GARSONS HAVE CUT CARBON EMISSIONS BY 14.9%

As part of our accreditation as a member of Planet Mark, we are examined across our sustainable performance, processes, and actions, which are measured and verified against our mission to reduce our carbon output by 5% year on year.

In our fourth year, we are proud to announce that we have excelled and surpassed our target of 5%, achieving an impressive 14.9% reduction in our carbon production over the last year, 2023 to 2024.

One of the biggest contributions in being able to achieve this significant reduction is our recent investment in solar power energy, with over 1300 solar panels being installed at both our Titchfield and Esher stores.

Read more about our harnessing of solar energy, and watch our case study here

Thank you for being a part of our Live. Grow. Thrive. journey with us.

GARSON FARM PYO, SURREY

Now in its forty-third year, our 155 acre Pick Your Own Farm remains an ever-popular family activity, picking an array of delicious fruits, vegetables and flowers from early June to late October.

Our farming policy and practices follows the company mission of safe, high-quality production combined with sustainable methods, which is testament to our long-term commitment to environmentally and socially responsible farming.

We are always looking to utilise modern integrated farming techniques, such as biological methods of pest control, and keeping grass alleyways and boundaries so that insects can easily pass between crops.

ENCOURAGING NATIVE INSECTS AND POLLINATORS

WILDFLOWER MEADOW

Our wildflower meadow is now closed for the season.

At Garsons Esher, we have planted a beautiful 5000m2 wildflower meadow, an essential part of Garson Farm's efforts to preserve and enhance the local ecosystem.

This meadow, sown to encourage important wildlife and help pollinate our crops, is a verification of our Garsons Live. Grow. Thrive. movement, our commitment to environmental sustainability and farming methods.

Among the beautiful, delicate flowers, you’ll find a dynamic mix of species and pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies, and dragonflies.

The meadow, an advanced mix of 16 annual and 17 perennial flowers, creates a stunning environment for wildlife and humans to benefit from and enjoy.

Not only is the wildflower meadow good for the local ecosystem, but it is also beneficial for your own health and wellbeing. Make sure to visit and take a stroll through the meadow, take a breather, and spend a few moments out amongst nature. The meadow is now closed, and unavailable to access (Sept 2024).  

BUG HOTELS

At both our Garsons sites our dedicated plant teams have constructed their own on-site ‘Bug Hotel’ to highlight the plight of our native insects and pollinators and their importance to our garden ecosystems. The impressive ‘hotels’ are accompanied by information and provide you with ideas of how you can attract and protect insects in your own garden, encouraging many to build their own.

SUPPORTING LOCAL DRINK SUPPLIERS

Garsons are always on the look-out for independent local food and drink suppliers and are lucky enough to have some of our favourite local Farm Shop breweries, vineyards and spirit producers right on our doorstep.

Working with suppliers in our local areas not only helps support small independent businesses, but also significantly contributes to our goals of reducing food (and drink) miles!

For wine made closer to home, we have a range from the multi-award-winning Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, Surrey, less than 13 miles away from Garsons, Esher.

At our Esher Farm Shop, we have numerous beer and ale producers located less than 10 miles away, including from The Park Brewery and Twickenham Ales and The Big Smoke Brewery in Esher being which is less than 3 miles away! At Garsons Titchfield we have multiple local breweries such as The Flowerpots Brewery and Powder Monkey Brewing Co. being less than 15 miles away.

We also have a selection of locally produced spirits including Surrey based Silent Pool, Thames Ditton Gin and Hampton Court Spirits.

A stand-out sustainable product we stock is Green Man Spirits from Silent Pool. Less than 15 miles from our Esher site, Green Man is the world’s first spirit packaged in a cardboard bottle, with a commitment to planting a tree via Tree Nation for every bottle sold.

Another of our notable eco-driven spirits producers is Beeble, made by beekeepers who realised that the wasted honey stuck to the hive frames could be perfectly utilised by soaking them in whisky – a great, sustainable use of a by-product.

Not forgetting we have soft-drink producers, from premium British suppliers such as Summer House Drinks, Belvoir and Folkington’s, each with their own impressive sustainable processes and targets such as using recyclable glass bottles for all their drinks and British sourced ingredients where possible.

THE ORANGERY TEA HOUSE'S JOURNEY TO BECOMING RESOURCE POSITIVE

We are delighted that our on-site restaurants, The Orangery Tea House at Garsons, share the same sustainable values and are committed to becoming resource positive - to give more than they take from the planet.

They strive to support local businesses throughout their supply chain, with the aim of buying locally where possible to reduce the menus carbon footprint, with their skilled team of chefs make the majority of dishes, cakes and treats in-house.

Our very own Garson Farm provides fruit and vegetables to our Esher restaurant for seasonal menu dishes – the ultimate in zero food-miles!

High-quality meat is provided by Owton’s Butchers, who are Garsons Titchfield’s Farm Shop’s local on-site butchers. The Orangery Tea House team of chefs are also committed to developing delicious and nutritious plant-based alternatives, a proven way of making a small reduction to carbon footprint.

All coffee and tea served at The Orangery Tea House is 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified and used-coffee grounds are also offered to customers, perfect for garden fertiliser.

The Orangery Tea House has also taken big steps towards reducing waste, moving away from single-use to reusable and biodegradable packaging, eliminating plastic waste from processes and separating food waste to be used for bio-mass energy.

OUR LATEST SUSTAINABLE RANGES

To help us all be more eco-conscious we strive to increase our range of sustainable and environmentally friendly product ranges, whilst adhering to our commitment of reducing our carbon emission by 5% year on year. In doing so, we hope to increase our positive impacts on the environment and to help our beautiful planet live, grow and thrive for future generations to come.

See this seasons sustainability led highlights below...

ECO-LED FURNITURE

From sets that are 100% recyclable at the end of their lifespan, to cushions made from 100% recycled plastic bottles, we are always looking for the most innovative and sustainable outdoor leisure ranges. See below for some of our favourite eco-led furniture brands and materials.

TREE PLANTING

A key furniture supplier, Bramblecrest, works with Ecologi, an environmentally focussed social-enterprise, to plant a tree for every furniture set that is sold. These trees help to combat climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We are proud to support this carbon offset project and help contribute towards a sustainable future.

RECYCLED PLASTIC CUSHIONS

Bramblecrest and LG Outdoor impressively transform plastic bottle waste into luxury deep filled cushions. Their Eco cushion is made with yard spun from recycled plastic bottles which produces a hard-wearing season-proof material, perfect for outdoor use, whilst retaining comfort.

MADE IN THE UK CUSHIONS

B-Bag Extreme Lounging cushions and bean bags are manufactured in the UK, with every cushion made in a factory in Yorkshire. Using UK-made brands is helping Garsons to offset our carbon emissions, and helps contribute towards reaching our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 5% year on year.

RECYCLED ROPE FURNITURE

Supremo Leisure use premium recycled polyester rope, helping fight against industry waste that would have otherwise gone to landfills. The rope has been developed for marine use, making it suitable to withstand the wetter months, with high strength resistance and extreme durability to increase its longevity.

'VIRONWOOD' TABLETOPS

The wood used by Garden Impressions to make their furniture has been recycled, and is fully recyclable after it’s life span. They also use ‘Vironwood’ for their tabletops, a specially developed synthetic material, indistinguishable from wood. 'Vironwood' contains no harmful chemicals and is 100% recyclable, is strong, easy to clean, and UV / weather resistant.

WE RECYCLE PACKAGING

We strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible, with all packaging from furniture delivery being removed as part of our assembly service, of which we responsibly recycle where possible.

LOCALLY SOURCED PLANTS

Sourcing plants locally, from nursery suppliers like Woodlark Nurseries, located less than 1 mile away from our Esher site, offers a host of benefits. Not only does it support valued local suppliers, but also reduces carbon emissions from transportation and ensures plants are better suited to local climate and soil conditions.

Additionally, sourcing from local suppliers often means healthier plants due to reduced stress from transportation and shorter time between growing and planting. 

We work closely with local and regional suppliers such as Lyewood Nurseries and Pepperpot Herbs in Hampshire, and and many more across the South of England who prioritize eco-friendly practices such as using peat-free compost, reducing chemical usage, implementing water conservation techniques, and recycling plant pots and trays.

RESPONSIBLE COMPOST

We are committed to phasing out the use of peat as a growing media and are following and complying with Government guidelines. Key organisations from the horticultural sector and the Garden Centre Association, which includes independent garden centres just like us at Garsons, have all promised to end the sector’s use of peat, pledging to remove it from the retail market as early as 2025.

As a ‘green’ industry, we recognise the value of peat as a store of carbon and are in full support of the reduction and eventual total ban on using peat in our horticulture industry. We are working with suppliers to help achieve this and to promote organic and peat-free composts further. Encouragingly extraction from England’s peatlands has already been halved since 2011.

Much of our existing range of growing media products are enriched with recycled materials, and more peat-free alternatives are being introduced each year. We clearly highlight these products in our in-store displays and signage to help our customers easily select peat-free while shopping with us.

KINDER GARDEN CARE

While most pests are useful and are part of the natural cycle, occasionally we do need to intervene. Many of our pest deterrent products consist of eco-certified elements to effectively manage and prevent pests sustainably. This includes environmentally friendly pest control sprays, natural slug deterrents such as, Slug Away Wool Pellets, reusable slug traps and pollinator friendly substances.

We also stock a range of innovative products such as ‘Moth box traps’, which use pheromone lures to attract  and trap the male box tree moths, helping control this serious pest, and Silent Roar, a garden border cat repellent made from lion manure!

Several of these products use recyclable, biodegradable and refillable packaging, helping to reduce the environmental impacts from plastic pollution. We encourage customers to use sustainable practices by providing a range of sustainable pest deterrent products, whilst allowing ecosystems to thrive.