In This Issue
GCA Annual Dinner delivers that winning feeling
UK’s leading garden centres scoop top awards at GCA conference
And the rising star is Daniel Holden from Barton Grange
Woodlodge win GCA Associate of the year Award
Greenfingers fundraising at GCA Conference reaches £30,000
Cowells and Squire's pick up Ruxley Rose awards at GCA Conference
An evening at the home of golf - plus ceilidh dancing - GCA Associates Night is a winner
Rising Stars make their pitches
GCA announces three new inspectors at conference
GCA Conference raises £27,440 for Greenfingers
Pansies regain GCA Greenfingers Challenge Cup
Haggis sells for £500 a plate as the Greenfingers Challenge gets Conference off to a tasty start
LOFA prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a new Chairman and Vice Chairman at the helm
Light up your January sales with impulse displays
Onion sets and seed potatoes selling through
Magic start to the year for growing media sales
Primulas are the bestselling plant of the year so far
Wyevale Garden Centres launches new e-commerce site
Notcutts celebrates 120 years of glorious gardening
£2m investment in ad campaign for Westland SafeLawn
Wyevale Nurseries raises £1,042 for Greenfingers Charity
Green festival during Plantarium 2017
Exhibitor stands at PATS Sandown 'sold out'
Slow start to trading in 2017 as footfall is down
Plantarea Department Head Hardy Plants - Essex
Plantarea Department Head Seasonal Plants - Essex
Wholesale Trade Sales Manager - Suffolk
Plantarea Staff - East Sussex
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Pictures from the Greatest Christmas Gold-winning teams
Aylett Nurseries
Creative Gardens Donaghadee
Hayes Garden World
Bents Garden & Home
Brookside GC Kent
Pughs Radyr GC
Chessington GC
Mains of Drum GC
Barton Grange GC
Silverbirch GC
Walkers Nurseries
Castle Gardens
Fryers GC - Blue Diamond
Greatest Christmas Awards organised by the team from GTN
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Situations Vacant
Plantarea Department Head Hardy Plants - Essex
Salary: Excellent
 
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Plantarea Department Head Seasonal Plants - Essex
Salary: Excellent
 
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Wholesale Trade Sales Manager - Suffolk
Salary: £40,000 - £50,000 depending on experience
 
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Plantarea Staff - East Sussex
Salary: Competitive
 
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GTN Bestsellers
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
 
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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



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GCA Annual Dinner delivers that winning feeling


The 2017 GCA Conference at St Andrews came to a winning conclusion last night with a gala dinner and awards night hosted by comedian Fred MacAuley...
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UK’s leading garden centres scoop top awards at GCA conference


Cowell’s Garden Centre and Barton Grange were crowned Garden Centre of the Year and Destination Garden Centre of the Year at the GCA Conference in St Andrews, Scotland, last night....

See full list of winners and picture gallery
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And the rising star is Daniel Holden from Barton Grange


Daniel Holden from Barton Grange Garden Centre won the vote from delegates at Conference to win the title of 2016 GCA Rising Star...
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Woodlodge win GCA Associate of the year Award


Woodlodge won the Haskins Stewart Cup as GCA Supplier of the Year...


See our gallery of pictures from the GCA Associates Exhibition
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Cowells and Squire's pick up Ruxley Rose awards at GCA Conference


The Ruxley Rose awards were presented to Cowells Garden Centre (Garden Centre category) and Squire's Garden Centre Twickenham (Destination Centre) at the GCA Conference at St Andrews in Scotland on Monday...

See all of Mondays Award winners
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An evening at the home of golf - plus ceilidh dancing - GCA Associates Night is a winner


If you give GCA Garden centres and associate members the chance to dress up and have a great time, you're guaranteed a night of fun. Last night at the Fairmont Hotel, St Andrews was no exception.  It's probably best to let our pictures do the talking...
See GTN Xtra's Monday night picture gallery
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Rising Stars make their pitches


Five rising stars from GCA Garden Centres made their presentations at Conference on Monday in their bid to win votes from delegates an be announced as the GCA Westland Rising Star of 2017 at the annual dinner tonight...
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GCA announces three new inspectors at conference


The Garden Centre Association has today (Monday) announced its three new inspectors who will begin visiting member garden centres this spring. Michael Cole, Gordon Emslie and Hedley Triggs will join current inspector, Roger Crookes, to complete the team for 2017.
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GCA Conference raises £27,440 for Greenfingers
 

The GCA Conference 2017 got off to a flying start with a record £27,440 being raised for Greenfingers in the annual GCA Greenfingers Challenge.  Held at the Fairmont Hotel, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the challenge included a round of indoor "golf", a supper with quiz and "Highland" games including haggis eating and ended with an auction compered by McTopping of Brock, Guy Topping...

Read more and see pictures
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Pansies regain GCA Greenfingers Challenge Cup


The Pansies (garden centre's) beat The Cabbages (suppliers) in this years GCA Greenfingers Challenge held at the Fairmont Hotel in Scotland.
Read more and see pictures
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Haggis sells for £500 a plate as the Greenfingers Challenge gets Conference off to a tasty start


The evening part of The GCA Greenfingers Challenge, organised by Guy and Carol Topping include quiz rounds .... mixed with fun games ..... where teams had to buy their places in the events - that's when a plate of haggis was bought for  a £500 donation to Greenfingers...
Read more and see pictures of haggis eating...
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LOFA prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a new Chairman and Vice Chairman at the helm


Outback chief executive Mark Osborne has been appointed Chariman of LOFA, following the decision by Paul Bevington to step down for personal reasons. Pravin Patel, a director of Premier decorations has been made Vice-Chairman of the association...
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Light up your January sales with impulse displays
 
While centres start to get their garden products departments ready for the season customers are still buying garden lighting and houseplant feeders in relatively high volumes...
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Onion sets and seed potatoes selling through

Onion sets and seed potatoes have started selling through this week as displays are finished and stocks located in high footfall areas. Stuttgarter is once again the most popular onion for early starters with Pentland Javelin being the most picked up seed potato. Beetroot Boltardy is as usual the most popular seed for the start of the year...
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Magic start to the year for growing media sales
 
Jack’s Magic is the early bird compost of choice for keen gardeners wanting to get a head start in 2017, according to GTN Bestsellers, which also sees Westland Gro-Sure Perlite Pouch 10 litres enter the Growing Media Top 50 for the first time...
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Primulas are the bestselling plant of the year so far

Plant sales volumes at the start of the year have dropped to just less than 50% of the week before Christmas but the most popular plants that are looking good are still selling in high volumes, especially Primulas...
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Wyevale Garden Centres launches new e-commerce site


Wyevale Garden Centres has launched its new e-commerce website to all customers, following a trial period for Garden Club members. This launch is central to the businesses ambition to become fully multi-channel...
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Notcutts celebrates 120 years of glorious gardening
Notcutts, the family-owned garden centre business, will be marking its 120th anniversary this year after opening as a nursery in 1897...



Caroline Notcutt with the large gold medal won at Sandringham Flower Show.
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£2m investment in ad campaign for Westland SafeLawn
 
Westland will invest over £2m in a TV and digital advertising campaign in 2017 to promote Westland SafeLawn, a new product encouraging more consumers to feed their lawn...
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Wyevale Nurseries raises £1,042 for Greenfingers Charity


Wyevale Nurseries has raised £1,042 for Greenfingers by backing its ‘Turn Old into Gold’ fundraiser, which sees discontinued or unwanted stock auctioned off in aid of the charity...
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Green festival during Plantarium 2017
Young people accept the challenge and take on the organisation


During the trade fair Plantarium, which will be held from 23 to 26 August 2017, a green festival for and by young people will be organised for the first time. The festival is one of the items that aims to make the fair more trendy in order to let Plantarium have a higher profile as a source of inspiration in the field of green applications...
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Exhibitor stands at PATS Sandown 'sold out'


Visitors to PATS Sandown in March can expect a busy and exciting show as all exhibitor stands at the two-day event have now been sold...
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Slow start to trading in 2017 as footfall is down


The first two weeks of 2017 have started slowly according to EPoS data supplied for GTN Bestsellers. High volumes of Christmas sale lines, kitchenware and homewares feature in the data overall but indications are that footfall is down compared to the previous three years...
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