A GARDEN centre is celebrating after winning a Christmas award and being placed in the top five in the UK.

Perrywood Garden Centre in Tiptree won Best Destination Garden Centre in the Region for Christmas at the Garden Centre Association Awards.

The award was in recognition of the centre’s “Lost in the Forest” Christmas experience.

Customers are immersed in festive cheer from the moment they pull into the car park and this theme flows through the centre in every department.

There are glistening baubles and twinkling lights to its array of gifts, the garden centre has been transformed into a magical Christmas forest which delights customers both young and old.

The Garden Centre Association carries out a Christmas inspection of members who request one, and uses this to give out regional and national awards.

They add up scores for a number of elements including customer service, merchandising, creativity and innovation, range of products and much more – Perrywood scored highly across the board.

Alex Downes, Visual Merchandising Manager, said: “We are over the moon to have won this award. We put a lot of effort into our Christmas displays and it is great to be recognised for this. Being named in the top five in the UK is also very special to us, as it shows our creative ideas and fabulous displays have really paid off.

“We encourage people to come down to Perrywood to see what we have on offer. We have plenty of decorations that can add that magic touch to any home at Christmas, as well as items that will make perfect gifts for loved ones.”