Van Hage Limited
IndustryGardening
Founded1968
ProductsGarden centres
Websitewww.vanhage.co.uk

Van Hage was a British-based garden centre chain that was acquired by Blue Diamond Garden Centres in 2022. The chain consisted of three garden centres, two in Hertfordshire and one in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

History

Theadora Warmerdam, (a co-founder of Van Hage) was evacuated from the Netherlands to England during the Second World War in 1940. As the eldest of six children Theadora took over the running of the family business at the age of 20 when her father died in 1948.

Cornelius Van Hage, (another co-founder of Van Hage) a young entrepreneur who exported bulbs from the Netherlands to the UK. He met Theadora and they were married in 1953. During the same year they opened a nursery on the site of a run down pig farm at Spitalbrook in Broxbourne.

The Van Hages saw the opportunity to create a garden centre with a difference from the experience they had gained. They purchased the famous rose nursery of Chaplin Brothers at Gt. Amwell. The garden centre was formally opened by Percy Thrower, the top national gardening celebrity of the 1970s.

Van Hage continued to grow and develop into one of the largest and most prominent garden and leisure retailers in the United Kingdom. As part of this development in 1996 a second garden centre was purchased, Chenies, in Amersham.

The company later added another centre to its portfolio. This being Peterborough Garden Park development in Peterborough, Cambs UK. The Van Hage Garden Centre takes centre stage as part of the development which includes a number of smaller retail units.

The group was sold to Blue Diamond Garden Centres in 2022 but continues to trade under the Van Hage name.

Awards

The company received a number of industry awards. These included Best Houseplant Centre in the UK, Best Plant Area, Best Garden Centre, Best Christmas Display, Best UK Flower Bulb Display and a ‘Best Garden in Show' at Chelsea, receiving the Fiskars Sword of Excellence. In 2002 the Van Hage team won a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show for their ‘Bridal Garden'.[1]

Centres

Reference List

  1. ↑ "Van Hage Awards".
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