Hundreds of people descended on Shepton Mallet on Sunday for the official opening of the new £6 million Dobbies garden centre.

And on top of savouring the delights of the vast indoor and outdoor garden and plant areas, plus gifts, home produce and aquatics departments and restaurant, visitors were also wowed by the unique toilets.

The men's urinals are shaped as orchids and hollyhocks, while the basins in the ladies are shaped as huge flowers.

"They must be the most expensive urinals in the country," said Dobbies chief executive James Barnes.

The toilets were one of the store's best-kept secrets. Bespoke, and made in America, they were flown in under wraps and staff were urged to keep mum until the store doors officially opened.

"There is nothing quite like them anywhere else," said Dobbies construction development manager David Clark.

The opening ceremony of the new store on the former Tesco site at Fosse Way was performed by Shepton Mallet Town Council vice-chairman Cllr Neil Shearn.

Helping him cut the pink ribbon was nine-year-old Croscombe Primary School pupil Caragh Young, from Shepton Mallet, who won a cress-growing competition featuring Frome Grand Prix hero Jenson Button in his racing car.

Mr Barnes said it was the first time a supermarket in the UK had been converted into a garden centre and he was confident it would be a huge hit with customers.

He said he was well aware that some people had not been so thrilled when the garden centre plans were first mooted. Many wanted to see a leisure centre instead. The plans were met with a petition signed by 2,500 residents objecting to the garden centre scheme.

But Mendip District Council approved it and it has created 70 jobs.

"The feedback so far has been absolutely tremendous – and just look at the car park. It always takes time to win your spurs in a new area but I am confident what we have done will win people over," said Mr Barnes.

It is the biggest investment the company has ever made into a refurbishment of a building in the UK and he praised all the teams involved who had worked so hard to make it happen.

Mr Barnes said the company is keen to forge good relationships in the community and had already got involved with schools, set up a free Seedlings Club for youngsters to get growing, and hoped to play a major part at the Bath and West's Gardening show later this year.

Dobbies chairman Lucy Neville-Rolfe said it was great to have a presence in the West Country, with what was the company's 25th store in the UK.

And if the queues of cars in the car park and laden trollies at the check-outs were anything to go by throughout the opening day, the company should be well flushed with success.