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

Bransford Webbs, a prominent grower of nursery stock for garden centres, is near to completing a new dispatch centre that will give the capacity to double turnover. See more… Read more - members only

Bord na Móna has taken on the sales and marketing of Vital Earth products as it seeks to accelerate momentum in the UK. Tommy Gill, former head of Bayer Garden in the UK, will lead the new sales team. See more... Read more - members only

After a slow start, Christmas trading finished strongly for garden centres with sales well ahead of last year and less seasonal stock left to write off. See more... Read more - members only

Local news sources report that the company operating the two Roundtrees garden centres has entered administration. Blagdon Water Gardens has also closed. See more… Read more - members only

NatWest advanced £1.6m to Planters Garden Centre to fund the purchase of Bradley Nursery and Garden Centre in Stafford. It is the second site to trade under the Garden King banner. 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

Sinclair increases dividend by 24% as sales and profits rise. But it could have been better with a good peat harvest and if retailers had not over-reacted to the slowdown last May and June. See more... Read more - members only

Gardenforum's Review of 2011 tracks the year's trading and events. It also shows the high number of garden centres and nurseries that are investing despite the difficult economy. This review is open for all to read, see more... Read more - open to all

A fourth company has joined in the bidding for The Garden Centre Group. Final bids are now expected early in January, but the delay should not affect preparations for 2012. See more... Read more - members only

In the past, Dobbies CEO James Barnes has claimed that he has yet to fail to win a planning permission. The planners at York have tested this claim. Dobbies has just submitted a new garden centre proposal, almost 5 years after its first unsuccessful attempt. See more... Read more - members only

There was an armed attack at Frosts garden centre in Woburn Sands on Monday. A masked thief held a staff member at gunpoint, while he robbed the safe. He is still at large. See more… Read more - members only