Long before Kmart became synonymous with $2 homewares and viral storage hacks, there was another part of the store many either remember fondly or have zero recollection of.
The garden section.
For decades, many Kmart stores across Australia featured outdoor-style garden centres tucked onto the edge of the building or just beyond the main aisles, complete with plants, soil, pots and the unmistakable smell of damp mulch and warm air.
Now, shoppers are realising just how long it’s been since they last saw one – or learning about the ‘dreamy’ sections for the very first time.
‘I haven’t seen a garden section at Kmart since about 2013,’ one nostalgic shopper said, adding their hope for a ‘big return’.
Others shared the nostalgia.
‘I can distinctly remember the smell and heat of the garden area,’ another recalled.
‘My local one even had Venus fly traps – I was completely transfixed by them as a kid.’
For decades, many Kmart stores across Australia featured outdoor-style garden centres tucked onto the edge of the building or just beyond the main aisles
For many children, the garden section wasn’t just a retail space – it was an escape.
‘This was the highlight of my Kmart visit when I was a kid,’ one person wrote.
‘It meant I didn’t have to walk around the rest of the store with my mother.’
Another said their local layout made it even better.
‘Ours was right after the book section. I could browse books, then walk straight into the garden. It was lovely.’
Others remembered it as a place of calm after work.
‘The first one in Australia was my quiet place to go after work. It was so relaxing,’ one shopper said.
Some stores even had cafes nearby, adding to the experience.
For many children, the garden section wasn’t just a retail space – it was an escape
Many shoppers believe the rise of Bunnings played a major role, effectively taking over the garden and hardware market as Kmart and Big W shifted their focus toward homewares
‘The cafe in the middle that sold pikelets was mine. I only got a couple of years of that before it closed.’
So what happened?
Many shoppers believe the rise of Bunnings played a major role, effectively taking over the garden and hardware market as Kmart and Big W shifted their focus toward homewares, clothing, and fast-moving general merchandise.
Others have noticed remnants of the old spaces still lingering – sealed off but not forgotten.
‘The Big W near me still has the old outdoor part. It’s just covered with tarps and wire fencing. I always wondered why they don’t use the space for something else.’
In some stores, the garden centres were repurposed.
‘My local Big W turned the old garden centre into the party supplies area,’ another added.
A handful of locations appear to be holding on to the past.
Shoppers say Burwood East still has a functioning garden centre attached to Kmart, while others recall similar setups in Belconnen years ago before renovations removed them.
‘Belconnen had one to the right of the entrance when I was in high school in the late 2000s. It was removed around 2010 during renovations.’
Beyond plants, some remembered even broader offerings.
‘Yes – when I was a kid they also had a paint section to paint the house,’ one shopper said.
The disappearance of Kmart’s garden centres reflects a bigger shift in Australian retail – away from slower, experiential browsing and toward streamlined, high-turnover shopping. But the emotional pull of those spaces remains strong.
And judging by how fondly people still talk about it, it’s a reminder that sometimes the parts of shops we miss most are the ones that gave us somewhere to linger.
