Peat free compost outperforms peat based ones when it comes to growing in containers. In the March edition of Which? Gardening, all three composts labelled "Best Buy", were 100% peat free. See more... Read more - members only

Trans-Continental Group, which supplies the garden industry with Snow Time Christmas goods and Sun Time garden furniture, is expanding and moving its operations from Blackpool to Preston. See more... Read more - members only

More than a quarter of garden centres reporting in the GCA Barometer of Trade increased sales during January, pulled along by strong gains in the sales of pet and aquatics. See more... Read more - members only

Scotts and Hillier Nurseries have joined forces for Chelsea. Together, they will invite show visitors into a secret diary room on the Hillier stand, where they will be asked to divulge secret nuggets of gardening wisdom. See more... Read more - members only

Evidence of citrus longhorn beetle damage has had a devastating effect on the growers in Boskoop, Holland. See more… Read more - members only

After four years, Dobbies has won approval to build a £12 million garden centre at Lisburn, Northern Ireland. See more... Read more - members only

Thompson & Morgan has announced the purchase of Chempak, the plant food manufacturer. The deal was completed in the last few days. See more... Read more - members only

An interview with James Barnes, published in the Scotsman, reveals that Dobbies enjoyed its strongest Christmas to date. Demand was high for Christmas trees, lights and decorations, along with gifts and festive plants, such as poinsettias. See more... Read more - members only

The management and administration of the John Innes Manufacturers Association (JIMA) has moved to the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). See more... Read more - members only

Visitors to six garden centres in The Garden Centre Group are now able to take their laptops with them and check their emails or surf the Internet while on-site. See more... Read more - members only

The company operating Carpenders Park Garden Centre and Plant Nursery of Little Oxhey Lane, Watford, has been put into administration. See more... Read more - members only

The Garden Centre Group has sold Shiplake Nursery and Garden Centre, which will close at the end of the month. See more... Read more - members only

GCA results for 2009 show that the smaller garden centre did best and that those in the Midlands and Northwest performed better than the South. Overall, sales were around 11% ahead of 2008, with the biggest increases coming from the farm shop. See more… Read more - members only

The Shropshire Collection and Sunsit UK have merged with Bellagio UK to form a new major garden furniture supplier named Bellagio UK, headed by Julian Windsor. See more... Read more - members only

With snow and ice gripping most of the country, garden centres are having a quiet time and taking stock as customers stay away after what turned out to be a sparkling Christmas for many retailers. See more… Read more - members only

Defra and the Scottish Government today called on Britain’s gardeners to help stop the spread of invasive aquatic plants that damage the natural environment and cost the economy millions with a new campaign to highlight the plight of Britain’s waterways. See more... Read more - members only

Scotts and Westland will again be carrying the gardening message to millions of homes this spring with TV and marketing campaigns that have a combined value of over £8 million. See more… Read more - members only

As part of the ongoing fight to limit the damage caused by possible outbreaks of citrus longhorn beetle, the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) has issued guidance on steps being taken in the UK to reduce the risk of it becoming established here. See more… Read more - members only

Management team has bought a stake in the Garden Store group as joint founder, Patrick Pearce, retires. See more... Read more - members only

Nicholas Marshall says the e-learning programme unveiled at last weeks plant trade show represents a new dawn for The Garden Centre Group. He also confirmed that the group was financially ‘in a good place’. See more... Read more - members only

E P Barrus, which last year took control of the UK distribution of Wolf-Garden, has won the right to distribute the Wilkinson Sword range of garden tools. See more... Read more - members only

Dobbies moves to exploit its link with its parent, Tesco. Dobbies branded products are to appear in the supermarket’s stores in northern England and Scotland. It is also exploring the possibility of adding a garden centre alongside a new development by Tesco. See more… Read more - members only

It is a repeat of last year with Bents Garden Centre beating Webbs into second place by the narrowest of margins in the competition to be GCA Garden Centre of the Year. See more... Read more - members only

Awards announced yesterday on the first day of the GCA Conference honoured Stewarts Gardenlands, Sunshine Garden Centre and Taylors Bulbs. See more… Read more - members only

Alan Titchmarsh is to work with B&Q as it seeks to cement ‘its position as the UK’s largest chain of garden centres’. He will provide regular tips and advice through in-store displays and on B&Q's website. See more... Read more - members only

January sales appear to be better than expected with such bad weather. Garden centres have adapted to conditions by selling plastic trays when they had run out of toboggans, grit when they had run out of salt and... See more... Read more - members only

A successful Christmas rounds off a satisfactory first year for The Garden Centre Group. Gross profit was up 20% in December. See more... Read more - members only

Peterborough Garden Park, with a high profile destination garden centre designed by Van Hage as the focal point, opens its doors on 5th of February. See more... Read more - members only

What is happening to Marshalls, leading producer of patio and driveway products, is a good pointer to what is happening in the landscape sector as a whole. Sales fell 16% in 2009 and are expected to fall again in 2010. See more... Read more - members only

Each year Which? Gardening tests the performance of major brands of compost for germinating seeds and for growing-on young plants. And each year, they find a big difference between the best and worst performers. For the 'Best Buys' and 'Don't Buys', see more... Read more - members only