Winter Storms have created a national shortage of fence panels

An unprecedented succession of autumn and winter storms have caused a national shortage of fence panels which is likely to last into the summer and beyond. See more... Read more - members only

Box blight enquiries reach record high

While it was no shock that honey fungus was the number one problem disease in 2013, perhaps the biggest surprise was the influence the weather had on the RHS list of top 10 garden diseases.   See more... Read more - members only

Garden Re-Leaf boosts buoyant March

A record number of garden centres, over 230, took part in Garden Re-Leaf on Friday. They were backed by more suppliers than ever before. The sun shone, customers responded and so did the local press. See more... Read more - members only

RHS names top ten pests of 2013

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced its ‘Top Ten' garden pests for 2013. As in 2012, slugs and snails topped the list with enquiries remaining at their highest since 2002. See more… Read more - members only

GIMA urges members to stand firm against Home Retail

Home Retail Group, owner of Homebase and Argos, is the latest national retailer to try and muscle additional rebates from suppliers. GIMA advises its members to stand firm. See more… Read more - members only

GCA gets economic update from HSBC

The head of economics for HSBC told the GCA that stock markets would fall as would sterling against the dollar. UK has an appalling productivity problem. The best guess for interest rates...? See more... Read more - open to all

The secrets of a successful Garden Centre

Peter Burks delivered an experts guide to running a successful garden centre when announcing the winners of the Christmas display competition at the GCA conference. See more... Read more - members only

£10k to produce an inspiring film on careers in the Horticulture industry

A group of horticultural organisations behind the GROW Careers initiative have launched a nationwide competition inviting young filmmakers to create an inspiring three minute film promoting horticulture as a viable and exciting career choice. See more... Read more - members only

Win a ‘Gardening Date with David Domoney’ for Garden Re-Leaf

Garden centres taking part in Garden Re-Leaf Day 2014 can win a footfall-boosting visit to their garden centre by popular ITV gardener David Domoney on Sunday 16th March 2014. See more… Read more - members only

Titchmarsh was not able to accept reduced role at Chelsea

Monty Don and newsreader Sophie Raworth are to replace Alan Titchmarsh as lead presenters for the BBC coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show in 2014, after Titchmarsh steps down. See more… Read more - members only

Prepare for the demise of the Horse chestnut and the common ash

Disease will see the demise of the Horse chestnut and the common ash, predicts the head of trees at Kew. But there may be a silver lining. See more... Read more - members only

It’s the weather – it always was!

After a dismal start to 2013, leading garden centres have now experienced 5 months continuous growth. In August sales were up 8%. See more... Read more - members only

Glee New Product Awards 2013 - Winners announced

Ten, ground-breaking new garden products have been confirmed as the winners of the coveted Glee New Product Awards 2013. See more... Read more - members only

Garden Re-Leaf raises £61,379 for children’s hospices

March 14th is the date for Garden Re-Leaf in 2014. This spring, the day that starts the gardening year raised £61,379 and organisers have described some of the gardens it funded at children’s hospices. See more... Read more - members only

Beware of ‘Jenny’

It may not be too unusual but do beware. As the weeds grow again after the recent hot spell of weather so the scammers come out again too. See more... Read more - members only

Soggy weather bogs down sales in the South West

While overall sales in February were almost the same as last year, according to the GCA, more garden centres were down than up especially in the wettest parts of the country. See more... Read more - members only

RHS helps update The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs

The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs has been fully revised and updated in conjunction with botanists from the RHS, so that plant names are consistent with those in RHS Plant Finder. See more… Read more - members only

Countdown to Garden Re-Leaf Day!

Industry gets ready for fund-raising events on Friday 14th March. See more... Read more - members only

GIMA urges members to stand firm against Home Retail

Home Retail Group, owner of Homebase and Argos, is the latest national retailer to try and muscle additional rebates from suppliers. GIMA advises its members to stand firm. Read more - open to all

The secrets of a successful garden centre

Peter Burks delivered an experts guide to running a successful garden centre when announcing the winners of the Christmas display competition at the GCA conference. See more... Read more - open to all

GCA gets economic update from HSBC

The head of economics for HSBC told the GCA that stock markets would fall as would sterling against the dollar. UK has an appalling productivity problem. The best guess for interest rates...? See more... Read more - members only

£10k to produce an inspiring film on careers in the Horticulture industry

A group of horticultural organisations behind the GROW Careers initiative have launched a nationwide competition inviting young filmmakers to create an inspiring three minute film promoting horticulture as a viable and exciting career choice. See more... Read more - open to all

Longacres warns about a plausible new Scam

Gardenforum has received an alert from Longacres warning of a new scam. The garden centre received a letter from a supplier confirming new bank details that turned out to be fake. See more (open to all)... Read more - open to all

Lobby MEPs to stop devastating EU plant rules

The HTA calls on the industry to lobby MEPs by December 10th over EU proposals that would penalise small ornamental producers and make it no longer viable to keep many older plant varieties. See more... Read more - members only

The grower is a hero - says the Czech GCA

September’s newsletter from the International Garden Centre Association shows the different challenges around the gardening world in 2013. See more… Read more - members only

Sell a tree, sell a stake and tie - not anymore

The traditional training to sell a stake, a tie and some compost when selling a tree, is wrong according to two leading tree experts at the Palmstead Nurseries workshop. See more... Read more - members only

Legionella outbreak in Scotland

An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Scotland, said to be caused by contaminated bagged growing media, resulted in two people being placed in intensive care. See more... Read more - members only

GCA announces the venue for 2014 conference

The Garden Centre Association (GCA) has revealed the location of the organisation’s next annual conference (January 26 until 29, 2014) and the winners of its ‘guess the venue competition’. See more... Read more - members only

June surge recovers lost spring sales

It was widely said that 2013 could not be another year like 2012. It has taken a 19% increase in June for the 67 garden centres in the GCA Barometer of Trade to catch up with last year, which is a lot worse than was expected when budgets were set. See more... Read more - members only

Flower seeds bounce back after cold start stunts growth

Sales of flower seeds have increased by 4.3% in 2013. See more... Read more - members only

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