My favourite new (local) place to visit is the recently opened Alexandra Nurseries in Penge, South-East London - an independent garden centre, cafe and vintage homeware shop. The nursery is run by two professional gardeners, who have restored an old caretaker's office and maintenance workshop that had stood empty since 1970, and created the most beautiful and visually-enticing space as an alternative to big commercial garden centres; focusing on British grown plants, handmade planters and garden accessories, and selling work by independent craftspeople alongside vintage home and garden ware.
I love the use of old garden and agricultural equipment, tools, furniture and kitchen paraphernalia as quirky plant holders, shelves, and notice boards. There were plants in teapots, climbing up church pews, growing in old storage boxes and recycled tyre planters, sitting on old mangles and brightly-painted stepladders, inside cast iron oven trays, and peeping out of old-fashioned lawnmowers and typewriters (final picture taken from the website).
I have two more posts from Alexandra Nurseries to show you soon, so please come back and see!
