ClassifloraZelari open days attract hordes of enthusiastic buyers to the nursery and, with spring in the air at last, next week’s gatherings (Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 March) are all set to continue the tradition.

Bringing a touch of Tuscany to this quiet corner of Waltham Abbey, they will offer an unrivalled selection of specimen trees, hardy outdoor shrubs, trees and plants to buyers representing landscaping and development, garden centres, nurseries and garden designers. They promise more stock than ever under cover and plenty  of special deals.

Unbeatable shelf deals

Classiflora are known for their fantastic quality and value and, with 180 different shelf deals and trolley combinations – Classiflora have dubbed them ‘Shelfies’ – allowing buyers to pick and mix stock,  they also offer unbeatable flexibility. It’s a cost-effective solution that cuts out waste and lets buyers choose from a range of themes and impulse colour lines.

Ideas and inspiration from across Europe

You’ll find more than 1,700 hand-picked new and inspirational lines drawn from growers all over Europe. Watch out for newcomers from France – they will include campsis, syringa, cornus, magnolias, vitis and an abundance of fruit trees, many of them priced to retail at £59.99 or less.

Unmissable hotspot deals

A vastly expanded Zelari sample house for direct shipment orders provides twice the amount of stock under cover – so there’s no chance of missing anything if the weather's not quite Tuscan! Bargain 'hotspot' deals will be scattered throughout nursery and additional discounts will be available across both days.

Bespoke labels that really add value

An attractive, well-designed label can lift a plant's value. Classiflora can produce labels personalised with your business name. They’re product-specific, not generic, with full colour images, lending a  genuine touch of class to every plant.

Fast and efficient ordering

Classiflora's online ordering app has been designed to streamline the order process and cut out time-consuming admin. The result is a fast, efficient service that makes it easy to pick and mix quantities, change your order as you go and keep an eye on costs.

Network while you lunch

ClassifloraZelari’s legendary hospitality is every bit as warm as the company's Italian heritage and visitors will be encouraged to indulge in a little down-time to meet up with old friends and do a bit of networking while enjoying a delicious Italian lunch with wine and a selection of Bowman's ales.

Alongside Classiflora's friendly and knowledgeable staff, visiting exhibitors will include HSK tree ferns, Planterworld, Europlanters, Town & Country and, for the first time, County garden tools and Apta pots.

Andrew Dayes, the nursery’s marketing manager believes visitors will be bowled over by the stock, number of offers and innovations on display. “We’re looking forward to meeting friends old and new and giving them something to smile about,” he said.  “They don’t have to take my word for it - our plants will be doing all the talking!”

For more information and to register for the open days, visit www.classiflora.com or call 08700 600 420. The event will be supporting horticulture’s favourite charity, the Greenfingers Appeal, raising money to create inspiring gardens for children’s hospices across the UK.

“You're very welcome!”

The ClassifloraZelari hospitality is every bit as warm as the company's legendary Italian heritage and visitors will be encouraged to indulge in a little down-time to meet up with old friends and do a bit of networking while enjoying a delicious Italian lunch with wine and a selection of Bowman's ales.

Alongside Classiflora's friendly and knowledgeable staff, visiting exhibitors will include HSK tree ferns, Planterworld, Europlanters, Town & Country and, for the first time, County garden tools and Apta pots.

For more information and to register for the open days visit www.classiflora.com or call 08700 600 420. The event will be supporting horticulture’s favourite charity, the Greenfingers Appeal, raising money to create inspiring gardens for children’s hospices across the UK.

Benito Castiglioni, 1939 - 2015

Benito's recent passing was a shock for his family, nursery colleagues and all the old friends he made during open days over the years.

With more than 40 years in the business, he was the guiding hand that took Classiflora from humble beginnings, eventually moving the business and its workforce of 25 dedicated professionals to its present 7-acre site.

Benito was genuinely ‘hands-on’, ensuring the products and service that Classiflora provides were of the highest standard. His love of plants and horticulture was undiminished by the years, and the countless awards he received at shows through the decades bear testament to that.

Family-run Arboretum Garden Centre in Leighlinbridge, Co.Carlow, are planning a second outlet in Co.Wicklow.

The Doyle family are to take over the National Garden Exhibition Centre in Kilquade in a €2 million deal and are reportedly planning to invest another €2 million developing the site as a destination centre with a café selling home-cooked food. They hope to start trading on the site within months.  In 2014 their existing centre reported turnover of €6m, about a third of which came through catering.

The deal takes them closer to the lucrative Dublin cachment area.

Arboretum holds Ireland’s  'National Store of the Year 2015' award, presented to them at the recent Retail Excellence Ireland awards.



Above: the restaurant at Arboretum in Co.Carlow.

Bonnington Plastics, the company behind the Kingfisher gardening and homeware brand, has secured a five-figure settlement from a group of companies after bringing a claim in the High Court for intellectual infringement.

After developing innovative software to monitor the sales of its products online, Bonnington discovered that companies in the Toptrade Group, which included Bradford-based Zoozio, Trade Marketing and Verage, were advertising Kingfisher goods on sites such as Amazon and eBay. However, the companies were supplying their own branded products under the Kingfisher listings.

Bonnington, which established the Kingfisher brand in 1967, does not sell directly on Amazon or eBay but its retail customers use the sites to sell Kingfisher products.

After numerous letters were sent to the infringers without a satisfactory response, Bonnington’s managing director Ian Fisher instructed intellectual property experts at Manchester law firm Pannone Corporate to tackle the problem.

Mr Fisher said: “We found that these companies were advertising Kingfisher products at impossibly low prices. This was causing our retail customers to believe that we were offering better prices to their competitors. We started buying from these companies and found out that they weren’t supplying Kingfisher goods at all. It was really damaging the brand and I decided that enough was enough.”

Bonnington estimates these so-called “substitute sellers” were costing the business about £1 million a year in lost sales and its in-house investigations showed that, at the peak of the problem, one in every two items advertised online as Kingfisher was a substitute product.

Bonnington said that Zoozio, Trade Marketing and Verage, were former customers of Bonnington but had started to import their own products from China.

However, keen to capitalise on the reputation of the Kingfisher brand, the companies “piggy-backed” on the Kingfisher listings but then supplied their own branded products, tricking consumers into thinking they were purchasing legitimate Kingfisher goods at a discounted price.

Mr Fisher added: “The goods looked almost identical to Kingfisher products. The packaging was so similar that it was difficult to tell them apart and they had even used photos taken by our graphic design team.”

Pannone Corporate issued a High Court claim on behalf of Bonnington alleging passing off and trademark and copyright infringement. The claim was eventually settled on terms which awarded Bonnington £80,000 in compensation and banned the Toptrade Group from selling their own goods under Kingfisher listings online.

Sarah Bazaraa, IP solicitor at Pannone Corporate, said: “This is a fantastic result for Bonnington and sends a strong message to the market that infringement of its IP rights will not be tolerated. We are working with Bonnington to take action against another group of companies and their directors and we are committed to helping the company to stamp out this problem.”

Ms Bazaraa went on to explain that, whilst good progress had been made, putting a stop to the practice of substitute selling was no easy task.

She said: “Each product sold on Amazon is given an ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number). Amazon allows sellers to upload products with a new ASIN or to an existing ASIN (if they are selling an identical product). However, some companies are taking advantage of this function and advertising their own products under an established brand’s listing in order to take advantage of the superior ranking and pulling power of that brand.”

Bonnington has vowed to continue its crusade against the online infringers and its innovative approach to the protection of its IP was recognised in November last year when it scooped the “In-House Innovation Award” at the British Legal Awards.

Jeremy Clarkson and James May were seen on BBC TV at Hilltop Garden Centre, Witney, in last Sunday’s screening of ‘Top Gear’, drinking “hot sweet tea to calm their nerves”  during filming of the worst car parking ever.

As part of a “History of Peugeot” feature, the two BBC Top Gear presenters took to the road “as if they were not interested in cars at all” in a Peugeot 307CC and a Peugeot 407, stopping off at the Hillview-owned Hilltop Garden Centre for a coffee and to film a parking sequence in which several cars and plants were seriously damaged as part of the “plot”.

“We were contacted by the Top Gear team last summer about using the centre as a location and then shrouded in secrecy to keep the event quiet” Hillview CEO  Boyd Douglas-Davies told GTN Xtra.  “Now that the episode has been broadcast we are anxious to re-assure customers that James May and Jeremy Clarkson will not be bringing their old Peugeots and that style of driving to the centre any more.  We don’t usually have incidents like that in our car park.”

You can see the episode on the BBC iplayer by clicking  this link. The “History of Peugeot” starts at 41:50 into the episode and the hapless pair are seen arriving at Hilltop Garden Centre at 56:45.

During the feature, Clarkson’s Peugeot catches fire while he is driving. That, and the location, has proved useful publicity successful for the centre, which reported a barbecue sale as a direct result of the BBC2 broadcast.  “A customer remembered he’d planned to buy a new one last year and that prompted him to come in and buy this week” they told GTN Xtra.

Are you all ready to wow your customers for Mothers Day?  It’s only two weeks away, on Sunday March 15th. The team at Barton Grange are certainly using the event to create a real wow factor when customers arrive at the UK’s Destination Garden Centre of the Year.

Their display ticks all the boxes. Visually stunning, with great lighting, the display appeals to all the senses with fragrances too. What a great way to inspire customers to buy all sorts of gifts to spoil a mum for Mothers Day!  Well done to the visual merchandising team at Barton Grange!

Displays like this will become all the more important this year as the GIMB’s Love the Plot You’ve Got (LTPYG) campaign encourages more people to garden centres who may never have visited before.

To turn those initial visits into spending and returning visits we need to make garden centres as welcoming, friendly and as accessible as possible. Well done to those centres who made the effort to attend the LTPYG training sessions recently.  They now have a head start on their competitors in creating lifelong links with potential new customers.

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

• Garden Products – down 28%
• Veg-2-Gro Products – down 28%
• Growing Media – up 8%
• All items index – down 18%

Town & Country is continuing its ongoing support for Greenfingers, with plans for a year-long campaign of activity geared towards maximising its fundraising efforts for their chosen charity.

It all starts with a very generous pledge of 25p for every one of their gardening gloves sold on Garden Re-Leaf Day, Friday, 27^th March. 

With an average 350,000 pairs of their gloves sold on a monthly basis that promises a significant amount of money to be handed over and Town & Country will be encouraging all garden centres to sell as many gloves to their customers on the day as possible. 

Town & Country is also delighted to lend its support to the Greenfingers Glovies campaign. As the number one supplier of gloves to the garden trade – the UK’s best-selling glove is the Master Gardener with one pair sold every minute – Town & Country will be encouraging all of its garden centre customers to don their gloves and take part in the mass ‘glovie’ which is due to take place at 11am on Garden Re-Leaf Day.   

Comments Barry Page, chief executive: “We are delighted to continue our efforts to support the Greenfingers charity. The work which Greenfingers carries out for children’s hospices across the UK is inspirational and we are keen to ensure that they can continue their amazing work. We will be doing everything we can to promote Garden Re-Leaf Day and keep the momentum going on the fundraising front.”

Further details of Town & Country’s Greenfingers fund raising plans for 2015 will be announced.

Enquiries:  Town & Country; 01530 830990; info@townandco.com; www.townandco.com



Town & Country got their #Glovies going at the recent Garden Press Event 10th Annivesary Dinner including a Glovie News International from the gardening editors of The Sun and The Sunday Times.

See the Garden Press Event Dinner #Glovies below.

The Europlants Spring Open Days have been hailed a great success after customers from all parts of the UK were wowed with a fantastic array of plants on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ronato Canale, of Europlants, said: "We are delighted with the response and a tremendous amount of business was done over the two days.

"Confidence has returned to the industry, and our customers seem to be in a very optimistic mood. It has been a real success."

Inspirational plants and outstanding offers were the order of the day at the Europlants site near Hatfield in Hertfordshire. A great atmosphere was guaranteed and visitors were treated to a delicious Italian lunch.

TV gardener David Domoney was present on both days, and as well as presiding over the raffle draw he auctioned off an impressive list of goodies. As a result an amazing £2,400 was raised for Thrive, the charity that enables positive change in the lives of disabled and disadvantaged people through the use of gardening.

To give you a flavour of the Open Days here's a gallery of pictures...

Bents Garden & Home have handed over a cheque for £12,292 to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity as a result of the Glazebury outket’s 2014 fund-raising campaign.

Joel Oxberry, the charity’s corporate fund-raising manager, visited Bents to accept the donation and was joined for the occasion by the charity’s mascot, Humphrey Bear, and Thomas & Charlie Clough, representing the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the centre’s 2015 charity of the year.

MD Matthew Bent said: “We are always blown away by the support shown by our colleagues and customers and once again they have been hugely generous in helping us to reach our target and present Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity with such a fantastic amount.”

Mr Oxberry said the Royal Manchester was the largest single site children’s hospital in the UK, looking after more than 200,000 young people each year.  “Donations such as these help us provide the very best care in specialisms such as bone marrow transplantation, burns treatment and critical care,” he added.

Matthew Bent said the Cystic Fibrosis Trust during 2015 was a charity close to the hearts of many at the centre.  “We have had previous experience with cystic fibrosis so were already very aware of the condition, but once again it has come into the life of one of our colleagues.  Matthew Dickinson, our head of indoor retail, has always been one of our strongest charity fundraisers, no matter what the cause, so this year we had no hesitation in choosing the charity that is now closest to his heart.  With Matthew’s enthusiasm and the continued generosity of our colleagues and customers, we are hoping this year will be another record breaker.”

Bents have set a target of £15,000 for their 2015 fundraising.

Horticultural celebrities from TV and radio are busy recording questions, wearing Glovies of course, for the 2015 Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz.

Popular stars of TV and radio Christine Walkden and Chris Beardshaw are currently recording questions for the quiz, along with their BBC Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time colleague Eric Robson and BBC weatherman Peter Gibbs. Other well-known gardening experts such as Anne Swithinbank, Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood, Bunny Guinness, Matthew Biggs and Matthew Wilson (Greenfingers Chairman) are also contributing to the esteemed quiz.

All monies raised from the quiz, with questions this year written by Andy Bunker of Altons Garden Centre and produced in the studios of Garden Radio, will once again go to the Greenfingers ‘Rosy Cheeks’ campaign. The campaign aims to provide much needed gardens for children who spend time in hospices around the UK, along with their families, by creating inspiring gardens and outdoor spaces for them to relax in and enjoy.

The 2015 Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz is available to all garden centres, gardening societies and other organisations and is the perfect way to participate in the fourth, annual Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day, which takes place on 27th March 2015.

For £100 participants will receive a pack containing all they need to host the quiz – it includes a special CD or Mp3 download of pre-recorded questions (and answers) to play to the audience, everything needed for the picture round, and a bonus pack of fundraising ideas, hints and tips.

Bosworth’s Garden Centre in Burton Latimer were one of the many garden centres that received great interest in last year’s Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz. Marketing Co-ordinator, Jonathan Biggs, said: “The quiz was so easy to run, our teams were delighted to hear celebrities’ voices asking the questions, and the ‘heads and tails’ game was great fun.”

Garden centres wanting to take part should register on the Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day website, and can also take advantage of free publicity for their events, by filling in the simple form online at www.gardenreleaf.co.uk/register-an-event. Once registered, each individual event appears on the site’s ‘events’ section, and is searchable by area to help the public find their local participating garden centre.

The quiz is just one of many ways to raise funds for Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day. Other retailer participation ideas include in-store sponsored cycle rides, as well as fun family day activities such as making cress heads and sowing Sunflowers – the Home Garden Association’s plant of the year for 2015. Suppliers can also get involved with the Loose Change promotion.

To ensure maximum exposure for your event, make sure to register soon via www.gardenreleaf.co.uk/register-an-event. To order your 2015 Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day quiz pack, explore other opportunities for supporting the 2015 event as a supplier, or participate as a retailer, email info@gardenreleaf.co.uk.

Devon-based country store group Mole Avon has taken delivery of 22 pallets of Growise and Vital Earth growing media, its prize in a competition run by Bord na Móna UK at Glee last autumn.

The store will donate half of the sales proceeds to their local Hospiscare charity.

From its three retail outlets, Town & Country Stores at Station Yard in Axminster, Mill Street in Crediton and Exeter Road in Okehampton, Mole Avon will be selling the prize in a series of special offers: 56L Multi-Purpose Compost at 3 for £12, 50L Organic Garden Compost at 4 for £10, Growing Bag at £2.50 and 100L Landscape Mini Chip Bark  at £6.95.

Competition entrants were asked to guess the tonnage of garden waste used in one year to make its peat-free and peat-reduced growing media and soil improvers. The 1200 bags of product were won by Paul Leach, retail sales manager of the Crediton branch.  His colleague, Steven explained: “We raised over £46,000 for Hospiscare as part of our Ruby Appeal, to celebrate 40 years as a limited company and it would be great to add to that total.”.

Pictured above (left to right): Jason Pike, national sales manager, and Claire Ball, business development manager of Bord Na Móna UK, Paul Leach, from Mole Avon, Richard Cousins, Hospiscare corporate relationships manager and Wendy Stevens, Mole Avon store manager.

Hospiscare needs to raise more than £4m each year to provide free of charge services to people with life-limiting illnesses in Exeter, Mid and East Devon.

Higher than average sales levels of growing media products continue to shine through in the Epos data provided to GTN Bestsellers this week.  

While frozen ground across most of the country has deterred people from planting activities it hasn’t stopped them from buying up growing media offers to get on with sowing indoors or in waiting for their ground to thaw.

• Westland’s 50-litre multipurpose is No 1 for the third week running.
• Arthur Bowers Masterblend Compost (50 litres) from Sinclair Horticulture is the highest new entry at No 30.

Wyevale Garden Centres launched their first ever Little Diggers events at 28 centres across the country during the half-term holidays.

The events included activities to inspire children to become budding gardeners and get their hands dirty – at 28 centres across the country. 

The Little Diggers programme kicked off with Busy Bee Week, teaching children that far from being scary, these little insects are a gardener’s best friend.

Participating centres were a hive of activity over the week with a whole host of fun and informative events taking place.

From baking days to craft workshops to seed planting, there’ were all sorts going on and plenty of chances for kids to get stuck in and learn more about these busy bees.

Independent Garden Centre is seeking a Seasonal Supervisor to lead the Seasonal team. The ideal candidate will have retail experience at Supervisory level and ideally have garden centre experience although this is not essential. 

The seasonal department is an ever changing environment offering lots of variety. The successful candidate will be responsible for Garden Furniture, Christmas ranges and other seasonal products throughout the year. 

You will have a small team day to day with an expanded part time staff on weekends. You will be working alongside buyers and the centre's management team to set budgets so a degree of commercial experience will be required.

For a confidential discussion, please call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530 quoting reference #7098

I am currently seeking a home & leisure manager to join the team of a large independent garden centre. 

Retail management experience is a must for this role as you will be leading a large team in a busy shop floor environment.
Experience at supervisory level may be adequate but will be evaluated on a application by application basis. 

I am looking for someone who is a driven retailer. The goal of this store is to be the best and their managers need to lead from the front.

Experience from a similar quality focussed environment would be preferred.

For a confidential discussion, please call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530 quoting reference #7076

Sales Merchandiser

Gardman Limited is a highly successful, leading manufacturer and distributor of a wide range of quality products for the garden leisure industry. It has developed a highly focused five-brand strategy that embraces the full product range, strengthening and simplifying its market offering and providing a solid platform for future growth and development of the Gardman business.

As the business expands and continues to strengthen its sales team and supporting processes, a requirement exists for a number of Sales Merchandisers to be located across the country to support and assist the Regional Sales Management team. These positions which will primarily concentrate on small to medium sized garden centres will be based and provide coverage in the South of England, Midlands/Wales and North of England/Scotland respectively.

Role profile

• Effectively merchandise products in line with agreements and promo plans.
• Build strong, productive relationships with key contacts within the trade and centres.
• Develop positive relationships with our Sales Agents /Account Managers ensuring that both centre Agents and Sales Managers KPI’s are exceeded.
• Work with Buyers/Sales Agents to maintain stock levels and maximize product placement.
• Appropriately merchandise displays with proper signage/shelf placement.
• Implement/manage special promotional campaigns and new product launches.
• Monitor/report on sales volume and inventory activity during the promotional period

Benefits

• Salary range £18k-25k subject to experience
• Bonus
• Company vehicle
• 25 days annual holiday
• Lap top and mobile phone
• Pension scheme

Candidates interested in this position should apply by email to recruitment@gardman.co.uk

Our client is a leading nursery who supply their own garden centres with bedding and other top quality plants they are looking for:

A candidate that can demonstrate their ability to plan, organize, direct, control and coordinate activities of workers at all stages of growing, harvesting, packing, distribution and selling to the highest standards in terms of quality and efficiency.

A hands on manager of people with past experience of growing on a commercial seasonal plant (ideally bedding plants) nursery with excellent I.T skills to include Microsoft office and ideally some experience of a stock control system.

We need someone who can hit the ground running, quickly identifying quality and efficiency improvements and put systems and procedures in place to meet the business demands. Working under their own initiative, they will be responsible for all day to day activities within the nursery.

This is a development role with the expectation that a successful candidate would progress to Nursery manager in the future.

For a confidential discussion, please call Dianne Saunders at MorePeople on 01780 480530 quoting reference #7115

Our Client is a Horticultural Co-operative serving the Glasshouse sector throughout the southern half of the UK. It has the same modus operandi as when it was started 50 years ago in that the company seeks to be each members "Purchasing Department" to provide a collective professional service and to be the first choice against all competitors by achieving the lowest possible price. they are seeking a new Sales Development Manager to work alongside the General Manager in the short term to promote and increase their presence in the market. 

Sales Development Manager 

• The successful candidate will be responsible to the Chairman and the Board of Directors for the day to day running of the office Monday to Friday 08.00 - 17.00 (including lunch break).
• Respond to Members phone and email inquiries and from direct Nursery visits and source their product needs.
• To: liaise with all suppliers on pricing and supply of all products, bulk up orders and gain the best possible price for the members.
• To: expand membership and increase turnover of our Sales which will involve time spent out of the office visiting Nurseries.
• To: continue to run our very successful Utility supply business and in particular to administer our Gas Supply contract and increase its membership. We are currently one of the largest providers of Gas to the Horticultural Industry.

Salary 

This will be circa £35,000 to £40,000 commensurate with the calibre of the applicant plus a car allowance. Reviews will be at 6 months and 9 months. These reviews will include the evaluation of targets set and achieved and there will be incentives for the expected increases in turnover.

Please submit your CV in the first instance: Dianne@morepeople.co.uk quoting reference #7106

Landscape and garden designer Adam Frost has joined the HTA board as a director.

Adam is also an Ambassador for the RHS and works with Homebase on the Garden Academy apprenticeship scheme. He has also designed the Homebase garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2013, 2014 and now 2015.

HTA Chief Executive Carol Paris said: “We are delighted to welcome Adam to the HTA Board. He brings with him not only a huge amount of experience from the garden design and landscaping sector but such passion for encouraging more young people into the industry.”

The other members of the HTA Board are Stan Green (President), Adam Wigglesworth (Vice President), David Norman (Hon Treasurer), Carol Paris (HTA CEO), Caroline Owen (Past President), Sandy Shepherd, Ian Ashton, Bob Hewitt, Mark Pearson and Richard Barnard.

Frozen ground and biting winds deterred people from venturing out into their gardens across most of the country last week and that shows in Garden Products Top 50 sales volumes, down 28% on the same week for both of the last two years.

• Gardman Round Peat Pots are the highest new entry to the chart at No 26.
• Smart Solar Fluted Stake Lights (pictured above) are the highest placed chart re-entry at No 11.
• Fito Orchid Drip Feeders regain the No 1 spot.

Steve Harper, sales director at Gardman and formerly of Bord na Mona, Vital Earth and William Sinclair Horticulture, has been elected as the first independent chair of the Garden Media Association (GMA).

Ben Malin of Terraqueous (representing the Somerset Peat Producers) is elected as the vice chair.

Steve Harper said he was delighted to have been elected chair for the next two years. “Having recently moved to Gardman after working directly for growing media manufacturers for the past 15 years and being involved in the project to responsibly source and manufacture growing media, I’m in a great position to be independent and yet fully understand the demands of the industry,” he added.

Steve will lead the GMA through a busy period of change. Working together with partner organisations, projects 4 (responsible sourcing and manufacture of growing media) and 7 (performance standards for amateur products) of the Growing Media Taskforce will be completed and turned into practical tools to help the industry move forwards. The GMA also plan to fully update their website, merging the GMA and John Innes websites to create a useful single resource for retailers and consumers.

Steve explains: “We plan to present the workings of project 4 at a seminar at the end of June to all manufacturers, retailers, NGOs and other interested parties, with various manufacturers showing their findings.”

For further information about GMA please contact Emma Clark at the Horticultural Trade Association (emma.clark@the-hta.org.uk).

With a few weeks left till Garden Re-Leaf Day (27 March) now is the time to order your fundraising and PR kit.

The pack includes:

• How you can get involved – ideas for fundraising
• How to run your event - useful questions and tips
• PR Hints and Tips and template press release
• How to bank the money
• Where your money goes

The Greenfingers charity can also provide a Garden Re-Leaf advertising poster, balloons and collection boxes. Just email: sarah@greenfingerscharity.org.uk  with your requirements.

If you haven’t already, please register your event at www.gardenreleaf.co.uk to enable Greenfingers to include you in the publicity campaign. 

Christmas suppliers Premier Decorations have come up with an adaptor that will enable stockists to make huge savings on their lit product display battery costs.

More than 1000 of Premier’s lines – the vast majority – are now battery-powered thanks to the use of low-energy LEDs. While many products will run for several days on a single set of batteries, keeping in-store displays running consistently at optimum displays to maintain their sales appeal poses a challenge for retailers – and can mean high battery costs, not to mention the added staff cost to change them all

Premier have now designed a series of adaptors that convert products that run off two, three or four AA or AAA batteries to mains power, with the use of a transformer.

Each adaptor can convert 10 battery operated products to mains, and can be switched on and off with the flick of a single switch.

There are three versions , all with interchangeable 3M connecting leads so you can combine AA and AAA. They are suitable for display purposes with any battery operated products that use AA or AAA batteries, including light sets, animation, lit figurines, lit canvasses, tapestries and candles.

They cost £15 each, supplied in cartons of six (enabling you to convert up to 60 products in total).

Information: click here

Johnsons Lawn Seed is challenging retailers to question the quantity of lawn seed in their suppliers’ boxes, as well as the quality.

In a trend that started in our supermarkets and is now shaping much of the wider UK retail market, many suppliers are reducing the overall content of their product. Total weights are being reduced whilst packaging continues to increase in size to give the illusion of added value, with prices remaining static. As a result, say Johnsons, retailers are being short-changed and consumers are feeling the impact in their pockets.

Guy Jenkins from the UK’s largest grass seed producer, DLF Trifolium (which owns the market-leading Johnsons Lawn Seed brand) said: “We are notoriously a nation that likes to feel as though we are getting more for our money, often making purchasing decisions based on added-extras or multi-buy deals. However many lawn seed suppliers are using this against the consumer and retailer, as in many cases the product – both before and after promotion -  still weighs less than it once did.

“As a result, consumers are going to feel short-changed when their purchase fails to go further than expected, compounding the sense of dissatisfaction that they may also feel if they are unlucky enough to purchase the low grade lawn seed blends that many suppliers are presently bringing to market. The knock-on effect to retailers will be a decreased consumer confidence, which will ultimately lead to fewer sales being made.”

He urged retailers to work closely with the supply chain to ensure that quality and quantity expectations are maintained and the industry’s reputation protected. “Through talking with our retail customers – in particular one of the UK’s fastest growing retailers -  it has come as no surprise that those which focus on looking after their customers by refusing to downsize quantities, and recognise that value for money and quality are not mutually exclusive, maintain higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty,” he added.

Johnsons Lawn Seed products have been packaged so that each box services the increasing scale of the average lawn size, ranging from 10m2 to 200m2. The brand’s website – www.johnsonslawnseed.com - also features a special tool designed to help consumers calculate how much seed they need for either overseeding or new lawn creation. 

Veg seed sales jumped considerably last week with all seven lines in the Top 20 increasing their sales week on week by large percentages. 

Baby Tomato veg plants also saw big increases as gardeners get started indoors or in heated greenhouses.

Star performers were:

• The biggest increase of the week for veg seeds was Thompson & Morgan Courgette Defender F1, up 90% to re-enter at No 20.
• Beetroot Boltardy seeds continue as the top selling veg seed, up to No 3 this week.
• Thompson & Morgan Spring Onion White Lisbon is the highest chart climber, moving  up 26 places to No 10.

Further education student Sam Moore is through to next week’s eastern regional final of the Young Horticulturist of the Year competion after winning two tie-breaks in his local heat at Writtle College

Sam, 18, (pictured below, centre) from Great Totham, Essex, is studying for a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horticulture.

The eventual national winner will receive the Percy Thrower Travel Bursary, worth £2,000, provided by the Shropshire Horticultural Society, which funds a horticultural tour anywhere in the world.

The competition is open to any horticulturist under 30, in employment or education.

The Writtle College heat, for which students had to answer 40 multiple choice questions set by the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, needed two tie-breaks before the winner was decided. Lecturers had to write a new round of questions to break the deadlock.

Runners-up were Rosie Kippen (left in picture, second), who is in her third year of a BSc (Hons) Horticulture and was a national finalist last year, and Karly Derrick (third), in her third year of a BSc (Hons) Horticulture.

Sam is part of the Writtle College team putting together the entry for the Young Gardeners of the Year competition at the Ideal Home Show 2015.

He paid tribuite to his Level 3 Horticulture lecturers. “I’ve been interested in horticulture since my early teens and Writtle has completely developed what was a hobby into a career choice,” he said. “After my course I'm hoping to carry on studying at Writtle on the BSc (Hons) in Landscape and Garden Design – it would be great for my CV if I get further in the competition!”

The Grand Final is on 9 May at the National Trust's Barrington Court, Somerset. 

Photo (left to right): Rosie Kippen, Sam Moore, Karly Derrick.

Frenchman Denis Guillemin, who now lives in Taunton, has been appointed as the new Catering Operations Manager at a Somerset garden centre’s new restaurant.

The 40-year-old, who is originally from Ainay Le Chateau in France, will run the new restaurant at Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre near Taunton when it opens in April.

Denis said: “I’m thrilled to have joined the team at Monkton Elm and am really looking forward to the new restaurant opening. There is lots of planning and preparation to be done but once it opens I will be working closely with the restaurant team to make sure everything runs smoothly on a daily basis.

“I will also be helping to put together menus and am hoping to include a bit of a French twist to the dishes.”

Denis studied cookery at the Lycée Professionnel Jean Guéhenno in Saint Amand Montrond and went on to continue his studies at the Lycée Jacques Coeur in Bourges.

In his spare time he enjoys spending quality time with his family as well as cooking, baking and doing DIY.

Mike Lind, Managing Director at the award-winning, independent, family-run garden centre, said: “We’re thrilled to have Denis becoming a member of our exciting and dynamic team and we have big plans for the future of the restaurant.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing what Denis brings to the restaurant and to seeing the delicious menu he comes up with. We feel he will really enhance the team.”

The new restaurant is scheduled to open in April and will seat 350 people.

As well as the main restaurant, which will serve meals throughout the day, the facility will be home to a coffee house that will offer coffee and freshly brewed tea, including fruit and speciality teas that will complement an expanded range of cakes and biscuits from the new bakery.

There will also be a function room available for events and to be booked out for business meetings, private parties, anniversaries and even wakes.

To find out more about Monkton Elm visit www.monktonelmgardencentre.co.uk

The Flopro collapsible watering can and bucket from Crest Garden launched at Glee has really caught the imagination of both retailers and consumers.

Its stylish design and practical usage, combined with an effective and robust display, have ensured that this is a hot garden centre pick up line for spring 2015. 

The two in one feature combining both a watering can and bucket extends the product’s use to many garden and leisure activities. In addition to its practical applications in apartments and smaller gardens, the product has wide appeal to diverse groups such as campers, caravaners, boating people and festival goers who are looking for modernity, style and functionality. 

All the parts, which are quick and easy to assemble, are stored in the lid so you don’t lose them. The durable cans are manufactured from recyclable materials, are UV resistant and frost proof.

Colin Smart, commercial director of Crest Garden said “It is our aim to have a point of difference in everything that we bring to the market place. The Flopro® collapsible watering can is cleverly compact, perfectly practical and is ideal for the style conscious consumer.” 

The cans are available for immediate delivery in a robust display outer containing 25 watering cans. The RSP is £14.99. 

Angus Lewis has joined the Bristol-based Tildenet Group as Marketing Manager at the beginning of what looks set to be a busy year.

Having always had an enthusiasm for horticulture, working in a nursery whilst studying for a degree in Psychology, he joined the successful marketing team at the Garden & Leisure Group in 2007.  

Progressing through the company to Marketing Manager, developing expertise across all areas of the marketing mix, he was most recently involved on the Acquisitions team for Wyevale Garden Centres.

 After his first few weeks at Tildenet Angus explained what attracted him to the role: “When approached by Tildenet late last year, I was instantly interested – a company operating in both the horticulture and sport industries married two of my passions.
 
"Tildenet is an extremely progressive company which has seen enormous growth over recent years and with their recent partnerships with Haxnicks and Mainframe Direct, there is definitely some excitement in the air.
 
"I’m looking forward to this challenge and am delighted to join a close family team who are highly motivated and full of ambition.”
 
 Andrew Downey, Tildenet Managing Director, added: “It’s been a fantastic year at Tildenet, during which we’ve experienced some phenomenal growth and continued to add high quality brands to our group. We are delighted to welcome Angus to our strong team and I’m confident that he has the skills and experience to take our marketing to the next level."

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 upto 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.