Mer has entered into an agreement with Blue Diamond to provide over 300 electric vehicle charge points at its 39 garden centres across the UK. Read more - members only

Tong will open Tingley Garden Centre in the autumn and has submitted plans to Leeds City Council for a 3^rd site to open in 2024. Read more - members only

B&Q sales fall -18% in Q1 compared to strong, lockdown affected, months last year.  It claims this was a good performance across all categories on a 3-year basis. Read more - members only

St Bridget Nursery, a long established Exeter garden centre and nursery, could be replaced with up to 350 new homes according to Devon Live. Read more - members only

East Yorkshire MP Sir Greg Knight has opened a £6 million factory expansion by Westland at the Driffield site that produces wild bird feed. Read more - members only

Bloom and Wild is opening its first series of pop-up shops in London, Bristol and Edinburgh.    Read more - members only

Dobbies has been granted planning permission to build a new 60,000 sq ft store in Reading.  It will be built on the land behind its existing garden centre at Hyde End Road, Shinfield. Read more - members only

The HTA invited opposition Minister Daniel Zeichner to Whartons Garden Roses in Norfolk to see their business and highlight several challenges facing the industry Read more - members only

BHETA is to hold a networking webinar on the new B&Q Marketplace initiative, which is setting out to onboard some 100,000 new products within six months. Read more - members only

West Yorkshire Garden Centre, Tong, has invested over £280,000 to treble the capacity of an existing warehouse in preparation for opening their second garden centre. Read more - members only

WOLF-Garten, which specialises in garden tools for lawn care, soil and cultivation, tree and shrub care and general garden maintenance, is celebrating its 100 year anniversary this year. Read more - open to all

Former AV & Trials Coordinator for Allensmore Nurseries and member of the YPHA, Stacey Gibson, opens Dor’s Garden in memory of her grandparents. Read more - members only

British Garden Centres has taken over the lease of Hatton Garden Centre in Warwickshire this week.  The centre, which has been closed, is expected to re-open for Easter. Read more - members only

British Garden Centres have had such a successful couple of months that Heavy Plant Crossing signs have been added in front of all centres, as people are leaving with truckloads of plants. Read more - open to all

BHETA is to hold another retailer networking webinar, this time with Dobbies Garden Centres.  The event will take place on Tuesday 5^th April at 11 am.  The speakers will be Graeme Jenkins, CEO and Debbie Harding, CFO Read more - open to all

Despite a -4.1% sales fall in the last 12 months B&M says it has sustained the step up in sales and profit compared to pre-pandemic levels. Read more - members only

Cherry Lane, the value garden centre group owned by QD Stores, has acquired Riverside Nursery & Garden Centre in Hockley, Essex, bringing its stores number to 17. Read more - members only

Dobbies new peat free John Innes compost range has been named the sustainable product of the year at the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Read more - members only

Frosts have announced that they are in discussions with Notcutts about the potential sale of their garden centre in Brampton. Read more - members only

2021 accounts from Blue Diamond show sales rose 27% to £255m during the pandemic with profit before tax up to £39.5m and net debt down to only £5.8m.  But the company expects 2022 profits will fall. Read more - members only

The new owner of the former Wyevale near Swindon, Studley Grange Garden Centre, working with Malcolm Scott Consultants, has planning permission to expand. Read more - members only

Sustainable plant pot manufacturer, elho, has opened the doors of its second distribution centre in Tilburg, Holland. Read more - members only

Dobbies, the UK’s leading garden centre retailer, has announced the recruitment for three senior managerial roles, at their brand-new flagship store in Tewkesbury, ahead of the store opening in autumn. Read more - members only

LeisureGrow, the parent company of Petface, have announced a pet partnership to create Petzone in select Asda stores. Read more - members only

Eva Mayr-Stihl, a businesswoman, philanthropist and dedicated entrepreneur passed away on the 9th April 2022. Mayr-Stihl was instrumental in the success of STIHL. Read more - members only

Evergreen GC has put a £ multimillion investment behind the creation of a media campaign, in the hope of bringing positive change to the market and leading the way in modernising the industry.  Watch the video. Read more - members only

The Blue Diamond Group is supporting the relief effort in Ukraine with money raised from the sale of the Peace rose.  Around 8 aircraft will depart today and tomorrow full of medical supplies. Read more - open to all

Tates of Sussex, Fakenham and Hollybush are three of 5 garden centres to join the existing partners of Sproutl, the curated online garden marketplace. Read more - members only

Three well known garden entrepreneurs have joined together to form Mulch Ltd, a boutique brand selling high quality tools and gloves designed to last for generations. Read more - members only

The management and staff of Taylors Bulbs took time out from their daily work to plant 150 trees on their site in Holbeach. Read more - open to all