Weekend of fun planned to celebrate Dobbies opening

Dobbies on Strawberry Hill, Saintfield Road, will open its doors next Friday, September 24 and welcome customers with inspiring and exciting events from gardening demonstrations with BBC celebrity gardener Brendan Little, to face painters, Little Seedlings Club taster workshops and Jazz Sunday Lunch. There is something to keep everyone entertained.

On Friday the winners of Dobbies' schools here we grow competition will take part in the official ribbon cutting ceremony at 10.30am, along with Environment Minister Edwin Poots, Mayor Paul Porter and celebrity gardener Brendan Little. On Saturday and Sunday there will be a weekend of family fun including: facepainting, balloon modeling, children's treasure hunt, Little Seedlings Club workstations, gardening demonstrations, live entertainment and food sampling. From 1.30pm to 4pm on the Sunday customers can enjoy Jazz Sunday Lunch with a live jazz band and in-store entertainment.

For over 140 years, the Dobbies name has stood for quality horticulture and the new 48,000sq ft Garden World off the Saintfield Road will herald a new-generation of garden centres for Northern Ireland.

The new centre in Lisburn is an integral part of Dobbies' expansion plans: 8.6m has been invested and 120 new jobs have been created.

The most environmentally-friendly garden centre in Northern Ireland will feature an extensive range of plants and gardening products and will also house a Farm Foodhall specialising in the very best locally-sourced produce, as well as a stunning 370 seater restaurant. There is also an educational resource centre called The Greehouse which will host horticultural workshops for customers and demonstrations such as how to grow your own vegetables. The Greenhouse leads onto a Labyrinth outdoor area. There are also demonstration gardens, a specialist aquatics department and stylish outdoor living and gift departments.

A Lisburn Councillor has expressed his delight at the recent comments form Mr Stuart Wright, Property Director at Dobbie's Garden World.

Alderman Ivan Davis said: "Mr Wright's company choosing Lisburn because of its strategic location being accessible to as much of the population as possible, is the very point we have been making on a continual basis to encourage investment into the Lisburn area. To open its first Northern Ireland store with an 8 million investment is a real vote of confidence in Lisburn."

Mr Davis added: " We should also note the very valid point that the company endured a long and bureaucratic process and that Northern Ireland's planning process was difficult. Thankfully the key politicians were found to be very pragmatic."