The growth of First Franchise Promotions, a sister company to First Franchise, has prompted a name change to reflect more accurately the short term promotions it brings to garden centres. See more... Read more - members only

New owners and £1m investment has brought new life to Living Stone, which manufactures paving products and aggregates for garden centres and other specialist uses. Read more - members only

QD Stores is actively expanding its Cherry Lane Garden Centre group. A recent acquisition in Cromford is likely to be followed by two more this spring. See more... Read more - members only

A few days ago Gardenforum reported that the joint garden centre/supermarket development at Kings Lynn would be the first between Tesco and Dobbies. Now there is a second at East Kilbride, or is it, in fact, the third? See more… Read more - members only

Dobbies Garden Centres is to unveil plans for ‘Lynn Garden World’, next to a proposed Tesco store in Kings Lynn. See more... Read more - members only

The Garden Centre Group is to announce an apprenticeship scheme that will recruit 300 young people this year and train them, in partnership with Pershore College, to qualify for a Diploma. See more... Read more - members only

There was no news on a completion date for the sale of The Garden Centre Group at its spring trade show today. But Nicholas Marshall said 2011 had been 'Great' and that Click & Collect will bring the biggest change for years. See more… Read more - members only

Klondyke Group has taken the lease of Beverley Garden Centre, which was closed by the Garden Centre Group after Christmas. See more… Read more - members only

Cotton Traders has a new MD. It plans to continue its garden centre expansion with 10 more stores this year. It will also extend its presence on motorway service stations. See more... Read more - members only

Scotts starts its TV campaign on March 19 with 5 different commercials. But Scotts think demand for new products may exceed production, in which case the adverts for Expand ‘n Gro and Roundup® Gel may have to be tailored. See more... Read more - members only

Guy Topping was clearly delighted when Barton Grange Preston collected the trophy for the GCA 2011 Destination Garden Centre of the Year, beating last year’s winner Bents into second place. See more... Read more - members only

Buoyant sales of Christmas and gift lines and a 34% increase in catering revenues gave GCA garden centres a strong boost at the end of the year. See more... Read more - members only

The RHS says we should expect a smaller harvest in 2012 unless there is a prolonged cold spell. Mild winters fail to give hardy fruit plants the period of chilling they need to encourage flowering. Plants can also blossom too early for the pollinators and be more vulnerable to late frosts. See more… Read more - members only

Plans for the first B&Q store in Bedford are soon to be put before the council. The proposed location for the £18m development is close to the Interchange Retail Park east of Ampthill Road. Read more - members only

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has joined forces with online nursery www.treesandhedging.co.uk to offer 2,000 schools five free trees each, in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Read more - members only

Morrisons has submitted an application to change the use of an external walkway at its Scunthorpe supermarket into a garden centre. It appears that over 100 stores may do something similar this spring. See more... Read more - members only

A new garden centre is proposed for North Somerset; Klondyke wins permission to rebuild Wilmslow; a Cornish garden centre is fined for health & safety and food offences; and there’s a public meeting tonight regarding the potential development of Percy Thrower’s garden centre. See more... Read more - members only

Lovania Nurseries, based in Preston, took the top honours at The Grower of the Year Awards held in London last night by winning the Ornamental Grower of the Year title. Lovania will go on to represent the UK at the International Grower of the Year Awards. See more... Read more - members only

The restructuring at Flying Brands continues with the sale of its Gifts Division to Interflora, subject to OFT approval. It will focus on the remaining brands, Gardening Direct and Garden Bird Supplies. See more... Read more - members only

After 5 years, Dobbies' plans for a garden centre in York get a recommendation for approval from planning officers. But comments to Yorkpress question the location. See more... Read more - members only

Next is venturing into gardening, cautiously. The experiment started last August in Shoreham and is soon to be followed by a second Home and Garden Outlet. See more… Read more - members only

Barton Grange has put redevelopment plans for its Bolton garden centre on hold, while further work is done on the details. See more... Read more - members only

A leading nursery says the writing is on the wall for Busy Lizzies for the next 3 to 5 years or until there is a cure for Downy Mildew. Retailers are encouraged to sell alternative bedding plants. See more... Read more - members only

The Sunday Times says that Terra Firma, controlled by Guy Hands, is about to enter exclusivity talks prior to buying The Garden Centre Group. See more... Read more - members only

Two nurseries have launched online services for their customers. For John Woods it is a full online ordering system. For Golden Acres it is a complete plant list. See more... Read more - members only

The joint venture between Ace Equipment and Richard Allen Group, announced last May, is to be wound up. The Llewellyn family has regained control of the garden centre trolley business and starts manufacturing again on Monday. See more... Read more - members only

Garden & Leisure’s plans to redevelop Percy Thrower Garden Centre and add a full size Waitrose will go on display later this month. See more... Read more - members only

Bents expect full year sales to be up 5% after a 9% increase over Christmas. However, Matthew Bent is expecting a tough year ahead. See more... Read more - members only

Today’s interim trading statement from Home Retail Group shows that Homebase performed more resiliently than Argos, but still experienced a 2.6% fall in like-for-like sales in the last 4 months.. See more... Read more - members only

The Garden Centre Group says it has had an outstanding Christmas, which caps a much better year with like-for-like sales for 2011 up 8%. This should encourage those engaged in the final bidding for the group. See more... Read more - members only