Dobbies, is gearing up for its busiest season of the year with more than 17.5 million summer bedding plants starting to make their way into 71 stores across the UK in pots, packs, containers and hanging baskets.

Seasonally relevant just now are Pansies, Violas and Osteospermum as customers look to fill their garden spaces with spring colour.

It might only be March but already Dobbies has seen an increase in footfall across its stores this month, compared to this time last year, as customers look to get inspiration for their garden spaces.

Dobbies is predicting an early surge in interest of its garden living collections ahead of a summer of sport. The Euros, Olympics and Paralympics, and two T20 World Cups are likely to encourage more outdoor entertaining and, as a result, the garden centre is increasing its choice of garden furniture and outdoor cooking ranges including a new collection of own-brand BBQ tools.

Andy Hannan, Commercial Director at Dobbies, said: “Spring is always a favourite time of year for us here at Dobbies because we know the joy a garden full of spring blooms can bring. We’re expecting a busy start to the gardening season with our bedding plants expected to fly off the shelves. Anecdotally, we’ve already seen customers take particular interest in our garden living collections. There’s an excitement about the forthcoming summer of sport and people are making early preparations to make sure their gardens are in tip-top shape for hosting.”