The rise in theft from garden centres and how high-tech surveillance is preventing the pilfering

Published: September 11, 2026 at 5:39 am

Who doesn’t love a visit to the garden centre? It’s one of life’s pleasures to potter amongst the plants looking for seasonal inspiration. According to the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) , there are over 200 million visits to garden centres every year in the UK. It’s big business, but there’s also an unwelcome set of customers popping into garden shops these days… and it’s not just to browse the bedding plants and enjoy a cream tea.

Sprawling sites out of view of staff make garden centres good targets for thieves. © Getty / Jecapix

Opportunistic pilfering, entrepreneurial shoplifters and, more sinisterly, organised crime groups, have come knocking at the door of horticultural retail. As a result, it’s estimated that Britain's 1500 garden centres lose £16 million a year to thievery.…