Best Overall Garden Centres Revealed At GCA Conference

THE WINNERS of the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) most prestigious awards including its Garden Centres of Excellence were announced at its annual conference yesterday (Tuesday, January 30, 2024).

The awards ceremony took place at the De Vere Cotswold Water Park Hotel near Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

Peter Burks, Chief Executive at the GCA, said: “We had a joyous evening celebrating our overall champion of champions and our ‘Garden Centres of Excellence’ winners. They have all demonstrated tremendous tenacity, hard work and passion, and couldn’t be more deserving of these accolades. 

“We were also delighted to announce our Associate of the Year, as voted for by our member garden centres and to present our Worrall Cup to the garden centre the judges’ felt entered the best marketing and community campaign too.

“We had a great second day at our 2024 conference. I’d like to acknowledge our sponsors for helping make it all happen, especially Taylors Bulbs for sponsoring the day, Davidson Richards for helping keep us well fuelled by sponsoring our morning tea/coffee break, Quinton Edwards for our Tuesday champagne reception, Fordingbridge our Gala Dinner and wine, and Bon Bon’s for our delicious after-dinner chocolates. Everyone had a very important role in ensuring our Tuesday went so well, thank you.”

The full list of winners announced on Tuesday, January 30 were:

Destination Garden Centre of the Year:

Winner 

• Bents Garden & Home

Second & third place winners

• Perrywood Garden Centre, Tiptree 
• Ruxley Manor Garden Centre

Garden Centre of the Year: 

Winner 

• Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne

Second & third place winners

• Coolings Wych Cross Garden Centre
• Pugh’s Garden Village Wenvoe

Garden Centres of Excellence – (below is in alphabetical order not order of inspection scores): 

• Barton Grange Garden Centre
• Bents Garden & Home
• Coolings Garden Centre Knockholt
• Haskins Garden Centre, Snowhill
• Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre
• Millbrook Garden Company, Gravesend
• Perrywood Garden Centre, Tiptree
• Ruxley Manor Garden Centre
• Simpsons Garden Centre, Inverness
• The Old Railway Line Garden Centre 

Associate of the Year (voted by GCA garden centre members):

Winner 

• Woodmansterne

Second & third place winners

• Smart Garden Products
• Merzario  

The Worrall Cup: 

Winner 

• Tong Garden Centre

Second & third place winners 

• Simpsons Garden Centre, Inverness
• The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

The GCA represents more than 200 garden centres nationwide.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

For further information, please visit www.gca.org.uk.

Source : Garden Centre Association

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