GTN Xtra - GTN Xtra - Issue 24 2017

You almost detect a tear in his eye as Scotts Miracle-Gro’s CEO Jim Hagedorn, admitting that the garden industry in the UK was more competititve than the US, told investors after last week's sell-off announcement: “This is a bit of a bittersweet moment for us...”

Scots strip off for World Naked Gardening Day

Just in case you missed it, yesterday was Wolrd Naked Gardening Day and the scots in the UK garden retailing sector were the most prolific of partcipants...

Cold winds blow heat out of Easter sales

As predicted the cold winds blew garden centre sales off course. Volume sales for the last week of April in the GTN Bestsellers charts ending the month up 9.5% on April last year but nowhere near the record high of 2011 or the recent high of 2015...

Looking good...summer colour beats the biting winds

Brightly coloured osteospermums and begonias that are looking good were among the big movers in terms of increased volume sales reported by GTN Bestsellers last week ...

Image: Burncoose Nurseries

Gardena opens first UK Ambassador Store at Gordale

Gardena has opened its first UK Ambassador Store at Gordale Nurseries garden centre on the Wirral...

Burgon & Ball spades chosen for groundbreaking at Taittinger's new UK vineyard

Garden tools and accessories manufacturer Burgon & Ball helped world-famous Champagne house Taittinger make history last week by providing spades to break first ground at its new vineyard in Kent...

Smiemans project is a technical tour de force

A stunning conference centre built by Smiemans, who have provided many UK garden centres with new buildings, was opened recently at Baarn in the Netherlands.

All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering

Dobbies announce new restaurant team

Dobbies Garden Centres has announced that there will be three top industry professionals joining its restaurant team...

Cotswold Fayre partners with Chilled Logistics to expand reach

Fine food distributor Cotswold Fayre is developing its chilled operation by partnering with Chilled Logistics to extend distribution...

From north to south, Kelkay has garden centres covered

The Kelkay sales team’s commitment to servicing garden centres has enabled the company to expand deliveries to hundreds of businesses the length and breadth of the UK...

Bonanza April for veg plant sales

The GTN Bestsellers Veg2Gro index joined growing media in bucking the downward sales trend, recording a 21% increase over the same week in 2016...

Fleuroselect name pelargonium in Sally's honour

Sally van der Horst, secretary of Fleuroselect in Noordwijk was taken by surprise last week when she learned that a new pelargonium had been named after her...

Blue Diamond name Fryer's as best centre of 2016

Fryer’s Garden Centre at Knutsford was named as Blue Diamond’s Best Garden Centre of 2016 at the group’s annual awards...

Why Thrive's Faith Ramsay swopped banking for garden design

Thrive’s new chair of trustees, Faith Ramsay, gave up a lucrative banking career and became a garden designer in the interests of her phyiscal and mental health...

More halls, more ideas at spoga+gafa in September 2017

The team from spoga+gafa announced details of this years trade fair to members of the European Garden Trade press at an event in Rome last week...

GTN May 2017 Issue

Garden Trade News

Get your own copy of GTN Xtra

with all the news direct to your e-mail inbox...

Garden product sales ahead of 2016...but behind 2014 peak

Sales of coco lioners accelerated in April, which proved a better month than the same month last year for garden product sales, with the GTN Bestsellers Top 50 index finishing up 4.7% on 2016...

Peckish ready to 'unlock' birdcare category says Westland

Westland says its Peckish brand is getting ready to help retailers ‘unlock’ the birdcare category this autumn...

Another record as growing media boom continues

Despite a week-on-week fall, volume sales of growing media were still up by 22% on the same week last year, to reach a record high in the GTN Bestsellers Top 50 Index...

Garsons voted best garden centres for gifts in trade magazine awards

Garsons of Esher and Titchfield has been voted Best Garden Centre Retailer of Gifts in The Greats Awards 2017...

GMOs in Petunias

Following reports of genetically modified petunias being sold in Finland, the HTA has alerted the UK authorities to their existence in the UK supply chain for these bedding plants. The orange-coloured petunias pose no threat to people, animals or the environment...

Does foliar feeding help attract bees? Read on...

Hozelock has announced a partnership with Blooms for Bees to find out if foliar feeding can result in plants that attract more bees...

BOPP 21st birthday event planned for ornamentals sector

The HTA has announced a special event for the ornamentals sector in July to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the British Ornamental Plant Producers’ certification scheme...