The Secret Garden

I've been wanting to feature the Secret Garden on this blog ever since I started the "Triangle" almost exactly three years ago. However, I was determined to shoot it in spring, when everyone's thinking about gardening, and when the wonderful yellow mimosa towards the back of the garden centre, is in flower. In 2012 I was just too busy and missed the brief window of opportunity, then last year spring was so dismal, and the sun so absent, it wasn't worth bothering. So finally, and just in time for what promises to be a lovely weekend, step inside The Secret Garden.

Mimosa

The garden centre has been carved out of a steep slope down from Westow Street, giving it a dramatic backdrop of mature trees and the spire of the Greek Orthodox church. When Roger Cocks took over the site in 1986, the whole block which houses the supermarket, the Phoenix centre, and the row of shops along Westow Street, had just been developed by the Salvation Army and Croydon Council. Previously the site had been occupied by the Royal Normal College for the Blind, in an imposing gothic building. 
Roger, who did Business Studies at Bristol University, had worked in the advertising and marketing world, for WHSmith, Kaleidoscope and Letts Diaries, when he decided he'd much rather work for himself. Keen on gardening, friends had encouraged him to set up a garden centre, although he admits he had a lot to learn in a short time. The shop was built early on, although he has since extended it, and the layout of the exterior has changed over time, with pergolas being added, and then partly removed. With over a quarter of a century's worth of experience, Roger is now a mine of information, and clearly enjoys chatting with, and imparting advice to his customers, with Cyril, his terrier, at his side. Impulse buying accounts for a high proportion of sales, and anything in bloom is always popular. But, ever the marketing man, as he suggests, rather than coming in once a year in spring, you're better off coming in once a month and picking whatever's in flower at the time. That way you have a garden for all seasons, rather than one that's all show in spring, but has nothing to offer at other times of year. And to encourage you to keep coming back, he has a loyalty card scheme which includes 10% discounts on mondays!
Hopefully some of these pictures will inspire you to get back in the garden after a long wet winter, or if not, at least give you ideas for Mother's day at the end of this month.

Roger & Cyril

The Secret Garden

Coxwell Road (next to Sainsburys carpark)

70 Westow Street

020 8771 8200