Garden Centres come in all shapes and sizes — family run, second or third generation, recently purchased,  staff of five, or staff of 50; each with its own distinctive appeal. All are welcome to enter Landscape Ontario’s Garden Centre Awards of Excellence program. The retail program is open for entry from July 1 to 31.

What you need to enter: photographs of your store! Choose a category of entry and determine what your photographs should reflect. Also required is a project summary; explain what the photographs are showing and what you were trying to achieve (i.e. “This display of hardgoods was placed at the front of the store beside the bulb stock because …”). The fee is $75 per entry and is open to members only. Non-member entries will not be considered.

Winners will be announced at the Garden Centre keynote breakfast event at Thrive’15 on Sept. 16. Each entering company will receive a complimentary admission to the breakfast. Additional tickets are available at LOthrive.com.

Garden Centre Awards of Excellence includes four categories, Outstanding Display of Plant Material, Outstanding Display of Goods, Other Merchandising Techniques and Permanent Display Gardens.    

The Outstanding Display of Plant Material, includes deciduous shrubs and/or trees, annuals and/or perennials, evergreens and/or broadleaf, your specialty plant material your business is noted for, new varieties of annuals and/or perennials.

In the category of Outstanding Display of Goods, awards will be handed out for outstanding display of giftware, outstanding display of hardgoods, and outstanding display of seasonal goods.

Other Merchandising Techniques is divided into creative p.o.p. area, outstanding promotional event, outstanding print advertising, and outstanding website development.
Permanent Display Gardens category is divided into under 500 sq. ft. and over 500 sq. ft.