英国 城市丛林花园中心 Urban Jungle – 覆盖东部的两座异国植物苗圃

关于城市丛林花园中心

城市丛林（Urban Jungle）是英国东部两座城市丛林花园中心的运营方，两处分别在诺福克郡 Old Costessey 和萨福克郡 Beccles 附近。公司的自我定位是「独立植物专家」，主打那些在英国能种、但市面上不常见的品种——常绿、造型感强、异国风情的植物，不走批量生产的路子。

诺福克场子在诺里奇以西五英里，萨福克场子在贝克斯附近。两处都兼做苗圃、咖啡馆和设计服务，也接受园林承包商和花园设计师的行业订单。

从一个业余爱好开始

2001 年，一处两英亩的荒地成了起点。地块在诺里奇以西 Old Costessey 村的边缘，原本长满荆棘和杂草，主人花了一两年时间把地清理出来，把一个痴迷的业余爱好做成了苗圃。之所以是这块地，是因为主人对异国情调植物的偏好正好撞上了当时的市场空档——来的人越来越多，货也就慢慢往室内植物和稀有品种上扩。

咖啡馆也是这么长出来的。最初是在大温室里支起一口水壶、一罐饼干和一个投币箱，后来变成了正经餐厅。这个配置一直留着，两个场子的咖啡馆至今仍是「卖饮品和简餐、顺便看植物」的路子，不是连锁餐饮。

种些什么

植物按门类分，主要几块是树木与灌木、地中海风格植物、多年生植物、竹、棕榈、蕨类与桫椤，还有室内植物、多肉与仙人掌、大丽花和各类 hardy tropicals（耐寒热带植物）。按美国园艺协会的登记目录，它的自有产品还包含观赏树木灌木、室内植物、仙人掌多肉、大丽花。

和一般花园中心不同的是，这里的陈列方式——苗圃里的植物是按真实园林组合种出来的，不是排成一排的花盆。有草地隧道、玫瑰园、棕榈和多年生植物区，路走进去容易走迷路，场子自己都建议留足时间。

环保上有一条硬规定：苗圃不用化学农药，只用有机肥料和有机饲料。公司另一条说法是每株植物都要经得起形态、抗寒和美观三重挑选。

咖啡馆

两个场子的咖啡馆基本一致：本地出产的蛋糕和糕点、现磨咖啡和茶、冷饮，柜台上永远备有无麸质蛋糕和纯素蛋糕，也有不含乳的奶可以选。座位分室内、室外和半遮棚三种，不管坐哪都是被植物围着。诺福克场子的室内水池里养了锦鲤，萨福克场子有一圈 verandah 露台，上午晒得到太阳、午后转阴凉。

咖啡馆的装修本身也是卖点之一。诺福克那家几乎全用回收和再利用材料搭起来，落座在一座大玻璃房里，四周是绿植、香花和可以买走的室内植物、多肉。

营业时间与行业服务

两处场子的时间一样：苗圃三月到十月二十六日十点到五点，之后改到四点（天黑得更早就提前收）；咖啡馆同期十点到四点，之后十点到三点。

给行业客户的服务是另一条线：景观设计师、承包商和园艺师可以申请行业折扣卡，植物打八折，堆肥饲料、工具杂货、花盆类一律九折。卡是线上申请、审核通过后邮寄。数量大的单子如果自家和英国苗圃都没有货，公司也可以从欧洲其他苗圃调货，并且能就诺福克、萨福克本地的种植条件给建议。

零售这边还提供植物设计服务，适合需要专业意见的家庭花园，也适合和承包商、设计师合作的项目。

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About Urban Jungle

Urban Jungle is the operator of two garden centres in eastern England, at Old Costessey in Norfolk and near Beccles in Suffolk. It describes itself as a set of independent plant specialists growing varieties that can succeed in Britain but are not mass-produced commercially: evergreen, architectural and exotic plants rather than the usual retail range. Both sites combine a nursery, a café and a plant design service, and both welcome trade orders from landscapers and garden designers.

From a Hobby to a Nursery

It began in 2001 on a two-acre overgrown site on the edge of Old Costessey, five miles west of Norwich. The land was cleared of brambles and undergrowth over a couple of years, turning an obsessive hobby into a nursery, and the owners’ taste for evergreen, architectural and unusual plants found a ready market — eventually leading the range into houseplants and rare specimens.

The café grew the same way. What started as a kettle, a tin of biscuits and an honesty box in the big greenhouse eventually became a full restaurant, and the small, plant-surrounded setup is still how both cafés work today.

What They Grow

Range headings include trees and shrubs, Mediterranean plants, perennials, bamboo, palms, ferns and tree ferns, indoor plants, cacti and succulents, dahlias and hardy tropicals. What sets the nurseries apart is how stock is displayed: plants are set out in real garden compositions rather than rows of pots, with a grass tunnel, a rose garden and areas of palms and perennials. The Norfolk site advises allowing plenty of time, because it really is easy to lose your way.

On the environmental side the rule is simple and stated plainly: no chemical pesticides, and only organic fertilisers and feeds. The company also says every plant is selected for form, hardiness and beauty.

The Cafés

Both cafés serve locally produced cakes and pastries, ground coffee, tea and cold drinks, with a gluten-free and a vegan cake always on the counter and non-dairy milk available. Seating is indoors, outdoors and semi-covered, surrounded by planting wherever you sit. The Costessey café has a koi pond indoors, and the Beccles branch has a verandah that is sunny until midday and shady on hot afternoons. The Costessey café was built almost entirely from reclaimed and recycled materials and sits in a large glasshouse full of foliage, scented flowers and plants for sale.

Opening Times and Trade

Both nurseries open 10am to 5pm from March to 26 October and 10am to 4pm, or dusk if earlier, from then until February; the cafés open 10am to 4pm and then 10am to 3pm on the same dates.

Landscapers, designers and gardeners can apply for a Trade Card giving 20 per cent off plants and 10 per cent off compost, feeds, tools, sundries and pots, applied for online and posted out on approval. For larger orders the company can source from European nurseries as well as UK growers if stock is unavailable, and will advise on planting in Norfolk, Suffolk and elsewhere. Retail customers can also book the plant design service.