Shop at a GCA Garden Centre near you today!

When next visiting a garden centre, make sure it is a GCA Garden Centre. Many of the country’s leading garden centres belong to the Garden Centre Association (GCA) of South Africa.

The GCAs are held to a very high standard and the benefits to you, the South African gardener, include:

- Top quality plants and associated products

- Expert advice

- Beautiful displays

- Relaxed shopping environment

Part of the process for upholding these standards is the Annual GCA Competition, run by the South African Nursery Association (SANA).

The aim of the competition and grading is to improve the standards of all GCA members, thereby improving the image of the industry in the eyes of you, the gardener. Each one has to achieve a high level of good business practice before they can be accepted as an Approved Member.

Winning one of the awards is regarded as a great honour in the industry. All GCA members (unless they have excluded themselves from adjudication) are visited by two accredited evaluators, at a time unbeknown to the garden centre so there is an element of surprise. The evaluation is based on what product offering the customers get to see and interact with at the garden centres.

The awards are based purely on quality standards, and garden centres are evaluated not only on products, departments and displays, but also on staff, service and surrounds. Gardeners can be assured that those garden centres and home store garden departments that win, are among the very best in South Africa.

You can see which GCAs near you are awarded each year, right here on the Life is a Garden website.

View the Garden Centres section on our website (here), and click your region to view the winners!