25 new jobs created at Arboretum Kilquade
‘Gold standard’ sustainable technology at the heart of the renovation
Taoiseach Simon Harris officially opened the €4.5 million redeveloped Arboretum garden and retail centre on the 26th April 2024, National Garden Exhibition Centre, in Kilquade, Co. Wicklow today. The newly renovated, state-of-the-art 2,400 m² garden centre will create 25 new jobs, in addition to the existing 25 employees, giving a total team of 200 people across the business.
Arboretum, the independent family-owned business operates two other garden and lifestyle centres; the flagship store in Leighlinbridge, Carlow and Urban Green, Parnell street, Dublin.
The investment has transformed the garden and retail centre into a thoroughly modern, comfortable shopping and meeting space completely covered by a glass roof. The facility now features indoor and outdoor plants and gardening equipment as well as health and wellness, fashion and food offerings and ‘Rachel’s Garden’ café. The Doyle family invested heavily in sustainable technology – with a rainwater harvesting system to water plants and solar panel generated electricity for heat and light – future proofing the facility for generations to come.
Taoiseach Simon Harris, said, “I’m delighted to be opening Arboretum Kilquade today following its redevelopment. It’s great to see a family business go from strength to strength and it’s great to see new jobs being created. The Arboretum is a special site in Wicklow and a really special place for family and friends to meet. It’s also so important that children have access to as much information as possible on the natural world and the ethos of the Arboretum has always been right on point in this regard. I wish the business every success.”
Fergal Doyle, Arboretum co-owner and Chief Commercial Operator said “We are honoured to have the Taoiseach here today to officially reopen Arboretum Kilquade. Our investment here is a vote of confidence in our valued local community, our dedicated team and our loyal customers. Sincere thanks for their support during the redevelopment. We are thrilled to share this state-of-the-art facility with them and look forward to welcoming 25 additional staff members in the coming weeks and months.”
“Our investment also reflects people’s growing passion for gardening be it herbs on a windowsill or on a larger scale. Our expanding customer base appreciates how gardening adds positively to biodiversity and sustainability, as well as their own physical and mental health.”
“A key goal of our investment is future proofing the facility with sustainable technology for generations to come. Resource efficiency makes sense on a commercial level but it’s also part of the Arboretum ethos; we’re conscious of our responsibility to ‘put our money where our mouth is’ by investing in green technology,” continued Fergal.
Barry Doyle, Arboretum co-owner and CEO, said, “This redevelopment allows us to offer a completely immersive gardening experience to our customers and visitors. As well as an extensive range of outdoor plants, shrubs and trees, our new expansive glass roofed facility will stock a wide array of indoor plants with 85% of our stock coming from Irish growers. It also enables us to retail the full extent of our health and wellness, fashion and lifestyle offering. But we offer more than a retail experience at Arboretum Kilquade; it’s a meeting point, somewhere to socialise with family and friends while enjoying the exhibition gardens or some lunch in Rachel’s Garden café.
Arboretum Kilquade incorporates the 17 individually designed gardens of the National Garden Exhibition Centre, spanning six acres in total, freely accessible for visitors to walk through and enjoy.
Arboretum is supporting Brent Pope’s ‘Elephant in the Room’ initiative. Local artist Lucy Doyle has designed a floral elephant sculpture titled ‘Fragility’ which is in situ at the entrance to the National Garden Exhibition Centre at Arobretum Kilquade. The Elephant in the Room project aims to give people everywhere permission to talk about their mental health as openly as they would discuss a physical ailment, without judgement or discrimination, for the better well-being of the individual, family, workplace and society.
Barry Doyle, Arboretum co-owner and CEO, said, “Gardening and green spaces can have a really positive effect on, not only physical, but also mental health. Various international studies have demonstrated that gardens prevent stress and contribute to stress reduction and stress regulation. We very much support what the ‘Elephant in the Room’ is trying to do and so it made total sense to us to team up with what is a wonderful initiative. We hope that local people and visitors really enjoy our beautiful gardens – everyone is welcome to come and spend time in the gardens and nurture positive mental health.”
Arboretum worked with a number of partners on the redevelopment including international garden centre specialist Rabensteiner, building contractor Cascade Group, mechanical and electrical engineering consultancy Penston MEP and commercial energy efficiency delivery partners Vivid Edge.
