What to ask Dana Merritt
Ask Dana about shade perennials and what will actually come back after a hard winter.
Co-owner, perennials
Dana Merritt
Grew up in Greenhouse 1
Family-run since 1981
A garden centre that grew from a roadside stand.
Two generations of Merritts, four greenhouses and a nursery yard on Mossgrove Line, run by people who would rather tell you the truth about a plant than sell you the wrong one.
Our story
Forty-five seasons on the same road.
Loamwood has never been the biggest garden centre around Peterborough, and it doesn't try to be. What we try to be is the place where the plant you take home is the right one for your yard, and where someone remembers you asked about it last spring.
-
1981
A roadside stand and one greenhouse
Hal and June Merritt start selling tomato seedlings and bedding plants from a hand-built greenhouse on Mossgrove Line.
-
1994
Two more greenhouses
Greenhouses 2 and 3 go up, and the stand becomes a garden centre that stays open past June.
-
2004
The nursery yard
Colin plants the first rows of the tree and shrub yard behind the barn. It's three acres today.
-
2012
Bulk soil and delivery
The bulk yard opens with one dump truck and a loader, so customers stop hauling soil in their trunks.
-
2016
The second generation
Dana and Colin take over from their parents. June still checks the perennial benches most Saturdays.
-
2019
The potting barn
The old storage barn becomes a heated workshop space with long benches and room for 14.
What we stand for
Four things printed on every tag.
-
01
Grown for this zone
We stock what survives a Peterborough winter, and we label the borderline plants honestly instead of hoping.
-
02
Advice before the sale
If the spot is wrong for the plant, we say so, even when that means you buy something cheaper or nothing at all.
-
03
A guarantee in plain words
One year on trees, shrubs and perennials, two years if we plant them, 30 days on houseplants. The terms fit on one page.
-
04
Open more than spring
Workshops, the holiday market and a warm greenhouse in January, so the store is worth a visit in every season.
The people in green aprons
Ask any of us. Tap the plus to see what we're best at.
Co-owner, perennials
What to ask Colin Merritt
Ask Colin about spacing, mature sizes, and which trees cope with heavy clay.
Co-owner, nursery yard
Colin Merritt
Runs the tree yard since 2004
What to ask Priya Nandakumar
Ask Priya about low-light plants, repotting, and why the leaves are turning yellow.
Greenhouse and houseplants
Priya Nandakumar
On the team since 2015
What to ask Marc Bélanger
Ask Marc how many yards you need and where the truck can actually reach.
Bulk yard and delivery
Marc Bélanger
On the team since 2011
What to ask Odette Kwan
Ask Odette to sketch a bed around what you already have.
Design desk
Odette Kwan
On the team since 2019
What to ask Sam Whitlock
Ask Sam about the next wreath workshop before the seats go.
Workshops and the potting barn
Sam Whitlock
On the team since 2017
Plus about a dozen seasonal staff each spring, many of them horticulture students. If you'd like to join us for the 2027 season, email hello@loamwood.example after January 5.
Loamwood Garden Centre
Come and meet us.
The kettle is usually on in Greenhouse 3. Drop by, bring a photo of your yard, and ask whoever's closest.