Dobbies, the UK’s leading garden centre retailer, has embarked on its first international sustainability project through a collaboration with The Antigua Barbuda Horticultural Society (ABHS).
To help address the growing challenges caused by the lack of rainfall, Dobbies has supported ABHS to install a 25,000 gallon sustainable water system and irrigation system at the Society’s Agave Gardens. The Society will be able to grow a wider range of tropical plants, including their national flower, the Agave karatto, as well as educate visitors about the diversity of plants that grow on the islands.
Graeme Jenkins, CEO at Dobbies, said: “Sustainability is at the core of Dobbies. We have a market-leading position, having become the first UK garden centre to be 100% peat-free on the compost we sell. Our peat-free compost has just won RHS Chelsea Sustainable Garden Product of the Year. We have recently launched our 2022 Helping Your Community Grow initiative, with over 35,000 customer votes for local projects across the UK, and we are proud to work with The Antigua Barbuda Horticultural Society on our first international sustainability project.
“Working with the ABHS team, we have contributed to the installation of a new water and irrigation system for the Society’s Agave Gardens, which will help ensure plants can be kept healthy all-year-round.”
The Society is committed to sharing knowledge of gardening to people of all ages, with the aim to educate, conserve and achieve excellence in plant knowledge, garden design and an appreciation of plants. They work closely with other botanical gardens in the Caribbean to share knowledge and best practice.
Barbara Japal from ABHS said: “We are grateful to the team at Dobbies for their support, knowledge and expertise which means we can further develop the garden and plant range to better represent all the beautiful plants of our islands. Thanks to this collaboration, we can continue to deliver on our conservation mission and promote the benefits of our plants to local residents and visitors.”
