Chat from aisles of the Garden Press Event

300 members of the garden media visited around 100 exhibitors at a buzzing Garden Press Event. Best new product was a Dipping Tank. Blue Diamond won the Best Stand award. Read the chat. Read more - members only

The Dipping Tank

Award for Bransford Webbs!

The Bransford Webbs Plant Company were thrilled to be awarded the Best Hardy Plant Supplier of the Year at the Squires Annual Plant Show last week at Squires, West Horsley, for the second year in a row. Read more - open to all

Squires award winners 2024

GCA Charity Day & Gala Dinner auction help raise more than £44,000

Members of the Garden Centre Association (GCA) have raised more than £44,000 for three different charities at the organisation’s annual conference this year (2024). Read more - open to all

Colin Stephens MD Evergreen Garden Care, Terry Head Stewarts, Will Blake and Guy Topping.

The Garden Re-Leaf Charity walks return

North or south, the Garden Re-Leaf Day Charity Walks represent one of the most popular events in the Greenfingers fundraising calendar. With two stunning locations, three distances to tackle, and fun guaranteed, it’s no surprise that this year’s event is set to be the biggest yet. Read more - open to all

Garden ReLeaf Day North walkers

Kevin is raising money for charity

Kevin Burgess is launching two Just Giving pages as he aims to take part in this years London Landmarks half marathon wearing his wellies. Read more - open to all

The ‘Most Jumperful Time of the Year’ raises over £7,000 in 2023

Glitter, jingly bells, a giant Santa, and more scratchy sleeves than you can shake a candy cane at, The Most Jumperful Time of Year – and this year’s wearers are pleased to report that more than £7,000 has been raised for the Greenfingers Charity. Read more - open to all

The Most Jumperful with Linda Petrons

All work and no play for police dog

Cambridge Police caught a burglar who broke into a garden centre thanks to a specially-trained dog. Police dog Vinnie tracked down Ricky Homer in a Dobbies garden centre in Wyton in Cambridgeshire in October, weaving through shelves and the cafe area as he gave chase. Read more - members only

Garden centres cautious about 2024

Most garden centres were satisfied with relatively strong Christmas trading. But there’s concern about 2024 with rising costs and thefts. We gather the views of garden centre leaders. Read more - members only

Restaurants - the success story of 2023

New Year, New Garden Centre?

Gardenforum planning round-up - Perrywood Sudbury and Pugh’s Garden Village in Wenvoe submit new plans. Read more - members only

Will you join the Greenfingers Dragon Boat Race 2024?

Flashback to over 10 years ago and you’ll find the first ever Greenfingers Dragon Boat Race. Now in 2024, it has been confirmed that the Dragon Boat Race is set to return, bigger and better than ever. Read more - open to all

Perrywood Garden Centre spreads Christmas cheer

During December, Perrywood Garden Centres in Tiptree and Sudbury gifted seasonal planted containers to Abberton Rural Training, The Red Rose Community Farm and The Tiptree Community Hub. Read more - open to all

The ‘Most Jumperful Time of the Year’

The ‘Most Jumperful Time of the Year’ is back and the fundraising total has tipped over £20,000. Read more - open to all

Greenfingers Fundraising Committee gets into the Most Jumperful spirit.

Over £30,000 raised at the Greenfingers Charity Fundraising Dinner

138 guests enjoyed a superb evening putting the fun back into FUNdraising all in the name of Greenfingers. The fundraising element was so strong that throughout the evening, more than £30,000 was raised for the children’s hospice garden charity. Read more - open to all

Greenfingers Fundraising dinner 2023

Notcutts surpass 1.5 million charity donations through Pennies

1.5 million micro-donations at Notcutts, in partnership with the UK charity Pennies, have raised over £500,000 for various charity partners. Read more - members only

Notcutts wins Best Employer award

Notcutts Garden Centres win the Hospitality and Retail category in the Eastern Region Awards for Best Employer. Read more - members only

Stacey East, Woodbridge GC; Sarah Dempsey, HR Director; Sarah Brittain, Norwich GC.

Mountfield donate to the British Heart Foundation

The Mountfield team like to help charities whenever they can and were pleased this Heart Month to make a donation of one of their mowers to be auctioned off for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) at the Cape Cornwall Golf Club. Read more - open to all

Garden Re-Leaf day 2024: will you join the 250 challenge?

As 15th March fast approaches, garden centres from across the country are busy making preparations for one of their biggest fundraising days of the year – Garden Re-Leaf Day. This year, Greenfingers has set the “250 challenge” which they hope could help retailers to become the biggest combined contributors to this special event. Read more - open to all

2024 forecast: a big year for the Greenfingers garden builds

One organisation that has gardens on its mind year-round is the children’s hospice garden charity – Greenfingers.  Here Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising & Communications at Greenfingers, provides an update on those gardens that are currently underway across the country. Read more - open to all

Waterside Garden Centre flooding – Update

Following Storm Henk, Waterside Garden Centre near Baston, Cambridgeshire was flooded under 5ft of water. Reports on their Facebook page show the progress being made to re-open the business in time for the spring season. Read more - open to all

The Greenfingers Charity Dragon Boat Race – everything you need to know!

June 23rd 2024 will forever be known as the day when the great and good from the garden retail sector fought bravely to be crowned the newest Dragon Boat Race winners – or at least we hope so! Read more - open to all

Otter Garden Centres celebrates 60 years

Otter Garden Centres is kicking off celebrations for its sixtieth anniversary celebrations with a special pledge to benefit the communities local to each of its seven branches. Read more - members only

Cathy White, Marilyn and Malcolm White, Jacqui Taylor

David Austin Roses donates £10,000 to Grow to Know

David Austin Roses cultivates community growth with £10,000 donation to Grow to Know following the launch of the new English rose Dannahue, named after the garden designer and BBC presenter Danny Clarke.   Read more - open to all

Dannahue®, a captivating apricot, fruity-scented English rose

Flooded Garden Centre won’t reopen until March

The owner of a garden centre ‘wiped out’ by Storm Henk says flooding has caused six figures worth of damage. Waterside Garden Centre in Baston was among the businesses badly hit by the flooding last week. Read more - members only

Winter Storms cause disruption to Garden Centres 

UPDATED: Winter Storms and floods cause disruption to Garden Centres around the UK at one of the peak times of year. Read more - members only

Waterside Garden Centre

2023 news roundup

We highlight the main events of 2023 including the collapse of Wilko, juggling of the trade shows calendar and the deaths of some notable pioneers in the industry. Read more - open to all

YPHA hold meeting at Coolings as tribute for their mentor Paul Cooling

Vote for Associate Member of the Year 2023

Members of the Garden Centre Association (GCA) are being asked to vote for their Associate Member of the Year for 2023 – with the winner announced at the GCA’s annual conference in the Cotswolds this January. Read more - open to all

Colin Stanley, Lisa Ashford & Ian Wright.

GCA members to compete for Worrall Cup

Members of the Garden Centre Association (GCA) are being invited to put their marketing and community campaigns to the test as part of the organisation’s annual Worrall Cup competition (December 2023). Read more - open to all

The 2023 Worrall Cup winners, Pugh’s Garden Villages

Dig deep for Perennial’s Christmas donation appeal 

With Christmas just around the corner, Perennial is appealing to the industry to grow wellbeing and support people working in horticulture this season by making a goodwill donation. Read more - open to all

British Garden Centres unveil its Christmas themes for 2023

It’s that time of year once again and British Garden Centres, the largest UK family-run garden centre group has revealed its festive decorating inspiration to help customers deck the halls for the season. Read more - open to all

Winter theme

New home fragrance range to support the Greenfingers Charity

Home fragrance specialists, Elements of Fragrance, has confirmed a new range of home scents will launch later this year and will exclusively raise funds for the children’s hospice garden charity, Greenfingers. Read more - open to all

Elements of Fragrance new partnership with Greenfingers

To see earlier stories - Look in the News Archive