Hatfield based nursery Europlants Ltd is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and commemorated the event with two open days.
The nursery introduced more plants to its range including its extensive selection of Mediterranean plants.
The open days included an Italian lunch of lasagne, venison and beef bourguignon, a charity raffle and auction.
Dedication to Renato’s wife, Brigitte, who passed away in January
Renato Canale, owner of Europlants Ltd, said: “I have known David for many years and he’s supporting us for many years. He’s a great character, full of fun and is a very good personal friend.”
The open days were dedicated to Renato’s wife, Brigitte, who sadly passed away on 11 January 2016.
Renato added: “A lot of people have said they are missing the smile of Brigitte and a lot of people are really complementing the nursery which is a credit to the people who are working here.”
TV presenter of ITV’s Love Your Garden David Domoney presented the charity raffle and auction and said in his toast: “I’m happy to be here on a very special occasion because in these 25 years in business of Europlants is a major mark. It’s a huge milestone as well.
“In 1991, Renatio had the vision and courage to set up Europlants and it is a phenomenal achievement. A lot of the people who have contributed to the success today has made it a heavy weight in the garden supply industry.
“What we would like to do today is to raise a toast to Europlants and celebrate Renato, his family and all of the team that has worked over the last 25 years.
He added after the raffle and auction: “The open days are great. It’s an opportunity where people that work in a similar business and environment can meet and network.
“It is a hugely momentous occasion to celebrate 25 years of somebody in business in the nursery game and it offers encouragement and hope for us all. Being closely associated with the family over a long period of time, you can’t meet a friendlier professional organisation.”
The charity raffle and auction included orchids, champagne and a extravagant dinner for six.
The charity raffle and auction included a wide range of prizes and all money raised was donated to Thrive who use gardening to bring about positive changes in the lives of people living with disabilities or ill health, or who are isolated, disadvantaged or vulnerable. The event raised a total of £2,600.
Sandy Fitzgerald, business development manager of Thrive, said: “We’re here to promote Thrive and raise awareness of social and therapeutic horticulture but also because of the generosity of the family and of Europlants.
“We were invited for the first time last year and we were absolutely delighted with it. I think it was very helpful that David Domoney who is a friend of the family and a great supporter of the event is our gardening ambassador so we’re very delighted to have David on board and he’s been with us for a few years now and he has certainly helped to put us in front of other people who would invite us to events.
“The raffle has got a lot of smaller prizes but there is a very important prize that might not be obvious which is a spring planter that has been planted up for today by our disabled gardening clients so we’re hoping that gets won by somebody who will like it.
All proceeds from Thompson & Morgan’s Sweet Pea “Eleanorre Udall” will be donated to Thrive
“Our real aim now is to promote our programme more widely. We’ve got four centres, Battersea in London, Birmingham, Gateshead and Beach Hill near Reading which is our head office. But our main focus is on promoting those centres as they exist and doing more outreach projects for which we need funding. My other personal crusade is to sell a sweet pea that has been developed by Thompson and Morgan for us and named after our founder’s wife Eleanore Udall. A local lady actually gave us a photo of her so we now know what she looked like.”
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