Four acres of growing, hidden behind the pub
A family-run nursery in Willian, growing plants on this site since 1903 — with a coffee shop, a community of local growers, and the UK's largest range of air plants.
Finding us: turn up the lane beside the Three Horseshoes pub in Willian — not The Fox opposite.
Saturday 7 November, 9.30am to 4pm
The Big Autumn Sale
Up to 80% off a thousand lines, with the first of the Christmas cards, gifts and decorations out on the tables. Free entry, free parking, no need to book.
A nursery with a Garden City job to do
When the Letchworth Pioneers laid out the world's first Garden City, they set aside these four acres for horticulture. The trees and plants that landscaped the new town were grown right here.
More than a century later we are still growing on the same ground. The nursery has been a market garden, fell quiet for a while, and was brought back to life — most recently in 2024, when the Barrell family took it on.
What you will find here
Plants, grown on site
Bedding, perennials, shrubs, trees, hedging, herbs, houseplants, fruit and vegetable plants, pond plants, baskets, compost and sundries. Much of it raised here rather than bought in.
Home of Love Tilly's air plants
We hold one of the largest air plant collections in the country and supply the trade nationwide. They need no soil, very little water, and they are happy indoors all year.
The Black Squirrel Coffee Shop
Open since April 2024, with proper coffee, cake and somewhere to sit while you decide what to take home. Dogs welcome.
Markets and community
Our Spring Market brings stallholders, animals and a good crowd, and we run seasonal events and host local groups through the year.
We are easy to miss
The postcode covers the whole village, and the nursery has no road frontage. Come along Baldock Lane to the Three Horseshoes, then follow the signs up the lane at the side of the pub. Keep going past the back of the pub and you will reach our black gate.
There is parking in front of the entrance, and a larger car park through the gate.
