Millbrook Garden Centre, Gravesend,celebrated its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of serving the local community with gardening expertise, quality plants and much more!
To mark the anniversary, Millbrook invited customers to join them for a day of celebration on the 30th March. Entertainment was provided by local group Rock Choir Kent, led by Paul Gostling and a 30th birthday cake was handmade by Millbrook staff.
As a gesture of thanks to its loyal customers, Millbrook delighted the first 300 customers who made a purchase on the day, with a special gift of a beautiful Dianthus plant, symbolising the company’s commitment to growing smiles and enhancing gardens across the county.
To add to the day’s celebrations, Millbrook’s Managing Director, Tammy Woodhouse, presented a giant cheque for the sum of £38,561.48, to Millbrook’s founder and Chairman Sue Allen, who is also Chairman of Greenfingers, the charity of the horticulture industry, which creates magical gardens for children’s hospices across the UK. Thanks to the generosity of customers and staff over the previous 3 years at both of Millbrook’s Kent-based centres at Gravesend and Staplehurst, the money was raised through a number of events, including shopping evenings, raffles, Garden Re-Leaf weekends, virtual plant purchases and children’s planting workshops. Their customers also made a huge difference through Pennies, adding a 25p donation to their transactions at the tills.
Money raised has already gone towards the construction and planting of a beautiful garden at local children’s hospice Demelza in Sittingbourne, Kent, to ensure life-limited children and their families can benefit from an inspiring outdoor space.
Millbrook Garden Company is also marking another milestone this year with 45 years in the horticulture industry, after the business was set up by Dick and Sue Allen in 1979.
Reflecting on the journey of Millbrook Garden Centres, Managing Director, Tammy Woodhouse, said: ‘It’s been a rollercoaster and a joy and there’s certainly never a dull day! I’m really proud of what my parents, Dick and Sue Allen, achieved. The business has changed a lot over the years. Most of our regular customers will know we’ve now got a 300-seater restaurant, Food Hall and butchers at Gravesend and we run events and focus on the experience of shopping at Millbrook. But in amongst that, it’s still the plants and the gardening that are at our core. Obviously, we are all aware that the world is changing and I’m proud Millbrook is leading changes in sustainable gardening with the greener products we’re selling and that is going to change even more as we go forward into the next 45 years. Thank you to all our customers - we wouldn’t be here without all of you - and thank you to our team who are hugely passionate and who really do grow smiles for our customers every day. Here’s to the next 45 years!’
Receiving the cheque on behalf of Greenfingers, Sue Allen, Chairman of Greenfingers, said: ‘Greenfingers has been going for 25 years and the first garden built was at Demelza House. Obviously, the cost of building these precious gardens is going up and up and the recent Demelza garden was around £150,000, so £38,000 is an amazing sum towards that. Every penny Millbrook has raised is so, so welcome. Thank you everybody!’
