The HTA has called for an extension to the Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme (SWP) to include plant and tree growers to support the industry in the short term. Read more - open to all

The hotly anticipated GIMA Awards are set to be a huge celebratory event, especially as it is now officially sold out! Manufacturers and suppliers from across the garden retail sector have been quick to snap up their place at the 40th-anniversary event. Read more - open to all

Alan Roper says that expecting 2022 to be better than the current year is to be too optimistic.  And Christmas supplies? “It’s going to be a nail biter.” Read more - members only

The Garden Centre Association (GCA) has announced that the location of its 2022 annual conference is to be Blackburn in Lancashire. Read more - members only

Haskins at Snowhill and Squire’s Hersham are the top garden centres in the GCA South Thames area, while Perrywood, Tiptree and Thurrock win North of the Thames. Read more - members only

Increased costs and restrictions on the UK horticulture industry to export to the EU have seen a marked drop in the value of trade in the first six months of the year, demonstrating a missed opportunity for the sector to grow its contribution to UK ‘green trade’.  Read more - open to all

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics medalists are awarded with a victory bouquet and Interflora reveal the deeper meaning behind the chosen flowers. Read more - open to all

We ask garden centres if they will be more cautious about ordering for the autumn and next spring now that all shops are trading.  It seems not... Read more - members only

The Exclusively exhibition (24^th to 25^th August) will unveil the next three / five year trends.  One of the biggest is Reset, which is all about ‘preserve, conserve, protect’. Read more - open to all

Headlines around the country include a sale and lease back by Dobbies, controversy about breast feeding in a garden centre and thefts of catalytic converters at Bents. Read more - members only

The technically advanced project for the botanical garden "Flora" in Cologne has won the Benelux Trophy Hot Dip Galvanizing (BTTV) 2021 in the category 'Functional galvanizing'. Read more - open to all

Suppliers wanting to gain unrivalled market-wide recognition for their latest product innovation, marketing support or approach to sustainability will want to take centre stage at the forthcoming GIMA Awards. Time is running out, as the deadline for entering the 2021 event – Friday May 28th.   Read more - open to all

Perennial asks people working in horticulture about the health and wellbeing challenges they face. Read more - open to all

A ground-breaking study reveals the more ‘doses’ of gardening you get, the better your wellbeing, says the RHS.  Daily gardening has the same impact on wellbeing as regular vigorous exercise such as cycling or running. Read more - open to all

UPDATED - There were already shortages of garden products before Suez became blocked.  Despite it looking as if canal traffic will resume shortly delivery delays are likely to get worse. Read more - members only

As The Times reports massive container ships carrying Christmas stock being diverted to Rotterdam, garden suppliers fear massive inflation and continuing delays next year. Read more - members only

All statistics suggest that the UK consumer focus on DIY, grow your own, garden leisure, etc remains strong beyond lockdown.  Read more - open to all

Gardening sales fell in August but garden centre revenues continued to grow as restaurant sales recovered, according to August figures from the GCA. Read more - members only

Online retail sales fell by -9.3% Year-on-Year in August but gardening bucked the trend according to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index. Read more - members only

Tickets for Glow at the RHS Gardens are on sale now as the world’s leading gardening charity prepares to light up all five of its gardens this winter. Read more - open to all

The HTA market update covering July shows garden centre sales remain significantly ahead of pre-pandemic levels and that consumers remain cautious. Read more - members only

An increasing number of garden centres are seeking warehouse space to take stock control into their own hands following recent supply chain availability issues, says Malcolm Scott. Read more - members only

With Government ending mandatory distancing measures and mask wearing in stores on 19^th July, Freedom Day, we do a straw poll of garden centres on masks and restaurants.  Read more - members only

The latest GCA Barometer of Sales shows garden centre revenues were up +9% over May 2019 and +17% up if restaurant catering is excluded. Read more - members only

The HTA’s Market Update shows garden centre sales were up 30% in May but decreased in the second half of the month as Covid restrictions eased. Read more - members only

Following a recent IPPS Europe Committee meeting, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Annual Conference, due to have been held this October in Edinburgh, Scotland. Read more - open to all

Figures just published by the Garden Centre Association’s Barometer of Trade, show just how good April sales were, with the challenges of frosts, restaurant closures and stock shortages. Read more - members only

‘April hugely up… but it felt like we could have done more’.  ‘Rationing has started to become the norm and we are forward booking stock for the Autumn already.’ Read more - members only

As lockdown restrictions ease and golf clubs reopen, there was no better time to confirm that the annual GIMA Golf Charity Day will be making its return on Wednesday June 9th at the Belton Woods Hotel & Golf Course in Grantham. Read more - open to all

Scotland’s timetable for easing lockdown will permit garden centres to re-open on Monday 5^th April, with cafes, pubs and restaurants following on 26^th April.  English restaurants must wait till 17^th May. Read more - open to all