Glee is back with a vengeance!
For many exhibitors it was the best Glee for several years, although not everyone was as pleased. Read our news from the aisles of Glee. Read more - members only
Glee is back with a vengeance!
For many exhibitors it was the best Glee for several years, although not everyone was as pleased. Read our news from the aisles of Glee. Read more - members only
Garden centres prosper in July despite the rain
Whether it is cooler and wetter or hot and dry, garden centres can prosper in the summer months and so it proved with the GCA statistics for July showing strong growth. Read more - members only
‘Have your say on Sunday Trading’ –The Government consults
The 6 week consultation process has been started by the Government offering two options for devolving the powers to decide Sunday opening times. Read more - members only
Garden Re-Leaf raises over £95,000 for Greenfingers
It was revealed at the GIMA’s that Garden Re-Leaf Day raised £95,000 for Greenfingers, a massive increase thanks to contributions from QVC and Briers. Read more - members only
National Plant Show busier than ever
More people attended the first day of the HTA National Plant Show than on both days last year. We bring you chat from the aisles and some interesting innovations. Read more - members only
Trends and insights from the HTA Catering Conference
180 people attended the HTA Catering Conference to hear about eating-out trends such as Kidult and Haute Casual. Read more - members only
An average March?
Garden centre sales in March were lower than the same month in 2014, 2012 and 2011. However, for a rolling 12 months sales look to be up by 4%. Read more - members only
Cultivation Street gets HTA backing for 3rd year
Cultivation Street is a campaign that rewards people who use plants to improve their neighbourhoods and bring pride back to their streets with £20,000 of National Garden Gift Vouchers donated by the HTA. Read more - members only
Garden centres will lose £12 million on Easter Sunday
“The Sunday Trading Act is an anachronism in this day and age,”says the HTA when visitors finding their garden centre closed on Easter Sunday can return home and buy the same products online. Read more - members only
GCA names best garden centres for plants and furniture
Sunshine Garden Centre and Van Hage are the best GCA outdoor living retailers. Cowell’s and Bents are the best for plants. Read more - members only
Smaller suppliers can’t compete with extended payment terms says GIMA
The Government is proposing legislation that would force Britain’s biggest companies to reveal their payment terms and performance, quarterly. GIMA welcomes greater transparency saying the garden industry is particularly bad when it comes to paying bills. Read more - members only
Mum finds razor blade in child’s present from garden centre
Manchester Evening News reports how a horrified mother found a razor blade in a present given to her daughter by a garden centre’s Santa. Read more - members only
Winners of Garden Media Guild Awards 2014
The Garden Media Guild Awards were held at The Savoy, London yesterday. Hosted by James Alexander Sinclair, the awards lunch drew many influential players in the gardening world. Read more - members only
“As soon as your plants aren’t great, you’ve lost all credibility.”
Quotes from HTA Garden Futures: “I want to create an emotional connection between the consumer and a bag of compost.” And “Gardening is about partying, entertainment and living outside. It is not about ‘Jobs for the month’.” Read more - members only
Looking ahead - It's not all doom and gloom
2013 turned out to be another disappointing year in all three key sectors of the garden retail market – garden plants, garden care and garden leisure – with all three sectors showing a steady decline in the five years to 2013 covered by the Analysis. Read more - members only
Warnings of wasps across the country
Local newspapers across the country have picked up a warning from Wyevale that homeowners can expect the ‘invasion’ of hungry wasps to continue for the next few weeks. Read more - members only
Line-up for new format HTA Garden Futures conference
The theme for this year’s HTA Garden Futures Conference is Embracing Change. Headline speakers from outside gardening include Will Butler-Adams and Simon Jack. Insiders are led by the new MD of Homebase. Read more - members only
At the half year garden centres are 6% up
A good June has helped GCA garden centres to a 6% sales increase for the half year on top of a 10% increase last year. Plants and garden furniture were strong, gifts and garden sundries, less so. Read more - members only
Andy Bunker suggests ways to sell more plants
Alton Garden Centre’s Andy Bunker is head of plant buying for Tillington. He tells nurseries, “Please don’t push plants out to us too early.” Read more - members only
Garden centres are up 10.5% in May
Garden Centre sales are up 10.5% in May and 5% for the year so far according to the GCA. It appears some garden centres are recovering their confidence with garden furniture, but not all. Plants and garden sundries continue to lose share. Read more - members only
New look for AIPH and Grower of the Year Awards
Any grower can nominate themselves for the International Grower of the Year Awards as they get a new look along with rebranding for the AIPH. Read more - members only
Industry optimistic as sales take-off
After a slow grey start to Easter, garden centres were buzzing by Monday. But nursery stock is 3 weeks late and this could lead to shortages if sales continue to blossom in the warmer weather. Read more - members only
Greenfingers’ Glovies aim for social media record
QVC raises £40,000 for garden relief, the Thames walk a further £7000. Tweets with “#Glovies” were seen 241,000 times in a day. See some of the images from the Greenfingers Garden ReLeaf day. Read more - members only
What makes a successful supplier to the big retailers?
Never call a buyer on a Monday. Never give surprises. B&Q’s Tim Clapp explains how to become a successful supplier to the multiple retailers like B&Q or Wyevale. Read more - members only
December was the biggest month of the year for GCA members
The latest figures from the GCA show 2014 was the best year for 4 years with December beating May as the biggest sales month of the year. Read more - members only
Review of 2014 in the Garden Industry
2014 has been dominated by the repositioning of the major gardening goods distributors following the demise of Solus. The weather for once provided a good news story and towards the end of the year there was a flurry of activity from Wyevale as it picked up eight long established independent garden centres. See the full review – which is open to all… Read more - open to all
New food allergen labelling requirements coming into force
Garden centre catering operations face new food labelling regulations which come into force on December 13. Read more - members only
Gardeners boost September sales
GCA figures for September show that the gardener is back. Outdoor plants, garden sundries and landscape products showed double digit growth for the month. Read more - members only
Horticulture Matters must rethink strategy says Gardenforum
Gardenforum believes the RHS, the HTA and other organisations behind Horticulture Matters need to re-think their strategy to solve the skills crisis in horticulture. Read more - members only
In 1994 garden centres were outmanoeuvred when it was generally accepted they should be exempt from new Sunday Trading restrictions. Now the HTA is calling for the government to think again. See more… Read more - members only