UK ornamental grower Allensmore Nurseries has been named the overall winner of the 2026 Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) Grower of the Year Awards, with the annual awards highlighting innovation, sustainability and technology across the UK’s professional growing sector.
The winners were announced on 24 September at the Barbican Centre in London, following the HTA’s annual Horticulture, The Conference. The awards recognise businesses and individuals working across UK environmental horticulture, with categories covering areas including technology, sustainability, peat reduction, biosecurity and workforce development.
Allensmore Nurseries collected the overall Grower of the Year title after also winning three individual categories: Employer of the Year, Peat Transition Initiative of the Year and Sustainability Initiative of the Year.
The Herefordshire-based nursery was recognised alongside businesses and individuals from across the UK ornamental horticulture sector. The awards included a new Best Use of Technology category this year, reflecting the increasing role of technology in commercial plant production.
That award went to Frank P. Matthews Limited, while Robin Tacchi Plants Ltd won the Biosecurity Initiative of the Year. The awards also recognised emerging industry talent, with Tim Forshaw of Lovania Nurseries named Young Grower of the Year.
Technology and sustainability in ornamental growing
The 2026 awards provide a snapshot of some of the key areas currently shaping commercial ornamental horticulture in the UK.
The HTA introduced several new award categories for this year’s programme, including Best Use of Technology, Peat Transition Initiative of the Year and Biosecurity Initiative of the Year. The association said the new categories were designed to reflect the work growers are undertaking to improve production, resilience and sustainability.
For commercial nurseries, technology is increasingly being applied across plant production, from automation and machinery to crop monitoring and production management. At the same time, growers are continuing to investigate alternatives to peat and new approaches to resource efficiency and plant health.
The HTA awards therefore offer a useful indication of the issues currently receiving attention within the UK ornamental plant industry, particularly as businesses look to maintain efficient production while responding to environmental and operational pressures.
A changing ornamental horticulture sector
The awards come at a time when technology and innovation are becoming increasingly prominent across commercial ornamental growing.
The HTA is preparing to hold FutureGrow Expo: Nursery of the Future at NAEC Stoneleigh on 6 October. The event will focus specifically on emerging technology and research for ornamental horticulture, with growers able to see demonstrations of equipment and new approaches to commercial plant and tree production.
The timing places technology firmly on the agenda for the UK nursery sector, with the awards and upcoming FutureGrow event both putting a spotlight on how businesses are adapting their production systems.
For ornamental growers, the developments also highlight the increasingly broad range of considerations involved in modern nursery production from automation and technology to peat reduction, sustainability, biosecurity and workforce development.
As the UK ornamental horticulture industry continues to evolve, the businesses recognised at this year’s HTA awards provide a recent example of the different approaches being taken across the sector.
With Allensmore Nurseries now holding the 2026 overall Grower of the Year title, attention will turn to how the UK’s ornamental growers continue to develop their production systems and respond to the changing demands of modern horticulture.
Sources: Horticultural Trades Association
Leave a Reply