Long established, Otley Garden Centre was formerly known as “Stephen H Smith” and joined the Yorkshire Garden Centres family in 2022.
Renowned for plants displayed against the stunning Chevin backdrop, discover our seasonal range for the home and garden as well as Hearty’s Food Hall and Hattie’s Kitchen.
We are an independently owned business committed to our vision: to deliver great experiences for all the family. Through retail, food and play offerings in each of our retail destinations, we believe we have created a unique mix of brands that always deliver great experiences for families across multiple sites in Yorkshire.
OUR GARDEN CENTRES
TONG GARDEN CENTRE
Tong Garden Centre is an award winning retail destination for families in the heart of Yorkshire. Nestled between the cities of Leeds and Bradford, within easy reach of the M62 and set in 17 acres of beautiful countryside, we are independently-owned and proud to play an active part in our community.
TINGLEY GARDEN CENTRE
Established in 2022, Tingley Garden Centre is a sister site to our well-established Tong Garden Centre, and offers our unique mix of shopping, dining and play for all the family that customers have come to know and love. Our knowledgeable team that always deliver great experiences for families in Yorkshire.
OTLEY GARDEN CENTRE
Long established, Otley Garden Centre was formerly known as Stephen H Smith and joined the family in 2022. Renowned for plants displayed against the stunning Chevin backdrop, discover our seasonal range for the home and garden as well as Hearty’s Food Hall and Hatties Kitchen.
BINGLEY GARDEN CENTRE
In the heart of the community, Bingley Garden Centre joined the family in 2022. The smallest of our centres but it’s packed with plants and gardening products, gift and homeware, local produce and of course a delicious menu served daily in Hatties Kitchen.
DEANS GARDEN CENTRE YORK
Dean’s Garden Centre started out as a family run business that served local gardeners for 56 years. The York store in Stockton-on-the-Forest was opened in 1968 by Mr & Mrs Dean and the centre has gone from strength to strength growing to cover more than four acres.
DEANS GARDEN CENTRE Scarborough
Dean’s Garden Centre started out as a family run business that served local gardeners for 56 years. Following the success of the York Garden Centre, Ken and Margaret Dean purchased a second site in February 1986 on Seamer Road, Scarborough.
Our BRANDS
Established in 2015, Grass Hoppers offers proper playtime for younger children and toddlers with engaging indoor and outdoor activities set in safe and secure surroundings. You will find Grass Hoppers and its family restaurant, Woody’s Kitchen, at Tong & Tingley garden centre.
Mission Out is a challenging, rewarding day of active outdoor adventure at Tingley Garden Centre aimed at 6 to 14 year olds. It’s 4 acres of fun and exhilarating activities – perfect for family days, treats and celebrations, school trips and team building.
Whether it’s something tasty for tea, an everyday treat or a thoughtful gift, at each of our centres Hearty’s Food Hall is filled with a tempting choice of lovingly-made, hand-crafted and carefully selected food with heart! Discover the superb choice of ‘heartisan’ produce from Yorkshire and beyond.
Found at Tong, Tingley, Otley & Bingley. Blooms & Hattie’s Kitchen offers a menu of favourites throughout the day in a comfortable family-friendly environment. From breakfast and lunch to cakes, our Sunday roast and seasonal afternoon tea, we always guarantee a warm welcome.
SELECT YOUR GARDEN CENTRE
Blooms Kitchen at Tong Blooms Kitchen at Tingley Hattie’s Kitchen at Otley Hattie’s Kitchen at BingleyIn 2019, we opened The Mezzanine, our second restaurant at Tong Garden Centre – a stylish and spacious place to eat, drink and relax. We introduced table reservations and launched a menu of seasonal dishes, gourmet sandwiches and mini patisserie enjoyed in a stylish and welcoming setting.
The Bothy & The Gardeners Choice is the perfect place to take a break during your shopping at our Dean’s Garden Centres. Enjoy our delightful selection of freshly cooked breakfast, brunch, and lunch dishes that you’re certain to love. All served daily in a warm and welcoming atmosphere!
In May 2015, Tom Megginson and Mark Farnsworth took over at Tong Garden Centre.
Since 1984, Tong had been one of biggest and best garden centres in Yorkshire but the business had lost it’s way in the 2000’s and needed a change of direction. Inheriting 45 members of staff, Tom and Mark set off to restore it’s reputation and create a modern garden centre with a great mix of retail, food and leisure.
The early investment went into improving our retail offer alongside a brand new restaurant and coffee shop. Grasshoppers children’s play area quickly followed and this proved a huge hit. In 2019, we completed our first new building which gave us a fantastic new plant canopy as well as an indoor play area for Grass Hoppers.
In 2020, we added a two storey extension onto the front of the building which has introduced more retail space for gardening, the Mezzanine restaurant and some great facilities and offices for our team. With an investment of around £7m into the business, we now have over 250 people working at Tong and we are all very proud of the award winning garden centre that we are today.
In 2022, the next phase of ambitious growth was the opening of Tingley Garden Centre in south Leeds – Tong’s sister centre which also boasts Mission Out, our brand new outdoor adventure attraction for older children. Tingley is also home to Bloom’s Kitchen, Grass Hoppers and our Hearty’s food hall.
In the same year, the business acquired the long-established Stephen H Smith centres based in Otley and Bingley, great additions to the family and a huge stride forward in delivering the vision for multiple sites across Yorkshire.
Investment and redevelopment at Otley and Bingley saw the centres transform in line with both Tong and Tingley and the team introduced the parent brand, Yorkshire Garden Centres, to host the family of brands, created across all the sites, for families to enjoy.
In 2024, the two Dean’s Garden Centre sites at York and Scarborough were added to our family of sites at Tong, Tingley, Otley and Bingley. The Dean’s business dates back to 1968 when they opened the York store on a four acre site at Stockton on the Forest. This was followed by the acquisition of the eight-acre Scarborough site in 1986.
We are an ambitious business and we hope to continue to grow and create opportunities in our communities. We will continue our mission to create a great experience for all the family and we hope our customers will continue to enjoy visiting our centres. Our team will always be at the forefront of our business and we are grateful for all their efforts on our journey so far.
At the heart of the transformations and continued growth since 2015 has been a strong team ethos with our people and culture at the forefront of the strategy.
People have always been at the heart of our vision – creating a great place to visit and a great place to work have kept us focused. We couldn’t have got here without an amazing team and we’re proud to say we employ more than 600 people across all our sites, each one playing a valuable part in delivering our vision.