Our Story

Monkton Elm is an award winning family owned garden centre that serves as a destination for the local community in the heart of Somerset. We bring our passion for plants and gardening into your indoor and outdoor living spaces, through our friendly and knowledge staff, in a shopping environment centered on customer service and family values. Our award winning restaurant serves everything from fabulous homemade scones and cakes, tea & coffee through to delicious breakfasts and lunches. Our lovely loyal customers also enjoy browsing our new Farm Shop, gift cards, home decor, garden furniture and BBQ’s, pet centre crammed full of delicious and nutritious foods & treats and our comprehensive pots and patio collection which sits alongside our amazing range of greenhouses and garden buildings.

Prior to becoming the garden centre we know today, the site was a successful tomato nursery, run by David and Luella Bellman, and their children helping in whatever way they could. Over the next 40 years the site evolved to providing the local community with everything they needed to enjoy their homes and gardens, in addition to expanding the food offering to a 350 seater restaurant and tranquil Pond Side Café.

The second generation of Bellman’s are thrilled to be involved in the business, shaping it for the future but remaining grounded with a core traditional family ethos.

We welcome new and old customer, experienced or novice gardeners, or anyone just looking for a space to meet and enjoy a lovely piece of cake and artisan coffee.

Mike and The Bellman Family

Some pictures showing the history of Monkton Elm

What people often ask about us

Is Monkton Elm part of a retail chain?

We are independent and still run by the Bellman Family, which means that we are not tied to any large corporations and therefore able to give unbiased product advice.

Has Monkton Elm always had a restaurant?

We first had a small cafe in the 80’s which has grown over the years and is now The Elm Tree Restaurant that can seat 300 people.

Do you grown your own plants?

The garden centre did start life as a nursery and while we would love to still grow our own plants we now leave that to our expert, specialist suppliers.

Do you offer any sort of loyalty scheme?

We do! We love how loyal our customers are and see lots of faces many times a year. As reward for this we offer an electronic loyalty card to earn 3 points for every pound spent, this equates to 3p or 3% back on everything you spend with us.