Blue Diamond Garden Centres in collaboration with the National Trust have been shortlisted as a finalist in this year’s Cultural Enterprises Awards for Best Licensed Product category, featuring our collection of plants, bulbs and seeds inspired by properties and gardens cared for by the Trust.

These Awards celebrate success and creativity in the cultural income generation and this year the Awards attracted a record number of entries with the calibre being particularly high. The shortlisted entries have been selected for their creativity and originality as well as their commercial success. Sustainability is a strong theme this year with materials being repurposed and recycled.

Cultural Enterprises CEO Gordon Morrison said: “Promoting commercial best practice within the cultural sector has never been more important given the urgent need for the sector to maximise income streams and identify new sources of money making. The Cultural Enterprises Awards provide a brilliant platform to showcase commercial excellence within the cultural sector and perform an essential role in providing inspiration and ideas on maximising income streams to cultural venues across the country. I am delighted that we have seen a record level of entries this year, and the calibre is particularly high, providing us with an outstanding showcase of commercial best practice to inspire the wider sector.”

The National Trust entered a range of licensed products, developed with Blue Diamond Garden Centres including: 

• New and Exclusive to Blue Diamond, Daffodil ‘National Trust Joy’ launched on behalf of the National Trust
• The National Trust Herbaceous Collection by Blue Diamond 
• Plant-a-mats- an easy to plant tray of bulbs, inspired by properties cared for by the National Trust.
• Rosa Mottisfont launched by Blue Diamond on behalf of the National Trust
• A range of seeds from the National Trust Collection by Blue Diamond

Winners will be announced in March.

Judges commented that the National Trust Collections by Blue Diamond were: “A perfect collaboration for the National Trust in terms of audience and message” and “a visually appealing way to sell bulbs and plants to a time-poor gardener. Linking the products to properties gives them a grounding; a history, and in a time of national turmoil, we all crave our roots. This combines pleasure and relaxation with thoughtfulness, just perfect."  

Blue Diamond has developed with the National Trust, Collections of seeds, bulbs, roses, and plants inspired by the properties cared for the by the National Trust. Through sales generated from the National Trust Collections by Blue Diamond, a minimum of 10% of the retail sales price per product will be given to the National Trust to help look after nature, beauty and history for everyone, for ever.

For more information about these Collections and Blue Diamond’s collaboration with the National Trust visit https://www.bluediamond.gg/national-trust