STAFF at garden centres across the country are celebrating after receiving awards at the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) annual conference in Luton on Monday, January 21, 2019.

The awards were presented to the member garden centres during a ceremony at Luton Hoo Hotel.

Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “Once again the dedication and hard work of our member garden centres has shone through and they are running to the very highest of standards in the industry. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of them as they are extremely deserving of their awards.”

The GCA represents nearly 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.

The full list of winners announced on Monday, January 21 were:                                             

• Christmas Competition (Garden Centre category) sponsored by Gisela Graham – Castle Gardens
• Christmas Competition (Destination Garden Centre category) sponsored by Gisela Graham – Barton Grange Garden Centre
• Environment and Community Award – Garden Wise – Dumfries 
• Ruxley Rose (Garden Centre category) – Cowell’s Garden Centre
• Ruxley Rose (Destination Garden Centre category) – Perrywood Garden Centre & Nurseries
• Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Creativity and Innovation – Bents Garden & Home

• Customer Service Award – Best Customer Service – Perrywood Garden Centre & Nurseries

• The Indoor Lifestyle Award – Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer (Garden Centre category) – Bridgford Garden Centre
• The Indoor Lifestyle Award – Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer (Destination Garden Centre category) – Bents Garden and Home

• The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer (Garden Centre category) – Bridgford Garden Centre

• The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer (Destination Garden Centre category) – Haskins Garden Centre - Ferndown
• Dick Allen Award (Most Improved Garden Centre) – RHS Rosemoor Plant Centre and Shop
• The ifse Award for Catering Excellence – Best Garden Centre Restaurant (Garden Centre Category) – Fron Goch Garden Centre
• The ifse Award for Catering Excellence – Best Garden Centre Restaurant (Destination Garden Centre Category) – Poplars Garden Centre
• Weber Outdoor Living Award – Best Outdoor Living Retailer (Garden Centre Category) – Bridgford Garden Centre
• Weber Outdoor Living Award – Best Outdoor Living Retailer (Destination Garden Centre Category) – Poplars Garden Centre and Barton Grange Garden Centre

For further details about the GCA conference, please call 01244 952170. Alternatively, please visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/pages/Garden-Centre-Association or follow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.