22 Feb 2024
Hospitality businesses swept the board at this year’s Incorporation of Gardeners of Glasgow ‘Let Glasgow Flourish’ awards, held at Glasgow’s Trades Hall on 20 February 2024. The awards celebrate the wonderful floral and horticultural displays put on by businesses in the city, which provide a welcoming environment for residents and visitors alike.
Finnieston-based Meze Meze and its sister restaurant usta scooped the top award, The Robertson Silver Spade, for their magnificent floral displays. Other restaurant winners included Gloriosa, Elena’s, The Butchershop, Mharsanta and Amore. The Ben Nevis, Dram, The Steps Bar, The Maltman, Citation, The Corinthian Club and Piper Whisky Bar were among some of the prize-winning bars. Hotels Radisson RED, Kimpton Blythswood Square, Malmaison and Argyll Hotel were also winners. Other organisations, including solicitors, health centres, places of worship and coffee shops, achieved awards for their window boxes, planters, and floral displays.
Commenting on their success, Meze Meze & usta owner, Hadi Seyed Tabatabaeyan, said: “We're delighted to have won The Robertson Silver Spade at the Let Glasgow Flourish awards. We're really proud of our floral displays at Meze Meze and usta and aspire to play our part in making Glasgow a flourishing and welcoming place for local, national and international visitors."
This year’s judging extended to the south side, where a variety of local businesses received accolades. Gold winners are: Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib, Victoria Bar, HF Group and Queen’s Park Café. Social enterprise, ApparelXchange CIC and Hugs and Mugs café both won silver awards, while Brooklyn Café and The GRIND House took home bronze awards.
Commenting on the awards, Janet Pierotti, Deacon of the Incorporation of Gardeners of Glasgow, said: "We're thrilled to present this year's Let Glasgow Flourish awards. Many congratulations to Meze Meze and usta on winning the Robertson Silver Spade and to all the gold, silver and bronze winners. The awards are now in their 41st year and this year’s event is our biggest in recent years. We were delighted that so many businesses and other organisations could come along. We’d like to extend a huge thanks to all of them for taking part and helping make our city a blooming and welcoming place for visitors and locals to enjoy.”
Members of the Incorporation’s Master Court roamed the streets of Glasgow during the first two weeks in August 2023, while the flowers were in full bloom, and awarded points for each display they found, culminating in a shortlist of finalists.
The awards ceremony was attended by representatives from the Incorporation of Gardeners and the wider Trades House crafts and associated organisations, along with 60 local businesses and organisations who won awards. Awards were presented by Deacon of the Incorporation of Gardeners, Janet Pierotti, and Lord Provost of Glasgow, Jacqueline McLaren. The overall prize is The Robertson Silver Spade, which the winner keeps for one year. Bronze and silver winners received certificates and gold winners received certificates and trophies.
The awards were launched in 1983 by the Incorporation of Gardeners of Glasgow and the Robertson Silver Spade was first awarded in 1992. Prizes are given at three different levels and presented to businesses and not-for-profit organisations in the city, which create and maintain an arboreal or floral display of a high standard. The awards are available for projects from simple hanging baskets and window box displays, to larger impressive and ambitious plantings.
The Incorporation of Gardeners of Glasgow was founded around 1605 as a trade guild to protect the gardening and horticulture trade in the city. It now operates solely as a charity, giving significant grants each year to not-for-profit gardening projects in the city, recently including support for projects at The Beatson, as well as The Children's Wood in the North Kelvinside area. The Incorporation also provides study bursaries to gardening and horticultural students.
The full list of award winners is as follows:
‘LET GLASGOW FLOURISH’ AWARD WINNERS 2023 (AWARDED FEBRUARY 2024)
BRONZE
Brooklyn Café
Florida Park
Gildeas Solicitors
Hampton Court Guest House
Kimpton Blythswood Square
Koolba
Merchant Chippie
Rab Ha’s
Radisson RED
The Arlington
The Ben Nevis
The Doublet
The Drum and Monkey
The Griffin
The Grumpy Barista
The McMillan
The Robertson Trust
The State Bar
Westbourne Medical Studios
SILVER
Mharsanta
The Corinthian Club
Holy Cross Parish Church
Clockwork Bar and Restaurant
Molly Malone’s
The Horseshoe Bar
aBode Hotel
Kothel
The Hengler’s Circus
Woolgar Hunter
La Vita Pizzeria
Piper Whisky Bar
Malmaison Hotel
The Citizen
Bread Meats Bread
Connelly’s
The Maltman
Cairns Bar
Café Andaluz
Times Square
The Crystal Palace
The Steps Bar
Sandyford Henderson Memorial Church
The Islay Inn
Murphy’s Pakora Bar
Baitul Rahman Mosque
The Butchershop
Gloriosa
Virgin Money
The GRIND House
St Ninian’s Episcopal Church
Queen of the South Hair and Beauty
ApparelXchange CIC
Hugs & Mugs
Citation
St Andrews West Church and Renfield Centre
Pavement
GOLD
Argyll Hotel
Elena’s
Dram
Browns
Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib
Minnesota Fats Snooker Club
The Ivy
Queen’s Park Café
Amore
HF Group
Victoria Bar
ROBERTSON SILVER SPADE
Meze Meze
usta
