they also sell gifts, home wares, conservatories and now they even have a pet’s corner.
Notcutts have expanded greatly over the years, and has really transformed itself into a lovely store to spend a few hours mooching around, rather than somewhere you quickly pop into.
Christmas is a magical time at the store, and the decorations really make you feel festive.
Parking is never an issue at the store, as it shares an enormous surface car park with Tesco.

Great garden centre, good friendly staff. Good big christmas department that comes back with great decorations and ideas year after year. Also a good pets department and play area for the kids! Also a good coffee shop!
Also Notcutts christmas trees are the best always got ours from there last year and the year before we tried tarpsing around other garden centres farms etc to find a different tree and they could not touch on the quality of Notcutts so after 2 days we wnet back and got one from Notcutts, will not even look anywhere else this year!
Also great huge parking joint with tescos.

Great garden centre, with helpful staff. I go in here each couple of weeks to buy fresh flowers where a couple of bunches are no more then £5. They also have a good selection of garden tools and products. Out the back you will find lots of shrubs and plants, plus some garden furniture.

My children love going to Notcutts this time of the year, as all of the Christmas decorations are out, small children will be amazed!
The staff are very helpful and friendly, there is also a small café which is reasonably priced.
The pet section staff are very good and give sound advice.

Lovely garden centre with staff who really know their stuff and are always willing to help with any queries I have had over the years. They have a nice outdoor playground with a massive swirley slide so children wont mind a trip here. They also do a pet centre with rabbits, birds, fish and other small animals. Lovely coffee shop and christmas shop is also a must visit. Just next to Tescos

Large car park and next to a massive Tesco. The staff and friendly and helpful, whether you are after some plants to buy or animals and supplies the staff are always helpful and really know what they are talking about.
Stocks plants, flowers, small trees and garden equipment including conservatories. Coming up to Christmas they have a lovely range that the children and adults will love to see! It has a nice café which is reasonably priced, but I have only ever stopped off for a coffee so cant comment on the food. But it is clean and once again the staff are good.
They also have a pet area, selling pet goods and small animals such as fish, hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs as well as birds. I also noticed last time I was there that they had chickens and chicken coops outside just as you go back in to the store towards the pets section.
Nice place to visit, good advice from friendly staff.

Nottcuts– my favourite area is the pet area– where you can go and have a talk to the parrotts– always keeps the kids amused! Also a great big Tesco superstore right next door!