Orchid Day

Ian Parsons, Vice President of the British Orchid Council will return to each of our garden centres this year. The care talks will take place at 11am and 2:30pm and there will be a clinic throughout the day offering tips and advice on how to keep your orchid thriving and flourishing.

Orchid Day

POUNDBURY GARDENS – Saturday 9 February, 9am – 6pm

BRIMSMORE GARDENS – Saturday 16 March, 9am – 6pm

CASTLE GARDENS – Saturday 23 March, 9am – 6pm

 

Mike

GCA chairman elect

I’m very pleased to announce that I will become chairman of The Garden Centre Association (GCA) in January 2020, a trade organisation which represents nearly 200 garden centres nationwide. Elected by members of the GCA, I will be working alongside the GCA executive and full board of elected directors to continue the association’s work in building relationships and promoting best practice across the industry.

I am greatly looking forward to my chairmanship and am lucky that the GCA has been in excellent hands with Mike Lind. With the association in such good shape, I can focus much of my time on driving forward with new initiatives and plan to visit many garden centres, attend meetings and work closely with the team to develop GROW, an e-learning tool that is very close to my heart, to make sure our members can get the most out of this valuable system.

As well as sharing membership success stories, such as those of the recently awarded Fron Goch, Perrywood and The Old Railway Line, who also brought some exciting ideas and standards into the GCA, I’m keen to demonstrate the role that the industry can play in protecting wildlife and the environment, as well as bringing people together through plants and gardening to promote better health and wellbeing. We are in an enviable position, in that so many trends and needs of the modern world cross our path, so we need to work together to make the most of these opportunities.

Mike

Spreading joy around Sherborne

On Christmas Day, Sherborne Churches Together hosted a lunch in the Old Digby Hall for 100 people in the community, who would have otherwise spent the day on their own. Many businesses in the area donate and sponsor this event, so the wonderful volunteers are able to offer this for free. We’ve always been delighted to provide some Christmas trees to make it feel extra festive and are very proud to be involved in such a brilliant local initiative.

 

Mike

 

Free talks start next week

We’ve got a great series of talks at each of our garden centres in January, February and March.

Each talk will start at 2.30pm and they are all FREE to attend.

Mike

 

New Year offers at The Gardens Group

Sale starts at 9am today

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50% off all Christmas decorations.

Mike

Reaching out this Christmas

We were delighted to donate a Christmas tree to the Yeovil branch of the Samaritans earlier this month to help mark the opening of its new premises. This new facility will give the Samaritans a greater presence in the area to ensure that volunteers can continue to provide a safe space to talk.

The Samaritans is open every single day of the year, and people are welcome to call or drop in without an appointment. We hope our tree provides a nice spot of festive cheer for those lending their ears this Christmas.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas.

Mike

Festive opening hours

Our opening hours will be a little different over the festive period, so please find the amended hours below:

CHRISTMAS EVE: 9am – 5pm
CHRISTMAS DAY & BOXING DAY: closed
27 – 29 DEC: 9am – 6pm
SUNDAY 30 DEC: 10am – 4.30pm
NEW YEAR’S EVE: 9am – 6pm
NEW YEAR’S DAY: 10am – 4:30pm
From 2 JAN: normal hours resume

Mike

Extended opening hours at Castle Gardens

We’re celebrating again!

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We’re absolutely thrilled to share the news that Castle Gardens has been announced as the national winner of the Garden Centre Association’s annual Christmas competition. Up against garden centres from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including big names in the industry, Castle Gardens has now received this coveted accolade for the ninth time in 10 years. Brimsmore Gardens also came fourth in the country and second in the Wales and West regional category.

This is another huge achievement for The Gardens Group as a whole, as our Christmas displays demonstrate a real team effort across all three sites. Everyone works tirelessly to make sure the displays look their absolute best, from the opening in October right up until Christmas, so this recognition means a lot. We’re absolutely delighted to win this national award for the ninth time and this consistency reflects the commitment and creativity of our team, who make the transformation happen from scratch each and every year

Our award-winning Christmas displays are open seven days a week until Christmas.

Mike