A RHS report says the skills gap in horticulture is threatening Britain’s economy, environment and food security. 70% of horticultural businesses cannot fill skilled vacancies and say career entrants are inadequately prepared for work. See more... Read more - members only
Quinton Edwards warns that valuers with little garden centre experience are causing problems for garden centres and horticultural businesses seeking bank funding. See more... Read more - members only
Celebrities join in The RHS Chelsea Centenary Appeal to change the perception of horticulture as a career among young people. See more... Read more - members only
GCA puts figures on the late spring. Sales were down 32% in March as outdoor plant sales fell 58%. Sales for the first 3 months are down 20%. See more... Read more - members only
Garden Centre Association (GCA) members are being invited to attend a meeting in June (2013) to discuss peat. Read more - members only
GIMA announces new speakers and declares its conference at TGCG's flagship garden centre a sell out. See more... Read more - members only
Wiseweather predicts a month dominated by high pressure with below average rainfall, cold nights but increasingly warm, sunny days. See more… Read more - members only
‘Focus on your point of differentiation’ was the key message from garden retailers at the latest meeting of the HTA Retail Management Group, which took place in London this week. See more... Read more - members only
The GCA has completed its move to the HTA offices and focuses on Grow. Interim CX Iain Wylie tells garden centres to hold their nerve as the cold weather persists. See more… Read more - members only
Boyd Douglas-Davies the founder of Garden Re-Leaf Day thanked the hundreds of garden centres who joined in to start the garden season and raise funds for Greenfingers charity. See more… Read more - members only
The results from the 2013 HTA wages survey for growers of ornamental crops illustrates how the sector is impacted by rising staff costs, attributed largely to the inflated increases governed by the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB). See more...
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As in 2011, honey fungus topped the list of diseases reported to the RHS Advisory Service. The biggest change was a sharp increase in box blight, due to the wet weather. See more... Read more - members only
The trend towards ambient food is especially attractive to the younger consumer. People want to know where food comes from, that it is good for them and the environment. You can make money out of restaurants but... For some notable quotes from Catering 2013, see more... Read more - members only
Andrew Maxted, Director of Marketing, is to leave the HTA as it restructures in order to cut costs. See more... Read more - members only
Scotsdale became Davidson Richards’s 40th independent garden centre client when it implemented the cloud-based OpSuite retail solution at its two garden centres. See more... Read more - members only
The venue for the 2014 GCA conference is to be kept a secret. Clues will be given over the next few months. There are prizes for the first to guess. See more... Read more - members only
The GCA Trust seeks donations as more horticulture students than ever seek financial assistance to complete their courses. See more... Read more - members only
Last night, Greenfingers launched the Rosy Cheeks Appeal to build more gardens at hospices for children and their families. One mother explained what a garden had meant to her, "Two days after my daughter died, sitting in the garden made me think I could cope with things better." See more... Read more - open to all
The Garden Centre Group is re-energising its apprenticeship scheme. At the same time the HTA is looking at apprenticeships to help its members attract more young entrants to the industry. See more... Read more - members only
First Franchise, who place high street brands as tenants on garden centres, is entering new territory with the launch of a recruitment service, FF-Candidate Select. See more... Read more - members only
The GCA reports that customer numbers were up over Easter, but sales were well below what was expected. The HTA says there is pent-up demand but warns that the longer it takes the weather to improve, the smaller the window of opportunity. See more… Read more - members only
The GCA reports that February sales were 5.5% up on the same month last year. But 29 of the 63 garden centres in the monthly survey actually reported a fall in sales. See more... Read more - members only
Faversham House has sold several publications to Datateam Publishing including DIY Week and Hardware & Garden Review. See more… Read more - members only
The GIMA conference and AGM will be held at the recently upgraded Bicester flagship belonging to The Garden Centre Group. Non-members will be welcomed. See more… Read more - members only
There was important recognition for ornamental horticulture yesterday at the launch of HIP, a new body to co-ordinate horticultural research and its funding. See more... Read more - members only
There are two new websites for 2013. The first is new. GreenPlantSwap is a marketplace for nurseries and gardeners to sell or swap plants. The second is a revamp of Scotts’ Love the Garden. See more… Read more - members only
Wiseweather predicts the risk of frost and snow will continue throughout March as high pressure will be nearby for much of the month. See more... Read more - members only
Representatives from the Defra plant health policy team visited Hillier Nurseries to see how their stock of home grown ash trees has become completely worthless. See more... Read more - members only
Gardenforum has completely refreshed its database of company results. Many new companies have been added. Recent updates include the latest figures from Westland Horticulture, Solus Garden & Leisure, DJ Squire, Wyevale Nurseries and Haskins. See more... Read more - open to all
The GCA Barometer of Trade reports that sales fell 8.5% in January, with restaurant sales also down for the first month in over 2 years. The reason – the snow. See more... Read more - members only