Alan Sheppard  Burgon Ball        

Alistair Jackson  Poplars Garden Centre  https://www.justgiving.com/Alastair-Jackson3/

Anisha Modi       i2i Events             https://www.justgiving.com/gleethameswalk/

Anne Clark          HTA        https://www.justgiving.com/Anne-Clark8/

Ayse Bhehet      i2i Events             https://www.justgiving.com/gleethameswalk/

Carol Andrews  HTA       

Carol Paris with Max & Murphy    HTA       

Chris Houfe        Great BritishCards          

Chris Ramsden  Suttons               

Craig Hall     Decopak              https://www.justgiving.com/Craig-Hall11/

Emma Clark        HTA        https://www.justgiving.com/Emma-Clark24/

Emma Ley           HTA       

Gregor Muir       Datateam Media              https://www.justgiving.com/Gregor-Muir1/

Jackie Eades       Briers Ltd             https://www.justgiving.com/briersltd/

Kimberley Hornby      Whitefoot PR     https://www.justgiving.com/KIMBERLEY-HORNBY/

Liz Littleboy        HTA       

Mark Long           Paperhouse      

Martin Simmons           HTA       

Matthew Mein     i2i Events             https://www.justgiving.com/gleethameswalk/

Monique Grima                i2i Events             https://www.justgiving.com/gleethameswalk/

Paul Basham      HTA        https://www.justgiving.com/Paul-Basham2/

Raoul Machin     HTA       

Richard Pyrah    Kelkay  

Robbie Cumming         Whitefoot PR     https://www.justgiving.com/RobbieCumming/

Sophia Ibrahim      i2i Events             https://www.justgiving.com/gleethameswalk/

Tim Bell             HTA       

Triston Sisson    Briers Ltd            

Vicky Nuttall        GIMA    https://www.justgiving.com/V-NUTTALL/

John Little reports from Poplars Garden Centre where they raised over £500 for Greenfingers during their quiz night.  " A great time was had by all due to quizmaster Doug. Jacket potato supper by Poplars Pantry and excellent raffle thanks to Poplars suppliers raised £500.  The winning team was Fork Handles."  (See more quiz night pictures below including from Burford House Garden Store at Tenbury Wells.)

Plans to attach a Waitrose superstore onto Van Hage garden centre at Great Amwell have been approved after a sensational U-turn from East Herts District Council (EHDC).

The district council's planning officers had recommended the proposal for refusal, as had Hertford and Ware town councils, despite support from Great Amwell Parish Council.

Waitrose's niche, loyal customer base was cited as suitable reason to waiver from EHDC's policy of rejecting out-of-town supermarkets.

The supermarkets' announcement that it intended to leave Hertford town centre was also a contributing factor in their decision.

Traffic concerns and impact on the green belt were deemed as insufficient reason to block the plan.

A spokesperson behind Hertford's Bircherley Green shopping centre redevelopment claimed their withdrawal will have a £15million hit on the town centre.

Opinion was split among councillors at a development management committee on March 25 but opinion fell slightly in favour of the proposal.

There had been threats that the Bircherley Green project would be put on hold indefinitely if the proposal was granted.

Colder than hoped-for weather is continuing to suppress sales – they’re certainly below where everyone was hoping they should be. We should be grateful though, because although sales are marginally down on last year for the last two weeks, they are up by more than 50% on the same weeks in 2013 when the weather was atrocious.

Garden Re-Leaf  Day and the Easter weekend are all important now. Sales of growing media and the sudden increase of young plant sales indicate that gardeners are itching to get going – we just need the weather to warm up enough for people to be able to spend good amounts of time out in the garden.

The opening of the new Percy Thrower’s Wyevale Garden Centre in Shrewsbury this week has seen really high plant sales, making up 25% of turnover.  With plenty of “story telling” about plants and themed groupings this is a great tale for the season ahead.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year...

• Garden Products – up 1%
• Veg-2-Gro Products – down 14%
• Growing Media – static 0%
• All items index – down 7%

SOLEX 2015, which takes place at the NEC from Tuesday 7 to Thursday 9 July in its new mid-week slot, has been given a makeover for its eighth edition.

With more than 60 suppliers signed-up, it will be the biggest SOLEX to date and boast a number of new features and several larger stands.

Show director Paul Facey believes the new look will guarantee visitors maximum value.

The new Tuesday to Thursday dates will generally please retail buyers. Research by the Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association, (LOFA, the show’s founders) revealed a preference among visitors for a genuine mid-week show.

“We realise that for many businesses Monday is an important post-weekend day and so, with the help of the NEC, we have responded to the needs of visitors by moving the show one day to accommodate their wishes,” said LOFA chairman Paul Bevington.

A spectacular New Product Showcase (design preview above) will welcome visitors to the show. Purpose-built and designed to provide visitors with a snapshot of what’s new, it is an ideal starting point.

The new-look seminar programme will take ‘Excellence in Customer Service’ as its theme. Presented by Andrew McMillan (below), former customer service manager at John Lewis, it is free to all and will run every day.

Enquiries about SOLEX 2015 should be directed to the show organiser, Phil Gibbs, at the LOFA Offices, on 01243 839593 or solex@lofa.com.

White Stores have announced the successful launch of their new 4,500 square foot garden furniture showroom at the Yarnton Nurseries Garden Centre in Oxfordshire.

Celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2015, White Stores are specialists in the promotion and sale of garden furniture, BBQs and accessories. One of the UK's largest independent online retailers of garden furniture, the White Stores website receives around 250K hits per month. Their products also regularly feature in all of the foremost home and garden magazines, newspaper articles and TV shows.

Working in partnership with First Franchise, the experts in bringing garden centres together with leading retail brands, White Stores are launching their outdoor living retail concessions into more garden centres across the UK in 2015 and the coming years. Staffed by White Stores employees, these retail concessions will provide each garden centre with a guaranteed income and increased footfall.

"Our retail concession showrooms actually reverse the industry trend of recent years, whereby garden centre customers have been going online to buy their garden furniture," says James Whiteley, the founder and managing director of White Stores. 

"Garden centres can now offer the huge choice of products and competitive prices beloved by online shoppers, along with the unique ability to see, touch and learn more about the garden furniture by our experts in-store. It's a win-win-win for the customer, garden centre and us."

"I would like to thank Nigel and Richard Wallbridge, the owners of Yarnton Nurseries Garden Centre, Keith McIntyre, managing director of First Franchise, our Yarnton showroom manager Dickie Corfield, and everybody else involved in this exciting project for all of their help and support launching our first retail concession," adds Whiteley. 

"We'd love to hear from other garden centres who would like to work with us and bring an additional and lucrative revenue stream to their business."

"The White Stores garden furniture concession is the first of its kind and offers garden centres an opportunity to generate significant footfall all-year-round, from a product area that usually only thrives in good weather," comments Keith McIntyre, managing director of First Franchise. 

"White Stores dominate search engine 'garden furniture' enquiries and their products are keenly priced, so customers are prepared to travel long distances to benefit from the savings. When James Whiteley approached us with this idea, we were delighted to help, and Richard and Nigel at Yarnton have been extremely supportive of the new venture.

"There is no doubt that Yarnton Nurseries will benefit significantly from this Internet based concession offer, and we look forward to assisting James Whiteley and his White Stores team expand the format out across the UK."

A grand opening for the Yarnton showroom, backed by an online and local advertising campaign, is planned for the Easter Bank Holiday. Please visit the http://www.whitestores.co.uk or http://www.yarntonnurseries.co.uk websites for more information.

Plant feeding products, garden lighting and lawn care lines dominated the GTN Bestsellers Garden Products Top 50 this week. 34% of the top 50 lines were plant feeds, 20% garden lighting (but accounting for 38% of the volume) and 12% lawn care.

• Gardman Solar Mini Ice Orb is at No 1 for a third week.
• Westland Lawn & Turf Dressing 25 litres is the highest chart re-entry.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro Rose & Shrub Continuous Release Plant Food 1kg packs climb 11 places 

With a raffle that they are drawing at lunchtime today we will bring you the total raised at Bostworths in GTN Xtra over the weekend.

At 11am on Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day, members of the garden industry, coordinated by Garden Re-Leaf founder Boyd Douglas Davies and GTNXtra's own Trevor Pfeiffer, attempted to break the record of the most selfies of people wearing gloves (aka 'Glovies') posted on social media.

As the clock struck eleven, Garden Centres such as Perrywood, Orchard Park, Stewarts, Poplars and Hilltop downed tools and donned their gloves, gathering their teams together to take their photo.  They joined garden product manufacturers such as Briers, Town & Country, Joe's, and Deco-Pak in doing so, and all immediately posting on to Twitter and Facebook.

During Garden Re-Leaf Day, a total of 247 posts featuring the hashtags #Glovies and #Glovie appeared via 55 different Twitter accounts, reaching a combined total of 79,143 individual twitter users.  78 original #Glovies were tweeted on twitter and 21 on Facebook which joined the scores of photos hosted on the GTNXtra site.

Creative highlights were a flamboyant New York cop wearing pink gloves, dogs wearing gloves on their paws and a certain image from Southwell Garden Centre that played on the pun 'Garden Relief'!

Garden Re-Leaf social media coordinator, Robbie Cumming was in charge of counting the images and analysing the results.

"A record number of 166 different people helped to put #Glovies, and more importantly Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day, in front of a huge audience.  Together we were retweeted, 'favourited' and seen a whopping 241,126 times within the space of a day."

GTN Xtra will add all of the #Glovies to the gallery during next week and publish a complete Glovie Gallery from the GCA to Garden Re-Leaf Day in next weekends GTN Xtra.  Don't forget to send us yours even if you've not posted on social media with the #Glovies.

With the garden industry in full swing for Spring, Fiskars launches its high profile TV, radio, print and online campaign. The TV advert, featuring the market leading Weed Puller, innovate PowerGear range and telescopic Tree Pruner will air in popular slots across core TV channels on key Spring bank holiday weekends when spending in DIY and garden centres traditionally peak. The campaign includes radio, print and online activity.

Fiskars distinctive advert shows how weeding the lawn can be fun and easy. As Fiskars ambassador James Wong says, "The steel claws of a Fiskars Weed Puller reach down deep, so you don't have to." 

This year, Fiskars is extending the advert to include the award-winning PowerGear™ loppers and pruners. PowerGear™ gives 3x the cutting power thanks to its patented gearing mechanism for easy cutting. Another Fiskars hero product - the Tree Pruner - is also promoted. With its six metre reach the Tree Pruner tackles the tallest of gardening tasks while keeping your feet firmly planted on the ground.

New for 2015 is a radio advertising campaign on Classic FM to support the TV promotion. Targeting the passionate gardener, Classic FM airtime will have an increased presence around the Saturday morning show across the three April and May bank holidays.

Everyone likes something for free, so Fiskars is also launching a £3,000 consumer competition to win a garden makeover, plus four packs of Fiskars garden tools, each worth £500. The competition runs to the end of June.

With in-store point of sale, plus online competitions and promotions at customer trade shows as well as Spring demo days. Trade customers will benefit from a high profile campaign and boosted interest in Fiskars products.

Kerry Murfin, Trade Marketing Director for Fiskars UK, says, "This year has had a superb start bringing James Wong on board as our Fiskars ambassador and moving to a fantastic location in Birmingham. 

 "Spring is obviously the key season in gardening and this year we wanted to extend our reach and consumer attraction. Bringing in the competition element gives our trade customers something that they can really promote in-store to gain consumer interest and traction.

"Equally, with radio and new digital components sitting alongside TV and print advertising, we're extending our reach to target a new and younger generation of gardeners that are the shoppers of the future for our garden centre and DIY customers."

For more information on Fiskars range contact: W: www.fiskars.com E: ukinfo@fiskars.com T: 0121 7960444

The 140 full and part time staff at the Haskins West End Garden Centre near Eastleigh have a new management team.

The recently promoted General Manager Peter Callaway is now supported by the former restaurant general manager Ben Harrison, who has been promoted to Assistant General Manager of the Centre. 

Ben’s role as boss of the 460 seat restaurant since 2012 has been awarded to 28 year old Marianne Peet,  who started waitressing from the age of 14, and became a general manager for a range of restaurant chains, including Ask, Strada and Frankie & Bennys since the age of 18.  Her career has taken Marianne to Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bath and Birmingham.

Julian Winfield, Chief Executive of the £31 million turnover Haskins Garden Centres group, said that he was delighted that Marianne has accepted the position.

“With Peter, Ben and Marianne at the helm I’m confident that our customers will continue to enjoy the high standards of service at West End, the very successful centre we purpose built in 1996,” said Julian Winfield.

The new team plans to continue to support charitable events throughout the year.

Full information can be found by visiting www.haskins.co.uk

Pictured:  Peter Callaway (centre) with Marianne Peet and Ben Harrison.

Hundreds of orchid lovers descended on Hare Hatch Sheeplands in Berkshire as the Twyford garden centre played host to the fifth annual Spring Show staged by the Thames Valley Orchid Society. Maren Talbot (pictured right) from Heritage Orchids in Marlow was one of the exhibitors. 

The venue was filled with beautiful and colourful plants and experts were on hand to offer advice on the growing and care of orchids.

Best in show was won by Derek Long from Marlow with his Brassia verrucosa, which also won the best species class.

The award for best hybrid went to a Phalaenopsis shown by the Wessex Orchid Society.

Show manager Barry Cook said “It was a very successful show with the number of exhibits being up on last year by about 20 per cent.

“One of the most enjoyable things is the number of visitors we were able to help with their own plants. Some even brought them along for us to look at.”



Above: Caudia Whales from Ratcliffe Nurseries (right) offers advice to visitors Teresa Stapley and Theresa McDougall.

Meanwhile, a busy day for Sheeplands also saw the official opening of a new showroom by Garden Trends, selling garden furniture and barbecues.

“We like to claim that we have one of the biggest ranges of garden furniture in the UK,” said manager Gordon Parry.

To mark the opening staff were putting some of the barbecues to good use by offering visitors free snacks of sausages, chicken and kebabs.

Rob Scott from Sheeplands said: “It really was a day to remember. You could move from one location filled with dazzling and exotic orchids to another where a sizzling barbecue made you feel hungry. I am sure all our visitors enjoyed themselves.”

Gordon Parry (left) from Garden Trends snatches a brief rest during a busy day.

The Prime Minister's personal chef at Chequers has made a special Easter Egg to be auctioned with all the proceeds going to the Greenfingers charity.

Graham Howarth, who is Executive Chef at Chequers in Buckinghamshire, is a friend of Greenfingers' Head of Fundraising Linda Petrons, and donated the Easter Egg for Garden Re-Leaf.

Graham lives on the Chequers estate where he has worked for over 12 years.



If you would like to bid for the Easter Egg email info@greenfingerscharity.org.uk

Our Client is an established Landscape and Grounds Maintenance company who are seeking a driven director to work closely with the senior management team and the board to bring clear leadership, reinforcement of current management structure, drive performance and bring sustainable profit to the business while providing customers with a top rate service. 

They are seeking a motivated leader with a proven track record at senior management level. Someone who is capable of ensuring that their dedicated teams are delivering high standards of work and also profit. Someone who is capable of seeing the big picture and steering the company to achieve excellence in all areas while also being able to appreciate the smaller details of landscape management. Knowledge or experience in either the Landscape, Grounds Maintenance, Facilities Management or Construction sectors are essential for this role. 

To find out more please submit your CV in the first instance to info@morepeople.co.uk quoting the reference #DS7138

My client is a small garden centre group based in the south east of England, they are established in their market and are now looking to recruit a new senior leader to the team. 

This role will have oversight of all the groups centres as well as having day to day managerial responsibilities for the groups largest site. 

We need:

• An Experienced retail manager with a minimum of 2 years as a large turnover site manager.
• A superb retailer with an eye for quality who continually upholds high standards of merchandising and customer service.
• A commercially minded business professional who can look after the day to day HR, finance and supply tasks associated with the role.
• A forward thinking planner who can use the seasonality associated with the market to produce outstanding events to ensure top performance during peak times.
• A Garden Centre Expert who knows the industry back to front and can exploit and build on market trends.

We would prefer:

• Candidates with experience in a regional or multisite management role.
• Candidates with a positive can do attitude that lead by example.
• Candidates looking for a long term project where they can commit themselves to a business and develop with the role.

For a confidential discussion, please call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530 quoting reference #BP7174

Our client is a wholesale bedding plant Nursery operating from two sites who supply to the main Garden Centre Chains and Independent Garden Centres across the UK. They are looking for a skilled grower with excellent supervisory skills to assist and help with the day to day running of the Nursery. Working and supporting the Nursery Owner this will be based at their Evesham site. 

Ideally they are looking for someone with experience and the ability to supervise 10 -15 nursery workers and help organise and work to agreed time scales. 

Experience of the bedding plant industry would be an advantage also there are good long term prospects as the successful candidate could be considered to manage the site on their own in the future.

To find out more please submit your CV in the first instance to info@morepeople.co.uk quoting the reference #DS7164

My client is a small garden centre group based in the south east of England, they are established in their market and are now looking to recruit a new Garden Centre Manager for one of their established centres. 

We need:

• An Experienced retail manager with at least 3 years at deputy manager experience.
• A driven individual who is committed to increasing the productivity and turnover of their site.
• A leader who creates opportunities through effective motivation of their team.
• A individual with a background in an retailer that sells within a market that is effected by seasonality.

We would prefer:

• An experienced garden centre manager looking for a new challenge.
• A forward thinking retail with very high standards for merchandising and customer service.

For a confidential discussion, please call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530 quoting reference #BP7175

Kelkay has reinforced its position as a leading manufacturer and distributor of aggregates and paving with a £1 million investment in new state of the art machinery.

The significant investment, which completes the commissioning of the Pollington, East Yorkshire plant, means Kelkay can increase efficiency, improve its products and enhance customer service.

It follows a major strengthening of the company’s sales team in 2014. As part of this, Liam Walsh became sales manager, Spencer Goodall took over the South West of England sales division and ARC Southern was appointed to manage Kelkay’s South East sales division.

Kelkay moved into its purpose built head office on their Pollington site last year along with opening up further acreage for increased stock holding. The expanding site is providing storage for back up stock, currently at 50,000 pallets which is 30% more than this time last year. In addition to this Kelkay has over 75,000 tonnes of aggregate stock piled on its premises. The company understands how important it is that its customers have reassurance on stock availability for the season especially with the increased demand for aggregates in the garden.

Speaking about the investment, Antony Harker, managing director at Kelkay, said: “This investment is great news for Kelkay customers. I believe maintaining product availability especially as the popularity of hard landscaping products continues to soar is paramount in providing an unrivalled service. It has played a very important part in Kelkay’s success and should continue to secure our position as a market leader in the long term.”

Kelkay’s brand portfolio includes Borderstone, Build Mate, easyfountain and Henri, providing retailers with a single source of supply for a wide range of garden products. These include aggregates, stone, water and garden features, paving, edging and walling, building materials, horticulture and winter products.

By promoting aggregates, paving and fountains with eye-catching point of sale, merchandising units and display stands, garden retailers have seen sales grow in these categories.

For more information, visit http://www.kelkay.co.uk/. 

Europe’s leading wildlife specialists Wildlife World has won the European Consumers Choice Award 2015 for its innovative Urban Bird Feeder.

The contemporary bird feeder was tested and scored on its design, ease of use and innovation, which all contributed to an impressive overall score of 9.4.

The stylish Urban Bird Feeder was launched at GLEE 2014 as part of the Urban City range, designed for those who enjoy nature but live in an urban environment where very little outdoor space is available. The modern aesthetics of the Urban Bird Feeder make it particularly suitable for those living in cities with a small garden or an apartment with a balcony. The feeder has been designed with a large entrance to allow birds of all sizes to feed, and is beneficial in areas where natural food is hard for birds to find.

Based in Gloucestershire, Wildlife World designs and manufactures wildlife habitats, feeders and other products and has won multiple awards for its designs, including the European Consumers Choice Award 2014 for its Bee and Bug Biome. Wildlife World’s ethical approach to the creation of its products has acquired the company an excellent reputation as one of Europe’s market leaders.

Norman Sellers, founder of Wildlife World, commented, “We are really pleased to have won the European Consumers Choice Award for a second time, especially for a product that we feel has huge potential in the market. We have designed the Urban City range to encourage wildlife in urban areas where there are very few natural habitats or feeding sources and it is great to see that this product has been recognised for this reason.”

From a range of consumer opinions, one who tested the product commented, “I have a small balcony and this bird feeder is perfect because it is both practical and aesthetic.”

Another also commented, “Convenient, fresh and elegant, it is really a beautiful creation, easy to use and immediately adopted by the birds of the neighbourhood.”

Like all of Wildlife World’s products, the Urban Bird Feeder reflects the company’s commitment to the environment and wildlife, ensuring that all materials used to create the product are sustainable, whilst maintaining the modern aesthetics of the theme. The outer shell of the bird feeder is made of Clayplas+, a composite material comprising 70% clay and 30% recycled plastic. This robust material ensures that the product is usable in all weather conditions, as well giving the product excellent green credentials due to the recycled element.

The interior of the feeder is made from sustainably sourced FSC certified timber with a sliding clear Perspex panel, which can be easily removed from the outer shell to refill the feeder and be cleaned. The entire Urban City range comes with a dual keyhole hanging point allowing the products to be mounted ‘square on’, or as a ‘diamond’ for an additional stylish touch.

Established in 2009, the European Consumers Choice Award is a Brussels based non-profit organisation created to recognise the design talent of companies. Entries are tested under everyday conditions by European consumers who then assess, evaluate and score each product on its design, innovation and ease of use. Wildlife World is amongst a long list of companies who have been awarded by the organisation, including Audi, Nokia, Dyson and many more.

Further information is available from Wildlife World on 01666 505333, by emailing james@wildlifeworld.co.uk or by visiting the company’s website at www.wildlifeworld.co.uk

It’s delight for young tomato plant sales as volumes increase significantly to place nine young tomato plants in the Top 10 of the GTN Bestsellers Veg-2-Gro chart. 

That’s a much earlier boost than last year. What will happen when the grafted plants come into stock?

• Quantil Tomato Gardeners Delight is at No 1.
• Quantil Tomato Tumbler 8cm is the highest chart climber, up 36 places to No 9.
• Quantil Tomato Roma 8cm is the highest Top 50 re-entry.

To subscribe to GTN Bestselllers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

Forty out of the GTN Bestsellers Growing Media lines increased their sales last week as customers get ready to start their plant growing. Sales volumes were the same as this week last year so we should be set fair for good sales over Easter.

• GroWise Multipurpose Compost (50 litres) is the highest Top 50 new entry.
• Scotts Levington Multipurpose + John Innes (56 litres) spends a second week at No 1.
• Westland Gro-Sure Farmyard Manure (50 litres) moves up one place to No 2.

Invertebrate conservation experts Buglife have teamed up with garden products supplier Greenkey Garden & Home Ltd to develop a whole new range of bug homes for gardens, patios or even balconies. 

These new homes have been carefully crafted to work for UK invertebrates providing homes and shelter for most of our best loved bugs and a real boon for gardeners.

The mesh covering the homes for ladybirds to over winter has been carefully selected to admit native but not harlequin ladybirds, the solitary bee nesting tubes have been carefully chosen to ensure that they are of a suitable width and length to be effective and of course the whole structure is made from FSC accredited sources.

The exciting range of bug homes is designed to provide accommodation for solitary bees, moths, butterflies, ladybirds and lacewings all hugely beneficial in the garden although it is expected that many others will also benefit. The homes are supported by a wealth of information on how to situate and care for them on the Buglife website and the packaging as well as the opportunity to log on-line where you install bug homes www.buglife.org.uk .

Paul Hetherington, Director of Communications at Buglife, commented. “Working with Greenkey on developing these homes has been a real pleasure as at last we are convinced there is a product on the market that is effective for bugs as well as looking good. I would urge people to consider installing at least one bug home on their property and also look to provide some year round flowering resource wherever possible.”

Emma Parkes of Greenkey added. “Garden Centres tell us that they are seeing increased interest from their customers in encouraging beneficial insects into their gardens. We are proud to have worked with Buglife to create this range, and look forward to supporting their valuable work in the future.”

Information on the new bug homes is available from http://www.greenkey-garden.co.uk/insect-houses and they can be purchased in garden centres throughout the UK, with Buglife benefitting from a percentage of sales.

With spaces selling fast growers from across the UK are encouraged to sign up to exhibit at this year’s HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak, which takes place at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry on June 23 and 24.

So far over one hundred companies have signed up to exhibit. These include: Allensmore Nurseries, Anglia Group of Nurseries, Ball Colegrave, Blackmoor Nurseries, Channel Island Plants, David Austin Roses, Farplants, Gardeners Kitchen, Johnsons of Whixley, Kernock Park Plants, Lovania Nurseries, New Place Nurseries, Pentland Plants, Seoint Nurseries, Taylors Bulbs, Whetman Pinks, Wyevale Nurseries and Young Plants.

HTA Chief Executive Carol Paris comments: “There has been strong interest in exhibiting at this year’s show and any potential exhibitors should book as soon as possible to secure a spot. The show has established itself as a real milestone in the plant buying calendar.

"Our exhibitor survey findings reveal that 83% of exhibitors took orders at the show from current, ex and new customers. From the visitor perspective 74% attend to catch up with current suppliers, 69% come along to find potential new suppliers and 66% are looking for ideas on new plants to stock.”

With new plants at its core, HTA National Plant Show provides a fantastic opportunity for UK growers to showcase their plant ranges – from seeds and young plants through to specimen plants and trees to all those involved in buying plants in the UK.

The New Plant Awards, sponsored by the RHS, highlight the very latest plants on the scene – a really important part of the show. Visitors too can have their say by taking part in the Visitor Vote award, sponsored by Floramedia.

Visitors can also buy at the show from the Marketplace, sponsored by Container Centralen, where mixed trolleys can be put together from the plant suppliers taking part. The HTA National Plant Show seminars, sponsored by Barclaycard, provide an added extra to the show with three plant focussed seminars throughout the course of the show.

For further information visit www.nationalplantshow.co.uk 

A horticulturalist who’s celebrating 50 years with the same organisation is to have a piece of the Sussex High Weald named after him.

Marchant’s Bank has been created at Home Farm on the sprawling Wakehurst estate at Ardingly in West Sussex to acknowledge the enormous contribution David Marchant MBE has made to the running of Kew’s country garden.

Better known for its botanic garden beside the River Thames in west London, Kew took over Wakehurst 50 years ago and Mr Marchant has been a linchpin to the enormous development which has taken place over that time, creating an internationally-renowned botanic garden and conservation centre as well as home to Kew’s biggest conservation project, the Millennium Seed Bank. 

“The parcel of land at Home Farm has been named Marchant’s Bank in my honour, this because of my work managing the Wakehurst purse-strings over the past 27 years," explains Mr Marchant. 

“I was pleased to be able pick the piece of land and I chose this particularly steep bank because it reminded me of my earlier career as the “farm boy” and when I was driving a Fordson Major tractor across that slope dragging a pair of chain harrows.  The tractor ran out of diesel and the Farmer, Nigel Radley Smith was not best pleased when he had to come and rescue me.”

Mr Marchant was born on the estate and joined his father in the employ of the last private owner, Sir Henry Price. He met his wife, a fellow horticulturalist at Wakehurst and has been happily married for 45 years.

“It is entirely her fault that you have to put up with me day after day," he joked. 

“She is the one that ensures that I get fed, watered and clothed, that I don’t linger in the house making it untidy, or get under her feet.”

At a celebration tea party Mr Marchant was presented with a gold Kew badge, an honour normally reserved to Trustees of the organisation.

Marchant’s Bank has been registered with Ordnance Survey and will soon be appearing on maps.

Pictured: David Marchant MBE looking out over the new Marchant’s Bank at Ardingly.

A new, organic-based plant food for vegetables, fruit and herbs has been launched for Britain's gardeners for the 2015 growing season. Viano Organic Plant Food is a premium quality, universal fertiliser which feeds garden crops for up to three months from one application. 

Its formulation of six per cent total Nitrogen (N), five per cent total Phosphorus pentoxide (P­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­2O5), 10 per cent Potassium oxide (K2O) soluble in water, plus four per cent Magnesium oxide (MgO) (6-5-10)+4) increases nutrients available to plants, enhances soil life and improves soil structure.

The easy-to-apply granular plant food can be sprinkled at a rate of 100gm (about a handful) per square metre. 

While it will continue to feed plants for up to 100 days, a maintenance or booster feed of 50gm per square metre can be applied after eight to 10 weeks, depending on growing conditions. 

Viano Organic Plant Food can also be used on tomatoes and cucumbers, applied at the rate of 20gm per plant per week as soon as harvesting begins.

It encourages the development of plant roots and beneficial micro-organisms, which in turn keep the soil in good condition. 

They also move nutritious elements within the soil to plant roots, where they can be taken up and used in healthy development. 

Viano Organic Plant Food is perfect for leaf and root vegetables and herbs, soft and top fruits.  It is safe for use in areas where children and animals are active, although, like all non-foodstuffs, it should not be eaten. 

DJ Turfcare Equipment Ltd, sole importers of Viano Products in the UK, offers garden centres attractive deals on Organic Plant Food.  A 10kg bag has a recommended retail price of £23.90.  To discover more and to discuss terms, elephone 01483 200976 or e-mail sales@djturfcare.co.uk

Webbs Garden Centre customers are being encouraged to have a spring clean and donate any unwanted items to KEMP Hospice.

The store in Kidderminster Road South, West Hagley,  is holding its annual Donate, Don’t Dump Day for the hospice on Thursday, 16^th April.

Customers are asked to come along to the store between 10am and 5pm with at least one good quality item which they no longer wanted or needed.  They can put them in the collection area in the Webbs car park. All donations will then be delivered to KEMP for sorting and selling in their charity shops.

Chairman Ed Webb said, “The aim of 'Donate, Don't Dump Day' is to improve the quality and quantity of donations to charity shops and for helping KEMP to raise the much needed funds to carry out their invaluable work in the community.”

Wyevale Garden Centres is supporting Marie Curie’s annual Great Daffodil Appeal, by donating 10% from the priceof all daffodils to the charity during March.

This is the second year WGC has supported the Great Daffodil Appeal, Marie Curie’s biggest annual fundraising campaign, which asks people to give a donation and wear one of the charity’s daffodil pins throughout March.

Sarah Fuller, Marketing Director for WGC, said: “Our customers’ support for this initiative is inspiring, with over 100,000 fresh cut and potted daffodils sold this month, raising over £25,000. With a week to go, these purchases will help Marie Curie Nurses care for people living with a terminal illness, so they can spend more time with the people they love. Daffodils are a great way to brighten your home or garden, and we are proud that ours come with the added benefit of raising money for a great cause.”

WGC is supporting Marie Curie as part of a two year partnership as their first national charity partner in its ‘Gardens for Good’ community programme, which recognises the benefits that gardens and gardening can bring to individuals and local communities. Wyevale Garden Centres are aiming to raise over £500,000 nationally from 2014-2016 to help Marie Curie provide care to people with terminal illnesses.

Marie Curie daffodil pins are available at all Wyevale garden centres.

It's garden re-Leaf Day today and the fun, fundraising and publicity has already started.

A number of garden centres held Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz nights yesterday with more taking place today and over the weekend.  The Thames Walk is well underway and many, many other events are taking places in garden centers across the country.

Boyd Douglas-Davies, one of the founders of Garden Re-Leaf Day said last night "the number of centres, suppliers and individuals taking part in Garden Re-Leaf Day 2015 is superb. Having had a cool March it couldn't come at a better time to kick start the season."

"Garden Re-Leaf Day 2015 has already had 6 hours of TV exposure this week and numerous regional and local stories in the press."

"And across Hi‎llview centres we will at long last answer the age old question... "HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF STRING?"!

"One industry, one event, one huge result!"

What are you doing for Garden Re-Leaf Day - make the most of it, it is our gardening chartity and awareness day.  Please send photos and infomration about your activities and we will publish them all in GTN Xtra over the weekend and next week.  Send to: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts and weekly bestsellers sales tips.

The full charts which provide useful insight into product sales peaks, new trends and new link sales opportunities are published in the weekly GTN Xtra printed newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2012 as well as 2013 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

Access is by subscription only.  For £145.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most up-to-date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 01733 775700, e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

Highlights of the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro Products Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this week are here

WARNING the GTN Bestsellers Charts seriously improve the business of our subscribers.  Invest 15 minutes each week in improving your sales using the GTN Bestsellers charts and your turnover and customer satisfaction will improve too.