Squire’s Hersham awarded ‘UK Garden Centre Plant Retailer of the Year’
Squire’s Garden Centres
- April 17, 2024
Squire’s Garden Centres in Hersham has been presented with the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) prestigious ‘UK Plant Retailer of the Year’ Award (in the Garden Centre Category). The award recognises excellence in standards in garden centres across GCA members in the UK.
The highly respected award was presented for Squire’s Hersham’s consistently high standards, inspirational displays and quality plants and comes ahead of the centre celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The award is made following in-depth assessment by GCA Inspectors visiting centres nationwide. The centre’s Plant Area was inspected in the spring and again in the autumn.
Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, comments:
“My father and I are absolutely thrilled to receive this award on behalf of our wonderful team at Squire’s Hersham. It is particularly special as we prepare to celebrate the centre’s 40th anniversary.
“We are foremost a plant business and to be recognised with this particular award among our peers nationwide, is a real honour. This award acknowledges the skill, talent and dedication of our colleagues and we are very proud of them indeed!”
In addition, Squire’s Woking was presented with third place and Squire’s Wokingham recognised in the top ten line-up of garden centres in the ‘UK Best Plant Retailer of the Year’ category.
The GCA also presented Squire’s Frensham with Garden Centre ‘Best Food Hall/Farm Shop of the Year’ 2023. The Food Hall, based at Squire’s Frensham, near Farnham, Surrey, was the first recipient of this new award, which recognises the importance of offering an alternative to supermarkets as well as supporting local products. In the ‘Outdoor Living’ Award category, Squire’s Frensham, Washington and Woking were presented with joint third.
The Garden Centre Association (GCA) is firmly rooted in the early days of the garden centre industry, which became established over 50 years ago. The GCA was established in 1966 by the early pioneers of the garden centre movement including Colin Squire, who was a founding member. These pioneers wished to make plants available year-round, as well as make gardening more accessible. The term ‘garden centre’ was not widely used until the early 1960s. The garden centre industry has come a long way over the decades, and garden centres have become hugely popular destinations for plant lovers today.
