THE winner of the Gazette’s Garden Centre of the Year has been revealed, with Blenheim Garden Centre, of Bromley Road, Colchester, the pick of the crop.

A family business, the centre was opened in the late 1980s by John Harris, who with the help of his late mum, Peggy, built a reputation for growing and selling quality garden plants. 

Gazette: Winners - Staff at the Blenheim Garden Center Winners - Staff at the Blenheim Garden Center (Image: Newsquest)

Speaking on the win, John observed the company has longstanding roots with its customers.

He said: “Many of our customers can still remember those early days when home-grown plants were sold from old pallet benches on a field at the front of the nursery.”

The garden centre has evolved over the years, with garden centre manager Trevor Hammans taking the helm of the business for the past 15 years.

Gazette: Customer service - The garden centers were judged on a range of criteria Customer service - The garden centers were judged on a range of criteria (Image: Newsquest)

Gazette: Options -The site offers a range of plantsOptions -The site offers a range of plants (Image: Newsquest)

Both Trevor and John have worked hard to introduce other products to offer alongside the plants.

Trevor said: “We’d like to say a huge‘thank you to all of our loyal customers who voted for us.

Gazette: The Blenheim Garden CentreThe Blenheim Garden Centre (Image: Newsquest)

 “We believe the reason for our success in this completion is largely down to the quality and reliability of our plants and our friendly, knowledgeable staff who seem more like family, are all passionate about the business, adore plants, and love seeing the garden centre evolve.”