Garden Centre Association reveals Northern Ireland winners

Staff from Klondyke Mortonhall with (second right) GCA Inspector Colin Farquhar.

GCA members in Northern Ireland and Scotland celebrate after picking up prestigious awards

Retail

2 September 2021

Creative Gardens Bushmills won big at the recent Garden Centre Association (GCA) awards presentation at Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre.

The Co. Antrim garden centre won the top award for Norther Ireland, 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.

“Creative Gardens Bushmills is an exceptional garden centre, which produces a great experience for customers looking for top notch products and service,” said Colin Farquhar, GCA inspector. “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.”

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

The GCA Northern Ireland winners are:

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

“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,” said Iain Wylie, chief executive of the GCA. “The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland were slightly different during the pandemic too, so it was interesting to see the results.

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. 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.

“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.”