Squire’s Twickenham Celebrates at 60!
Squire’s Garden Centres in Twickenham marks a special milestone this year, celebrating its 60-year anniversary!
The centre was pioneering when it opened in 1964 because it was one of only a handful of garden centres across the country at the time. Now with 16 centres across Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire and West London, we are a successful family-owned business proud to serve our local communities.
Our First Garden Centre
Our business was founded by D.J. Squire in 1936 in Twickenham, initially as a nursery and landscape gardening business.
Records show that in the early 1900s the land on which Squire’s is situated in Sixth Cross Road Twickenham was occupied by the Poupart family who were dairy farmers. Colin Squire wanted to open our first garden centre and found the site he was looking for in the borough of his birth. By this point it was quite run down and overgrown. He made use of some of the existing farm buildings -the stables were our offices for many years- and built some new ones, such as the very futuristic looking glass house for the houseplant department.
Fun Events
Right from the start Colin wanted the centre to be a place where things happened so he organised flower shows, a demonstration of an early Flymo lawnmower and even a visit from a hovercraft. In many ways things have come full circle as, once again, we are focussing on a programme of events to interest customers, including our adult planting workshops and children’s half term activities.
Keeping It Fresh
By the 1990s the old buildings were really beyond their best and we built a brand new garden centre shop, restaurant and plant area on the site and moved our offices into the original Victorian farm house.
In 2013 we carried out a complete refit of the centre and introduced a new look and feel to the restaurant with a brand new kitchens. The restaurant was refurbished again in 2023. Our next project is to replace the roof and to incorporate solar panels to help with our carbon footprint.
Award Winning Centre
Our focus on plants remains undiminished and the centre has won many awards over the years for its plant area including Garden Centre Association’s award for the best plant area in the country in 2013, 2015 and 2016, and Garden Centre of the Year in 2000.
A word from Colin
“Our garden centre at Twickenham has been such a large part of my life that it is impossible to separate the role it has played in my business life from the large part it has played in our family life. I have enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people there over the years customers, colleagues and members of our industry. It has been a real privilege to see the centre develop and get better and better over time. I hope it continues to evolve for many years to come“
Plants to be Proud of
We are proud that 85% of plants are sourced from UK nurseries. In 2022, we acquired Barnsfold Nurseries, based near Horsham and a long-standing supplier of bedding plants to the business. This has marked a return to offering more homegrown plants. A continued drive for customer excellence prevails, with highly qualified and experienced horticultural staff to help with plant-related questions. Customers can shop online for local delivery within a 5-7 mile radius of their local garden centre.
Community Connections
Each centre is closely associated with different community organisations, horticultural groups and charities – this year the Twickenham team is supporting the Friends of Anstee Bridge. Encouraging the next generation of gardeners, Squire’s host a year-round programme of workshops and events for all ages.
A Family Success Story
Today, we are proud to belong to the Garden Centre Association and wider horticultural industry and also that the business remains in the Squire family under the leadership of D.J.’s son, Colin Squire OBE – who is still actively involved in the business – and Colin’s daughter Sarah, who is now Chairman.
