HortWeek will sponsor and present both sets of awards this year.
The New Plant & Product Awards categories are Young plants (new varieties), Bedding/pot plant, Herbaceous Perennials, Houseplants, Trees, Shrubs, Professional product/service/equipment, Retail product/service/equipment, Technical excellence and Sustainability impact.
The new award for Sustainability impact is deliberately broad to encourage submissions from across the exhibitor base and has already done so. As with all the awards, the judging criteria are not overly prescriptive, rather exhibitors are asked to summarise why each entry is the winner; what are the benefits over and above anything that’s come before. HortWeek recruits a small team of judges who review the entries prior to the event and then inspect them on the first day, with the winners being presented at the Exhibitors' Supper, which is supplied with the compliments of HortWeek.
New for this year will be a New Plant & Product Awards feature printed in the catalogue, to include all entries received by 7 July. The organisers are urging exhibitors to submit in time to benefit from presenting their best launches to visitors in this way (free of charge).
The Pat Coutts Awards enable exhibitors to celebrate their excellent people and were very well received at the 50th-anniversary event in 2022. The platform has been created in honour of Pat’s legacy of excellence. All those nominated were highlighted on social media and at the show, which will be repeated in 2023. Winners across three categories, based on the size of the company, were Andrew Dorman of Mockridge Nurseries, Neil Williams of Petersfield Growing Mediums and Hannah Groome of Allensmore Nurseries with Kyle Ross of Wyevale Nurseries recognised through an Ambassador for Horticulture Award.
Entries for both competitions are open now through the Exhibitors Manual. Pat Coutts Award entries must be submitted by 1 August. Any questions or queries should be emailed to info@fouroaks-tradeshow.com.
