Local horticultural expert John Naylor has been named Springfields Outlet Shopping’s Supplier of the Year thanks to his magnificent hanging basket creations which are brightening up the centre.  

There are 90 hanging baskets across Springfields, creating a beautiful and interesting look around the shopping area. 

John, who lives in Spalding, has been self-employed in the flower industry all his life as a bulb grower and is now semi-retired. He has created baskets which are bursting with colourful plants and flowers including fuchsias, two colours of bacopa, trailing petunias, non-stop begonias, illumination begonias and blue and white lobelia ricardii. They each have a geranium in the centre. 

The flowers are combined to create two eye-catching looks – azure combines with pale pink and hot pink is matched up with lime. There are 45 types of each basket. 

John has previously lived in Holbeach and attended Spalding Grammar School before going to agricultural college. He said: “I think they look good. In these times of austerity, it’s nice to see something so bright and helping to create a bit of a feel good factor.” 

The hanging baskets, along with the beautiful Festival Gardens, are part of the Springfields entry for East Midlands in Bloom competition for this year. In 2010 Springfields won the Silver Gilt award in the Best Retail/Commercial Premises category – and hopes are high to go one better this time. The Festival Gardens feature a wide variety of styles including formal gardens, seasonal flowerbeds, a Japanese garden, water and wetland features and celebrity gardens. They are complemented with flowerbeds at the centre’s entrance. 

Tracy Thomas, Springfields Communications Manager, said: “We have had lots of lovely comments left in our Visitors’ Book which shows the hanging baskets are proving popular. This is the first year we’ve worked with John, and the baskets are the best they’ve been for many years. We’re delighted to recognise his fantastic work with this Supplier of the Year award. 

Our on site gardeners Martin Hollis and Ray Horton have also done a great job to maintain and tend to them once they were installed so our thanks go to them both too.  There is still time in the last couple of weeks of summer holidays for people to come and see the baskets for themselves before we change over to our Autumn / Winter planting scheme, so make the most of it and pay us a visit.”