2023 marked our 90th year, and what a year it was! Our team have been busy behind the scenes, always making sure that our customers have the best shopping experience, while simultaneously trying to push the boat out further than ever before.

With a successful stint at the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show to working closely with local charities, our year has been jam-packed with events, fundraisers, and much more – making our 90th year a special one!

RHS Flower Show Tatton Park

From unveiling our first exhibition garden in over twenty years to winning several awards, it’s safe to say that RHS Flower Show Tatton Park was a highlight of the year!

Our ‘Chained to Tech’ garden, designed by award-winning garden designer Rachel Platt, was a big focus for us this year. Our team worked hard behind the scenes to get the garden looking as fabulous as it did, from growing plants in our warehouses to an all-hands-on-deck operation for set-up.

Image: The finished 'Chained to Tech' garden wall

The hard work was certainly worth it, as we won three awards over the week – the Silver Gilt Award, Best Construction, and the People’s Choice Award. We had amazing feedback from customers old and new, and it was amazing to see the designs come to life after months of planning.

Image: Constructing the 'Chained to Tech' garden

That’s not all! Our gardening expert, Hannah Rowson, made her debut at RHS Tatton this year with her stall garden design. Inspired by cottage gardens, the aesthetic design could easily be replicated in your own garden. Winning 4 out of 5 stars, the garden was a success and got positive reviews from customers too. If you need gardening advice, then Hannah’s videos should be your next stop after this – you can browse her advice on our socials (visit our Instagram and TikTok to see more!).

Image: Stall Garden Designer, Hannah Rowson

You can read all about our Tatton journey in blogs like ‘Let’s Talk Tatton – A Week Full of Garden Excitement’ and ‘See You at Tatton!’.

Charity Work

Image: J. Parker's volunteers at The Maples Care Home

2023 has also been a year of giving back to our local community. In 2020, we partnered with Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust to provide their Worsley-based care home (The Maples) with a garden makeover. This has been a long-term project, which was completed in the summer of this year.

Our team visited their care home a few times over a few weeks to clean the space up, remove old plants, plant new ones, and set up their new gazebo! Now the garden is a space where they can go and relax, taking in the fresh air over breaks or when visitors come over. You can read all about our work with the Maples in our blog ‘The Maples Care Home Project’.

NorthCare Donations

Image: NorthCare volunteers planting bulbs in their new garden

And that’s not all! This year we also donated 3,500 spring-flowering bulbs to NorthCare to help them breathe life into their new project – the Oasis Garden at Rochdale Infirmary. This garden gives patients a break from the hospital environment, which is designed specifically to support sensory experiences. You can read all about this new project on their website.

The 90 Trees Project

Image: Planting trees at a local school

To celebrate our 90th anniversary further, and in the only way we know how, we’ve been planting 90 trees in and around Manchester! From allotments to fields, our team has been planting our trees throughout the year. The team even went to a local school, giving the children an impromptu pruning lesson!

Travelled to Keukenhof, Netherlands

To celebrate spring, a few members of our team visited Keukenhof, AKA ‘the Garden of Europe’, to see what the hype was all about. Well, they don’t call it the Garden of Europe for nothing! This behemoth display of spring blooms was outstanding and gave us lots of inspiration for our own gardens.

It’s exclusively open in spring (March-May) and is easily accessible from Amsterdam. A must-see attraction for spring, that’s for sure! Read all about our visit in our blog, 'Come With Us to Keukenhof - The Garden of Europe'. 

Launched Our New Range: House Plants!



After months of planning behind the scenes, we are excited to announce our new range – house plants! Perfect for the indoor plant-obsessed, as you can now shop for them for less than ever before. With a range of different plants to explore, decorating your home has never been easier. Take a look at our selection of houseplants today.

2023 has been a whirlwind of a year, and it feels like it was just yesterday that we were planning our 90th-anniversary celebration activities. It’s been an amazing 90 years so far – here's to plenty more!

Wondering how our business came to be? You can read all about our history in our blog ‘The History of J. Parker’s - 90 Years and Counting!’.