Perrywood Garden Centre Picks Up Five Prestigious Awards at the National Garden Centre Association Conference

Tiptree based Perrywood Garden Centre is celebrating incredible success after picking up five awards at the National Garden Centre Association (GCA) Conference.
The Annual Conference, held on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 January in Luton, saw Perrywood named third in the Garden Centre Association’s Top 100 UK League Table, making it one of only ten garden centres of excellence in the whole of the UK - and the best in the South of England.
The GCA carries out an annual inspection of all its members and uses this to compile the rankings table. The association adds up scores for a number of elements including customer service, merchandising, creativity and innovation, quality and range of products and much more. This is a significant achievement for Perrywood, after being named fourth in last year’s awards.
Additionally, Perrywood was named as having the best UK Plant Area in larger Destination Garden Centres (above £4m turnover), winning the sought-after Ruxley Rose Award for the first time. Perrywood’s vision is to ‘Inspire more people to get plants in their lives’ and this award is testament to their skill in growing and retailing both indoor & outdoor plants.
As a family run business, Perrywood is dedicated to providing excellent customer service in every aspect of the centre, and was announced winner of the Customer Service Award.
Their popular Gift Shop, which is a highlight for local shoppers looking for inspiration and stylish displays, came second in the Indoor Lifestyle award.
Finally, Perrywood achieved second place in the Catering category, recognizing the centre’s Coffee Shop & Restaurant. Serving everything from hot lunches, paninis and ploughmans to scones and cakes, Perrywood is dedicated to catering for everyone which is why it also offers ‘free from’ menus as well as vegan specials.
Alan Bourne, Owner, comments: “To be number three in the UK is incredible. There are some fantastic garden centres across the UK and I can only imagine what my late parents would think of this national success, having started it as a very local business selling potatoes and strawberries back in the 1950s! For a plantsman like myself The Ruxley Rose Award for our plant area is particularly special. These awards are testament to the continued hard work, passion and dedication of the entire Perrywood Tiptree team and it is a fantastic way to start 2019.”