Cornish garden centre Trelawney@Wadebridge has turned a piece of unused land into a Grow Your Own plot to produce salads and vegetables for its Carriages Restaurant... 

Peter Burks, general manager of the award-winning, family-run garden centre, said: “We’ve established a growing space near the kitchens that previously wasn’t in use.

“It’s a really interesting idea, which will help us reduce food miles and just picked produce is always tastier too. We’ll be using all the produce in our Carriages Restaurant.”

Harvesting from the new GYO area has already started and crops will continue to be planted and sown throughout the year to show the connection between the growing, cooking and eating of seasonal produce.

Peter continued: “Our mini allotment is based on conventional growing methods. We have lots of popular veggies and salads. The whole area is visible from the restaurant, so our visitors will be able to see quite clearly what we have planted. The potager also includes companion plants and herbs too.

“People are very keen on growing their own food, even if it’s just in a small way with tubs on a patio or in window boxes, and it’s not a trend that is looking likely to go out of fashion. The new area will provide a fantastic space for us to grow our own and give visitors some inspiration too.”

One of Cornwall’s largest and leading independent garden centres, Trelawney@Wadebridge was originally launched in 1970 as a nursery by Frank and Marion Danning. The garden centre is now run by their son David and David Symons, who started working for the family at the age of 11.

The garden centre provides customers with a wide range of quality gardening products including plants, furniture, barbecues, gifts and food items. Its friendly and knowledgeable staff are on-hand to give visitors help and advice on all gardening matters. There is also a garden building and Elite Spa concession on site. 

Carriages Restaurant, which seats up to 240 customers, is situated next to the lake at Trelawney@Wadebridge. It serves hot and cold drinks, snacks, cakes, breakfasts, lunches, a daily carvery and children’s meals.

The award-winning, family-run business includes two generations of the Danning and Symons families. More than eight years ago the company launched a sister garden centre in North Devon, Trelawney@Ashford and is opening its third garden centre Trelawney@Probus on a green-field site in Cornwall next year (2015).

Trelawney@Probus looks set to offer visitors a chance to see plants and products in action with garden areas on site showing how things grow and work.

For more information, please call Trelawney@Wadebridge, which is located just off the A389 in Sladesbridge near Wadebridge, on 01208 893030 or visit www.trelawney.co.uk.

Photograph caption (from left to right): Head Chef, Tracey Cowling and Chefs Carl Morrison and Graham Pattingale at Trelawney@Wadebridge’s Carriages Restaurant in the award-winning garden centre’s new potager, which is supplying produce for the restaurant.