WINNERS’ SPECIAL
The Greatest Christmas Display Team (Midsized) - p10
Total Christmas Barton Grange reigned supreme again with their Christmas Displays. Marketing manager Kate Ford talks about how this award-winning garden centre continues to impress.
When do you start planning your displays? We start thinking about next year’s displays as we’re building our current year’s displays. There’s nothing like being totally immersed in something for getting the creative juices flowing! Ideas are discussed and the themes and colours are mostly decided prior to the end of the current Christmas. By January, when buying starts, we more or less know what we are going to do When do you start building them? We start creating our displays in the summer, usually June or July, away from the garden centre in another building on-site. Building of fixed displays in the centre itself starts in the first week of September. What makes your Christmas offering so special?
Individuality, creativity, attention to detail and totality (it’s a floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall operation). We’re talking ‘total Christmas’! Are plants still a main feature at Christmas? Very much so. Our Houseplant department is the first thing our customers see and it is full of seasonal colour - Poinsettia, Cyclamen, Schlumbergera, Amaryllis and so on. Outside, berried plants such as Skimmia and holly take centre-stage alongside potted and cut trees. Plants and container arrangements are promoted as gifts and we feature fresh wreaths and garlands. Do you run special events through the festive season? We have an amazing grotto which we start taking bookings for in early September and which sells out fast. It’s open from late November to Christmas Eve. We offer breakfast, lunch and tea with Santa in our Riverside Café and, in partnership with our local canal boat company, we offer Santa Cruises on the Lancaster Canal.
The Greatest Christmas Display Team (Large Centre) Finalists: Aylett Nurseries, Barton Grange, Bents, Chessington, Hayes Garden World, Hillside Garden Centre, Perrywood, Planters - Tamworth, Raemoir, Scotsdales Cambridge, Van Hage Great Amwell Van Hage Peterborough, Whitehall Lacock, Woodbank Nurseries and Garden Centre Bronze: Whitehall Lacock Garden Centre Bronze: Perrywood Garden Centre Bronze: Woodbank Garden Centre Silver: Bents Garden & Home Gold: Barton Grange Garden Centre
The Greatest Christmas Sizzle Team
(Group Centre)
Finalists: Colleta and Tyson, Fairways, Gordale, Haskins West End, Hayes Garden World, Hillmount Garden Centre, Langlands Leeds, Mere Park Garden Centre, Sunshine, The Old Railway Line Bronze: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre Bronze: Hillmount Garden Centre Bronze: Gordale Garden Centre Silver: Fairways Garden Centre Gold: Hayes Garden World
Finalists: Blue Diamond - Fryers, Blue Diamond Grosvenor, Blue Diamond - Le Friquet, Blue Diamond - Redfields, Blue Diamond - Trentham, Brigg - BGCG, Haskins Roundstone, Haskins Snowhill, Haskins West End, Hornsea - BGCG, Notcutts Woodford Park, Squires Badshot Lea, Strikes Garforth Leeds, Strikes Lady Green Bronze: Squires Badshot Lea Silver: Brigg Garden Centre - British Garden Centres Gold: Fryers Garden Centre - Blue Diamond
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FEBRUARY 2017
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AWARDS SPECIAL
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garden trade news
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