Best New Plant was won by Kernock Park Plants with its newly-bred hardy perennial Iberis in pink, ‘Absolutely Amethyst’. This new variety starts to produce breathtaking amethyst, pink puffs of flower in late March through mid May on neat mounds of green foliage.
Then Scotts Miracle Gro took Best New Retail Product with its Rose Clear Ultra, its new-generation systemic insecticide and fungicide for combined control of pests and diseases on ornamental plants.
Best Technical Product or Service was Electronic & Technical Services for its Evaposensor and interface for mist and irrigation control - which also won the Best Overall New Product category. The unit enables accurate matching of water use to plant requirements, automatically adjusting mist, fog and irrigation applications according to the plant environment and weather.
And Country Garden Plant Sales won the award for Best Stand.
Simon Edwards, group operations director, said: “This show was a great event, with more visitors than last year.”However the success has made it increasingly difficult for organisor Golden Acres to release space in its nursery each year – and has announced this February’s show was the last one.
Simon added: “Feedback from exhibitors and visitors was excellent and although we’re sad that GAN won’t now appear in the UK’s horticultural diary each year, we’re glad it’s gone out on a high.”
GAN has evolved from a nursery open day in 1994 to become the largest horticultural trade show in the south as well as being the first of the year.In 1998, 77 exhibitors occupied 150 stands and by 2010 figures had grown to 174 exhibitors’ occupying 235 stands.
www.ganshow.com Photography by Phil Dowding
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Pictures from top:
• Electronic & Technical Services’ Evaposensor and interface for mist and irrigation Control.
• Scotts Miracle Gro: RoseClear Ultra.
• Kernock Park Plants for its ‘Absolutely Amethyst’
