Winners of a Glee New Product, Garden category award in 2007, John Woods Nurseries, has experienced a phenomenal response to its award winning weeping Cercis Canadensis tree, Lavender Twist (“Covey”).

Having beaten off stiff competition to win the coveted Glee New Product prize, John Woods MD, John Lord, has reported that the whole of the 2007/2008 crop has already been sold to garden centres and nurseries UK wide, with orders for 2009’s crop rolling in fast.

John Lord said: “Winning a New Garden Product award was a great surprise as the quality of products on offer at 2007’s show was extremely high. Recent years have been dominated by high impulse volume sellers so to be awarded recognition for an innovative high value plant was fantastic. It shows a confidence coming back to stocking plants that return a healthy margin – which of course is great news for us!”

Glee 2007 also marked the well publicised launch of the company as John Woods Nurseries, which until then was trading under the name Notcutts Nurseries. Whilst many would anticipate a period of transition, John Lord added: “All of our customers and suppliers got to grips with the new name immediately; it was internally where we sometimes forgot!”

He added: “I believe that our success at Glee 2007 helped to cement the new name within the industry. In addition to winning the Best New Garden Product award, we were also awarded the Best Glee Nursery Stand, helping to raise our profile massively within the industry and as such secure John Woods Nurseries position as proactive supplier.”

And as we finally begin to forget about 2007’s unpredictable and often costly weather conditions, John Lord comments on his predictions for 2008. He said: “Whilst many people within the wider industry struggled due to the summer’s adverse weather conditions, we actually had quite a successful season due to the nature of our products. For hardy plants, such as the Cercis Canadensis Lavender Twist, spring is the peak sales period and the wetter summer helps them get established in the garden.

“A mild January has meant strong sales so far and we expecting sales to continue to stay strong due to the continuing rise of the euro, which means buyers recognise the certainty of buying from the UK. In addition UK buyers are becoming more conscious of their carbon footprint and ‘plant miles’.

“Looking ahead into 2008, John Woods Nurseries is excited to be returning to Glee Nursery once again, as it provides the best industry platform to launch new plants and products. Further to this, our aims for the year include adding even more value for our customers.”

To find out more about John Woods Nurseries award winning Lavender Twist or about the range of products and services available from the company, log onto www.johnwoodsnurseries.co.uk. For more information about Glee 2008, please visit the brand new Glee website at www.gleebirmingham.com

Fact File: Cercis Canadensis Lavender Twist (“Covey”) – Winner of Best New Garden Product at Glee 2008

• The first weeping cercis to be released to the European market
• Clusters of lavender pink flowers set all the way along a naked branch, complemented perfectly by apple green leaves
• This small tree can grow up to 2 metres tall, with a weeping mass of up to 2.5 metres
• Late spring flowering, continuing until mid/late summer
• Suitable for most good garden soils, with preference to moist, well drained soils with access to good sunlight
• Also suitable for patio pots, making it the ideal choice for smaller garden
• Extremely hardy – zone 1 – 4

Glee website