Exhibitors at this year’s Garden Show Ireland, hosted by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, have been announced as this year’s winning stalls, with three prestigious NI businesses picking up awards for their high standard of presentation and creative use of plants and flowers at their stalls at the three-day garden extravaganza.
The aim of the Awards was to reward those who produced a high standard of presentation, making it attractive to visitors attending the show and in particular, those who made use of plants and flowers to decorate or interpret their products. The judges were inspecting the stalls from a marketing perspective, judging them on their overall design and presentation, use of plants and flowers to decorate their stalls, attention to detail and interactivity with visitors of the show.
Sprout Plants Landscaping & Plant Specialist, from Magherafelt, who supply quality trees, hedging and shrubs, was announced as this year’s winner. Highly Commended prizes were also awarded to the Northern Ireland Flower & Foliage Association (NIFFA) and handmade faux wreath company, Blossom Meadow.
Tasked with the job of whittling down the many wonderful stalls to find their winners were an esteemed judging panel. The panel consisted of Chris Flynn, Centre Director The Junction Retail & Leisure Park, Shona Mulholland from Mulholland Motors, Vanessa Elder from Castlewood Holiday Park and Brian McCarthy from Cork Rooftop Garden.
The Awards were presented on the first day of the three-day garden show by ambassador and garden designer, Diarmuid Gavin. The winner, Sprout, received a handcrafted ceramic bowl by local ceramics maker Adam Frew from Adam Frew Ceramics in Coleraine, whose work was exhibited in the Craft NI’s Craft Village of the show.
Creative Director of Garden Show Ireland, Claire Faulkner said: “Congratulations to our winner, Sprout and the runners up, NIFFA and Blossom Meadow. The judges were very impressed with the creative use of props and the use of the surrounding area of trees and hedging displayed in their creations. Thank you to each and every one of our exhibitors for attending the show and displaying their tremendous businesses. It has been wonderful to receive such positive feedback in terms of their sales.”
The show also introduced six new show areas this year, including daily garden design masterclasses led by Diarmuid Gavin, the ‘Have a Go at Gardening’ marquee which hosted a series of hands-on workshops throughout each day, ‘Ask the Gardener’ discussion panels hosted by BBC’s David Maxwell, Houseplant Heaven, a haven for houseplant enthusiasts as well as the Mad Hatter’s Day, a competition for the best horticulturally decorated hat.
