Garden Centre Association News Archives

What is a GCA and why should you visit one?

Come and learn about the fabulous benefits of our quality-approved garden centres and what makes them stand out.

As you know, Life is a Garden is the marketing branch of The South African Nursery Association, known as SANA for short. To become a SANA member, garden centres and home stores must meet a series of criteria and evaluations set out by experienced committee members. SANA’s goal is to set an industry benchmark and maintain the standard of their world-class retailers.
GCA stands for the Garden Centre Association, striving to present a professional image of the horticultural industry and encourage professional business practices through a code of conduct. You can identify a GCA by the green sign in the front of the store, or even better, you can access our nationwide directory via the website.
Each year, there is also an exciting GCA competition that awards the Garden Centre of Excellence title to the best SA has to offer. Garden centres, home stores, and growers are judged according to their plants, products, service, and overall customer experience.

To find your nearest GCA, visit our website at www.lifeisgarden.co.za and follow the Garden Centres tab on the top menu.

Benefits of growing with Life is a Garden

The rewards are rich on our side of the fence. Here are the benefits of growing with Life is a Garden.

First off, we connect you with industry experts and provide insights directly from accredited sources. This means that you get content that is relevant to the season, your region, and from a local source with plants and products you can purchase.
Speaking of shopping, we also provide a nationwide directory on our website with easy access to your nearest GCA Garden Centre and GCA Home Store. As mentioned in our previous video, these are stores which have met The South African Nursery Association’s series of criteria and evaluations aimed at ensuring the highest possible customer experience.
Life is a Garden also caters to both beginner and experienced gardeners. With us, you’ll get the best advice on how to start a project but also how to challenge and expand your gardening skills.
Lastly, we love family fun in the garden and the future of our planet. Our DIY’s and grow guides are aimed at including children and cultivating a sense of responsibility and appreciation for our indigenous wildlife.

Jump on board and join us on Facebook at @lifeisagardensa and subscribe to our delightful newsletter via our website at http://www.lifeisgarden.co.za/

SANA’s 2022 Garden Centre winners! SA’s Best Garden Centres for 2022

gca, winner, nursery, plants, life is a garden, bellville, greenery, competition, colour, beauty

Stodels Nurseries Bellville – Garden Centre of the year

Address: Eversdale Rd, Bellville

From humble beginnings, Stodels Garden Centres have developed into a household name in gardening in the Western Cape. From the outset, Stodels Garden Centres focused on providing their customers with excellent service, top quality products and affordable prices. Fifty years later, the trio of service, quality and affordability has built a respected and much-loved brand.

Originating from a mail order catalogue and door to door sales, the Stodels brand has grown to its current complement of seven award-winning garden centres today, two of which are based in Gauteng. The company was started by Mr Robert Stodel, in August 1962, when he started selling flower bulbs door to door and from the Parade in Cape Town. A mail order bulb catalogue soon followed and within a few years, Stodels Flower Bulbs became the biggest flower bulb retailer in South Africa, posting nearly 600 000 bulb catalogues to Cape households and importing up to 20 million bulbs from Holland every year.

Find out more: https://www.lifeisagarden.co.za/stodels-bellville/

2020 GCA Garden Centre of the Year Here are the best garden centres in SA!

Here are the best garden centres in SA! Did your favourite make it? Visit the best Garden Centres and Home Store departments our country has to offer.

South Africa’s Nursery Association (SANA) hosts an annual GCA Garden Centre competition to present to you, dear gardeners, the cream of the crop! Garden centres and home store garden departments are measured against a set of criteria aimed at assessing and improving product standards and professional service in the industry. This competition is undertaken from October to December, with moderation in early March of the following year.

We are proud to announce this year’s platinum competition winners:

Home Store Winner

Builders Warehouse Port Elizabeth

Address: Access Park, Cnr Buffelsfontein Rd and 17th Ave, Walmer

Builders is a leader in home improvement and building materials with complete project solutions. Builders has four store formats that cater to different markets with their own personalised feel and service offerings. Builders promises exceptional value and offers a comprehensive range of competitively priced products, with the latter having experts on hand to give advice on home, DIY and gardening needs.

Builders Warehouse, follows the big box or warehouse retail format. Builders Warehouse offers an extensive range of competitively priced products with a large garden centre display and Builders’ supply yard.

Garden Centre Winners

Overall Garden Centre winner awarded the Jimie Malan Trophy

Greenside Kwekery

Address: 18 Tafelberg Ave, Langenhovenpark, Bloemfontein

Greenside Kwekery is Surprisingly Different. Once you have been to visit us,you will know the reason why. From our Platinum award-winning (Best outdoor plants in South Africa in 2012 & 2013 ) to our tree-filled Tea Garden and many features, there will be plenty of reasons for you to become a regular visitor. For the little ones there is a spacious play-area and access to small animals. Do make sure that you pay us a visit.