Welcome to the Island's Largest Multi Award Winning Garden Centre
Christmas World
Over the decades Busy Bee has been added to and developed in to the Isle of Wight's biggest garden centre and one of the South Coast's most popular Christmas attractions, with our much anticipated and multi award winning Christmas World! Our latest award was coming 1st in the GTN's National Greatest Christmas Team 2023.
1987
The Beginning...
Busy Bee originated really by chance in 1987, the land on which it stands being bought purely as a pasture in which to keep a few horses! However, when the present proprietors, Chris and Mary Leslie were having a picnic in the new field with their children the idea of a Garden Centre was first envisaged.
The first stage of development of Busy Bee was just completed when the Great Storm of 1987 virtually flattened it ! At that time the enterprise was no more than one small glass house and a couple of polytunnels, the latter being completely destroyed in the storm.
Busy Bee's beloved cat
Susie
We could not have a page on the website without mentioning Susie, the friendliest and most adorable cat you could wish for. She appeared at the centre one day in the late nineties as a stray and decided to make Busy Bee her home.
She soon become a favourite with both staff and customers alike, popping up all over the centre making sure things were running smoothly !
She was a real diva and loved having her photo taken, with many customers sharing them on social media and children would always have a game in trying to find her when visiting the store......one her favourite places to sleep was with Jesus in the nativity scene at Christmas !
2013
Evolving
In 2013 Busy Bee had its largest transformation doubling the size of the centre and has been focused on becoming not only a much loved Island company but one of the UK's best Garden Centres.
At Busy Bee quality is out top priority with great depth and ranges of products all at reasonable and affordable prices.
2025
Blue Diamond Group
In 2025, Chris and Mary Leslie announced their retirement after a hugely sucsessful 38 years, building the business from a humble greenhouse to the Islands largest garden centre.
Chris and Mary Leslie commented:
“Busy Bee has been at the centre of our lives for nearly four decades, and we are incredibly proud of what it has become. We’ve always believed in creating a place that brings people together - whether for plants, gifts, or simply a day out. As we retire, we are pleased to be passing Busy Bee into the hands of Blue Diamond, whose focus on plants and customers gives us confidence that the centre will continue to thrive.”
Passing the torch, Busy Bee was aquired by Blue Diamond - The UK's largest garden centre group with 52 garden centres nation-wide.
Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond, said:
“Busy Bee is a much-loved garden centre at the heart of its community. We are committed to building on its strengths, especially in plants, and look forward to introducing more variety and choice for customers in the future.”
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