Garden centre and horticultural industry staff can now sign up for a FUNdraising event being held at the Garden Centre Association’s annual conference (January 22 until 25, 2023).

Teams will compete for the Greenfingers Challenge Cup on January 22 to raise money for Greenfingers, a national charity dedicated to creating magical and inspiring gardens in children’s hospices across the UK.

Guy Topping, MD at Barton Grange Garden Centre, who has regularly captained The Pansies team, made up of garden centre owners and staff, said: “We are so thrilled that the Greenfingers Challenge Cup is back for 2023 and we are looking forward to a great battle.

“This year, the Pansies, headed up by Will Blake, and The Cabbages, captained by Ian Flounders from Woodlodge Products will go head-to-head in a variety of activities, including bowling, crazy golf, crazy pool and curling at The Flower Bowl Entertainment Venue.

“In 2020, when we had our last face-to-face event pre-Covid, we raised £12,000 for the charity and we’re hoping to smash that total this year, so we’re asking anyone who hasn’t yet signed up, and would like to, to do so via the conference booking page at www.gca.org.uk.”

Delegates will arrive from 5pm and be taken to The Ocean Restaurant for a fish and chip supper followed by the fun and games.

Guy added: “The Pansies lifted the cup in 2020 and we’re confident we will retain the trophy this time around too, however, our main aim is to raise as much money as possible to help our fantastic charity and we hope lots of people get involved.”

The fundraising is centered around sponsorship of the event and Guy is asking all GCA members, both full and associate, to make a charitable donation of £1,000 to support Greenfingers Charity’s Silver Appeal and be a sponsor. All sponsors will be included in a Grand Draw on the Tuesday night of the conference, where one lucky company will walk away with an array of prizes.

Established in 1999, Greenfingers Charity supports life-limited children who use hospices around the UK, along with their families, by creating outdoor spaces for them to enjoy with family, friends and siblings, whether through play and fun or therapeutic rest and relaxation.

To date, it has created almost 70 gardens and outdoor spaces in hospices around the country and has a waiting list of hospices that need its help now.

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 GCA’s annual conference takes place at the Mercure Blackburn Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa in Blackburn, Lancashire from January 22 until 25, 2023 and places can be booked via www.gca.org.uk.

The conference pages on the website will be updated with speaker announcements and full listings as the programme develops and exact timings are confirmed. There is also a dedicated email for any queries members, and those wishing to book for the event, may have: conference@gca.org.uk.

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