After more than 40 years building one of Northern Ireland's leading independent garden centre businesses, Creative Gardens founders Diana and Nigel Gass are marking a significant milestone in the company's history. 

Diana is stepping back from her day-to-day leadership role following many years as Managing Director, while Nigel is retiring from the Board of Directors. Together, they leave behind a thriving family business employing more than 220 people across four award-winning centres at Donaghadee, Bushmills, Galgorm and Logwood. 

Founded in 1985, Creative Gardens has grown from a single garden centre into one of Northern Ireland's best-known destination retail businesses. Diana will continue to support the company in an advisory capacity as the second generation leads Creative Gardens into its next chapter. 

Reflecting on the transition, Diana said: "Creative Gardens has been a huge part of my life and I feel incredibly proud of what we have built together. What started as a vision to create something different has grown into a business with wonderful garden centres, cafés and teams that are recognised and valued across Northern Ireland. None of this would have been possible without the dedication and commitment of our fantastic employees over many years. I leave the day-to-day running of the business with enormous pride and complete confidence in the next generation and the wider leadership team."

Rather than appointing a single successor, Creative Gardens has adopted a collaborative leadership model that reflects the complementary strengths of the second generation. 

Philip Gass has been appointed Corporate Director, leading finance, compliance and strategic development. Oliver Gass becomes Operations Director, responsible for garden retail, logistics and site development, while Jenny Dumigan (née Gass) has been appointed Brand Director, leading home retail, hospitality, food and customer experience. 

Commenting on the new structure, Philip, Oliver and Jenny said: "Growing up, Creative Gardens has always been part of our family life. We feel incredibly privileged to be entrusted with leading the business into its next chapter and recognise the responsibility that comes with it.

"While leadership is evolving, the values Mum and Dad established remain at the heart of everything we do.As the business continues to grow, our focus is on building strong foundations for the future. That means investing in our people, our centres, our systems and the way we operate, ensuring Creative Gardens continues to thrive for generations to come. We have some exciting projects ahead and we're looking forward to bringing them to life." 

The leadership transition comes at an exciting time for the business, with Creative Gardens embarking on one of the most significant investment programmes in its history. 

The company is investing in a new central food production facility, bringing together production for its cafés while creating opportunities to expand its retail food offering. Investment also continues across its existing centres through improvements to retail environments, customer facilities and infrastructure, while plans for a major redevelopment of Logwood Garden Centre, Ballyclare,  continue to progress through the planning process. 

While much has changed since Creative Gardens first opened its doors as Donaghadee Garden Centre more than four decades ago, the values established remain unchanged. Integrity and honesty, an inspirational and creative brand, high-quality products, excellent customer experiences with a strong family ethos continue to guide every decision the company makes. 

As Creative Gardens enters its next chapter, its ambition remains the same as it was over forty years ago: creating inspiring destination garden centres where horticulture, home retail and hospitality combine to offer customers something genuinely special