Sustainable Environment
Sustainable Environment
We support alternatives to single use plastics
Consumption & Conservation
Consumption & Conservation
We harvest rainwater from our on-site reservoirs
Reduced Carbon Footprint
Reduced Carbon Footprint
With 80% of bedding plants grown onsite
Composting & Recycling
Composting & Recycling
We recycle over 90% of our on-site waste

About Us

About Us

Coolings is an award winning, independent Garden Centre group located in Kent and East Sussex. We are a family business, which was started by the Cooling family over 100 years ago.

At Coolings, we are passionate about plants and they have remained at the core of our business. We are proud that over 65% of our plants are home grown at our extensive on-site nursery at Coolings, Rushmore Hill in Knockholt. We offer a comprehensive selection of plants (one of the largest in the UK), and our customers trust our plant quality and staff expertise, making us their garden centre of choice. We live by our motto that ‘The Experience is Growing’.

We value our customers, offering many benefits to our Coolings Family Members. As a Family member customers become entitled to a host of exclusive savings and member benefits. This includes the delivery of our quarterly magazine, Cuttings, jam packed with plant ideas, gardening advice, offers and information about upcoming events.

Our business has grown in recent years. Our site at Rushmore Hill, Knockholt has developed, with the addition of a new Education Centre where we offer many courses for budding horticulturalists, including the RHS Certificate in Practical Horticulture. Coolings The Gardener’s Garden Centre has also become home to many other small businesses, including Koi Water Barn, Pilates in Sevenoaks and Hairy Hounds. Coolings Potted Garden Nursery (in Bearsted, Maidstone) and Coolings Wych Cross Garden Centre (in Forest Row, East Sussex) joined the Coolings Family in 2017 and 2019 respectively. With their strong plant backgrounds, they have been excellent additions to our business.

We are proud of our environmental outlook and aim to be the ‘greenest’ retailer in the UK. The environment is at the heart of our business and we were delighted to win the Commitment to the Environment Award at the Kent Excellence in Business Awards in 2019. Our environmental credentials include recycling at least 90% of our on-site waste, our plastic plant pot recycling scheme and our rainwater harvesting, which is collected in our two onsite reservoirs (these can hold the equivalent of six Olympic-sized swimming pools).

Being a local family business, we are interested in our local community. We plant and maintain several flowerbeds in the local area, creating pleasant surroundings. We support local groups and are delighted to offer nursery tours to several local schools, encouraging children to get involved in gardening.

We look forward to welcoming you soon.