Horticulturalists,  garden centre owners and growers from all over Scotland joined a large gathering of mourners at the funeral in Greenock of Cardwell Garden Centre owner Eric Gallagher who died in August after a short illness.

Mr Gallagher, who started his business in a small nursery in Gourock 50 years ago, dedicated his life to the remarkable growth of the business to its present  position as one of the leading, award-winning garden centres in Scotland.

Situated in the outskirts of Gourock at Lunderston Bay, the garden centre attracts visitors from all over Scotland and has become a major tourist attraction in Inverclyde.  ts popular Patio Restaurant can accommodate  up to 300 diners. The garden centre is designed like a miniature park with more than 100,000 square feet of covered display areas and walkways.  The  centre`s 10-acre nursery produces many of the shrubs, hardy plants and bedding plants all grown to the highest standards demanded by Mr Gallagher.

His pursuit of quality produce has been recognised with many awards including The Royal Caledonian  Highland Society Certificate of Merit and a series of awards from the Chamber of Commerce.  He was also a past chairman of the Garden Centre Association.  In his commitment to the promotion of gardening, Mr Gallagher  became the principal sponsor of Inverclyde Council’s annual Gardenfest competition, with special sections for schools and youth groups.  The Floralfest competition also attracts entries for containers and hanging baskets. He was always a popular member of the judging panel in these competitions, ready to give friendly advice whenever called upon.

A huge number of charities have been supported over the years  by Mr Gallagher and his garden centre. Among the beneficiaries are The Scottish National Vegetable Society, Strathclyde Leek and Onion Show, local Horticultural Societies, Ardgowan Hospice, Marie Currie, RNLI, Red Cross, Barnados, SSPCC, SSPCA and most of the local schools in Inverclyde. In recognition of this work Rotary International awarded Mr Gallagher their Paul Harris Award.

Cardwell Garden Centre has always been a family business and will continue to be run by his sons Drew and Kieran and daughter Stephanie.  Mr Gallagher`s wife, Isobel, who used to run the centre’s Patio Restaurant, retired a number of years ago.

An image taken by Mr Gallagher is featured on the 'December' page of the Cardwell Garden Centre 2014 Calendar, sales of which will raise funds for the  Ardgowan Hospice in Greenock, Inverlcyde. Mr Gallagher was a keen photographer and rarely left the house without a camera. Pictures for the remaining 11 months were chosen from dozens of submissions by members of Cardwell's Reward Club.