A family-run garden centre that had to throw away 75 per cent of its stock during lockdown has bounced back and been awarded for its work.

Shantock Nurseries in Shantock Lane, Hemel Hempstead, has been voted by the Watford Observer readers as ‘Your Favourite Garden Centre 2023’.

The centre’s manager Stephanie Cotton said: “It was a big surprise, we are over the moon. We were up against some tough competition.

“But we have such a loyal customer base, and it is definitely a reflection of the staff and their knowledge.

“I think the customers see that and the passion we have.”  

Watford Observer: The team at Shantock Nurseries.The team at Shantock Nurseries. (Image: Shantock Nurseries)

Mrs Cotton believes that all together the staff have roughly 100 years’ worth of experience.

She added: “We are tucked away. We don’t have a café or sell knick-knacks, customers come due to word of mouth. It’s the experience they get and the knowledge we offer.”

But it hasn’t all be plain sailing for the nursery that opened in 1995, as part of the family’s larger garden centre business that was set up after World War II by Mrs Cotton’s grandfather.

It grows more than a million plants per year and had to throw away at least 75 per cent during Covid.

Mrs Cotton said: “It was heartbreaking to see all the flowers in the skip. We are 90% plant based, and also sell pots and compost.”

In order to manage, the business kept a small team on and set up home deliveries and sold cheap bundles of flowers that they could leave on people’s doorsteps – a step away from the nursery’s normal set up that mainly sold to landscapers before Covid.

Watford Observer: Shantock Nurseries lost 75 per cent of its stock during CovidShantock Nurseries lost 75 per cent of its stock during Covid (Image: Shantock Nurseries)

Since the world has reopened the shop has seen a change in customers.

She said: “There are younger customers coming through now. During the lockdowns the weather was great, and a lot of people got into gardening and used the space available.

“When we reopened there was a lot of demand.

“They have found a new love for gardening and realised the mental health benefits it offers.”

With their new win, Mrs Cotton has said the team has greater confidence to begin breeding different flowers.

"We’d like to thank all our customers, new and old for voting for us," she said.