Forest Row Guide put this page together for people who live here and for visitors who want plants, pots or a quiet browse after a walk. If you are looking for garden centres near Forest Row, start with Coolings Wych Cross Garden Centre. Coolings’ own centre page gives the address as Colemans Hatch Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5JW, and the telephone as 01342 822705. The village high street has food shops and cafes, but it does not have a garden centre of its own, so this is the listed plant stop on the edge of Ashdown Forest. Hours, stock and cafe service change, so confirm on the Coolings Wych Cross page before you travel.
Coolings at Wych Cross
Coolings says it took ownership of this nursery and garden centre in 2019, after more than fifty years as a garden-centre business. The same page says the site was refurbished in August 2019, and that rose growing started again on site in 2020 to supply all four Coolings centres. It now describes about 180 rose varieties grown there, plus about 55 David Austin roses. Treat those numbers as Coolings’ own description, not a count we have checked on the benches.
The centre page lists a plant-led range: herbaceous and perennial plants, roses, shrubs, ornamental and fruit trees, hedging, conifers, climbers, alpines, rhododendrons, acers, camellias, herbs, bedding and vegetables. It also names British-made stoneware, pots, statues, ornaments and bird baths, plus a shop for tools, lawn care, watering, wildlife and bird care, seeds, gifts and cards. A Cook counter is listed for meals to heat at home. Coolings says Millbrook Aquatics is on the same site, near the tea room. Use the listing for the address and official link.
The Pump Garden and the tea room
Coolings describes a restored half-acre Pump Garden that is free to visit. The page says it is planted with roses, beds and borders, has a wildlife pond, and keeps the restored water pump as the centrepiece. Seasonal plant displays are put in around the garden centre by the nursery team. That is useful if you want a short outdoor look as well as a shop, but it is not a public park with published path grades. Confirm on the Coolings page if you need step-free access on the day.
The Hybrid Tea Room is the on-site cafe. Coolings says it offers cakes, coffee and a light lunch of hot and cold food. The same page publishes garden-centre hours of Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4:30pm, with Sunday tills from 10:30am. Tea-room hours are listed as Monday to Saturday 9am to 4:30pm and Sunday 10am to 4:30pm, with last orders at 4pm. Those times sat on the official page when this was written. Confirm them there before you go.
Coolings publishes a dog policy on that page. Dogs on a lead with a responsible owner are welcome in the centre. For hygiene, dogs are only allowed in designated indoor and outdoor seating at the Hybrid Tea Room, not throughout the cafe. Water bowls are provided. If that matters to your visit, read the live policy on the Coolings page.
A listed nursery further out
If Coolings is not the stop you need, this guide also lists The Walled Garden Nursery as a garden nursery on the Sheffield Park estate. That is a nearby listing, not a village-centre shop. The listing does not carry a verified official website, address line or current hours, so those details stay off this page. Use the listing, then confirm opening and stock with the nursery before you travel.
We Grow Forest Row is not a garden centre. We Grow’s About page says it is a community interest company that began when a Forest Row household shared land so neighbours could grow food together. It now connects growing groups and trains community leaders. The listing says it is not a shop, and that you should use wegrow.org.uk to see whether a Forest Row group is taking new people.
Getting there, and what else is nearby
Wych Cross sits on the A22, south of the village, with Colemans Hatch Road leaving the junction toward Hartfield. Forest Row has no railway station of its own. Use Getting To Forest Row for buses, East Grinstead station and the Forest Way. If you are already walking on Ashdown Forest, the Walks page is the place for route notes. Do not treat the garden centre car park as a forest trailhead unless Coolings or the Conservators say so on the day.
After plants, the village Shops page is the fuller retail list. Coolings also publishes seasonal Christmas shop notes on the same centre page. We leave those dates to Coolings, because they move.
If a garden centre or nursery has moved, closed or been missed, send a correction through Update a listing or Contact.