GCA reveals Scotland’s and Northern Ireland’s top garden centres

Staff from Simpsons Garden Centre, winners of Destination Garden Centre of the Year, with (right) GCA Inspector, Colin Farquhar, and their awards.

CHESTER, UK: Garden Centre Association (GCA) members in Scotland and Northern Ireland are celebrating after picking up awards during a presentation on Thursday, August 26, 2021 at Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre.

In Scotland, Simpsons Garden Centre was awarded Garden Centre of the Year in the Destination Garden (DGC) category and Klondyke Mortonhall in the Garden Centre (GC) category. In Northern Ireland*, Creative Gardens Bushmills (GC) received the accolade.

Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “Our third regional awards meeting of the week was a resounding success and it was great to hear from inspector Colin Farquhar, who presented his findings from his inspections, which took place earlier in the summer. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland were slightly different during the pandemic too, so it was interesting to see the results.

“We’d like to thank Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre for being fantastic hosts for the evening and all our attendees, who were super positive and proactive throughout. We know they will be sharing it with their colleagues at their own centres to make any improvements when they return after the meeting.”

(second right) GCA Inspector, Colin Farquhar, with staff from Garden Centre of the Year, Klondyke Mortonhall.

Simpsons Garden Centre were also the winners of the GIMA Award for Best Garden Projects Retailer (DGC), the Best Outdoor Living Retailer and Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer in the DGC category.

GCA inspector, Colin Farquhar, was responsible for inspecting member garden centres in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

He said: “Simpsons is a really great garden centre that caters for all possible customer requirements, they have managed to maintain the highest standards during their huge renovation and additions, which are due to open soon.

“In the Garden Centre category, the team at Klondyke’s Mortonhall Garden Centre delivered the highest standards of customer care coupled with an industry leading garden centre proposition. As an inspirational centre, Mortonhall delivers throughout the year and is well worth an extended visit.

For Northern Ireland, there is no Destination Garden Centre Category, so Creative Gardens Bushmills won the top award, as well as the Barton Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity, the Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre, the Environment and Sustainability Award Sponsored by Savills, the GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer and Best Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer.

Colin added: “Creative Gardens Bushmills is an exceptional garden centre, which produces a great experience for customers looking for top notch products and service. The coffee shop, outdoor barbecue area and plant offering are of the highest standard not matched amongst their competition. It was a pleasure to visit.”

On Tuesday, August 31 inspector Phil McCann will present his findings at the South Thames region meeting at Haskins Garden Centre, Snowhill in Sussex.

The North Thames area awards meeting will follow on Wednesday, September 1 at Perrywood Garden Centre in Sudbury with inspector Andy Campbell.

Alyson Haywood will then be presenting her findings on Thursday, September 2 for the North East and North West region at Tong Garden Centre in Bradford.

* There are no Destination Garden Centres (DGC) in this category.

The full results for the Scotland and Northern Ireland GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

Scotland

Garden Centre of the Year: Simpsons Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Group – Mortonhall Garden Centre (GC)

The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: Klondyke Group – Garden Wise Dumfries

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Dunbar Garden Centre

Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Klondyke Group – Mortonhall Garden Centre

Environment and Sustainability Award Sponsored by Savills: Klondyke Group – Mortonhall Garden Centre

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Simpsons Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Group – Garden Wise Dumfries (GC)

Best Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Simpsons Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Group – Garden Wise Dumfries (GC)

Best Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Simpsons Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Group – Garden Wise Dumfries (GC)

Northern Ireland

Garden Centre of the Year: Creative Gardens Bushmills

The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: Creative Gardens Bushmills

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Creative Gardens Bushmills

Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Creative Gardens Donaghadee

Environment and Sustainability Award Sponsored by Savills: Creative Gardens Bushmills

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Creative Gardens Bushmills

Best Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Creative Gardens Bushmills

Best Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Creative Gardens Galgorm Castle

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.