In This Issue
Wyevale Garden Centres agrees sale of five more garden centres
Bord Na Móna launches its ‘Growing Media Academy’ at Glee 2018
Block Blitz to launch new larger pack at Glee 2018
Blue Diamond start recruiting 8 chefs for new centres
Market leading timber retail plant staging solutions from M&M Timber
Gloves come off as Aberdeen garden centre and boxer go head-to-head for former school site
Gardman move away from the pallet network and return to dedicated fleet via Robsons of Spalding
No more extremes, please!
Glee confirm new 2019 opening days
Gardenex gives valuable advice to UK companies on developing their Brexit strategy
Wyevale Garden Centres partners up with The Royal British Legion for ‘Thank you’ Campaign
Get ready for Greenfingers Charity’s 20th anniversary at this year’s Glee
Wyevale Nurseries Taster Menu hailed a success
£2.5m Mill-inspired Garden Centre Restaurant Opens
Celebration raises £20,000 for children
Late summer colour sparks plant sales increases
Christmas opens at Summerhill Garden Centre in Essex
Bank Holiday Blues for GTN Xtra
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Honorary Degree for Peter Seabrook
Tom Sharples retires from Suttons
Will Glee shine a light on Garden Product sales growth?
HTA strengthens its grower representation at Board level
Carry on growing your own
Buddleja davidii 'SMNBDBT' (ROCKETSTAR INDIGO) Best novelty Plantarium 2018
Growing Media sales pick up as winter veg gets planted out
New director joins Vitax board
Who is stealing Wild Bird Care sales?
Press Award Plantarium 2018 for Triple Beauty and Ficinia Ice Crystal
The best of last week's
Blue Diamond now 3rd largest Garden Centre Group in the UK
42 more Homebase closures named as former owners lick their wounds
Lancs grower is latest victim or rural crime
Hilliers set out to make a family's dream come true
43% of gardeners use weedkillers, survey suggests
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
Plastic carrier bag tax to double and extend to all garden retailers
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Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700






Tom Sharples retires from Suttons
 

Tom Sharples, currently Senior Horticultural Manager at Suttons is retiring after 44 years with the company.

 

Tom initially joined the group with sister company, Dobies as Trial Grounds Manager when the company was based in Llangollen, North Wales. He then took charge of young plants and was responsible for the introduction of the first seedlings and plug plants available to the home gardener, way back in 1977.

 

Tom then was additionally put in charge of Dobies catalogue, a position he held until the takeover of Dobies by Suttons and subsequently moved down to Devon. He was then given responsibility for the production of both Suttons and Dobies mail order catalogues.

 

A further move took Tom to the retail side of Suttons as Marketing manager with further responsibility for product development, which among other things involved considerable travel around the world, looking for new and interesting seed and plant varieties and growing techniques suitable for the home gardener.

 

Latterly in his time with the company, Tom adopted a training and advisory role, mentoring young horticulturalists joining the company.

 

Tom is not planning to put his feet up in his retirement and will continue with his judging Britain in Bloom and RHS trials, together with lecturing, writing, copy proofing etc.

 

He is also hoping to get involved in ‘putting something back’ in an industry he loves by working with schools, parents and children to encourage and improve gardening knowledge.

 

Tom has made a huge contribution to both Suttons and Dobies over all those years and his legacy lives on in those with whom he has shared his immense knowledge.

 

Although he is ‘retiring’ he will be continuing to help us develop our Group discount scheme for allotmenteers and horticultural groups and we look forward to also continuing to see him around the office and playing an active part in the development of our trials grounds over the coming months and years.

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