At Urban Jungle, we believe that every individual deserves to experience the transformative power of nature. Our mission is to create lush and bountiful environments where our customers can reconnect with the healing energy of plants, encountering the global palette of species it is possible to grow in the UK, not just those commercially produced en masse. Our nurseries and cafes are designed to be a botanical wonderland, where customers can explore and discover new possibilities. Our ultimate goal is to inspire and enrich the lives of gardeners and future gardeners, and to create a more sustainable and harmonious world through our love of plants.
Canopy management at Urban Jungle Norfolk.
We challenge the status quo of gardening, and by widening the palette of available plants, and envisaging new ways of creating planting compositions, we enable our customers to create their own unique urban jungle.
History
In 2001 an obsessional hobby began to morph into a nursery on an overgrown 2 acre site on the outskirts of the village of Old Costessey, 5 miles west of Norwich. Over the next couple of years, land was reclaimed from the brambles and undergrowth, that hobby evolved into a business, and Urban Jungle came into being. The owners’ passion for all things exotic, evergreen, architectural, and unusual was shared by a growing number of customers, and eventually Urban Jungle expanded its range into houseplants.
What began as a kettle, a tin of biscuits, and an honesty box in the big greenhouse, eventually became a full blown restaurant.
It soon became apparent that the style and business ethos that had evolved in Costessey could spread its wings and grow into a second site. Indeed, the Costessey nursery was buckling under the strain of so many visitors, and a second site became a necessity. An opportunity arose to acquire a recently vacated nursery in Suffolk, near the town of Beccles. The site was acquired in 2017 and cleared of its previous garden centre layout so that the Urban Jungle style could be imprinted onto it.
In 2020 the cafes were closed due to Coronavirus restrictions, reopening when permitted, but as coffee shops. Perhaps one day they’ll be fully functioning restaurants again, but in the meantime the owners and their team are enjoying putting all their efforts into further horticultural development of the sites.
