Bents (pictured above) and Castle Gardens have been revealed as the national winners of this year’s Garden Centre Association’s annual Christmas competition.

The garden centres were judged to have the best Christmas displays in the UK by the organisationand will be presented with their awards at its annual conference next month.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive,said: “We announced the regional winners of our Christmas display competition to members at the end of November. Following this, the area winners were all judged for a second time and these two national winners were selected this week.

“We’d like to congratulate Bents in Cheshire who were the stars on the tree in the Destination Garden Centre category, and Castle Gardens in Dorset who scooped the prize in the Garden Centre category.”



Above: The Christmas team from Castle Gardens.

The garden centres were judged on the innovation, inspiration and excitement created from the way their Christmas products are displayed. The range of products available, accessibility, how easy it is for customers to find and select products and ‘wow factor’ were also taken into consideration in an assessment of the overall commercial proposition.

Iain added: “The displays at both garden centres were of a very high standard and we’ve been very impressed once again by the imaginative offerings these two winners have created.

“Bents has successfully showed what could be achieved in a larger space, while Castle Gardens’ effectively demonstrated how a smaller space can still create a big impression. It’s the second year running that Bents has achieved this award and Castle Gardens has won the accolade five times now in seven years. These two garden centres are leading the way with their Christmas displays, despite some serious competition biting at their heels.”

The runners up in the Destination Garden Centre category were Van Hage Great Amwell in Hertfordshire and Webbs in Worcestershire. In the Garden Centre category, the runners up were Squires Shepperton in Middlesex and Fron Goch in North Wales.

Pictures of Christmas at Bents and Castle Gardens below...