Winnersh Garden Centre, part of the British Garden Centres Group, partly re-opened on Friday after Storm Dennis caused flooding at the centre earlier in the week, the third time the centre has been flooded this year.

The garden centre at Reading was forced to close on Monday when floods affected the whole site with an announcement on Facebook stating the business would be closed until further notice.

The post read: "Sorry to report we have flooded, the whole site including all other businesses will be closed until further notice."

But there was some good news for customers on Friday when the garden centre re-opened its plant area, fencing and landscaping areas. The shop was still closed but the restaurant re-opened on Saturday.

Charles Stubbs told GTN Xtra: "We are all so proud of the team at Winnersh for bouncing back up again so quickly.  A huge thank you for all your efforts!"

Storm Dennis had a drastic effect on garden centre sales at the start of the half-term break with sales volumes down 27% compared to the same week last year.

As a result the week ending 16th February 2020 was the first to be down on any of the past four years.

Gardening and plant sales were particularly hit hard with only the bravest customers venturing out into uncovered plant areas.

While we’ve been out and about this week garden centre restaurants and half-term events have been busy, so hopefully sales will hold up where customers can get a great indoors experience.

There’s now just three weeks to go until Garden Re-Leaf Day on Friday March 13th. Have you decided how you’ll join in the FUNdraising and get extra local publicity?

Do let us know what great events you have planned: email trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 7

• Garden Products Top 50 – down 21%
• Growing Media Top 50 – down 58%
• Wild Bird Care Top 50 – down 32%
• Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – down 31% 
• All Plants index – down 51%
• All Items index – down 27%

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A celebrity has joined a campaign to stop a garden centre closing because of competition from supermarket giant Waitrose.

Comic Katherine Ryan attended an event to raise awareness of the importance of the Wood of Berhamstead Garden Centre.

According to a report on the Hemel Today website, Katherine gathered names for a petition calling on Waitrose to reduce its garden centre offering, which was presented to the supermarket less than 100 yards from Woods.

It’s reported that more than 4,000 people have signed the petition in a bid to stop the closure of the High Street store.

Woods Garden Centre managing director Colin Campbell-Preston told Hemel Today: “The support we have received from the local community and customers has been amazing and we once again call on Waitrose to reduce their garden centre offering to save Woods from closure with significant job losses.

“Woods is a proud member of the Berkhamsted community through the work we do with schools, charities, theatre groups, encouraging young and old to get involved in creating a beautiful and sustainable environment.

“However after almost 50 years we may soon cease to exist. It would be very sad for the town to lose another independent retailer.”

To read the full Hemel Today report click here

https://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/people/comic-katherine-ryan-supports-woods-berkhamsted-campaign-1758390

To add an exciting sense of competition to this year’s Garden Re-Leaf, Greenfingers Charity has confirmed that there are two tickets to its glittering Charity Summer Ball up for grabs for the garden centre which raises the most over the Garden Re-Leaf weekend (Friday 13th – Sunday 15th March 2020).

The Greenfingers’ Charity Summer Ball has been newly introduced for 2020 and will take place at the Barton Grange Hotel on June 25th. This exclusive black-tie event will welcome over 150 guests for a night of fundraising, dining, bubbles and networking. Tickets have recently gone on sale priced at £95 each, making this fundraising incentive even sweeter!

Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising & Communications said: “From quizzes and cake sales, plantathons and café donations, to tombolas, sponsored walks and ‘going green for Greenfingers’ the efforts that our garden retail supporters undertake is just awe inspiring. This year, to make things even more exciting with a sense of friendly competition, we’d like to give the top fundraising centre two highly in-demand tickets to our forthcoming Charity Summer Ball. We hope this gesture might entice even more garden centres to get involved and connect with Garden Re-Leaf this year.”

Getting involved in Garden Re-Leaf couldn’t be easier. Greenfingers has created fundraising packs that can be downloaded from  https://www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk/gardenreleaf. These packs are full of ideas regarding how garden centres can make the Garden Re-Leaf weekend a family-friendly and fun fundraising event. 

The charity also offers a wealth of additional collateral that can help garden retailers to make the most of the Garden Re-Leaf weekend, including t-shirts, collection buckets and posters to name but a few. Garden Re-Leaf is also a great local PR opportunity which helps to drive customers into store, and, again, Greenfingers can offer support to maximise this with draft news releases, and advice on which media to contact.

Garden centres already confirmed to participate in Garden Re-Leaf 2020 include Ayletts, Altons Garden Centre, The Old Railway Line, Longacres, Perrywood and Haskins, with many more expected to sign up over the coming weeks.  

If you want to find out more about how to get involved in Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day 2020, whether by putting on events in your garden centre, through sponsored solo activities or simply by donating - contact the Greenfingers office on 01494 674749 or email Linda@greenfngerscharity.org.uk.

Tickets for the Greenfingers Charity Summer Ball can also be obtained by contacting the team directly – but hurry as tickets are selling fast!

Highfield Garden World in Gloucestershire has won outline planning permission to further extend its growing business.  Work is due to commence in 2020 and is estimated to represent an investment of £2m for the Greenway family which founded, owns and runs the business.

With a turnover of £8m, 140 staff and around 20,000 customers per week, Highfield is the leading independent garden centre in Gloucestershire.  In 2014 the business launched a £2.5m new restaurant and retail development.

Now, the next stage in the organisation's development will boost the number of restaurant covers up to 500 inside and out.  Extra retail space, new planteria areas, expanded kitchen facilities and 120 more car parking spaces are also included in the plans.  

Co-founder and Director, Tim Greenway, commented:  "Business has been good at Highfield for many years, and especially buoyant since our last big expansion was completed in 2014.  Relatively quickly we reached the stage where our 350 cover restaurant was full to brimming again and we were running out of car parking spaces on busy days.  The demand is there, the customers keep coming, and we're on course to have an even bigger, better offering for them now we've secured outline planning permission."  

Highfield worked with Chris Primett from garden centre specialists Malcolm Scott planning consultants to create the plans and gain the outline permission. Chris has worked with the business before, including in relation to its multi-million 2014 restaurant and retail development.  

The current restaurant accounts for £2 million of Highfield's £8million turnover. For the site overall, including concessions, turnover is £12 million (all figures exclusive of VAT).

Greenfingers, the organisers of the annual Garden Re-Leaf Sponsored Walk and Cycle Challenge, has issued a call to action to the garden retail industry, asking for volunteers to support this year’s event.

This year’s start and end point will be the British Garden Centres’ Chilton Garden Centre in Chilton, Oxfordshire. With walkers embarking on a 10- or 20-mile route, and the cyclists battling across the Chiltern Hills to complete either a 25, 50, 75 or 100km ride (or as many times round the 25km route as they can muster!).

To ensure the safety of the participants, as well as providing the occasional direction to lost walkers and cyclists, Greenfingers is looking for people to join as support crew. From marshals and registration staff, to support vehicles and even a ‘sweeper’ to ensure no walkers are lost along the way, the range of volunteer opportunities is varied.

Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising & Communications said: “There are lots of people that would like to participate in the walk or cycle challenge but for a range of reasons are unable to. However, the volunteer roles enable them to still be involved in a way that is physically low impact but also incredibly important to the success of the event. Our volunteers are a vital part of the day so if you can afford a day out of the office then come down and get involved. We will be so grateful for your support.”

Those interested in taking up a volunteer role at this year’s Garden Re-Leaf Sponsored Walk and Cycle Challenge are invited to contact the Greenfingers office on 01494 674749 or email Linda@greenfngerscharity.org.uk.

If you want to find out more about how to get involved in Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day 2020, whether by putting on events in your garden centre, through sponsored solo activities or simply by donating please visit https://www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk/gardenreleaf

Even the No 1 Bestselling plant Primula suffered as a result of Storm Dennis. Last week's volumes in the GTN Bestsellers Plants Chart for Primula were 56% down on last year.  

With plants in centres looking really great at the moment let’s hope sales pick up this week and next.

• Plugs of Putunia and Zonal Geraniums increased in volumes considerably last week.  Petunia sales grew to re-enter at No 14.
• Zonal Geraniums jumped from No 47 to No 17 with a 200% increase in sales.

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GIMA’s forthcoming Day Conference (19^th March 2020) - open to both members and non-members - will be a must-attend for any supplier wanting to hear from two of the UK’s leading garden centres.

Headlining the Day Conference will be British Garden Centres’ Phillippa Stubbs – who, along with her husband Charles, is certainly in demand having recently acquired the Hillview Group and took advantage of the Wyevale dispersal to create a 57-strong portfolio of stores. British Garden Centres is now the UK’s second largest garden centre chain, and Phillippa will be using her time at the GIMA Conference to talk to delegates about their plans for the future, and their expectations of the supply chain.

Joining Phillippa on the agenda will be well-known garden retailer, Guy Topping, MD of Barton Grange Garden Centre. A popular personality, Guy has been instrumental in raising the standard of garden retailing in the UK.  Barton Grange Garden Centre in Preston, Lancashire has consistently been winning accolades, and this year is no different having just been awarded the ‘Destination Garden Centre of the Year’ award by the GCA. Guy will be telling delegates at the conference about his latest Flower Bowl development and is also keen to share his thoughts on the supply base and what they need to do to keep up with retailer and consumer expectations.  

It has also been confirmed that Boyd Douglas Davies, the newly appointed Director of Communications at British Garden Centres, will also be attending.

It’s not just retailers however that will be leading the content for the day. Leading consumer and design trends intelligence agency, Scarlet Opus, with whom GIMA launched a collaborative partnership with in 2019, will also be giving a sneak peek into their forthcoming trends content that will be officially unveiled at the Consumer & Design Trends event on March 26^th.

The Day Conference, which takes place following GIMA’s AGM (open exclusively to fully paid-up members of the trade association), is also a great opportunity to network with other GIMA members.  Non-members will also get the chance to discuss with the team the range of benefits associated with becoming a member of GIMA.

Find out more

Further information about the forthcoming GIMA AGM & Day Conference can be found at www.gima.org.uk. Open to both members and non-members, GIMA is urging interested parties to secure their places now as space is limited. Tickets cost £60 per person for GIMA members, and £120 per person for non-members. A buffet lunch and refreshments will be available throughout the day and is included in the ticket price.

Sam Broadway, National Account Manager for Mr Fothergill’s, has been doing some serious training to ensure optimum performamce for her 100km Garden Re-Leaf bike ride on 13th March. She has taken up triathlons in the past year to raise money for charity, to keep fit of course and be in peak condition for the Greenfinger challenge.

Sam, the youngest in the Mr Fothergill’s team, has a weekly training schedule of a 10 mile run on Saturday, a 1 hour turbo session and 2.5km swim on Sunday, 5k on a Tuesday, a 5:30am Wednesday start for a 3.5k swim, sprint intervals on Thursday and a 7.5km run on Friday! 

Compare and contrast with the oldest member of the team, Commercial Director Tim Jeffries, who, since rugby gave him up 2 years ago, has trouble getting out of bed in the morning and subsequently moving his knees!

Sam’s boss also wonders when she has any time for work!

Sam is part of the Team Lightening Seeds from Mr Fothergills. She will be joined on the day by 20-mile walkers Tim Jeffries, David Carey, Jeremy Sharp, Alison Mulvaney, Nina Claydon, Alison Roberts and Chris Owen plus regular cyclists Richard Keegan and Matt Jackson. In addition, staff at the Kentford HQ will be completing various fund-raising events in the Mr Fothergills HQ.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mr-fothergills-greenfingers

Tim Jeffries commented: “I hope we have another great fundraising year this year with help from our suppliers, customers and friends. Greenfingers is such a great cause in the gardening world and so many people in our company get behind our efforts to raise money whether in the office or on the walk or ride. I think Sam may be taking it a little too seriously but at least she won’t suffer next day like most of the rest of us!”

Johnsons Lawn Seed, the UK’s oldest grass seed supplier, is celebrating a 40% rise in lawn seed sales over the past two years, as demand strengthens for its market-leading portfolio of quality lawncare products.

The company, owned by DLF Seeds, says the UK market for grass seed has remained buoyant since autumn 2018, when demand tripled from garden retailers as consumers sought to repair lawns that were left parched by the UK’s joint hottest summer on record.

According to Johnsons, the sales bonanza, which drove demand for its Luxury Lawn, Shady Place, Lawn Thickener, General Purpose, Quick Fix and After Moss lawn seed mixes, has been joined by rising demand for its Country Meadow Grass and Wildflower Seed, a mixture of native wildflowers that chimes with consumers who are looking to attract wildlife and beneficial pollinators to gardens.

Johnson’s Lawn Seed’s Consumer Manager, Guy Jenkins, said: “The lawncare sector has been a star performer at garden centres since the drought of 2018, a season that ignited a resurgence of interest in products for lawn revival. Fast forward to spring 2020 and, following one of the wettest winters in recent memory, the nation’s lawns are in need of TLC. Johnsons Lawn Seed is also riding the crest of a wave as consumer awareness of the environmental benefits that lawns provide continues to rise, while investment from our parent company, DLF Seeds, has enabled us to bring to market innovative new products that will drive ambitious growth in the lawncare category this season and beyond.”

As part of its mission to inject additional sales potential into lawncare departments, Johnsons Lawn Seed is introducing two key new lines for 2020 – the result of a significant programme of research and development. Tuffgrass with Dog Patch Resistance is a game-changer for the lawn seed market, a unique new product that finally banishes the problem of dog urine damage to lawns. 

A result of 672 tests across 168 varieties of grass, the formulation – a UK first - comprises dog urine tolerant fine-leaved dwarf perennial ryegrasses, resulting in hardwearing lawns that resist canine urine scorch and are also tough enough to stand up to the wear and tear of family use while being ideal for play areas, too. A further USP of Tuffgrass is its excellent resistance to low temperatures and snow, with improved drought-resistance, further enhancing its sales appeal to consumers who are seeking quality lawn seed that will thrive in an increasingly unpredictable climate.

Also new for 2020 is Quick Lawn with Accelerator-treated seed, a new formulation that has been engineered to meet three key consumer demands: rapid germination, fast lawn establishment and reduced watering, requiring just a third of the amount of water that’s commonly required for lawn establishment. Suitable for creating new lawns or overseeding, Quick Lawn’s unique Accelerator treatment contains a wetting agent to speed-up water absorbtion, rapidly resulting in a strong, thick lawn, even in wet or cold conditions. 

Quick Lawn with Accelerator-treated seed aims to build brand loyalty with its promise of 38% more grass within the first seven days, compared to non-coated seed. Technology in the seed coating delivers biostimulants – including seaweed extract, humic acids, amino acids, micronutrients and root developers – into the seed, resulting in a rapid start that reverts to a normal rate of growth once the lawn has established.

The duo of new products will build on the success of Johnsons Lawn Seed’s major launch last year. In another UK first, the company introduced Super Smart Lawn Feed, an organic, triple-action lawn fertiliser tailored to meet the needs of environmentally conscious consumers who are no longer prepared to use chemicals to feed lawns, especially in gardens where children and pets are present. Super Smart Lawn Feed incorporates beneficial bacteria (Azospirillum) that fix nitrogen to roots, soluble mycorrhizae, which can increase the root system by 150 times, and seaweed extract for dense, green growth.

Find out more
To find out more about Johnsons Lawn Seed products please visit http://www.johnsonslawnseed.com/product-range.aspx

Sales across traditional and non-traditional categories at garden centres across the country were up during January according to the Garden Centre Association’s Barometer of Trade report.

Houseplant sales were up 33.01% and outdoor plant sales were up 14.69%, while clothing departments saw an increase in sales of 15.99% and catering sales were 11.28% up compared to the same month the previous year (2019).

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive explained: “It is great to see such a positive start to the year with sales up in the majority of traditional and non-traditional categories. The only category that saw a drop in sales was furniture and barbecues at -17.2%, which is understandable at this time of year and any increases or decreases in this category have a negligible effect on the overall figures, given the volume of outdoor leisure sales in January.

“It certainly wasn’t barbecue weather, but we did have an unusually mild start to the year weather-wise, which meant garden centre customers were able to spend more time outdoors preparing their beds and plots for the coming season.

“Seed and bulb sales were up 4.43%, sales in garden sundries were up 11.6% and pets and aquatics sales were also up at 3.73%. Gift sales were up 9.98%, Christmas sales saw an increase of 2.43% as customers stocked up on items for the 2020 festive season, hard landscaping sales rose 22.13% and food hall and farm shop sales were also up 10.09%.”

Overall sales for the month were up 7.69% with a year to date change of 7.69%.

Hannah Powell, Communications and HR Director at Perrywood Garden Centre, which has centres at Tiptree in Colchester and Sudbury in Suffolk, said: “Our houseplants sales are up 42% and outdoor plants up 18%. After Christmas we saw fantastic sales of houseplants, aided by ongoing Instagram activity, students returning to university and homeowners replacing Christmas decorations.

“Best sellers have been basic houseplants such as Peace Lily, Spider Plants and Parlour Palms. Whilst unusual houseplants dominate Instagram and do see sales, the bulk of sales is still in easy to care for basics. The age of houseplant buyers is younger than those that are shopping in other departments, and we hope to translate some of their interest into growing outdoor plants when we move into the spring season. Our coffee shop and restaurant sales were up 7%, on the back of continued growth in 2019.

“Last January (2019) we had not yet refurbished our coffee shop at our Sudbury centre and were still working on improvements following the purchase of the centre just four months previously, however, this January, we have doubled turnover.

“We have tripled coffee shop and houseplant sales and doubled sales in outdoor plants and seeds and bulbs. The centre is proving to be a very strong ‘gardener’s garden centre’, and with a new bedding plant canopy opening in March we are feeling very optimistic about 2020.”

The GCA BoT reports are compiled using actual sales figures and provide an up-to-date trading position statement. They are made available mid-month following the end of the prior month after all member garden centres have submitted their results.

The BoT reports allow members to compare their trading positions with other centres.

The Exhibition News Awards return to Evolution London, Battersea Park on 20th March 2020 to showcase outstanding achievement within the UK and global exhibition industry. This year, amongst the audience, will be representatives from the Glee organising team as the garden retail exhibition’s ‘Retail Lab’ has been shortlisted for an award.

Billed as ‘serious awards, seriously celebrated’ a shortlisted nomination at the Exhibition Awards is an outstanding recognition for the Glee team. Three years in the making, the 2019 Retail Lab is up against eight other shortlisted entries in the category of ‘Best Feature Area’. This award celebrates on-site features that provide a point of difference and add value to the visitor journey at the show.

The Retail Lab – created in partnership with the HTA, Romeo Sommers of ByRomeo as Creative Director, and GES as build contractors who made the concept come to life - has enjoyed a central role in the development of Glee since 2017. The feature was introduced to showcase the latest trends within garden retailing, whilst also providing retailers with hands on advice and inspirational content that they can take back to their own stores to drive sales in the coming season.  The shop-in-a-shop style layout provides a central point of inspiration at the exhibition, one that drew praise from the whole supply chain.

In 2019 the Retail Lab focused on two key themes ‘Shop’ and ‘Nature’, both of which were supported by eight key themes all of which represented key growth opportunities for garden retailers, whilst also addressing those issues that are shaping consumer spending habits. The area was also supported by sponsors such as Woodlodge, Scheurich, Key Essentials, Apta, Meadow View Stone, Verona, Laurica Plants, BPI Products, Ivyline, and Air So Pure.

Matthew Mein, Glee Event Director said: “The Retail Lab in 2019 was a great example of experiential content. The way the trends were communicated through product and ‘takeaway’ information, as well as the guided tours, added real tangible benefit for our visitors and was certainly a culmination of everything we have learnt since the area was first introduced in 2017. To have the feature recognised by the wider exhibition sector is testament to the hard work and talent that made the Retail Lab a reality. Fingers crossed for a win, though just being nominated it a real honour.”

The shortlisted nomination for the Retail Lab is a great way to wish this feature a fond farewell as it has been confirmed that in 2020 this central feature will be entering a new chapter, details of which are currently under wraps. Matthew Mein added: “After three years, now felt like the appropriate time to revise our onsite content and as such we are looking to launch an exciting new initiative that will take the concept of the Retail Lab to another level. Merchandising, retail best practice and inspirational content will remain at the heart of this new concept, and we’re excited to share more details very soon.”

Wild bird and pet food producer, Henry Bell & Co has opened a product showroom close to the company’s headquarters in Grantham, Lincs, where visitors can view the company's range of products and POS solutions in a retail environment.

Henry Bell Wild Bird Care launched in July 2019 with 120 quality products catering for every type of garden bird, all designed with health and wellbeing of birds in mind. The family-owned wild bird and pet food producer has over 20 years’ experience in the bird food industry and has been pivotal in the growth of many private label wild bird food brands. Henry Bell has also made sustainable packaging a priority with all their Wild Bird Food packaging being 100% recyclable whilst protecting the integrity of the elements inside each bag.

The Grantham showroom will also allow retailers to review Constant Garden Collection, a new premium range of faux plants for the home and garden. Following a trade launch last year, Constant Garden has over 60 products in the range including a variety of plants and flowers with realistic designs, colours and textures that look as good as real botanicals. From faux roses and orchids to bamboos, grasses and hanging flower baskets, the stunning range features indoor and outdoor options that are designed to stand the test of time.

Thomas Lee, Managing Director of Henry Bell, said: “At Henry Bell we are focused on excellence. Our new product showroom has been designed with the retailer and consumer at heart. We wanted to provide retailers with the unique opportunity to review our extensive range of products, innovative displays and POS solutions in an unsurpassed retail execution. Henry Bell brands offer comprehensive core ranges and numerous opportunities to drive sales through volume and promotional activity across various key categories. Our showroom doors are now open, so we hope to host many existing and prospect retailers in the coming months.”

The Henry Bell showroom can be found within minutes of Grantham train station with on-site parking available. Visitors to the showroom will be able to meet with the Henry Bell sales team to discuss any requirements in more detail.

Henry Bell Wild Bird Care is available at Dobbies and selected independent garden centres, pet shops and retail outlets nationwide. Constant Garden Collection is available from garden centres and mainstream retail outlets.

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The Government has set out its Immigration policy post-transition by announcing the introduction of a new points-based immigration system commencing January 2021.

The system is designed to attract high-skilled workers into the UK and to exclude a low-skilled workforce.

The Government’s overall stance puts the ornamental horticulture sector in a very precarious position from January 2021. The industry needs skilled horticulturalists in addition to casual seasonal workers to fulfil its labour requirements in the growing season and to enable industry expansion. Last year’s review of the Shortage Occupation List disappointingly excluded horticulturalists, despite the industry asking for this to be included having identified employment gaps for skilled horticulturalists.

Although the Government confirmed an increase in its Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme for 2020 to 10,000 places, ornamental horticulture is not included. There are no plans to extend the numbers despite evidence showing that the ornamental and edible sectors combined have 70,000 vacancies to fill during the season.

Martin Emmett, HTA Ornamentals Management Committee Chair, expresses his concerns.

“The introduction of the points based system will have a significant impact on our sector. Availability of both skilled and unskilled labour is already limiting the growth of ornamental horticultural businesses.

“Our concerns about future labour supply were validated in the Migration Advisory Committee’s report on the points-based system, published two weeks ago, they highlighted that our sector, along with other key parts of the economy (including social care), will be affected by labour shortages for skilled workers.

“The ornamental horticulture sector, along with other sectors, relies on a seasonal workforce for its essential operations. We stand ready to support Government targets on tree planting, import substitution, biosecurity and UK production, but the Government needs to support the industry in how the shortfalls in labour are to be fulfilled in 2021 and beyond. We call on the Government to immediately look at significantly increasing the number of Seasonal Agriculture Worker Scheme places, extending this to the ornamental horticulture sector and to also ensure that ornamental and environmental horticulture is added to the Shortage Occupation List.

“Given that the Government’s approach to biosecurity is aimed at making the country less dependent on plant imports, we are faced with the challenge of producing more plants with less people. We need to explore, with the government, every possible mechanism to make this happen.”

Garden Care products outstripped garden decoration sales for the first time in a long while last week in the GTN Bestsellers Garden Products Chart.  

Nineteen of the Top 20 products were core gardening lines with the only lighting product in the Top 20 the Creative Products Zoom Torch at No 20.

Highlights of the week were:

• Fito Drip Feeder For Orchids 32ml was the highest chart climber, up 26 places to No 10.
• Growth Technology Cactus & Succulent Focus 100ml re-entered at the dizzy heights of No 12.
• Panacea Scalloped Top Landscape Edging was the highest placed new chart entry at No 27.

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Unsurprisingly the nasty weather from Storm Dennis had a menacing effect on sales of growing media. Sales dropped 37% week on week and were 58% down on last year.  

We’ll need some serious periods of dry weather soon to enable our customers to get out on their plots.  In the meantime selling plants in pots is a good way to keep growing media sales moving.

Highlights of the week were:

• Westland Gro-Sure Seed & Cutting Compost 10 litres moved 29 places up the GTN Chart to No 12.
• Evergreen Garden Care Levington Essential Multi Purpose 50 litres continued at No 1 even though sales dropped by 44%
• Westland Ericaceous Planting & Repotting Compost 60 litres was a new entry at No 29.

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Storm Dennis even hit Wild Bird Care sales last week with Top 50 product volumes down by 32% on the same week last year.

• Westland Peckish Winter Warmer 12.75kg was the highest chart climber, up 27 places to No 14.
• Tom Chambers Mealworm Suet Treats were a re-entry at No 30.
• Smart Garden Products Compact Squirrel Proof Seed Feeder remains the highest selling anti squirrel product, static at No 12.

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Veg-2-Gro sales weren’t quite as badly affected by the stormy weather as All Plant sales. However Top 50 sales volumes were 32% down on last year even though the onion sets, seed potatoes and seeds are sold from indoor sales areas.

Highlights were:

• Taylors Onion Sets Red Baron jump back to the Top of the GTN Chart.
• Taylors Seed Potatoes Pentland Javelin 2.5kg were the highest chart re-entry at No 12.
• Thompson & Morgan Spring Onion White Lisbon seeds were the highest climber up the chart moving from No 48 to No 13.

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David Austin Roses has announced the appointment of Paul Manley to the role of Wholesale General Manager.

With a passion for gardens and gardening nurtured since boyhood in his grandfather’s greenhouse, Paul joined the company in 1996, starting out in Wholesale despatch. Having experienced the business over the last 23 years in various international and UK-based roles, including Japan and the US, Paul has most recently held the position of Operations Manager.

Andrew Rollings, UK Sales Executive, commented: "I am delighted to welcome Paul to his new role within the Wholesale division. Paul brings extensive experience which, coupled with his background and involvement across the business as a whole, will be invaluable as we focus our efforts on refining our wholesale offering and working collaboratively with our partners.”

Paul said: "I am incredibly excited to be taking up my new role heading up the Wholesale team. Over the last twenty plus years, I have been fortunate to have built strong internal relationships with the production, sales and office teams and learned a great deal about the wider business.

I very much look forward to working more closely with our wholesale partners, strengthening and supporting the good work that has already been accomplished and understanding our customers’ ongoing needs. It’s a fantastic opportunity to bring strategic focus to this important area of the business and the trade-facing side of our brand.”

Paul starts his new role with immediate effect.

A bid to build almost 200 homes at a garden centre site in Clacton, Essex, has been unanimously rejected by councillors.

The proposal to demolish St John's Plant Centre, in Earls Hall Drive, and build new homes was shelved by Tendring District Council's planning committee on Wednesday (February 12).

Members raised concerns about a number of issues including the character of the homes and access issues from St John's Road.

The existing nursery buildings and glasshouses would have been bulldozed and 24 apartments, 163 homes and eight mixed commercial/residential spaces created.

However, St Osyth Parish Council and angry residents opposed the development, and all nine district councillors voted to reject it.

To read the full story click here

Haskins Garden Centre has confimred the acquisition of Forest Lodge Garden Centre, Garden Style and Birdworld, in Farnham.

This acquisition is part of a long-term plan for Haskins to expand its group of four garden centres across the south. The family-owned company has been looking for the right business, in the right location, for a number of years to add to its portfolio of sites.

Warren Haskins, Chairman of Haskins Garden Centres, explained: "We have long admired Forest Lodge, Garden Style and Birdworld and are delighted to welcome the businesses and its teams to the Haskins group. We have created a great culture within Haskins and have worked hard to develop a long-term plan for all our sites, with a view of remaining a family-owned, independent business. We are pleased to have held out for the right opportunity and believe that Forest Lodge, Garden Style and Birdworld will be a good cultural fit and will help support our future strategy."

Roger Head, Managing Director of Denys E. Head Limited, said: "After setting up the business with my parents 40 years ago, we have had an incredible journey and I feel that it is now the right time to retire and therefore sell the business. I have known Warren Haskins throughout this period and believe the Haskins business to be the perfect custodian to continue to develop Forest Lodge, Garden Style and Birdworld. I am very proud of the business and the team of people who have contributed so much to our success and I have worked hard to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible for the team and our customers."

Forest Lodge is an award-winning garden centre and retail offering on a 6.8-acre site, with an impressive 300 seat restaurant. The business is located three miles south west of Farnham, directly off the A325, providing an extensive catchment including Guildford, Reading, Southampton, Portsmouth and Andover.

The site also incorporates the retail and wholesale business, Garden Style Plant Centre, on a further 3-acres which complements the main garden centre's offering. Haskins acknowledges the opportunities to develop this facility.

Birdworld is one of the largest independent tourist attractions in the south east and has been a popular local destination for the past 50 years. Spread over 23-acres with its own catering and retail facilities, it attracts over 100,000 visitors a year to the bird park, gardens and aquarium, and has an extensive conservation and breeding program.

Warren Haskins added: "As a business we have a lot to learn about Birdworld but already see it as an essential element of the long-term plan for the site."

Haskins has centres in Ferndown (Dorset), West End (Southampton), Roundstone and Snowhill (West Sussex). Haskins Snowhill is currently closed to carry out the final phase of the centre's redevelopment plan, ahead of re-opening for business in spring 2020.

Visit www.haskins.co.uk for further information.

Here is a separate statement issued by Savills: 

Denys E Head Ltd, advised jointly by Savills and Gilbert Evans, has sold the entire issued share capital of its business to Haskins Garden Centres Ltd for an undisclosed sum.

The company comprises award winning garden centre Forest Lodge, well known visitor attraction Birdworld and Garden Style Plant Centre, three well established enterprises which occupy an extensive freehold site situated to the south west of Farnham in Surrey.

Denys E Head Ltd was founded by the vendor's father in 1958 as a firm of market gardeners.  In 1980 following a successful period of growth the company relocated from their original premises in Godalming to the current Forest Lodge site, which was comprehensively redeveloped before opening as a purpose built garden centre in 1981.  The company subsequently acquired the neighbouring wildlife park known as Birdworld, which had been open to the public since 1968, and in 2017 the specimen plant business Garden Style was relocated to an area adjoining Forest Lodge Garden Centre, which enabled all three businesses to be run as one integrated entity.

In 2018 planning permission was obtained for the extensive phased development of the property and business, including provision of a new Birdworld visitor centre and family entertainment building, a significantly enlarged garden centre, six residential dwellings and a new single access, which provides the potential for the business to continue its development as one of the largest combined retail and leisure attractions in the south east.

Ian Simpson, director in the leisure & trade related team at Savills, comments: "The sale of this well-established family run business provided the purchaser with an opportunity to acquire a popular combined garden centre and visitor attraction in a good location. Due to the nature of the site there is little competition and coupled with excellent visitor numbers, this makes it both a rare and strong income producing asset. We are very pleased to have been able assist our client with the sale of such a valuable and much loved company."

Mike Gilbert, head of Gilbert Evans' specialist garden centre advisory team, adds: "We received very strong interest for the business. We were delighted to secure a deal with Haskins - a family run company that will ensure this very successful and highly regarded business can be taken to the next stage."

Life is Outside. Take the indoors out by zoning your garden this year. Every room inside you can have out; ensuring your garden really works for your lifestyle. 

This vision came to life at the Klondyke Group’s recent Garden Furniture and Outdoor Living Showcase event, which took place at Houghton Hall Garden Centre at Carlisle on 5^th February.

Zoned areas focused on outdoor cooking with the garden kitchen; entertaining space with both garden dining and garden lounging areas, and the must have zone for quiet relaxation within the garden snug.

The showcase presented Klondyke’s main Outdoor Living themes for 2020 and display techniques, alongside core product lines. The showcase featured furniture, barbecues, firepits, parasols, outdoor lighting and play equipment and showed the garden centre’s Outdoor Living teams the exciting new developments in design, environmental manufacturing, merchandising and product innovation.

Several suppliers exhibited at the showcase, including Norfolk Leisure, Scancom, Leisuregrow, Alexander Rose and Smart Garden.

Klondyke’s Furniture Buyer Suzanne Gorst organised the show and commented “Our 2020 event has showcased our themes and ranges to our Outdoor Living Teams and set the scene for the year ahead. The Showcase has been an ideal platform to present a fantastic array of stimulating ideas and inspiration and we are delighted with the positive feedback from all those who attended.”

Westland Horticulture will launch the biggest ever advertising campaign for peat-free compost this spring, investing £1.5million in a New Horizon TV campaign.

Westland’s New Horizon campaign, developed under the theme “Greatest Grow on Earth”, is a celebration of growing. The campaign, which is set to reach 20 million households from April this year, forms part of Westland’s commitment to lead the move towards more sustainable growing media products and promote peat-free or heavily peat-reduced products across all its communication channels in 2020.

As part of its peat reduction strategy, Westland has invested £35 million into developing peat alternatives over the past 18 years and has also spent £5 million promoting peat-free and peat reduced alternatives to consumers since 2007.  

New Horizon has been developed using Westland’s latest advancement in peat replacement technology, BIO3™.  It will be the first peat-free compost to be advertised on TV, and Westland believes it could become its best-selling compost ever.

Keith Nicholson, Marketing Director for Westland commented: 

“New Horizon is the result of 18 years of research and development and represents a game changer in peat-free compost. Consumers no longer have to make a choice between performance and sustainability. First and foremost, this is a high performing compost which offers excellent growing for gardeners.  

“We are really excited about New Horizon and its growing potential, and this campaign will help spread the message that gardeners can make a sustainable choice without compromising on performance.”

New Horizon comes in three varieties – all plant, all vegetable and a tomato planter.

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 2017 as well as 2018 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

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

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

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

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

Highlights of the GTN Wild Bird Care Products chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro 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.

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 £120m.

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.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call 01733 775700.

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