From this weekend, Bedford will become a must-visit destination for houseplant enthusiasts, with the much-anticipated opening of Not Another Jungle joining Castle Road favourites Nelly Mosa.
Not Another Jungle will open in one of the recently renovated units on Silver Street this Saturday (6 April) and owner Tony Le Britton cannot wait to throw open the doors to green-fingered Bedfordians.
With an Instagram following of 240,000 and a hugely successful – and beautiful – shop in Northampton, Tony told the Bedford Clanger that a shop in Bedford was never in his plans.
“But then Jane Perrone (former gardening editor at the Guardian and Bedford Clanger, podcaster, author and Bedfordian) sent me a photo of the unit in Silver Street and I was interested.
“That weekend I was driving down the High Street to visit Bedford Flea and by the time I’d parked up I’d made my mind up that I wanted to open a shop here.”
The shop will be a “houseplant heaven” selling everything from plants for first-time owners to rarer specimens for serious collectors plus accessories, books and more.
Jane Perrone told The Clanger: “I am thrilled to see Not Another Jungle coming to Bedford. Tony’s existing store in Northampton is a real gem and I am sure he’ll bring the same flair for houseplants to his new shop in Bedford.”
And the team at Nelly Mosa on Castle Road are looking forward to welcoming a fellow horticulture-aholic to the area too.
“We’re excited for someone else to be in the area who is also passionate about plants,” said owner Fay Hare, who runs the shop with her mum, Jen.
“We really admire the unusual and rare plants that Tony sources and they’ll definitely attract more plant lovers to come to Bedford and we look forward to welcoming them over to Castle Road.
“We pride ourselves on easycare plants that are accessible to everyone, whatever your skill level or green-fingeredness! We love nothing more than helping someone develop a lifelong love for plants.”
Not Another Jungle emerged out of the pandemic, after an incredible indoor garden that Tony had created in his house in Cheltenham was picked up by BBC Gloucestershire and soon went viral. “I’m quite random,” he happily admits.
Plants quickly went from Tony’s hobby to a business and the shop in Northampton was initially intended as simply a space to ship online orders from. “It started as an ‘office’ and soon became a monster of it’s own. And now it’s time to expand further afield.”
Despite some setbacks with the unit – he was intending to open before Christmas – Tony is really looking forward to getting stuck into the Bedford Indies scene.
“There is a really nice buzz in Bedford,” said Tony. “A great mixture of people and so much potential that I want to be part of.
“Our shop is for absolutely everybody – there is a plant for everyone whether you’ve got £5 to spend, up to very rare examples that will attract visitors to Bedford.”
The opening is another vote of confidence for Bedford, a town that has been at the mercy of national chain closures over the last decade, from BHS to Debenhams, Beales to the Body Shop.
Let’s hope it’s the first of many…
Not Another Jungle, Silver Street, Bedford MK40 1NT @notanotherjungle
Nelly Mosa, 103 Castle Rd, Bedford MK40 3QP @nellymosaltd
