Hillside Nursery Centre

Great place has a café/​coffeeshop inside and maiden head aquatics witch I would use all the time, great place to bring the kids at Christmas as it’s like a winter wonder land, some plants can be quite expensive but good quality and a big range very helpful staff quite a small selection of garden tools just the bigger brands but lots of other wee bits and pieces, worth a visit…

This has to be the best garden centre there is. And at Christmas they really pull out all the stops. There’s also a great section of aquarium stuff and loads of fish to look at and a nice coffee shop /​restaurant. This place should be a tourist attraction. They could improve it by putting in a little park bit to keep kids amused.

We visited Hillside on Saturday past, to have some lunch and take our little boy to see Santa. We decided to come because it’s great to visit and spend a few hours.
This is so much more than just a boring garden centre, because I really would not be excited about visiting a garden centre!
Hillside really have gone the distance to make this an interesting place to visit, regardless of whether you are into gardening, or not.
Aside from the massive range of plants, shrubs and gardening accessories, Hillside also have a large section selling fish from Maidenhead Aquatics, which is lovely to have a look around.
They also have a massive indoor shop, selling everything from standard gardening items, to barbecues, water features, and even homeware.
They had the place all done up for Christmas and it really got us all in the festive spirit, it looked absolutely magical. The Santa’s grotto was in aid of Clic Sargent, so as well as getting a great festive experience, we were also helping to support a great cause.
There was a bit of a wait when we arrived, however we simply took our ticket and went off to get some lunch at the on-​site tearoom. I had been to Hillside a few times before, however this was my first time visiting the tearoom, and this exceeded our expectations by far.
I was expecting tea/​coffee, tray-​bakes, and potentially some pre-​packed sandwiches, however I couldn’t believe the fantastic full menu they had on offer, hot foods such as gourmet hotdogs, burgers, pies, quiches, and any type of sub or sandwich you wanted.
We had a sandwich and a toastie and the quality of the food was excellent. We had so much fun at Hillside and will look forward to coming back again soon!

My parents are both big green fingers and loving daughter thatI am *ahem* when they need a hand garden wise I’m often called upon to trek up to Hillside with them to help out with carting all the goods to and fro. (Thankfully aided by those huge trolleys they have!) Hillside is a great garden centre which stocks a massive range of anything and everything you could ever need for your garden.
Hillside Nursery is now the biggest garden centre in Northern Ireland. It’s located on the Doagh Road, Newtownabbey. It recently underwent a major renovation which saw the premises extending with a new car parking space, a lovely though expensive coffee shop and an indoor covered plant area. They really needed this new parking space as it used to be on a sunny Saturday the whole place would be totally packed out and often put people off visiting but thankfully there’s room for everyone now. Happy gardening everyone!

Late each Spring, with the improving weather, something happens to my psyche. After a long winter spent in darkness (I often work into the night, and sleep during the day) I start developing fervent interests in stuff like running, hay fever remedies and eating healthily. Also, gardening.
I find myself drawn to Hillside to buy stuff that I can plant, or plonk in the back garden. As a bit of a sun-​worshipper, you’ll find me on my bench (purchased in Hillside) reading a book if the clouds disappear for longer than five minutes.
Let’s face it, garden centres are nice places to wander around on a sunny day. Especially when they have pleasant wee coffee shops that serve more than the usual staples of traybakes and tea.
Anyway, Autumn’s on the way. Hello again, drive-​through KFC. See you next year, Hillside.

Every spring my Mum drags me here when she decides to take a renewed interest in the garden. It never lasts for long, thank God, as our family is not remotely green fingered. Every time my gardening-​enthusiast Uncle comes to stay he ends up sitting out in our garden, dead-​heading the flowers and clearing up weeds because it bugs him so much.
I can see why pensioners like this place (sniggers behind hand), as they are here in their droves, milling about looking at the plants, trees and gardening supplies, and sipping their tea and eating buns in the coffee shop, as on a nice day — it’s quite nice. They have a massive range of stock, and you could get lost looking for things, but I would imagine if you know your plants, it could be a great place to come. At Christmas they have a Santa’s Grotto and throughout the year they have lovely garden furniture that really makes me wish I had a bloody garden. This will be horticulture heaven for those who love it.