Leading garden centre chain Hillier has sealed its place at the forefront of the industry by winning Ideal Home’s Garden Retailer of the Year Award.

The company pipped other top garden retailers to the post, winning due to its brand built around delivering industry-leading expertise and horticultural knowledge, as well as exceptional customer service, top-tier plants, trees and garden accessories.

The awards, organised by the iconic Ideal Home, recognise the best in home and garden sectors. Judged by industry experts and editors, there are awards for Kitchen, Bathroom, Living Room, Bedroom and, new for 2024, Garden – with Hillier leading the way.

Now with 22 garden centres, Hillier grows over one million plants at its Peat-free Hampshire nursery, is the largest grower of semi-mature trees in the UK and Ireland, and has an online shop appealing to gardeners all across the country.

The garden retailer’s winning entry focused on the company’s flourishing story over the last few years, its commitment to sustainability and passionate support and advocacy for the industry. Hillier’s heritage in the gardening world is well documented, with the story beginning 160 years ago – and reaching new heights ever since.

The awards recognised the company’s recent successes with turnover up 32.4% in 2023, the launch of its online shop, the substantial redevelopment of Hillier Garden Centre Newbury and the acquisition of the Rosebourne Garden Centre Group in November 2022, as well as sponsorship of BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair, and the incredibly popular free ‘Hillier Gardening Club’ loyalty program which now has over half a million members.

The Ideal Home Garden Award win is yet another exciting moment for Hillier in a year packed full of highlights, as fifth-generation family member George took over as chairman from his father Robert at the beginning of this year.

George Hillier said: “It’s fantastic to be part of something so special as Ideal Home’s first-ever Garden Awards, and to take home the win in its inaugural year is a real accolade.

“We are constantly striving to reach new heights of customer service and unrivalled products, but to have that recognised by an external source is a great source of pride and testament to the amazing work from the Hillier team and our unwavering commitment to the garden retail industry. We are sure that winning this award will allow us to continue inspiring people to invest time in their green spaces as a part of their homes.

“We’re excited to see the Ideal Home Garden Awards go from strength to strength over the coming years, and we hope to play a part for many years to come.”

To find out more about Hillier’s award-winning service and products, visit www.hillier.co.uk