Longacres Garden Centre Ltd has announced their acquisition of Bourne Valley Garden Centre in Addlestone, Surrey.

The site has been in the Elding family for over 70 years. Current owner Paul Elding said "A big thank you to all employees past and present, and of course to all of our customers over the years." After nearly a quarter of a century in charge Paul will enjoy a well-earned retirement!

Managing Director Nigel Long said "Bourne Valley is a natural fit for Longacres, with a solid core gardening offering, a loyal customer base and scope for improvement, new ranges and expansion. The restaurant is obviously already a great success and we will be applying a very light touch here."

The purchase takes the number of sites in the Longacres group to six, alongside existing centres at Bagshot, Bybrook Barn, Chelmsford, Chobham and Shepperton.

The Longacres team has extensive plans to improve the site, which will start immediately with work on a new checkout area and the addition of a brand new cut flower department. Following this will be location moves for houseplants (to the front of the store) and the seasonal department.

Longacres is a family-run business, that began life as a flower and vegetable nursery on land in Bagshot, Surrey in the 1970s. Managing Director Nigel Long introduced the move to retailing in the 1980s, and runs the business with his sisters Carol and Julie.

Garden Centre Association members in Scotland and Northern Ireland are celebrating after picking up awards during a presentation evening on Tuesday at Simpsons Garden Centre in Inverness.

In Scotland, Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre (above) was awarded Garden Centre of the Year in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category and Klondyke Garden Wise, Dumfries in the Garden Centre (GC) category. In Northern Ireland, Creative Gardens, Bushmills received the GC accolade.

Peter Burks, GCA CEO, said: “We’ve nearly come to the end of the annual summer Area Award events. This is our penultimate session. Our Scotland/Northern Ireland regional awards presentation evening was a great success, and during the event it was wonderful to hear from our inspector, Alyson Haywood, who presented her findings from her inspections, which took place in the spring.

“We’d like to thank Simpsons Garden Centre for being fantastic hosts for the evening and all our attendees for taking on all the feedback, which we know they will be taking it back to their own centres in order to make any improvements straight away and also to share the news of any wins they may have achieved too.”

Alyson was responsible for inspecting member garden centres in the Scotland and Northern Ireland areas during the 12-week period in the spring.

She said: “It was a pleasure and a privilege to inspect the centres in Scotland and N Ireland, it was great to see innovation and creativity in many categories and a high standard of retailing throughout the region. All category winners excelled in specific parts of the inspection, the overall winners showed consistency and creativity in all aspects.”

The full results for the Scotland region GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

Garden Centre of the Year: Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Garden Wise, Dumfries (GC)

Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre

Environment and Sustainability Award sponsored by Savills: Klondyke Livingston Garden Centre.

The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: Simpsons Garden Centre

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Klondyke Livingston Garden Centre

The Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: Simpsons Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Mayfield Garden Centre (GC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Simpsons Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Garden Wise, Dumfries (GC)

The Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: joint DGC winners Simpsons Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre and joint GC winners Klondyke Garden Wise, Dumfries and Klondyke Mayfield Garden Centre (GC)

The Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: joint DGC winners Klondyke Polmont Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre and Klondyke Livingston Garden Centre (GC)

Houseplants: Simpsons Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Garden Wise, Dumfries (GC)

Plantaria (Ruxley Rose): Klondyke Mortonhall Garden Centre and Klondyke Livingston Garden Centre.

The full results for the Northern Ireland region GCA area awards are as follows:

Garden Centre of the Year: Creative Gardens Bushmills (GC)

Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Creative Gardens, Donaghadee

Environment and Sustainability Award sponsored by Savills: Creative Gardens, Logwood

The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: Creative Gardens, Donaghadee

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Creative Gardens Bushmills (GC)

The Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: Creative Gardens Bushmills (GC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Creative Gardens Bushmills (GC)

The Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Creative Gardens, Logwood (GC)

The Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Creative Gardens Bushmills (GC)

Houseplants: Creative Gardens, Donaghadee (GC)

Plantaria (Ruxley Rose): Creative Gardens Bushmills (GC)

The GCA represents more than 200 garden centres nationwide.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

For further information, please visit www.gca.org.uk.

A Milton Keynes-based garden centre and landscaping materials supplier has acquired its fourth centre with the support of a £1.9m funding package from Lloyds Bank.

Nuyard Group has purchased Flitvale Garden Centre in Flitwick, Bedfordshire, and has completed a revamp of the 35,000 sq ft facility to increase its product offering improve the overall customer shopping experience.

The business was founded 20 years ago out of a garden and landscaping merchants centre in Tring and has since opened sites in Bletchley and Worcester, and now Flitwick. Across the four sites, Nuyard hires 65 staff and is planning to grow its headcount to over 100.

Nuyard has refurbished the entire Flitwick centre, as well as investing in the on-site restaurant. It has added a florist and expanded the houseplants area of the centre by 200% amid blossoming demand from customers. Nursery land has also been brought back into use to serve as the base for its paving and landscaping arm, which supplies to trade customers in the area, and allowing the business to add new machinery and hardware to its range.

As part of the ongoing investment, Nuyard plans to add solar panels across the roof to make the centre sustainable and self-sufficient, and introduce a water-harvesting system to reduce its water use.

Peter Manship, director at Nuyard, said: “The customer is at the heart of everything we do, and we want to make sure the shopping experience is as good as it can be. Acquiring Flitvale Garden Centre was a milestone, and a significant amount of work has gone into redesigning and revamping it so that everyone, from home horticulturalists to professional landscapers, will want to return.

“People no longer see gardens as just a patch of outdoor space, but as an additional room of their homes that’s to be enjoyed as much as any other. With this in mind, a significant part of our growth is down to remaining agile to new trends and changing demand like any other interior provider. By revitalising the nursery areas, we now have the space to launch new designs and displays that will inspire people as they transform the spaces that matter most to them.”

Will Robertson, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “Gardens have taken on renewed importance in the last few years, as homeowners have realised the value of green space. Nuyard has recognised this change in the market and capitalised on it, and the acquisition and opening of its new garden centre is testament to that.

“Nuyard is a good example of a business investing in order to drive growth, and supporting that ambition is our bread and butter. We want to make sure that businesses across Britain have the platform that they need to invest strategically – whether that’s opening new locations or moving to become more sustainable, and everything in between – and we’ll be right by their side to help them secure that.”

Thirty tree and plant growers from across the UK came together at the Horticultural Trades Association’s Nursery Network Peat-Free event this week to exchange views, experience and knowledge on growing peat-free. 

The event was hosted by Hillier Nurseries in Romsey near Southampton and included a tour of their mature tree and container crop production sites.

Guests also heard several presentations, including:

• The politics of peat-free - David Lydiat of the HTA
• The manufacturer’s lot - Keith Nicholson of Sinclair/Westland
• Transition to peat-free at Hillier Nurseries - Charles Carr, Hillier Nurseries
• Supporting the peat-free transition - Dr Raghavendra Prasad and Prof Alistair Griffiths.

The event was organised by Wayne Brough of the HTA, who explained it was immediately oversubscribed by those from across the industry who wanted to join the session showing the HTA’s and its members’ commitment to peat-free. However, there are still significant challenges to overcome, meaning that Defra’s proposed deadline for a ban for professional growers in 2026 comes too soon.

Speaker Keith Nicholson revealed that Westland had invested £80m in peat-free infrastructure. He commented: “It’s all about time. The industry is working hard to go peat-free and needs to work with the government and the whole supply chain to achieve this. If the government insist on moving too quickly, it could cause serious harm.”

Charles Carr said: “Hillier made the decision to go peat-free in 2020 and has this year achieved this across the board. I was pleased to share some of our experiences with the group. It has been challenging, and 10-20% of crops need extra management and resources. We are still finding unexplained losses.”

Alistair Griffiths stated: “It is positive to see the great progress that Hillier’s have made to get to 100% peat-free and to share expertise to help others on the same journey.”

HTA members can find out further information about similar workshops and seminars by visiting:

• HTA Nursery Network events webpage
• HTA Grower Technical Workshop webpage

For another year, Cultivation Street wants to recognise and celebrate all the hard work garden centres do with their local schools and the community.

If you are a garden centre that is proud of its relationships with schools and communities, Cultivation Street want to hear from you.  

Cultivation Street, sponsored by Miracle-Gro®, is giving one lucky and deserving garden centre a £1,000 prize for being the best in the business. 

Cultivation Street want to celebrate the amazing work the garden centres do in their own communities.

If you are a garden centre that deserves recognition, please engage with the following form: https://cultivationstreet.com/cultivation-street-2023-entry-form/

With hundreds of entries and innovation creating new conversations ahead of the 2024 season, this year’s GIMA Awards have once again proved to be a fiercely fought competition. With the judging having now taken place and the winners selected, the garden retail industry now holds its breath as it waits to find out who will be crowned winners this year.

Selecting products from across 13 product and three marketing categories, plus the overall Sustainability Award - were a panel of eager judges with their work cut out for them. Coming from all corners of the industry with a wide range of retail experience were Gary Carvosso, Coolings Garden Centre; Shelley Bou Chrouch, Scarlet Opus; Mairi Devlin, B&Q; Ian Hodgson, Garden News; Trevor Pfeiffer, Garden Trade News; Michelle de Lavis-Trafford, Choice Marketing; Nicola Pugh, Pugh’s Garden Centre; Nicola Seagar, Primrose; and Tristan Sissons, Hillier Garden Centres. 

Two additional Special Achievement awards – the Export Achievement and Supplier of the Year – will be judged by Gardenex and the GCA, respectively.

Speaking following the judging day, GIMA Director, Vicky Nuttall said: “Every year we see more and more new innovation, each time thinking that it can’t be bettered. But then comes our judging day, and we are quickly humbled as it becomes apparent that the last 12 months have seen product design teams working harder than ever. This year we have seen some truly exciting award entries, and thanks to the expertise of our judges, we have a remarkable list of winners.

“Our thanks must go to the judges for kindly donating their time and knowledge. It was a pleasure to watch them at work and to learn more about what makes the cut. Thanks also to all those that entered and to those that continue to support the annual GIMA Awards. I’ve no doubt this year’s event will be another fabulous night of celebrations”.

On October 19th, the GIMA Awards will return to the Celtic Manor Resort for another five-star night of celebrations and networking. The event will be supported by a wealth of sponsors, including Glee, Ebay, Hozelock, Decco, Primeur, EP Barrus, HTA, GCA, Gardenex, Garden Trade News, Garden Radio, Gardenforum, Horticulture Week, CM Ventures, and Hornby Whitefoot PR with a handful of sponsorship opportunities still up for grabs - please contact GIMA to find out more. 

Book your place now!

With just short of 500 people in attendance, the 2022 event was one of the biggest yet and this year’s gala dinner is expected to sell out in record time. As a result GIMA is urging interested parties to secure their tickets now to avoid disappointment.

Prices for GIMA members: £339 + VAT per person, or £3,199 + VAT for a table of 10, whilst non-member costs are: Non-Members:  £409 + VAT per person, or £3,899 + VAT for a table of 10 (all costs include dinner and accommodation).

Find out more

For further information about GIMA and its wide range of member benefits, contact the GIMA Press Office on (01959) 564947 or info@gima.org.uk

Highfield Garden World (above) has picked up the Best Garden Centre Retailer of Greeting Cards (Independent) at the prestigious RETAS Greeting Card Retail Awards.

The winners were announced at an awards event on Thursday 6 July 2023 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

Longacres took the award for the Best Garden Centre Retailer of Greeting Cards (Multiple or Group).

Tim Armstrong from Highfield Garden World, said; “It is a huge honour for the team at Highfield to win this award, especially as we were up against some other outstanding garden centres in the UK. We work closely with both our buying group, Choice Marketing, and our card supplier Woodmansterne and our aim is to try and offer a fantastic display and selection of cards for all of our customers. We are delighted that Highfield, through Woodmansterne, has been recognised for all the hard work that has gone into this department."

Woodmansterne sales director Andy Paterson praised the Highfield team for the award, saying: “They are really passionate about cards and I saw how excited they were about winning. They just missed out last year by all accounts so to be even better a year on is fantastic. They’re such nice people and really deserve the recognition.”

The garden centre categories, winners and finalists are listed below:

Best Garden Centre Retailer of Greeting Cards – Independent
Winner:

Highfield Garden World, Whitminster

Finalists:

Bents, Warrington

Burford Garden Centre, Burford

Garsons, Esher and Titchfield

The Grange Garden Centre, Melton Mowbray

Stewarts, Broomhill, Christchurch and Titchfield

Best Garden Centre Retailer of Greeting Cards – Multiple or group

Winner:

Longacres, five centres in the south - Winner

Finalists:

Blue Diamond, 40+ centres nationwide

Haskins, five centres in the south

Klondyke/Strikes, 22 centres across the UK

Notcutts, 19 centres across the UK

RHS, five centres across the UK 

The Colegrave Seabrook Foundation is pleased to be awarding their Horticultural Research Scholarship by supporting two Plant Health Undergraduate Studentships 2023 through the Royal Society of Biology.

Funding for the support of these two projects, selected jointly by the Foundation’s Trustees, working with colleagues from the Horticultural Group of the Society of Chemical Industry, comes from the Colegrave Seabrook’s collaboration with The Crispa (Richard Cahn) Charitable Trust.  

Richard Cahn, the well known and highly respected figure in the horticultural business world is perhaps best remembered for creating Roundstone Nurseries and garden centre in West Sussex. However, his career in horticulture began soon after WW2 when he combined his passion for plants and innovation and established his Crispa Cress business. Crispa Cress were innovators in the salad product market, not only through growing new crops, but also how they were packaged and marketed. Richard’s family and friends have established a charitable trust to give financial support to various causes and, through this, are supporting the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation in their work to fund students studying aspects of horticulture, with particular emphasis on horticultural research. 

 Jeff Colegrave, Chair of Trustees at the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation said:

“This is the fourth year in succession we have supported the work of the Royal Society of Biology who coordinate some very valuable projects with potential implications for commercial horticulture. This year the two research projects we are supporting, one being run by Dr Matthew Tinsley at the University of Stirling is looking into the potential use of biostimulants to improve plant health through a plants’ resilience to enhance biocontrol efficacy. The other, being supervised by Dr Sandra Varga at the University of Lincoln is investigating how fungi improve plant health through developing the understanding entomopathogenic and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal interactions within the rhizosphere of plants.”

Mike Norris, Commercial Director of Newey Ltd.& Co and representing the The Crispa (Richard Cahn) Charitable Trust said:

“Richard was a very likeable person who had a real passion for Horticulture, the people within the industry and how to innovate to succeed. From his early days of growing crops, through his commercial plant production in Roundstone Nurseries, right through to the Roundstone Garden Centre, he was always passionate about developing innovative techniques that would improve production methods and growing standards as well as developing people. Therefore, it is very fitting that we can support this research programme through the family’s charitable trust, in memory of Richard.”

These Royal Society of Biology placements take place during the summer of 2023 and will be carried out by undergraduate students as part of their studies for a science based degree. The projects are a great way to for students to find out what it’s like to contribute to a real research project, gain valuable research experience and learn new skills to boost their CV and meet and work with scientists who can help with career development while carrying out ground-breaking horticultural research.

Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Writtle University College have announced a proposal to merge the two institutions.

The proposed merger will secure a long-term, sustainable future for Writtle, and unlock significant opportunities for growth and development by bringing together the two institutions’ strengths across education and research.

Now in its 130th year and located on the outskirts of Chelmsford, Writtle University College is one of the UK’s leading institutions for land-based studies.

It offers postgraduate, undergraduate, Further Education and short courses in the areas of agriculture and animal sciences, with students benefiting from a working farm, a specialist small animal unit and an equine centre based on campus. Writtle has also developed a range of degree programmes in applied life sciences, sport, and health subjects.

ARU’s campus in the heart of Chelmsford has grown strongly over recent years, and is now home to over 10,000 students, mainly studying a range of health, business, engineering, and law courses.  The campus houses the School of Medicine, one of the UK’s newest medical schools.

ARU’s academic expertise in fields including health sciences, animal science, sport science and sustainability will help to support and grow both education and research at Writtle, improving the experience and outcomes for students and creating opportunities for new courses.

The Writtle estate will operate under the campus name ARU Writtle, taking its place alongside ARU Chelmsford, ARU Cambridge, ARU Peterborough, and ARU London.  Writtle’s full range of Higher and Further Education courses will continue to be delivered on site, supported and enhanced by the wider resources of ARU.

Professor Roderick Watkins, Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “We are delighted to announce our intention to merge with Writtle University College. With our shared values, considerable resources and geographical proximity, we are uniquely positioned to sustain and build on Writtle University College’s excellent reputation and vision. I look forward to achieving sustained growth and continued success at both Higher Education and Further Education levels.”

ARU and Writtle University College are working together to produce a comprehensive implementation plan, and will be consulting widely with staff, students and stakeholders. Subject to the approval of education regulators, the two institutions intend to enter a legally binding agreement to proceed with the merger.

Professor Tim Middleton, Vice Chancellor of Writtle University College, said: “This proposed merger will provide a sustainable future for Further Education and Higher Education at the Writtle campus. It ensures continued provision of our specialist courses and a commitment to support the development of the estate for the benefit of students, staff, and the wider community. ARU has extensive expertise and resources, and is able to promote Writtle’s unique strengths to a wide, international audience.”

To support retailers with driving sales of firebaskets, chimeneas and firepits this summer, La Hacienda – part of the AMES Companies – has launched a special Easy Log sales promotion.

Taking place between 1st July 1st and 31st Aug, consumers need only spend £25 on qualifying La Hacienda products to receive a free pack of Easy Logs worth RRP £34.99.

Supported by instore signage at the point of sale to drive interest and convert more sales instore, all consumers have to do is visit www.lahacienda.co.uk/special-offer/ to redeem their free pack. A photo of the receipt noting the qualifying sale will be required*.

Nick Jones, Commercial Director at the AMES Companies, said: “Summer means longer nights and more reasons to stay out after dark. Consumers often turn to firepits, chimeneas and firebowls to take the edge of those chillier Great British evenings. Recognising this and wanting to support our retailers, we have launched our Easy Log sales promotion to entice even more customers. A low minimum qualifying spend has been identified to make this promotion accessible to the masses, and I’m sure we will see many convert from browsing to buying.”

Find out more

To find out more about La Hacienda’s extensive range of high-quality outdoor cooking, heating and garden décor products, please visit www.lahacienda.co.uk, where the latest product catalogue can also be downloaded.

To find out more about the AMES Companies family of brands please visit https://ames-uk.com/

*all Terms & Conditions can be found at www.lahacienda.co.uk/special-offer/

Perrywood Garden Centres won multiple awards at the Garden Centre Association (GCA) North Thames Regional Awards and walked away with both top accolades.

Perrywood Tiptree was named Best Destination Garden Centre in the region for the seventh time. Perrywood Sudbury picked up the title Garden Centre of the Year for the second time. Destination Garden Centres have a turnover of £4m or more, whilst Garden Centres have a turnover of less than £4m.

Perrywood Tiptree also came top in the region for:

• The Houseplants Award (Destination Garden Centre category)
• The Ruxley Rose Plant Area Award (Destination Garden Centre category)
• Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer (Destination Garden Centre category)
• Barton Grange Trophy – Commercial Innovation & Creativity (Destination Garden Centre category)
• The Environment and Sustainability Award

Perrywood Sudbury also came top in the region for:

• Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer (Garden Centre category)
• The GIMA Award – Best Garden Products Retailer (Garden Centre category)
• The Ruxley Rose Best Plant Area Award (Garden Centre Category) 

Simon Bourne, Retail Director at Perrywood, comments, "We are thrilled to have received numerous regional awards again this year. Our team at both Tiptree and Sudbury put in a great deal of effort to achieve such a high standard. These awards highlight all their hard work and creativity and it’s great to see this recognised. As always, we look forward to the national awards in January to find out where we are placed overall in the UK."

Members of the GCA in the North Thames region were given an unannounced inspection between March and June. Inspectors scored them across various criteria, from toilets and tills to sustainability and staffing. The awards are given to those in the region achieving the highest scores.

Perrywood Tiptree and Perrywood Sudbury were both announced as finalists for the Ruxley Rose Competition, which means they have one of the top ten scoring plant areas within Destination Garden Centres (Tiptree) and Garden Centres (Sudbury) in the UK. They will be inspected again in September. Joint scores from Spring & Autumn will be used to decide the overall winners, announced in January 2024.

The full results for the North Thames region GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

Garden Centre of the Year: Perrywood, Tiptree (DGC) and Perrywood, Sudbury (GC)

Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Ayletts Nurseries

Environment and Sustainability Award sponsored by Savills: Perrywood, Tiptree

The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: Perrywood, Tiptree

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Thurrock Garden Centre

The Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: Thetford Garden Centre (DGC) and Thurrock Garden Centre (GC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Thetford Garden Centre (DGC) and Perrywood, Sudbury (GC)

The Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Perrywood, Tiptree (DGC) and Perrywood, Sudbury (GC)

The Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Alton Garden Centre (DGC) and Stanway Garden Centre (GC)

Houseplants: Perrywood, Tiptree (DGC) and Webbs Milletts Farm (GC)

Plantaria (Ruxley Rose): Perrywood, Tiptree (DGC) and Perrywood, Sudbury (GC).

Wyevale Nurseries is this month offering a free downloadable peat free PDF advisory leaflet to trade customers seeking assistance with the changes to the law around peat usage.

Technical Specialist for the Hereford-based commercial grower, Harry Downes, who has been overseeing the nurseries’ peat-free plant trials, has helped put together the advice flyer.

Andy Johnson, Managing Director at Wyevale Nurseries, explains: “Thanks to Harry’s work with us, we’ve been able to produce a leaflet that people can download for free from our website to help them get to grips with going peat free.

“Earlier in 2023, we held our first retailers’ forum and this was one of the key topics discussed, as well as the associated implications and considerations with regards caring for plants ‘Grown in Peat Free Compost’, which is a marketing strapline we’re using now.

“As a result of this, we wanted to provide a guide for any of our current and future retail customers to give them advice about the changes in the law around peat usage and how it will impact them.

“But it’s not just the legal aspect to consider, consumers are also demanding plants in peat free compost and that’s happening now, so garden centres are increasingly looking to offer gardeners a peat free range.

“It’s also important for plantaria teams to know how they can best care for the plants grown in peat free compost, that they order from us, when they are delivered to their garden centres. These products are proving to be a very different from peat-based ones. It is crucial garden centres are offered support to ensure they understand how to look after plants in this new growing medium.

“Our flyer also gives plant retailers and garden centres some information about peat free plant production here at Wyevale Nurseries and features facts and figures around our production, and what we have learnt through our trials.

“We’ve also shared a number of opportunities available to help our customers to address queries their staff and any consumers/gardeners may have around this topic.”

In Wyevale Nurseries’ 2024 promotional catalogue, aimed at retailers and garden centres, the team has featured several plants now completely ‘Grown in Peat Free Compost’.

They include Digitalis purpurea Pam’s Choice, Digitalis Lucas, Perovskia Blue Spire, Echinacea SunSeekers – both Pink and Red, as well as Erigeron karvinskianus Sea of Blossom and Helenium autumnale Short and Sassy.

Wyevale Nurseries supplies garden centres, landscape contractors, local authorities, foresters and landowners with a comprehensive array of trees, shrubs, hedging, herbaceous and specimen plants.

For further details about Wyevale Nurseries, which is based in Hereford, please call 01432 845 200 or visit www.wyevalenurseries.co.uk. 

The GCA Garden Retail Online Workshops (GROW) e-Learning platform has introduced five new compliance-based e-Learning courses covering food safety and health & safety...

This launch is the first of three planned releases throughout 2023, which will see a total of sixteen e-Learning courses covering various food safety and health and safety topics added to GROW.

The GCA’s Instructional Designer for GROW, Antony Snow, says: “We are excited to be working on this with Opus Safety – one of the UK’s leading providers of safety training.

“The safety of our members’ employees and their customers is essential, and these courses, which have been tailored specifically for the garden centre industry, will provide comprehensive safety training that will enable employees to enhance their skills, improve their safety practices, and help to create a safe working environment.”

The new courses are as follows:

Food Safety

1. Food Hygiene Essentials
2. Allergen Awareness

Health & Safety

1. Legionella Awareness
2. COSHH Awareness
3. Working at Height

The GCA’s GROW modules cover a range of valuable topics to help employees gain knowledge and confidence in products and services to provide customers with the best service and advice.

Peter Burks, GCA Chief Executive, explains: “We are always working on developing GROW and increasing our offering to cover topics our members need. GROW is designed to help improve an individual’s knowledge so they can assist others in the workplace, whether colleagues or customers. Many members have told us how effective it is in giving their staff confidence while providing essential education and training for them too.

“It’s available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, so personnel can use it when it suits them. It’s a cost-effective way of delivering training and personal development, which enhances the customer experience when visiting a garden centre, and this benefits everyone.”

GROW started as an initial idea, thought up during a strategy meeting of the GCA’s executive committee, to bring education and training tailored to individuals employed in the garden centre industry.

It is a self-funding and non-profit making facility with any surpluses being reinvested into the ongoing development and improvement of GCA GROW. Currently there are 110 modules and more than 12,000 users throughout the UK.

These modules include a wide range of topics that cover horticulture, customer service, food safety, regulated sales and health and safety.

The accredited food safety and health and safety topics are categorised as either level one or two.

All the modules have been written by experts in their field and are designed to apply to a garden centre environment, with the content for the horticultural modules drawing on the vast experience of members within the GCA.

Peter adds: “Garden centres interested in signing up to GROW can find out more on our website www.gca.org.uk/gca-grow-information or email grow@gca.org.uk.”

The new courses are available immediately to existing subscribers and the GROW e-Learning facility is available to GCA member garden centres, as well as to Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) garden centre members too.

The GCA represents more than 200 garden centres nationwide.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

For further information, please visit www.gca.org.uk.

There’s still time to get a heads up and see more than 200 new annuals and perennials at the Ball Summer Showcase that could be gracing planterias in 2024.

Running on selected dates until 27 July, at Ball’s HQ and trials ground in Banbury, Oxon, it’s the place to see retail concepts and ideas, around 2,000 experimental varieties that could become new introductions and hear a talk at 11am by Stuart Lowen, Ball’s Marketing Manager, on plants for the future.

Stuart warmly welcomes retail buyers, planteria managers and teams to come along with or without their growers to see the plants for themselves to help them make decisions about plant sales in 2024. Alongside the many annuals which the company is famed for, is an increasing selection of perennials (the fastest growing category), including the cobolt blue Agapanthus ‘Starry Night’, succulents and now houseplants.

The Ball Summer Showcase

18-20 July

25-27 July

9am-5pm

Ball, Milton Road, West Adderbury, Banbury, Oxon. OX17 3EY

01295 811833

Ballcolegrave.co.uk 

Wyevale Nurseries is sponsoring five of the ‘Sensory Long Border’ designs at the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Flower Show at Tatton Park this year.

Many of the designs have been put together by final year Landscape Architect students from the University of Gloucestershire. 

Ian Wright, Commercial Sales Director at Wyevale Nurseries, explains: “The students visited us last year when we put on an open day for them. Then, earlier this year, they got in touch again to share their ideas for their show designs. We invited them to come in and select plants to use and we’re delighted with the results.

“The Sensory Long Border offers an exciting opportunity for designers, gardeners and horticultural students to showcase their creativity, inspire visitors and potentially earn a prestigious RHS medal too.

“One of the designers, Sarah Marsh, had a chat with us when she visited and she explained that the plants from her group design, with Shereen Khatoon-Jaan Din and Imogen Reeves, which is called ‘Staying in touch with the garden’, will be donated to the Hospice of the Good Shepherd in Chester after the show.”

‘Staying in touch with the garden’ has been created to engage every generation in a sensory experience and to inspire and show families just how everyone can use the garden together at home.

It’s hoped younger visitors will be attracted to the playful forms in the border, including the dynamic nature of grasses, as well as a melodious colour gradient sweeping along the border, running from orange to purple.

The sense of touch will be further engaged through the abacus trail, which weaves between tactile, edible and scented edging plants.

Sarah says: “The reason we wanted to use plants from Wyevale Nurseries is that during our second year studying landscape architecture, Wyevale treated us to a day out at their nursery, they showed us around, shared lots of valuable information and gave us the opportunity to put into practice a lot of what we had learned in our lectures.

“Being able to physically see how many plants fit into a square metre was really insightful. In our third year, we were able to apply this information to our RHS long-border submission and now we have been successful, it will be great to showcase Wyevale’s plants at the 2023 RHS Tatton Show too.”

As well as Sarah and her group, among the other successful garden submissions and students taking part that have been sponsored by Wyevale Nurseries are:

• A Pocket of Peace – designed by Daniel March, Hallie Abbott Trangmar & Adam Rowley
• The Garden of Vivacity – designed by Anne Watson, Caitlin Lewis & Una Nolan
• Coastal Whisper – designed by Mia Thompstone, Joseph Parker & Henry Monnington.

Ian adds: “There is another entry in this section called ‘Forager’s Haven’ by David Cockburn and James Hill, this is not part of the University of Gloucestershire group, but we’re delighted to have also supplied some plants for this one too.

“We’d like to wish everyone all the best for the show and are looking forward to hearing all about it after the event and finding out just what these wonderful designs achieved and how they were received by the general public. Good luck everyone!”

Wyevale Nurseries’ product selection is envied across the industry and the talented team regularly introduces new, award-winning plant varieties.

Its main business is to supply garden centres, landscape contractors, local authorities, foresters and landowners with a comprehensive array of trees, shrubs, hedging, herbaceous and specimen plants.

For further details about Wyevale Nurseries, which is based in Hereford, please call 01432 845 200 or visit www.wyevalenurseries.co.uk.

EGO Power Plus, a technology leader in high-performance cordless outdoor power equipment, has further extended its telescopic tool range.

EGO’s PS1000E Telescopic Pole Saw, with a recommended retail price of £509, gives contractors and home gardeners a viable all-electric tool with a host of benefits. This lightweight telescopic pole saw reaches lengths of 4m when fully extended, allowing for quick and easy tree maintenance without the need for ladders. Designed with the motor at the head of the tool, for improved balance and ergonomics as well as cut accuracy.

Vince Brauns, Group Product Manager at EGO, said: “Our new Telescopic Pole Saw represents a step change in the power, precision, and performance of cordless pole saws. With over a decade dedicated to cordless outdoor power equipment, we understand the run time and capabilities required in this sector – and with the PS1000E we’re delivering a telescopic pole saw that exceeds expectations.”

With a 25cm bar and chain speeds of up to 20m/s, the EGO Telescopic Pole Saw cuts through high branches with ease. The lightweight, sturdy, carbon fibre shaft makes it easy to handle while helping to keep cuts accurate – further enhanced by the LED cutting guides. Other productivity-boosting features include tool-free chain tensioning and pole telescoping. Storage is also made easy as the cutting head and shaft attach to the tool via a connector, meaning the Pole Saw is more compact when not in use.

For work on trees that requires additional reach, EGO Power Plus is also introducing the EP1000 extension pole as an optional extra with an RRP of just £89. This 1m long carbon fibre extension pole is made of the same carbon fibre, maintaining rigidity while also being lightweight. The tool-free connectivity ensures that the user can quickly and easily attach and detach the extension pole as needed.

The PS1000E Telescopic Pole Saw is part of the EGO Power Plus Professional range of cordless gardening tools, specifically designed to make light work of larger garden maintenance tasks. Every tool in this range is powerful, hard-wearing and robust, intended to power through tougher tasks and work for longer periods than standard domestic gardening applications.

EGO is a true pioneer in battery powered outdoor power equipment. Like all EGO products, the new Pole Saw uses EGO’s 56V ARC Lithium™ battery, that works across the entire EGO range. EGO’s batteries deliver the industry’s highest energy capacity. Its performance surpasses the competition mechanically, chemically and electrically. Each battery features EGO’s unique KeepCool™ technology, intelligent power management, fast recharge and a host of other innovations designed to deliver convenience, quality and reliability.

Furthermore, EGO Power+ Professional products come with two-year battery and tool warranties when registered within 30 days of purchase.

The PSE1000E Telescopic Pole Saw is available now with an RRP £509.00. For further details visit https://egopowerplus.co.uk/products/telescopic/ps1000e#full_description

The EP1000 extension pole has an RRP of just £89.00 and further details can be found at https://egopowerplus.co.uk/products/telescopic/ep1000#full_description

Discover the full range at: https://egopowerplus.co.uk/

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Daniel Maskew, whose previous role was with Boningale Nurseries, has joined one of the UK’s leading commercial growers as its Amenity Sales Executive.

In his new position at Wyevale Nurseries, which is based in Hereford, Daniel will be managing several key amenity accounts, pricing works and negotiating orders.

The 33-year-old, who comes from Perton near Wolverhampton, says: “I’m delighted to be joining Wyevale Nurseries. The opportunity to work with a nursery of such prestigiousness is hugely exciting. I look forward to supplementing an already experienced and knowledgeable sales team with my further 15 plus years of horticultural experience and commercial awareness.”

Daniel was previously employed by Boningale Nurseries as its Sales Manager and also spent four years there as a Sales Executive.

Ian Wright, Commercial Sales Director at Wyevale Nurseries, explains: “We’re delighted to welcome Daniel on board. He has a plethora of complimentary experiences gained throughout his career so far in the horticultural industry. He joins us in very challenging but exciting times and we look forward to him getting stuck in. His role will include bring in potential new customers and building upon our current, already exceptional, customer base.”

Daniel’s career to date has included spending more than 10 years in retail, managing a family-run garden centre. He also has two years commercial nursery, hands-on, experience including propagating, growing and husbandry.

To add to this, he has around five years amenity sales experience including most recently managing a sales team of four. He also has Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Level 1, 2 & 3 qualifications.

Daniel, who has been married for 10 years and has two young daughters, adds: “In my spare time I like to be outdoors as much as possible. I am a very keen allotment holder and plant enthusiast. When I am not tending my plot, I enjoy fell, trail and, occasionally, road running. I’m a club member at Wolves & Bilston AC and enjoy hiking with my family, particularly in the Lake District and North Wales.”

Wyevale Nurseries’ product selection is envied across the industry and the talented team regularly introduces new, award-winning plant varieties.

Its main business is to supply garden centres, landscape contractors, local authorities, foresters and landowners with a comprehensive array of trees, shrubs, hedging, herbaceous and specimen plants.

For further details about Wyevale Nurseries, which is based in Hereford, please call 01432 845 200 or visit www.wyevalenurseries.co.uk.

Burg-Wächter, Germany’s security specialist, has appointed Hannah Shaw as Content & Marketing Assistant, giving a real boost of talent to their UK headquarters.

A student of Business with Marketing, Hannah applied to the role after leaving Manchester Metropolitan University. Her creative flair – she loves making jewellery in her spare time – and enthusiasm bring a fresh wave of talent to the leading security specialist, which is allowing her to quickly build her skills in a variety of areas such as product photography and video, marketing communications and graphic design.

Hannah said: "At Burg-Wächter I have had the opportunity to learn about graphic design and photography, which is great as it means my tasks are varied. I’m looking forward to learning more and building my skillset with Burg-Wachter."

Matt Parkes, Marketing Manager at Burg-Wächter said: "Hannah’s very passionate about her job and has a bright future ahead of her. We look forward to having her on the team.”

For information on Burg-Wächter’s range of home security products, visit www.burg.biz/uk or call 01274 395 333.

The Garden Media Guild Awards – also lovingly known as the gardening ‘Oscars’ - are back, and this year the awards roster has seen some changes in a move to ensure that they best reflect the ever-changing garden media landscape. 

Writers, photographers, broadcasters and social media influencers from across the industry are invited to enter, with new awards ensuring a warm welcome for everyone from newcomers to established voices. This is your chance to celebrate and promote your work. In fact, entering an award can help you re-evaluate and benchmark your work, with shortlisted entries often seeing their careers transformed as a result of the exposure the awards can provide.  

Mike Palmer, Chair of the Garden Media Guild, said: “There is no question that the media landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade, and our awards – like any other awards that celebrate its media - need to reflect these exciting changes. Our updated roster now encompasses a much wider pool of talent, and I believe we are on track to deliver the most relevant awards possible.”

All the changes have been carefully considered and debated within the Garden Media Guild committee and are the result of discussion over several Zoom meetings. The participants were originally Mike Palmer, Alexandra Campbell, Chris Young, Lexi Gee, Anisa Gress, Stephen Studd and Barbara Segall.

WHAT ARE THE NEW CATEGORIES AND WHY WERE THEY CHOSEN?

Garden Video of the Year (sponsored by Charles Dowding) replaces the ‘Vlog of the Year’ and means that the Roy Lancaster Award can be dedicated solely to professional filmmakers. Video has represented the biggest single growth area of the media in the past 10 years, so it felt logical to ensure that the GMG Awards were reflective of this.  

Digital Gardening Writer of the Year (sponsored by Honda) replaces Blog of the Year and includes the new growth area of newsletters (e.g. Substack) and other online garden writing (e.g. the digital versions of magazines and newspapers).

Social Media Communicator of the Year has been divided into two awards:  Individual Social Media Influencer of the Year (sponsored by Thompson & Morgan) and Brand Social Media Influencer of the Year (sponsored by The Garden Press Event), the latter a result of the 2022 award entries which saw an influx of brands using GMG members to supply the content and going beyond publicising their brand to create genuinely good gardening content. With many other media awards acknowledging the creativity of brands in using social media to educate and inform generally, now felt like the right time for the GMG Awards to do the same. It’s also worth noting that it is both difficult and unfair to judge individuals against brands, as the aims and resources can differ greatly, hence the need for two categories.

WHICH CATEGORIES HAVE REMAINED THE SAME?

Whilst changes are afoot, rest assured that many of our most beloved and coveted award categories remain the same. Those returning in their expected form are The Peter Seabrook Practical Book of the Year (sponsored by Gardena), The Garden Book of the Year (sponsored by STIHL), The Garden Publication of the Year (sponsored by Johnsons Lawn Seed), Practical Journalist of the Year (sponsored by Cobra), Gordon Rae Photographer of the Year, Features Photographer of the Year, Portfolio Photographer of the Year, The Radio Broadcast or Podcast of the Year (sponsored by the HTA) and The Alan Titchmarsh New Talent Award (sponsored by Miracle-Gro).

There may be a few alterations in the wording describing them or on the entry forms to make categories clearer.

WHICH CATEGORIES HAVE GONE?

After much deliberation, it has been decided that the Website of the Year and Cover of the Year have been removed from the awards roster in 2023. This is due to the low number of entries. A good website is now easy to achieve, and Cover of the Year only applies to books and magazines, which are a much smaller proportion of the media than they used to be. Additionally, it is difficult to judge book and magazine covers against each other.

The’ Blog or Vlog of the Year’ has also been replaced by new categories. It used to work as a category because both were early new media platforms and were usually based on personal stories. Now they have diverged, become more professional and are too different to be compared to each other fairly in a judging process.

Journalist of the Year has also been cut as it duplicates the Dr David Hessayon and Practical Journalist of the Year awards.

This means we were able to introduce new categories that reflect the media platforms of today, offering members more options to win awards.

UPDATED CATEGORIES

The Beth Chatto Environmental Journalist of the Year is now The Beth Chatto Environmental Award (sponsored by the Beth Chatto Foundation) to reflect that those entering may not be strictly ‘journalists’. Instead, they could be working across several media, including visual ones.

The Lifetime Achievement Award has been renamed The Outstanding Contribution Award (sponsored by Westland). ‘Outstanding contribution’ has always been in the wording of the Award, and removing the word ‘lifetime’ eliminates any kind of age discrimination.

The Roy Lancaster Broadcast of the Year is now for professional film and TV programmes only, transmitted via a national TV channel or global streaming platform, not YouTube videos. The judges said it was too difficult to judge one or two-person productions against a professional team.

The Dr David Hessayon Garden Writer of the Year is the new reiteration of the ‘Columnist of the Year’, updated as the committee felt that ‘columnist’ was a confusing term and not as relevant for today’s media.

Find out more

To find out more about the Garden Media Guild Awards 2023, including sponsorship opportunities and to book your tickets to this year’s event, please visit www.gardenmediaguild.co.uk/awards

The 75th AIPH Annual Congress, a milestone event for the organisation, will be held in Suncheon, Republic of Korea, on 17-21 September 2023.

Established in 1948, the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) has been supporting the horticultural industry for 75 years. Currently, AIPH represents 41 full members and 38 affiliate members around the globe.

The 75th Annual Congress will take place alongside the 2023 Suncheonman International Garden Expo. With the theme ‘We Live In The Garden’, the Expo aims to connect the National Garden to the City Centre, bringing its citizens closer to nature. Delegates of the Congress will be taken on a VIP tour of the Expo site.

Included in the Congress schedule is the Horticultural Industry Conference, which will cover four subjects: ornamental horticulture in the Republic of Korea, environmental footprinting, sustainable growing media, and sustainability. With the support of Headline Sponsor Biblo and Gold Sponsors Royal FloraHolland and MPS, the Conference will welcome high-level speakers including:

• Mr. Heo Changgak of the Korea Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, RoK
• Mr. Lim Yuktaek, President of KFA (Korea Florist Association) and KOFLAS Korea Federation of Flower-Related Associations), RoK
• Mr. Song Junho, Chief of Agriculture Cooperation Youngho, RoK
• Mr. Albert Haasnoot of Royal FloraHolland, the Netherlands
• Mr. Edmund Timm of MPS, the Netherlands
• Mr. Martin Brijs of Palmstead Nurseries and HTA, UK

The Congress will also feature the AIPH International Expo Conference where organisers of AIPH approved events will present their progress reports. Delegates will receive updates from two A1 category World Horticultural Exhibitions: Expo 2023 Doha Qatar and The World Horticultural Exhibition Yokohama 2027 (Japan). There will be also be progress reports concerning AIPH approved B category International Horticultural Exhibitions and C category International Horticultural Shows.

A Green City Conference and insightful tours of key green city locations in Suncheon are planned for the 20th September – more details will be confirmed in the coming weeks. Finally, the Congress concludes with visits in the local area.

For more information and register your interest, please visit the AIPH Website.

Staff at garden centres across the Wales & West region are celebrating after scooping awards during a Garden Centre Association (GCA) presentation evening at Cadbury Garden Centre last night (Thursday, July 6, 2023).

The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (above) was awarded the title of Garden Centre of the Year in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category and Pugh’s Garden Village, Wenvoe (below) received the accolade in the Garden Centre (GC) category.

Peter Burks, GCA CEO, said: “Our Wales & West regional awards meeting was a huge success and I’d like to thank all those who attended. It was great to hear our GCA Inspector, Phil McCann’s feedback from his inspections of the centres. Now our members can take this vital information back with them to their centres and hand out the praise and make any changes needed too.

“A big ‘thank you’ must also go to Cadbury Garden Centre at Congresbury near Bristol. The team there were fantastic hosts for the evening.”

Phil was responsible for inspecting member garden centres in the Wales & West area across a 12-week period where he made unannounced visits.

He said: “The standard of garden centres in Wales & West is outstanding, proving that the best garden centres are clearly GCA members. From my visits, it is apparent that customers are extremely well cared for by knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff, who love the work they are doing for their local community.”

As well as it’s Garden Centre of the Year in the DGC category win, The Old Railway Line Garden Centre scooped six other awards on the night.

Finance Director, Huw Lewis from The Old Railway Line Garden Centre said: “We’re over the moon to have won against other great garden centres in the Wales & West area that are all continuing to improve every year. We could not have done this without the support and hard work of our amazing team, and we thank them for their undying commitment.”

As well as Wenvoe being named as Garden Centre of the Year in the GC category, Pugh’s Garden Village, Wenvoe and Pugh’s Radyr also amassed many other awards on the night too.

Nicola Pugh, Director, said: “We are exceptionally proud of our team and all the hard work and dedication that they have put it. We would like to thank them all for their never-ending commitment and enthusiasm. We’re proud to be part of the GCA and our fantastic industry.”

The full results for the Wales & West region GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

Garden Centre of the Year: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (DGC) and Pugh’s Garden Village, Wenvoe (GC)

Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

Environment and Sustainability Award sponsored by Savills: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Pugh’s Radyr

The Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: joint winners The Old Railway Line Garden Centre and Pugh’s Radyr (DGC) and Pugh’s Garden Village, Wenvoe (GC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (DGC) and Pugh’s Garden Village, Wenvoe (GC)

The Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Pugh’s Radyr (DGC) and Pugh’s Garden Village, Wenvoe (GC)

The Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Pugh’s Radyr (DGC) and Pugh’s Garden Village, Wenvoe (GC)

Houseplants: Whitehall Garden Centre, Lacock (DGC) and Pugh’s Garden Village, Wenvoe (GC)

Plantaria (Ruxley Rose): The Old Railway Line Garden Centre (DGC) and Orchard Park Garden Centre (GC).

The GCA represents more than 200 garden centres nationwide.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

For further information, please visit www.gca.org.uk.

Destination Garden Centre of the Year went to Ruxley Manor (above) and the Garden Centre of the Year Award was presented to Coolings Wych Cross (below) at the South Thames GCA region during a presentation evening yesterday (Tuesday, July 4, 2023) at Castle Gardens in Dorset.

Dwayne Ross, Managing Director at Coolings said: “This is an amazing achievement for the whole team. Being such a plant-based business, we are delighted to have been recognised.”

Andrew Evans Managing Director at Ruxley Manor Garden Centre said: “This is a fantastic win for Ruxley Manor and we’re absolutely delighted to have won. We would like to thank the entire team for their continued hard work and commitment that made this win possible.”

The full results for the South Thames region GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

Garden Centre of the Year: Ruxley Manor Garden Centre (DGC) and Coolings Wych Cross (GC)

Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Coolings Nurseries

Environment and Sustainability Award sponsored by Savills: Millbrook Garden Company, Gravesend

The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: Ruxley Manor Garden Centre

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Thompson Plants and Garden Welling

The Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: Ruxley Manor Garden Centre (DGC) and Knights Plant Centre, Betchworth (GC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Stewarts Garden Centre, Christchurch (DGC) and Squires Garden Centre, Woking (GC)

The Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Ruxley Manor Garden Centre (DGC) and Knights Plant Centre, Betchworth (GC)

The Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Garsons Garden Centre, Esher (DGC) and Canterbury Garden Centre (GC) 

Houseplants: Ransoms Garden Centre (DGC) and Knights Plant Centre, Betchworth (GC)

Best Planteria (Ruxley Rose): Joint DGC winners are Coolings Nurseries and Newbridge Nurseries (DGC) and Thompson Plants and Garden Welling (GC).

Peter Burks, CEO at the GCA, said: “Our first regional awards meeting of the year was a great success and it was fantastic to see 102 attendees all actively engaged in the presentations and taking down lots of notes to share with the rest of their teams afterwards.

“I’d like to congratulate all our very worthy winners and give a big ‘thank you’ to everyone at Castle Gardens in Sherborne, which is part of The Gardens Group, for being such wonderful hosts and to Gordon Emslie for inspecting the centres and presenting his findings in such an engaging way. Also, this year we’re delighted to announce that we’ve introduced a new award for houseplants too.

“We also did a Best Planteria award on the night and will do the same at every award event this summer, as although the top 10 highest scorers get a second visit to determine who wins the overall Ruxley Rose competition, which is announced at our conference in January, the area winners haven’t been recognised in previous years.”

Gordon Emslie inspected 57 garden centres in the region within a 12-week period.  He said: “The overall operational consistency witnessed, along with excellent retail standards, was fantastic. You can visibly see centres using the inspection process to develop their businesses. The result was that more than 70% of centres achieved the ‘highly commended’ award for scoring 75% or over. Overall great centres, delivering excellent customer service and being inspirational and creative for shoppers.”

The GCA represents more than 200 garden centres nationwide and helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability through sharing information and its inspection programme.

For further information, please visit www.gca.org.uk.

Members of the Garden Centre Association in the Midlands region are celebrating after receiving awards during a presentation evening this week (Wednesday, July 5, 2023) at Gates Garden Centre.

The title of Garden Centre of the Year in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category was awarded to Webbs of Wychbold (above) and the Garden Centre (GC) category award went to Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne.

Peter Burks, CEO at the GCA, said: “Our second regional awards meeting of the summer was a great success. We’d like to say a huge ‘congratulations’ to all of our winners, they all thoroughly deserve the recognition and are a testament to us. We’re also very grateful to the team at Gates Garden Centre in Leicestershire for hosting our event this time around. They were marvellous hosts!

“On behalf of all the attendees we’d like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to our inspector, Phil McCann, for visiting each centre and providing extensive feedback on what he found. This really was invaluable to our members and is one of the main benefits of our membership.

“New for 2023, we’ve introduced an award for houseplants. We also did a Best Planteria award on the night and will do the same at every award event this summer, as although the top 10 highest scorers get a second visit to determine who wins the overall Ruxley Rose competition, which is announced at our conference in January, the area winners haven’t been recognised in previous years.”

Phil conducted surprise visits to centres across a 12-week period.

The full results for the Midlands region GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

Garden Centre of the Year: Webbs of Wychbold (DGC) and Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne (GC)

Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Gates Garden Centre

Environment and Sustainability Award sponsored by Savills: Planters Garden Centre, Tamworth

The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: Webbs of Wychbold

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Stratford Garden Centre

The Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: Webbs of Wychbold (DGC) and Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne (GC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Planters Garden Centre, Tamworth (DGC) and Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne (GC)

The Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Gates Garden Centre (DGC) and Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne (GC)

The Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: East Bridgford Garden Centre (DGC) and Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne (GC)

Houseplants: Webbs of Wychbold (DGC) and Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne (GC)

Best Planteria (Ruxley Rose): Pacific Nurseries (DGC) and Fairways Garden Centre, Ashbourne (GC).

For further information, visit www.gca.org.uk.

Klondyke won the Garden Centre categories in both North East and North West regions.

Garden Centre Association (GCA) members across the North East and North West had plenty to cheer about yesterday (Wednesday, July 5) after picking up a bevvy of awards during a presentation at Tingley Garden Centre.

The North East’s Garden Centre of the Year in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category was Cowell’s Garden Centre (above) with Klondyke Beverley Garden Centre in the Garden Centre (GC) category. In the North West, Bents Garden and Home, below, (DGC) and Klondyke Wilmslow Garden Centre (GC) received the accolades.

Peter Burks, CEO at the GCA, said: “It was great to see so many members and their teams in attendance at our regional awards meeting this year. They were really paying close attention to our inspector, Colin Farquahar’s feedback and listening to what he had to say. Now is the optimum time for our members to take his comments on board, relay them to the rest of their teams, to accentuate all the positives and work on any changes that may be needed too. Thank you also to Tingley Garden Centre for hosting us too. It was great to visit the garden centre and meet the team.”

Colin visited member garden centres in the North East and North West across a 12-week period to reach his findings.

He said: “The operational standards within the centres in the North East and North West during this year’s inspection window was truly outstanding with teams ensuring that customers received the best service possible. It was evident from the inspections that winning the coveted awards was a motivating factor for many to go above and beyond on a daily basis, it was a pleasure to inspect in this environment.”

The full results for the North East and North West region GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

North East

Garden Centre of the Year: Cowell’s Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Beverley Garden Centre (GC)

Best Customer Service: Klondyke Stokesley Garden Centre

Environment and Sustainability Award sponsored by Savills: Klondyke Stokesley Garden Centre

The Barton Grange Trophy for Innovation and Creativity: Cowell’s Garden Centre

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: British Garden Centres, Arcadia

The Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: Tong Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Beverley Garden Centre (GC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Klondyke Stokesley Garden Centre (DGC) and Moss and Moor (GC)

The Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Klondyke Stokesley Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Garforth Garden Centre (GC)

The Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Tong Garden Centre (DGC) and Moss and Moor (GC)

Houseplants: Cowell’s Garden Centre (DGC) and joint GCs Klondyke Garforth Garden Centre and Klondyke Beverley Garden Centre (GC)

Plantaria (Ruxley Rose): Cowell’s Garden Centre (DGC) and Langlands Garden Centre, Leeds (GC)

North West

Garden Centre of the Year: Bents Garden and Home (DGC) and Klondyke Wilmslow Garden Centre (GC)

Best Customer Service: Fron Goch Garden Centre

Environment and Sustainability Award sponsored by Savills: Bents Garden and Home

The Barton Grange Trophy for Innovation and Creativity: Bents Garden and Home

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Klondyke Houghton Hall Garden Centre

The Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant: Bents Garden and Home (DGC) and joint GC winners Klondyke Holland Arms Garden Centre, Klondyke Brookside Garden Centre and Klondyke Lady Green Garden Centre (GC)

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Joint DGC winners Bents Garden and Home and Barton Grange Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Astbury Meadow Garden Centre (GC)

The Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Gordale Garden Centre (DGC) and RHS Bridgewater Plant Centre and Shop (GC)

The Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Bents Garden and Home (DGC) and Klondyke Astbury Meadow Garden Centre (GC)

Houseplants: Hayes Garden Centre (DGC) and RHS Bridgewater Plant Centre and Shop (GC)

Plantaria (Ruxley Rose): Fron Goch Garden Centre (DGC) and Klondyke Lady Green Garden Centre (GC).

For further information, please visit www.gca.org.uk.

Eight brave adventurers took to the skies, soaring over the Cotswolds countryside to not only make memories but more importantly to raise money for the Greenfingers charity.

Taking on the challenge of the Greenfingers wingwalk were Phillippa Stubbs from British Garden Centres, AMES’ Lukasz Kulisa, Katy Thompson, Luke Misseldine, Sam Jarvis and Poppy Jarvis from STV International, SBM’s Lowri Walker and Hornby Whitefoot PR’s Kimberley Hornby, who together had raised over £9,000, with even more sponsorship expected to roll in over the coming days.

Climbing aboard the wings of the WWII 1940’s Boeing Stearman biplane, these intrepid voyagers swooped, turned and flew across the skies of the beautiful Cotswold countryside, with each being encouraged on by the sounds of friends and family who had come to cheerlead. 

Back for her second airborne adventure was Lowri Walker from SBM who bravely returned to not only complete the wingwalk experience once again but to also go one step further by completing the loop the loop experience! Facing speeds of up to 180mph and reaching heights of almost 3,000ft, Lowri was set to draw the day to a close with her amazing aerobatic skills, however joining in the fun was Sam Jarvis who buzzing from his first wing walk also tackled the loop the loop for an amazing double showcase of bravery!

Further boosting morale on the day was a special cheque presentation from British Garden Centres, who handed over a fantastic £22,000 to the Greenfingers charity. This money was raised during a year of fundraising throughout its 62 stores which included activities to support Garden Re-Leaf Day, plus raffles, bake sales, sponsored walks and cycles rides, and marathons.

To support the wingwalkers are the expert pilots for AeroSuperBatics which are helping fulfil this worthy cause. On arrival at RFC Rendcomb Airfield, all participants had a safety briefing before stepping into a fly suit and taking aboard the top of the historic biplane. The roar of the planes 450hp Pratt & Whitney engine, which happens to be the largest and most powerful engine operated in the UK for wingwalking, started with the propeller hitting speeds of up to 760mph. The plane dipped, zoomed, dived and turned challenging these courageous souls.

Talking on the day, Poppy Jarvis said: “Greenfingers Charity is such an amazing and deserving charity. The work they do for hospices is just incredible and so worthy, which is why I feel honoured to have been involved in raising money to help towards the amazing spaces they create. What’s more, what an incredible way to raise money by “walking the wing”. The day was a memory I will hold forever! Greenfingers, and all the other fundraisers and spectators there were so involved and supportive to all doing this adrenaline fuelled activity. It felt like a family! Thank you Greenfingers for giving me the opportunity to help make life a little better for children and their families in hospices.”

Sam Jarvis added: “I thought the wingwalk was a great opportunity to do something for a really great cause that’s going to help make a big difference to lots of people’s lives.  It was a small thing I could do that meant Greenfingers could make a big difference to many people, plus it was a day that I will never forget!”

Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising & Communications at Greenfingers, said: “Every time our supporters go out there to raise funds for Greenfingers I think they couldn’t out do themselves but time and time again they do. I am endlessly in awe of everyone who takes the time to shout about Greenfingers, so taking to the skies to do so is just superb!  Thank you to everyone that participated, to those that donated and to those that helped make the day itself such an unforgettable experience. I truly couldn’t ask for a better team to support this charity”

There is still time to show your support for the 2023 Greenfingers Wingwalkers. Simply visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/wingwalk23.

Find out more

Further information regarding the Greenfingers Charity can be found at www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk. You can also join in the conversation by joining Greenfingers on social media - https://www.facebook.com/Greenfingerscharity/, @GreenfingersCha on Twitter, and @Greenfingerscharity on Instagram and LinkedIn. 

British Garden Centres has presented Greenfingers Charity, with a cheque for £22,000 following a year of fund-raising at its 62 stores across the UK.

From British Garden Centres’ popular companywide Garden Re-Leaf fundraising days, raffles, bake sales, sponsored walks and cycles to marathons, everyone at the UK’s largest family-run group got behind Greenfingers Charity this year.  Director, Philippa Stubbs was delighted to present the charity’s Director of Fundraising and Communications, Linda Petronswith a substantial cheque at the Greenfingers Wing Walk in Gloucestershire.

Established in 1999, Greenfingers is a national charity dedicated to designing and creating magical, therapeutic gardens in children’s hospices across the UK. To date, they have created almost 70  garden spaces which provide a place where life-limited children, their siblings, families and carers can enjoy the therapeutic benefits of spending time outside and being close to nature.

Phillipa’s wing walk was fuelled with adrenaline-filled excitement as she took to the skies of Gloucestershire, soaring high above the countryside aboard the wings of a Stearman bi-plane with her family watching in awe below.  She said of the experience: “The wing walking challenge was a truly exhilarating and terrifying experience all in one. There were eight of us in all from all areas in the industry and we supported each other through the day. 

“The garden retail sector brings amazing things to Greenfingers Charity and they in turn do create amazing gardens in children’s hospices across the breadth of the UK. Anything we can do to make this easier really is our pleasure and is truly humbling to do.  Every moment of relief or pleasure these gardens bring to the families who turn to  hospices in their hardest times makes these fundraising events worthwhile.”

Amy Stubbs, Development and Project Manager at British Garden Centres said: “We are proud to be supporting Greenfingers Charity, an organisation that is very close to our hearts that does such vital work. The help that Greenfingers offers to children suffering from a range of challenging conditions highlights the incredible value that magical gardens and outdoor spaces add to people’s lives and, yet again, the BGC teams across the country astounded us with the variety of fundraising feats they undertook.”

Linda Petrons of Greenfingers Charity said: “We are overwhelmed by the way Phillippa, Amy and the entire British Garden Centre team have really got behind the charity once again this year behalf of us all at Greenfingers, I would like to say a huge thank you for putting the FUN into FUNdraising and for helping us to ensure more life-limited children and their families will be able to enjoy precious time outside in Greenfingers gardens, gardens in which many precious family memories will be created.”

Notcutts St Albans is one of many Fordingbridge steel framed, opal 60 sheeted canopies installed across the garden centre chain of sites, designed to encompass consistent branding specifications whilst providing protective solutions to their customers as they shop around the store.

This twin span canopy spanning 468m2 allows for much needed light intrusion for the plant sales displays to thrive year-round, resulting in an increased number of customers leading to effective return on investment.

This structure was designed in-house with Fordingbridge’s team of technical design experts, with efficient installation durations for minimal disruption to the outdoor sales space on site.

Discover more Fordingbridge Garden Centre canopies at Fordingbridge.co.uk, or alternatively give them a call on 01243 554455 to discuss your canopy and walkway requirements.

Case study link: https://www.fordingbridge.co.uk/case-studies/notcutts-st-albans/

Honeyfield's, a leading provider of high-quality wild bird care, announces the launch of their new suet treat range, designed to provide wild birds with a carefully formulated, nutritious food source all year round.

Honeyfield's New Suet Range stands out due to its exceptional quality and carefully selected ingredients and is available in two different flavours. The Insect & Mealworm flavour is specially formulated with a blend of natural ingredients, including high-protein insects and dried mealworms, to help support the nutritional needs of wild birds. The Fruity Flavour offers a delectable blend of fruity goodness, enriched with essential vitamins and minerals, providing birds with an irresistible treat.

Based on customer insight, the range includes a variety of packaging formats of the suet blocks and pellets to support sales through all channels. These formats include a 300g suet block, additionally a box of 10 suet blocks, and a mixed box of blocks containing 5 of each flavour. The suet pellets come in a 550g and 3kg bag and a 12.6kg box.  

The introduction of the 12.6kg suet pellet boxes is a cost-effective solution for suet pellets, the boxes are perfect for bird enthusiasts and nature lovers looking to provide a long-lasting supply of food, promoting regular feeding, to attract and keep a wide variety of birds visiting their garden. The 12.6kg suet pellet box also minimizes the need for frequent refills. The larger quantity ensures that bird enthusiasts can keep their feeders stocked for extended periods, allowing for uninterrupted bird-watching experiences.

"At Honeyfield's, we are dedicated to sustaining wild bird populations and making sure their nutrition and health is at the forefront of all decisions,” said Emily Scruton, Brand Manager for Honeyfield's.

"Our new suet range is a testament to our commitment to providing high-quality wild bird food that not only attracts wild birds but keeps them healthy and enriched at the same. With the introduction of our 12.6kg suet pellet boxes in Insect & Mealworm and Fruity Flavour, we aim to offer convenience and value to our customers, ensuring they can offer a continuous supply of suet in their garden."

Honeyfield's suet range is suitable for all seasons, providing birds with essential nutrients throughout the year. Whether attracting blue tits, robins, blackbirds, or other wild birds, Honeyfield's offers a diverse selection to meet the tastes and preferences of different species.

The new suet range from Honeyfield's will be available for purchase both instore and online from August 2023. To learn more about stocking the range, please call 01430 875853 or email   sales-support@marriagesmillers.co.uk

To learn more about Honeyfield's and their range of bird food products, please visit www.honeyfieldswildbird.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 newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2018 as well as 2019 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 07973 504214, e-mail karen@pottingshedpress.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

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.

Get the GTN Bestsellers charts in full every week in the GTN Bestsellers newsletters for only £145.00.

GTN Bestsellers is the only industry source of weekly garden centre sales information, collating Epos data from centres with an aggregate turnover in excess of £100m.

Use the weekly Garden Products and Growing Media Top 50 sales volumes charts to plan your hotspot and other promotions and ensure you have the right products in stock to satisfy the needs of your customers.

For further information contact karen@pottingshedpress.co.uk or call 07973504214.

Buy your subscription today and start receiving the GTN Bestsellers charts this week.

LOFA's marketing manager Gina Hinde, who organised this week's SOLEX exhibition, revealed that visitor numbers had increased by 5.42% from last year. She also announced that SOLEX 2024 would revert back to Tuesday to Thursday opening days (9-11 July 2024).

Here's what she had to say about this year's show...

I can’t help but feel a little sad that SOLEX 2023 is nearly over for another year. It has been a fantastic show. The hall was buzzing, and it was great to see such engagement in the new ranges and products on display. 

As always, the exhibitors pulled out all the stops. The stands looked fresh and vibrant, and the furniture was plentiful, with many new designs and some exciting additions to their ranges. But it wasn't just the furniture that impressed everyone – the BBQ exhibitors were also on top form, and we couldn't get enough of the fantastic food they were cooking in the Loving Outdoor Living area. Two highlights of the show for me were the awards ceremony on Monday night and the Fire, Food & Outdoor Living Evening on Tuesday.

Visitor numbers exceeded expectations. The hall was packed with garden centre buyers and visitors eager to see the latest products from industry giants. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, and everyone was buzzing with excitement over what was on display. Everyone was blown away by all the incredible outdoor leisure products from furniture to innovative barbecues.

I have to give a special shout out to the BBQ exhibitors who provided some fantastic food in the Loving Outdoor Living area. Dodging a few raindrops they produced everything from delicious pizzas to melt in the mouth steaks, they created a fantastic festival-style vibe and great visitor engagement. 

But SOLEX is not just about showcasing new products it’s also about awarding the industry's best. The awards on Monday evening were well-attended and resulted in prizes for the best products, and innovative designs. Exhibitors went home happy, knowing their hard work and dedication to creating good quality products was recognised and appreciated by their peers and customers.

The Fire, Food & Outdoor Living Event on Tuesday evening, hosted by the BBQ Magazine, was an incredible networking event that brought everyone together. We enjoyed great food, good music, and each other's company, not to mention the BBQ competition hosted by Andy Clarke and Ian Jones. The judges, Matt Tebbutt and Jules Hudson, had a tough job on their hands, choosing between Kamado Joe, Charbroil, and GrillStream but the winner was Cheeky Charlie Ovens who stole the show with their amazing steak sandwich.

Overall, SOLEX 2023 was a huge success. We saw incredible products, met some amazing people, and had a lot of fun! We're already looking forward to seeing what's in store for SOLEX 2024 and can't wait to see what the exhibitors bring to the show next year. If you're an exhibitor, an outdoor leisure buyer, or just a visitor who loves outdoor living, be sure to put the SOLEX dates in your diary for next year - you won't regret it!

SOLEX 

9-11 July 2024 

Hall 5, NEC Birmingham

CharBroil, Bramblecrest, Lifestyle Appliances, LifestyleGarden, Tramontina and Kamado were the winners in the Solex 2023 Awards, presented this evening at the NEC.

The judges were:

• Pravin Patel, LOFA Chairman
• Alyn Williams, Zest, LOFA Council Member
• Marcus Bawden, The BBQ School
• Chris McCormack, Leisure Plan
• Stephen Davis, Southsea Deckchairs, LOFA Council Member
• James Storey, PlanetMark

Best Small Stand

Winner: CharBroil

Second: Broil King

Third: Bushbeck

Best Large Stand

Winner: Bramblecrest

Second: 4 Seasons Outdoors

Third equal: Hex Living and Alexander Rose

Best Individual Product 

Winner: Lifestyle Appliances Power Pack (wins £1k marketing in GTN)

Best Sustainable Product

Winner: LifestyleGarden Onyx Chair (wins £1k marketing in GTN)

Second: CharBroil e-Grill

Third: Lifestyle Appliances Power Pack

Best Furniture Product

Winner: Tramontina Mood Lounge Set - £2k marketing in GTN

Second: LifestyleGarden Onyx Chair

Best BBQ Product – Marketing package with BBQ Magazine

Winnner: Kamado Joe Konnected Joe

Second: LeisureGrow Smash Grill

Third: LeisureGrow Legacy 4 Burner BBQ

The New Product Award entries were judged on the first day of SOLEX 2023.

The judges were:

• Pravin Patel, LOFA Chairman
• Alyn Williams, Zest, LOFA Council Member
• Marcus Bawden, The BBQ School
• Chris McCormack, Leisure Plan
• Stephen Davis, Southsea Deckchairs, LOFA Council Member
• James Storey, PlanetMark

Below is a list of the entries:

See our gallery of pictures below...

Greenfingers Charity were presented with a cheque for £10,000 from LOFA on the first day of SOLEX.

Boyd Douglas-Davies, on behalf of Greenfingers Charity, received the donation from Gina Hinde, LOFA’s marketing manager and organiser of SOLEX.