Perrywood Garden Centre ( above) picked up the North Thames region award for Destination Garden Centre of the Year and Sunshine Garden Centre (below) won the North Thames Garden Centre of the Year award at Ayletts Nurseries in Hertfordshire on Thursday 27th July.
Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “Our North Thames regional awards made for a very enjoyable evening for all in attendance and it was great to see the garden centre teams be rewarded for all of the hard work they have put in this year.
“Ayletts Nurseries was the perfect host for the evening and Inspector Gordon Emslie’s findings, which he presented on the night, were extremely interesting.”
The ifse Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant went to Poplars Garden Centre (DGC) and Thurrock Garden Centre (GC).
The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre was awarded to Marlows Home & Garden Centre.
Iain added: “We will now have a break before the final regional awards evening for Scotland and Northern Ireland, which takes place on September 7 at Klondyke Mayfield.”
The full results for the North Thames region GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:
Garden Centre of the Year: Sunshine Garden Centre (GC) and Perrywood Garden Centre (DGC)
Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Sunshine Garden Centre
Environment and Community Award for Best Environmental Practice: Squires Garden Centre – Twickenham joint winner with Squires Garden Centre – Windsor (above)
The Barton Grange Trophy for Innovation and Creativity: Perrywood Garden Centre
The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Marlows Home & Garden Centre (above)
The ifse Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: Thurrock Garden Centre (GC), above, and Poplars Garden Centre (DGC), below.
The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Sunshine Garden Centre (GC) and Ayletts Nurseries (DGC)
Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Squires Garden Centre – Shepperton (GC) and Perrywood Garden Centre (DGC)
Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Squires Garden Centre – Shepperton (GC) and Altons Garden Centre (DGC)
North Thames centres that have qualified for the Ruxley Rose Planteria Award were also announced. The list included Meadowcroft, pictured below.
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.
For further information, please call 01244 952170. Alternatively, please visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/pages/GardenCentreAssociation or follow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.
