British nursery gains International Grower of the Year accolade

A UK nursery has been given a top international grower award after being put forward for the competition by the NFU.

Hillier Nurseries, grower of hardy garden plants in Hampshire, was crowned International Grower of the Year at the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) gala dinner in South Korea. The company was chosen by the NFU to represent the UK in the competition following its victory in the UK Grower of the Year awards earlier this year.

NFU horticulture board chairman Sarah Pettitt said: We are delighted that a British grower has won this prestigious award, beating rivals from the likes of Holland and Belgium.

Hillier Nurseries is already world-renowned in its field and this award serves to confirm this to an even wider audience. The NFU would like to offer its congratulations to the team at Hillier Nurseries for their success.

The NFU is the AIPH member organisation representing UK growers and, as such, has the job of selecting the British entry for the contest.

NFU members Hillier beat off competition from Belgium, Korea, China and Holland to win the award and the judges praised the company for being innovative, market-orientated and professional.

Hillier director Hossein Arshadi was in Korea to accept the Golden Rose prize from Joon Yung Park, governor of Jeollanamdo Province.

He said: Winning the International Grower of the Year is a great achievement for Hillier Nurseries. The team is thrilled to receive this unique recognition of all their hard work.”

Recent successes for Hillier Nurseries have included a contract to supply several thousand trees to the Olympic parks for London 2012, and trees for other large projects including the Scottish Parliament, O2 Arena and Manchester Commonwealth Games.

• The International Grower of the Year competition is organized by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and FloraCulture International, the leading magazine for the Horticultural sector. The event, on October 6, is financially supported by the Dutch Product Board for Horticulture.
• AIPH is a worldwide organisation representing the interests of all ornamental plant producers.

• Hillier Nurseries is a family owned company which has been growing since 1864, employing around 500 people and has a turnover of over 27M. The company is world renowned in the realm of horticulture and holds the Guinness World Record of 64 consecutive Gold Medals at Chelsea Flower Show.