Selfridges opens a garden centre in London

Luxury department store Selfridges has opened a garden centre in its London store, alongside ‘Green House’ concepts in Manchester and Birmingham, and online to tap into the gardening boom.

As part of its ‘Good Nature, Selfridges’ creative theme for 2021, the luxury retailer has transformed its London accessories hall and the store exterior on Duke and Orchard Streets into a Garden Centre.

The Garden Centre aims to celebrate the “pleasure of growing and green power, and the sense of well-being nature gives,” explains Selfridges, and sells gardening tools, seeds, pots, indoor and outdoor plants, as well as Selfridges own label compost.

It has a curation of fashion, lifestyle and beauty products, including an exclusive collection from Prada, an exclusive 16-piece Grateful Dead Shakedown Garden collection and a bespoke Selfridges merchandise featuring puns such as ‘Herb Your Enthusiasm’ or ‘Horti-Couture’.

Selfridges creative director, Hannah Emslie, said in a statement: “A garden centre is evocative but familiar, and has provided rich inspiration for our teams, literally and creatively. We know our customers are more interested in gardening and greening than they have ever been – and so we are playing with the idea by bringing the essentials of a typical garden centre to our stores.

“We will be retailing plants, compost and garden gnomes alongside special and unexpected Selfridges products with a sense fun and imagination, as we continue to explore pleasure in nature this year.”

Within the Garden Centre, The Potting Shed will be a destination for events and advice, with a resident gardener, including a virtual “dial-a-gardener” service, alongside a programme of workshop and experiences that explore the pleasure and positivity that gardening brings while promoting practical skills and sustainable methods.