Sarah Raven Kitchen and Gardens Ltd is pleased to announce that Dominic Rose has been appointed Chair of the company, as of 1st July 2023. Read more - open to all

At yesterday’s open day it was revealed that Harwood now controls Mr Fothergill’s Seeds.  There was also news of a new compost for seed and device for listening to the health of your soil. Read more - members only

Northumberland Estates has revealed plans to build a new high quality garden centre on land at Cawledge to the East of the A1 in Alnwick.  Read more - members only

JDA have teamed up with Jonart to help run their national sales. Read more - open to all

Dobbies Garden Centres has announced the appointment of David Robinson as Chief Executive Officer, who starts today.  He replaces Graeme Jenkins.  Gardenforum comments on the implications for the future of the group. Read more - members only

Longacres Garden Centres have just acquired their sixth centre – Bourne Valley Garden Centre in Addlestone, Surrey. Read more - members only

The sale of paper National Garden Gift Vouchers, which have been a staple of the garden centre industry since the early 1960’s will be ending at the end of the year. Read more - members only

Johnsons Lawn Seed has invested £3.5m in new equipment to significantly improve its overall product offering efficiency. Read more - members only

Post Covid-19, results are still pretty healthy for most but not all garden companies, as the likes of Westland, Squire’s, Klondyke, Scotsdale and Allensmore show. Read more - members only

UPDATE: Barton Grange, Cowells and Tong Garden Centres have signed up to the Prosper Buying Group.  So has St Peter’s Garden Centre saying time is right for a change. Read more - members only

Garden centres talk of the latest spring ever, record May plant sales, cost inflation, online price cutting on garden furniture, staff shortages. Read more - members only

B&Q is looking to revolutionise the UK garden landscape with a range of feeds and plant protection sourced from nature, that are free from synthetic chemicals. Read more - members only

Gates Garden Centre near Oakham in Leicestershire, has joined The Tillington Group,  a buying and marketing group for top independent garden centres. Read more - members only

Dobbies has begun its recruitment of 120 full and part-time team members for its new store at The Junction Retail and Leisure Park, Antrim, ahead of store opening October 2023. Read more - open to all

Inverness based garden centre, Simpsons transformed its roof space this spring, taking a big step forward in its sustainability journey to reduce energy costs. Read more - open to all

Wilko has confirmed it has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, putting around 12,000 jobs at risk. Read more - members only

Blue Diamond yesterday completed the purchase of Glendale Horticulture, the former Meredith Nurseries, from Glendale Leisure as it seeks to secure its supply chain. Read more - members only

Growers have had a good year says Ball UK at the 2023 Summer Showcase. It has noticed also that retailers and growers are working more together when planning for next year. Read more - members only

June was catch-up time for garden centres.  After a very slow spring, a hot and relatively dry June kept gardeners busy so that at the half year revenues are ahead of last year. Read more - members only

Sky News has reported that the family owners of Wilko are considering selling a controlling stake in the business to ensure a future for the chain. Read more - members only

Quinton Edwards are delighted to announce the sale of Cave Gates Nursery in Ellerker, East Yorkshire. Read more - open to all

The Griffon board removes the threat of a sale and is 100% committed to the future of Ames and its subsidiaries: Kelkay, La Hacienda, Apta and Woodshaw. Read more - members only

EXEL Industries has acquired an 81% majority stake in Devaux, a French family-owned group specializing in the manufacture and sale of gardening tools. Read more - members only

Sarah Raven’s Kitchen & Garden seeks to borrow £1.25m through crowd funding from the public, to complete purchase of Rookery Farm.  Minimum investment is set at £50. Read more - members only

Greenwood Plants has been awarded £2.7 million of funding by National Highways to grow three million native trees from seed, over five years. Read more - open to all

Wilko is reported to have hired property agent CBRE to negotiate with landlords over cutting store rents. Read more - members only

With concessions on 51 garden centres 2022 was Cotton Traders' most successful financial year to date, with a 10.6% increase in turnover to £111m. Read more - members only

The appointment of a receiver for the ultimate holding company for Mr Fothergill’s Seeds does not impact Mr Fothergill’s in any way says CEO David Carey. Read more - members only

The launch of the RHS Grow App will bring 200 years of gardening experience and horticultural expertise, from RHS botanists, scientists, fruit and veg experts to gardeners’ fingertips. Read more - members only

Barrus and RocketGro, have joined forces to sell & distribute RocketGro’s growing range of peat-free sustainable compost & plant. Read more - members only