Arboretum Garden Centre, Co Carlow was tonight announced winner of the All-Ireland Garden Centre Quality Awards 2005/06, a joint initiative of Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland. It also affirmed its position by becoming the first 5 Star Garden centre in the country, the highest accreditation possible on the programme.
The Bord Bia Nursery Quality Awards were also hosted on the evening. This is the first time that both the Garden Centre Awards and the Nursery Quality Awards have been combined at one ceremony.
The Awards were presented in Dublin Castle at a joint ceremony by Brendan Smith T.D., Minister for Horticulture and Food at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Pat Toal, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland.
Speaking at the awards ceremony Minister Smith said; "These Awards represent dedication to quality and best practice in both the garden centre and nursery sectors and have been instrumental in raising standards throughout the island of Ireland. The awards aim to set achievable standards for the industry while simultaneously rewarding those centres that consistently strive for excellence. This programme, a joint initiative by Bord Bia, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland is another example of successful North/South cooperation."
Angela Kennedy, Chairman, Bord Bia acknowledging the importance of the evening for the both sectors said: "This evening presents a unique occasion to recognise and reward excellence in the nursery and garden centre sectors. It further assists to build a closer cooperation between the sectors and to forge new business opportunities. It is great to see the standards grow year on year and this is evident in the first presentation ever of a five star accreditation for excellence."
Initial results from ongoing Bord Bia research show that the sales of plants and flowers have increased over the past three years. Closer analysis of these sales indicates changes in consumer demand – a preference for instant colour and larger, more expensive specimen plants rather than smaller plants. This growth in demand and changes in consumer preferences present opportunities for both nurseries and garden centres alike. Bord Bia will continue to work with all sectors to exploit all potential opportunities for Irish nurseries to supply the market.
Bord Bia works closely with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland to coordinate the Garden Centre Quality Awards, for their individual programmes. The awards are hosted North and South of the Border on alternate years. There were a number of special award categories in the Garden Centre Quality Awards including; Bord Bia Garden Centre of the Year (Large and Small scale), Best Plant Quality, Best Product information and signage, Best New Entry, Best Specialist Centre, Best Plant Merchandising and Best Local Plant Supplier. The All Ireland Garden Centre of the Year Award was then selected from the Garden Centre of the Year Winners North and South.
Thirteen nurseries achieved the Bord Bia Nursery Quality Award with five nurseries receiving a Certificate of Merit. The programme is a voluntary quality assurance scheme designed to assist Irish nurseries reach best practice in commercial nursery crop production and management systems. It sets out a 'code of practice' for the efficient running of a nursery business and provides a standard against which nursery businesses are evaluated.