Pot loads of Carrots

Thousands of school children from primary and junior schools around the country entered the GCA National Schools Carrot Growing Competition providing them all with fun, education and a tasty end result. Regional judging took place at GCA centres at the end of June where the resulting vegetables were knocked out of their pots for assessment.

Winner of the best crop from Thompson & Morgan Sugarsnax seed and a 4 litre size pot of Miracle-Gro Compost was Rose Heathcote an 8 year old pupil of Vernon Junior School, Stockport, Cheshire. She and other pupils of the school took their pots of carrots to Woodford Park Garden Centre, Stockport, where regional heats took place.

National Winner Rose Heacote

Photographs of finalists from around the country were sent to The Sun newspaper where National winners were selected by a panel of judges including Peter Seabrook, gardening editor of the paper, Gillie Westwood of the Garden Centre Association and John Clowes of Scotts Miracle-Gro.

National first prize winner, Rose Heathcote, won £500 worth of National Garden Gift vouchers for her school and £100 worth of vouchers for herself. Second prize winner, Jake Fortey, age 10 won the regional heat at Blooms of Worcester. He won £200 for his school, Warndon Primary and £50 for himself. Third prize of £25 worth of vouchers was awarded to Rachael Dinham, aged 9, at Byrkley Garden Centre Burton on Trent, whose school The Richard Crosse C of E School, Kings Bromley will receive £100 worth of garden gift vouchers. Highly Commended prize of £20 vouchers went to Lydia Smith, 7, of Ilfracombe Infant & Nursery and £75 to her school, after winning the regional round at Trelawney Garden Leisure @ Ashford, Devon.

  2nd Jake Fortey                 3rd Rachael Dinham

 The Judges

 Peter Seabrook, The Sun

 Gillie Westwood, GCA

 John Clowes, Miracle-Gro

 Photo: Arthur Edwards, The Sun

Sugarsnax carrot seed was supplied by Thompson & Morgan and prize vouchers donated by Miracle-Gro.

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GCA Garden Centre of the Year 2007

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Webbs – the biggest and now the best!

Green-fingered Webbs staff are celebrating success after Britain’s biggest garden centre, near Droitwich, Worcestershire, was officially crowned the best in the country.

The family-owned firm scooped the top prize of UK Garden Centre of the Year just months after a major £5m expansion programme.

The title was announced after rigorous inspections by judges from The Garden Centre Association (GCA), the organisation representing the best garden retailers in Britain. Webbs had already been named as Best Garden Centre in the Midlands and Garden Centre of Excellence but had to wait weeks for a nail-biting final announcement.

Webbs beat around 170 other garden retailers to establish its position as the top garden centre in the country. Executive Chairman Ed Webb says the firm is honoured to win the title, which was the reward for a massive team effort.

"It is fantastic news for all the staff here, " he said. "We’ve had a very exciting and busy time building and unveiling our new and re-styled garden centre and this award is the icing on the cake." He added, "We were inspected by judges both before the building work was completed and again when we had finished and were just settling in. It’s amazing to have won this accolade and it’s all down to the team for putting in such a huge amount of time and hard work.

"This award just goes to prove we are not only the biggest, but the best in the UK – a title we have worked extremely hard to achieve. It backs up what our customers already know about our high standards and the skill and dedication of our staff - that’s why they come back time and again."

Webbs has won more than 20 top awards in the last ten years ensuring it is consistently one of the top garden centres in the country. The family business includes the garden centre and beautiful landscaped riverside gardens, which are open free to the public. The firm has a workforce of around 400 and is one of the biggest local employers.

Every year, every GCA garden centre member goes through very stringent standards audit where independent inspectors arrive unannounced and judge all aspects of their businesses.

Webbs of Wychbold, Wychbold, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, WR9 0DG Tel: 01527 860000

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