Gardening Express

How ethical is Gardening Express?

Gardening Express is an online plant nursery which has achieved The GOOD Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark on our Ethical Garden Suppliers Ratings Table. With a score of 82 out of 100, Gardening Express demonstrates a commitment to ethical business practices across several criteria, though two areas present meaningful opportunities for improvement.

Gardening Express has not yet received The GOOD Shopping Guide’s Ethical Accreditation, an editorial endorsement awarded to brands which achieve a high ethical score across our multi-criteria assessment. Receiving this endorsement would strengthen the brand’s standing as a recognised ethical choice for consumers in the garden suppliers sector.

What does Gardening Express do?

Gardening Express Ltd was established in the late 1990s by Chris Bonnett and is headquartered in Chelmsford, Essex, where it operates a nursery spanning over 14 acres. The company is the UK’s leading online garden centre, supplying pot-grown plants including perennials, shrubs, trees, climbers, roses, bamboos, fruit trees, and hedging plants directly to consumers. Products are grown and despatched from the Essex nursery and delivered across the UK.

Why does Gardening Express perform well ethically?

Gardening Express achieves good ratings across the majority of criteria assessed by The GOOD Shopping Guide. The brand receives good ratings for environmental reporting and fossil fuels, reflecting its commitment to environmental transparency and energy practices. Gardening Express receives good ratings for animal welfare, armaments, irresponsible marketing, and political donations, and has no documented public record criticisms. As an independently founded business operating its own UK nursery, Gardening Express demonstrates solid ethical conduct across governance and environmental criteria.

What could improve Gardening Express’s ethical positioning?

Gardening Express receives a poor rating for peat free status. For an online nursery operating at significant scale, the use of peat-based growing media represents a meaningful environmental concern. Peatlands are among the UK’s most carbon-rich and biodiverse habitats, and peat extraction for horticultural use contributes to their destruction. The UK government has committed to phasing out peat compost sales to amateur gardeners, and the wider gardening sector is moving towards peat-free alternatives. Transitioning to peat-free growing media across its nursery operations would address this gap, reduce the brand’s environmental impact, and align Gardening Express with the direction of the sector.

Obtaining The GOOD Shopping Guide’s Ethical Accreditation would provide editorial recognition of Gardening Express’s ethical standards and make it easier for consumers to identify the brand as an editorially endorsed choice in the garden suppliers sector.

Gardening Express is a solid choice for consumers seeking a wide range of plants from an established independent UK nursery. Those seeking brands with stronger environmental credentials are encouraged to compare options on our Ethical Garden Suppliers Ratings Table. Our how we rate page explains the criteria used to assess all brands in this sector.