Barton Grange, Preston and Bents vied again to win the judging of best GCA destination garden centre of the year, with the former winning for the second consecutive year. Planters in Tamworth was judged best in the smaller, garden centre category. See more… Read more - members only

Godfrey DIY, the Norfolk based DIY chain with strong garden departments, has been put in liquidation. Two stores could be sold as going concerns. See more... Read more - members only

Quick reaction by the staff and fire brigade saved Klondyke from what may have been a second major garden centre fire. See more... Read more - members only

Christmas figures for Argos were better than expected, while Homebase disappointed with a fall in sales. However, the Home Retail share price has been strengthened by rumours of interest from private equity. See more... Read more - members only

Trebaron Garden Centre in Preston has been sold to Duxbury Holdings. The site was owned separately from the other Trebaron garden centres. See more… Read more - members only

Don’t play Russian roulette with your seeds and young plants says Which? Gardening. The Jan/Feb edition tested 27 widely available composts and says it never ceases to be amazed by how quality varies. See more... Read more - members only

The wet of 2012 will impact compost prices in 2013 says Sinclair. The company also expects the UK professional growing sector to contract, due to cheaper plants sourced from the Eurozone. See more... Read more - members only

Here’s a summary of the news that has filled the Gardenforum pages in 2012. It is dominated by the impact of the weather and perhaps the economy. The story is open to all our readers. See more... Read more - open to all

Gardman has restructured its finances, reducing its burden of debt. This underwrites the operational streamlining of the last 18 months and gives the leading garden supplier a secure platform for the future. See more... Read more - members only

Peter Rush is to be the new chief executive of William Sinclair. He was the group managing director of Hozelock for almost 5 years. See more... Read more - members only

Planners are recommending that approval is given later this week for a New Dobbies garden centre next to Tesco in Inverness. See more... Read more - members only

Kingfisher, the parent of B&Q and Screwfix in the UK, maintained trading profits while like-for-like sales fell by almost 3% in the August–October period when markets remained challenging. See more... Read more - members only

Highway Garden & Leisure, a large modern garden centre near Norwich, has been brought to the market by Quinton Edwards. See more... Read more - members only

Whiteleys Garden Centre at Mirfield, West Yorkshire was placed into the hands of administrators yesterday. For details of the administrator - See more... Read more - members only

Nicola Gammon’s Shoot Gardening is opening an on-line marketplace that it claims will ultimately offer a bigger range of plants and products than any other garden shopping destination. See more… Read more - members only

Gardenforum interviews Kevin Bradshaw, The Garden Centre Group’s new CEO. He reveals that the search is on to recruit 3 directors and that the group is absolutely focussed on growth through acquisition and through increasing revenue from existing sites. See more... Read more - members only

The GCA and the HTA both show that sales were up 6% for December and went some way to claw back the revenue lost in the wash-out spring. But traditional gardening lines have been hit hard. See more... Read more - members only

Notcutts hopes to build a Waitrose store on its garden centre site at Bagshot on the A30 in Surrey and to build a new garden centre alongside it. See more... Read more - members only

The HTA’s conference for growers, Contact 2013, heard today how The Garden Centre Group is to introduce central distribution for plants this spring as it seeks to become known as the best retailer for plants in the UK. See more… Read more - members only

A CVA has been approved by creditors of Doff Portland. This paves the way for new owners 151 Products to invest in the future of the business. See more... Read more - members only

Recent investment and better buying have brought massive growth to Haskins this Christmas. It now wants a 5th site to develop. See more... Read more - members only

Ramraiders caused £10,000 of damage when they hit the Notcutts garden centre at Cranleigh on the night of the 23rd. See more... Read more - members only

Nottingham based Doff Portland has been sold to 151. News has also emerged that Neudorff, whose products were handled by Doff, has moved to Solus for its distribution to UK garden centres. See more... Read more - members only

Barton Grange Garden Centre and All in One Garden Centre are the overall winners of the GCA Christmas display competition. See more... Read more - members only

Since October, The Garden Centre Group has charged £1.50 for children to use its play areas.  Part of the proceeds will go to the NSPCC.  See more... Read more - members only

Wyevale East Nurseries and East Horticulture have operated as separate businesses on the same site in Kent. In the New Year the companies, with long gardening pedigrees, are merging to form Provender Nurseries. See more... Read more - members only

Dobbies is to exhibit plans for a new garden centre that it hopes to build two miles from the centre of Harrogate. See more... Read more - members only

Wokingham District Council has issued an enforcement notice against Hare Hatch Sheeplands for use of nursery land as a garden centre and a number of other planning breaches. See more... Read more - members only

Less than 3 weeks after Willowbrook Garden Centre re-opened after a devastating flood, it is again under water. See more... Read more - members only

Porters Horticultural Ltd, a large bedding grower based in Liverpool, has been placed in the hands of administrators. See more… Read more - members only