Wyevale Garden Centres is believed to be concluding a deal to buy a major destination garden centre business in the north of England.

Sources say it is a well-known family business with a long history and has more than one site.

It is Wyevale’s policy not to comment on industry rumours or speculation but insiders understand an announcement could be imminent.

HTA President Stan Green has called for a National Garden for Scotland to be created to show off an 'amazing horticultural heritage' north of the Border. His comments follow an HTA parliamentary reception at Holyrood to celebrate Scottish horticulture.

"We have a national football stadium, a national rugby stadium, we have the Nation art gallery and the National museum... isn’t it a tragedy that a National garden is missing from the set," he said.

An 195 strong audience at the HTA parliamentary reception was made up of MSPs and representatives of gardening charities, community gardening groups as well as garden retail and nursery businesses from across the horticultural sector in Scotland.

The event, sponsored by keen gardener Christine Grahame MSP, took place in the Garden Lobby at Holyrood. Keynote speaker, Dr Aileen McLeod MSP, Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform spoke about the huge benefits brought by horticulture in Scotland which often go unnoticed. She spoke about the vital role that the horticultural sector plays and how continuing collaboration is critical in getting issues such as plant health more widely communicated. She publicly thanked HTA member and her own constituent Noel Allan from Galloway Heathers who provided MSPs with handmade heather buttonholes for the event, allowing them to demonstrate their support for Scottish horticulture.

Dr Richard Simpson MSP, who is a Patron of the therapeutic gardening charity, Trellis, spoke about the important role that horticulture plays in helping patients recover from mental illness and how a greater connection with plants will benefit us all. In particular, he noted the work done with dementia patients, which has shown how gardening can help to reconnect memories.

Stan Green concluded, “Scotland has an amazing horticultural heritage – from internationally renowned parks, public and private gardens with many societies and community groups to boot. What better place to collectively celebrate the importance of plants in Scotland – than the Scottish Parliament. Horticulture plays such a pivotal role in society but do people, politicians and government take it seriously? More can be done.”

He added: "There continues to be moves afoot to provide a National garden in Scotland that can act as a focus for all that gardens and plants do for us. Indeed everything the evening is about. The garden would work with the national institutions to provide an accessible focus for any and all that are touched by plants. Which is all of us.

"The Calyx, as it would be known, would also act as a gateway and a centre of excellence that will exploit our heritage but offer a new environment of learning and cooperation for the future. What a chance to make a statement of intent, in Scotland we care about people and we care about our environment."

Children from Abbeyhill Primary School and Linwood High School also attended the reception. The Abbeyhill ‘eco group’ spoke about the importance of trees. “If we don’t plant more trees we will not have enough oxygen and more plants will keep the planet cooler and we will all be healthier”, said 6 year old Martin.

Attendees were able to visit the parliamentary garden for the first time at a parliamentary evening reception, and were invited to put forward their ideas for how the garden might better reflect Scotland’s relationship and history with horticulture.

By way of thanks HTA President Stan Green and HTA CEO Carol Paris presented Christine Grahame with a rose specially cultivated for the occasion, which had been named after her.

More Waitrose customers are getting into ‘grow your own’, according to a report in a leading retail trade journal.

In a Retail Week story reporting that sales at the grocery chain remained flat, showing a marginal increase of just 0.1% for the week ending May 16, bosses were quoted as saying that customers were moving towards a “grow your own” fruit and vegetables mentality, with the range of outdoor plants stocked in store rising by more than 100% on last year.

The warm weather saw the Waitrose food-to-go range perform strongly again that week, with salads up 24% and snacks up 49%. Wine sales were 80% on the year.

Supermarket plant sales are believed to have been good so far this season, with the generally cool weather helping stores to keep plants alive (as regular watering is commonly neglected). However, GTN Bestsellers data suggests garden centre plant sales have not been hit by the competition.

If you are thinking about selling your garden centre then the Wyevale Garden Centres group want to hear from you. In a bid to add to their portfolio they've posted an advert of their website, urging would-be sellers to make contact.

Under the headline 'Are you thinking about selling your garden centre?', the company say they are continuing to expand, having added 19 centres through acquisitions in the past two years.

"Through our 'best of local, best of national' philosophy, we look for high quality garden centres that will build upon the history of the business and help us share the joy of the garden with an even wider audience," say the company.

Anyone interested in talking about opportunities with Wyevale Garden Centres, should contact the company's head of acquisitions Andrew Eldridge on 07785 556600 or email andrew.eldridge@wgcl.co.uk

GTN Xtra has reported on recent speculation that Wyevale Garden Centres are in negotiations with Tesco to buy Dobbies, with Terra Firma boss Guy Hands telling us at Chelsea: "It's all up to Tesco..."

To see the 'Are you thinking about selling your garden centre?' advert click here

Investment of more than £3m in display stands and high-profile consumer advertising is paying huge dividends for Gardman’s product brands this season.

More than  £2m has been invested in a range of merchandising solutions, including new stands and point of sale material, to help stockists display the company’s core brands, such as Moulton Mill tools and Cole & Bright lighting.

Further support has been provided by the employment of two merchandisers, backing up Gardman’s sales force of 32. Andy Dilworth, who joined Gardman from Stax, and Daniel Butler, a recent recruit to the garden industry, will cover North and South regions respectively, helping to implement stand builds, layout changes and re-stocking. Their new sign-written vans promoting the brands will become a familiar sight in garden centre car parks across the country this summer. Additional merchandiser support will be rolled out over the next 12 months.

On top of this, to drive footfall, £1.4m has been invested in consumer advertising since February, across print and digital media, including BBC Gardeners’ World magazine, Beautiful Gardens (magazine of the Tillington marketing group), BBC Countryfile magazine, Gardens Illustrated, The Garden, Grow Your Own, Garden Answers, Landscape magazine, Garden News, The Mail on Sunday and The Guardian. Estimated total reach is 9.1 million consumers.

Finally, Gardman has invested an extra £3m in stock holding, to ensure stockists can meet demand.

Steve Harper, Gardman’s sales director, says the overall investment is paying big dividends, with sales growth of 20% in garden centres in the year to date. “We have responded quickly and effectively to all the changes in the industry over the past 12 months and, clearly, it is working,” he added.

 
Pictured: Gardman’s new merchandising duo, Andy Dilworth (left) and Andy Butler, with their new sign-written vans.

This summer The Greatest Awards are going ON TOUR to create more opportunities to reward the excellence of garden centre teams across more areas of garden centre businesses.

Catering, Planteria, Outdoor Leisure and Garden Care sales teams get their own date at The Greatest Awards ON TOUR for 2015 with presentations to the winners at The HTA Catering Conference, The National Plant Show, The GIMA’s and HTA Futures with other dates and venues to be added.

All you have to do to make sure your team is considered amongst The Greatest in their particular area is read through the categories for each Greatest Awards ON TOUR event below and them e-mail: thegreatestawards@tgcmc.co.uk, with details as to why they should be considered for one of The Greatest Awards 2015.

As usual The Greatest Awards team of experts will be out and about meeting nominated teams, gathering information and taking photos of their work so that the Gold, Silver and Bronze Greatest Awards winners can be chosen.

Plus your team have the chance to become The Greatest Garden Centre Team of 2015 by involving your customers in the public voting later this summer.  The Greatest Garden Centre Teams, small, medium and large will be the teams that have the best relationships with their customers and generate the most votes (taking size of centre into account) and in the event of a tie, the centre with the most complimentary comments form their customers.  To take part in the public vote please e-mail trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call The Greatest Awards on 01733 775700 to request an in store voting pack.

As this issue of GTN Xtra goes to press the expert judges are already planning their travels to meet garden centre catering teams next week in advance of The HTA Catering Conference.  Make sure your Planteria, Outdoor Leisure, Garden Care and Garden Centre teams are nominated for visits later in June, July and August.

The Greatest Awards would like to thank sponsors, Elho, National Garden Gift Vouchers, MorePeople and The HTA plus the event organisers at The HTA Catering Conference, National Plant Show, GIMA Awards and HTA Futures for agreeing to be presentation venues for The Greatest Awards ON TOUR 2015.  The date and venue for The Greatest Outdoor Leisure Awards will be announced in a future issue of GTN Xtra.

Sponsorship opportunities are available for product and service suppliers seeking to gain the highest possible exposure between now and November this year.  Please contact mandy.atkin@tgcmc.co.uk for details.

Highfield Garden World has won more planning permission to transform part of its A1 unrestricted retail space at its site in rural Gloucestershire. 

The family-run business is the largest independent in Gloucestershire, and completed a £2.5m restaurant and retail development in the spring of 2014 – a factor which is certainly playing its part in the fact that the business reported an increased turnover of 24% year for year in April, compared to the average 10% increase suggested by the GCA’s Barometer of Trade (BoT) findings earlier this month.

The site’s current footprint is 5,200 sq.m, and the new project will bring the total covered retail area to almost 6000 sq.m..  MD Tim Greenway commented: “The new development completed last year has transformed the way customers enter and flow through the site, and that has proved really successful for us.  We’re constantly looking at ways to improve the business and appeal to customers, and this latest project is simply about bringing one of the older, quieter corners in line with everything else. 

"Like every retailer, we need every inch to earn its keep, and it’s time we gave this little area a bit of a makeover to help it do that.   Now it’s just a matter of pinpointing a quiet trading time to get started!” 

Plans have already gone out to both local and national contractors for pricing. The first window of opportunity is this autumn or early January 2016.

The brainchild behind National Children's Gardening Week says he's happy with the response to the campaign to encourage the gardeners of the future.

Neil Grant, MD of Ferndale Garden Centre in Derbyshire, who is also BBC Radio Sheffield’s garden expert and co-presenter of the weekly garden phone in, now hopes it will become an annual event.

The first National Children's Gardening Week took place during this week's half-term for most of the country’s schools. 

“Children love growing plants, love being in the garden, but they are often impatient growers, wanting to see instant results,” said Neil.

“The event was designed to capture children’s enthusiasm at a time when results are immediate. Pretty much throughout the UK children can plant all the popular plants with little fear of weather damage or the need for complicated protective growing."

Ferndale Garden Centre led the way during the campaign, but other garden centres up and down the country also took part, including Palmers, Leicestershire; Kershaws, Brighouse; Blue Diamond; Perrywood, Essex; and Barton Grange.

Neil added: "We are pleased with the take up and we are happy to have created some fun for children encouraging them to garden for life. 

"We will repeat the pot painting when we open the summer beach plus and the grow your name activity."

If your garden centre took part in National Children's Gardening Week let us know by emailing neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk

The Greatest Garden Centre Team Awards Categories

• The Greatest Garden Care Retail Team of the Year
• The Greatest Garden Centre Customer Service Team of the Year
• The Greatest Garden Centre Training Team or Initiative of the Year, sponsored by MorePeople
• The Greatest Garden Centre Merchandising Team of the Year
• The Greatest Gardening Supplier of the Year
• The Greatest Garden Centre of the Year (Public Vote), sponsored by National Garden Gift Vouchers

Gardman’s re-branded and improved garden tools have become a fast-moving success story since they were unveiled at Glee last autumn.

Sales of Moulton Mill and Gardener’s Mate tools are already approaching £3 million and are expected to achieve turnover of around £5 million in their first full year.

The brands were created in response to research into consumers’ needs and preferences. Moulton Mill is a premium but competitively-priced stainless steel range of 29 beautifully-designed tools with a host of user benefits, and carries a 15-year guarantee. Gardener’s Mate gives retailers an entry-level solution, with 49 products at exceptional price points, many carrying a 12-year guarantee.

Henry Corbett, who joined Gardman from Solus last year and is responsible for the development of both ranges, said: “Through building in strong points of difference, 15-year and 12-year guarantees and ensuring the ranges are offered at competitive price points, we’ve developed a compelling category solution that retailers responded exceptionally well to. The consumer sell-through has been outstanding.”

The re-branding was supported with refreshed packaging and point of sale material, plus new dual-site island stands.

Homebase Garden Academy student Nicola Oakey is about to build her first RHS Show garden at BBC Gardener’s World Live (11–14 June).

Nicola, who started the Academy in September 2014, successfully submitted a design for the ‘Beautiful Borders’ category of the show. The design had to be inspired by the ‘Industrial Heritage of the West Midlands’, so Nicola took the opportunity to celebrate the amazing pottery industry that has flourished in the area, notably Spode and Wedgewood. 

“I can’t wait to bring my design to life”, said Nicola. “The Garden Academy visits Barnsdale Gardens every month to receive RHS training. It is really inspiring to spend so much time there and really fitting that it is where Geoff Hamilton filmed Gardener’s World.”  

The border, although just 3x3m in size, will be full of planting and many pottery-inspired features. An eye-catching focal point will be three salix that have been woven into bold living columns. Their shape is reminiscent of the chimneys of bottle-oven kilns, which would have dominated the industrial skyline, standing like living monuments to the pottery industry and the world-famous willow pattern. 

As if the commitment of organising a show garden was not enough, Nicola is also going to make three bespoke stepping-stones that will cross the border. Made out of broken blue and white ceramics, the stepping stones will act as a beautiful, but poignant reminder of the factories where men, women and children tirelessly worked.

Nicola’s planting scheme is simple and elegant with hints of an English cottage garden. Her border has a blue and white colour scheme; timeless colours associated with well-known potteries and will contain bold drifts of herbaceous planting interspersed with a lush carpet of creeping groundcover.

Homebase’s Garden Academy scheme, now in its second year, is growing from strength to strength. It offers young people the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of horticulture and receive the training and support they need to pursue a career in it. The students spend a year working full time in their local Homebase garden centre and have monthly training from Chelsea gold medallist Adam Frost. Students also visit a wide variety of horticultural suppliers and study toward a RHS Level 1 Award qualification.

“Designing and building a beautiful border is a great way to learn about what it takes to build a show garden, without being overwhelmed by the size of the space,” said Nicola. “The Garden Academy was lucky enough to help Adam build his Chelsea garden this year; an invaluable experience, which should really help me during Gardener’s World Live.”

Adam Frost, who founded the Academy alongside Homebase, said: “What an amazing achievement! Nicola should be proud that her design has been selected. I have no doubt this is the first of many accolades she will go on to achieve.”

Gardener’s World Live attracts over 100,000 visitors and takes place at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham

Garden giftware company, Fallen Fruits whose themed, designer collections are inspired both by nature and the impetus to recycle and make anew has seen a rush of trade orders for its Old Rectory bench after it was featured in Hilliers’ gold medal winning Chelsea garden.

The bench is made of cast iron painted in cream or green. Hilliers used the cream version as the feature piece in what was described as “a quiet corner of an English garden filled with roses, lavender, delphiniums and aquilegias.” Andrew West, head of purchasing at Hilliers, confirmed that the bench had received many compliments from the Chelsea public and that the company would be ordering a significant number as a result.  Michael Hall of Fallen Fruits said other retailers had followed suit as a result of the product’s popularity at the show.

Exclusive to Fallen Fruits, bench is part of the Old Rectory collection of Victorian- style painted cast iron garden furniture, which also includes arches, arbours, plant stands, tables, chairs obelisks, a tree seat and an etagere.  RRPs start from £2.49 for a small wall hook up to £900 for a gazebo.  MD Michael Hall  said he was delighted with the additional consumer exposure.  “The range was already successful and is now even more so,” he added.

Old Rectory is well supported at point of sale and can be incorporated into the company’s in store “shop within a shop” proposition.

The Greatest Plant Sales Awards Categories

• The Greatest Linked Sales Team of the Year
• The Greatest Pot and Plant Sales Team – Top of the Pots - sponsored by Elho
• The Greatest Plant Advice Team, including planteria signage and information
• The Greatest Plant Supplier of the Year
• The Greatest Plant Sales Team of the Year, sponsored by The HTA

If you’re having a great time selling garden furniture and BBQs this year then you’ll probably be looking for even more great ideas, inspiration and new products for 2016. That’s what the team at spoga + gafa 2015 in Cologne have on offer for you – eight halls of garden living, one hall of garden unique premium garden furniture and for the first time this year a complete hall full of BBQ and grill exhibitors.

spoga + gafa runs from Sunday 30th August to Tuesday 1st September this year so it’s the ideal time to take a European summer break and take in some business opportunities as well.

Last year 1,400 visitors from the UK attended spoga + gafa and 93 UK exhibitors joined the 2,000 other companies from over 60 countries. 

“spoga + gafa unites a worldwide unique top offer of garden products,” explained Katharina Hamma, CEO of Koelnmesse to GTN at last week’s European Press Conference.

As well as garden furniture and BBQs spoga + gafa covers plants, garden sundries and garden care, machines, tools, garden equipment and sheds.  In total the show will occupy 12 halls.

Outside Hall 7, 'the epi-centre of the BBQ industry', there will be a grill park where BBQs and grills will be demonstrated by exhibitors.

This year for the first time there will also be a consumer garden show; Garden Day that runs on the Saturday and Sunday in one of the Koelnmesse halls and outside in the adjacent Rhinepark.  This event will host the German Championships of the STHIL Timbersports series and 'Grilling in the Sky' powered by Weber.  Visitors to spoga + gafa will have free entrance to the Garden Day.

You can find out more about spoga + gafa 2015 at www.spogagafa.com.

If you’ve never been to Cologne for spoga + gafa before Koelnmesse have a team that can help with travel and hotel arrangements. If you contact GTN via trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk we will liaise with the koelnmesse team and pass on your details.

Garden Shop Manager (ref:BP6422)

Location: Surrey
Salary: 22-24k
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

My client is a large garden centre group who is currently recruiting for one of there established busy centres.

They are looking for a talented retail manager to join the centres leadership team.

Retail management experience is a must and you will have gained 1-2 years experience at least at supervisory level.  

You will ideally have garden retail experience previously but a keen interest in gardening would be beneficial.

Please submit your CV in the first instance, or to discuss further please call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530

Sales Exec (ref:DS7339)

Location: Wiltshire
Salary: 35 to 40k per annum
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

Our client is an established and successful UK importer and distributor of garden planters who is looking for an experienced professional sales executive to manage the further development of the business into  UK garden centres and multiple chains.  

This is a new role within the company and will require someone who has the energy and skills to work independently and manage the sales growth efficiently and cost effectively.  

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE -  

Experience in dealing with the UK garden centre groups and larger independent garden centres at senior buyer level.

Preferably familiar with the UK garden planter market and specifically the polypropylene planter/container market, although this is not essential.

Proven track record of profitable sales growth within the UK garden industry.

Ability to work alone and manage the profitable development of the business.

Must be prepared to work flexible hours in accordance with the seasonality of the business.

Prepared to travel extensively throughout the UK which may require overnight stays.

Some heavy lifting may occasionally be required.

Basic IT skills required.

Preferred location , within one hour of Chippenham, Wiltshire.

DUTIES -  

Responsible for the sales of garden planters into the UK  garden centres and multiple chains.

Liaise with overseas factories regarding production and supply chain.

Assist in new product development with overseas factories.

Involvement in the marketing of the products in the UK including the management of UK exhibitions (i.e GLEE).

Support MD in the management of existing customer base.

Please submit your CV in the first instance, or to discuss further please call Dianne Saunders at MorePeople on 07929013910

Horticulture Manager (ref:BP7337)

Location: Surrey
Salary: 22-24k
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

I am currently looking for a bright and ambitious plant area management candidate to join the team of an established garden centre.  

The garden centre is based in a busy area and is part of a large expanding group based throughout the UK.  

To manage this plantarea I need a a candidate with fantastic plant knowledge and a real love of horticulture. You will be responsible for maintaining the merchandising of the planteria and caring for the plants up to the point of sale.    

You will also be responsible for managing a team to produce excellent customer service and consistently strong sales.    

Candidates must have previous man management experience in retail and will be looking for a real retail role that they can apply their plant knowledge too.   

Please submit your CV in the first instance, or to discuss further please call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530

Grower Supervisor (ref:DS7363)

Location: Lincolnshire
Salary: 28 to 25k per annum
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

Our client is a well established and progressive nursery stock grower who are looking for a Grower Supervisor to head up their potting team and manage the potting unit on a day to day basis. Reporting to the Head Grower he will direct and give instruction on spray regimes, potting schedules etc and it will be up to the Grower Supervisor to see that these are all carried out.

Other duties include general husbandry of all plant stock, supervision of staff and ensuring all stock on site is kept to a high standard.

For this role they are looking for an experienced commercial grower with excellent staff supervision knowledge.

Please submit your CV in the first instance or to discuss further call Dianne Saunders at MorePeople on 07929013910

Garden Centre retailers are looking forward to a bumper May as GTN Bestsellers reports a second week of volume sales up year on both 2014 and 2013.

A solid half term week with reasonable, if still colder than normal, weather should mean record May sales.

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

• Garden Products – static 0%
• Veg 2 Gro Products  – up 135%
• Growing Media – up 8%
• All items index – up 10%

Briers are extending their "Glovies' fundraising idea to 'Golfies' and offering teams taking part in the GIMA Golf Day next Thursday (June 4)  to buy a specially designed gold glove and help raise money for Greenfingers...

The GIMA Golf Day is taking place at the Telford Hotel and Golf Resort, and for the first time Briers will be assembling a team to take part.

Not only will the Briers team be taking part in the game but also promoting to the other teams a limited product to help raise additional funds for Greenfingers. The Briers ‘Golfies’ charity golf glove will be sold for £10 on the morning of the event, pre tee off.

For more information email Liam Walsh at liam@briersltd.co.uk

Plant feeds, garden lights, hanging basket products and slugs are the ultimate hotspots for the start of June based on this week’s GTN Bestsellers Epos data.

Six of the Top 10 Garden Products chart lines are plant feeds; 13% of this week’s Top 50 volume is accounted for by garden lights; there are nine specific hanging basket lines in the Top 50; and all of the slug products are making moves up the sales rankings.

Star performers this week include:

• Scotts Levington Tomorite moves to the No 1 ranking for the second time this year.
• Burgon & Ball Herb Planting Bags are a new entry at No 36.
• Vitax have two pack sizes of Slug Gone in the Top 50, 3.5 litres at No 18 and 1 litre back in at No 46.

Customers at Ferndale Garden Centre in Derbyshire had a surprise treat in store when the cast from Woodseats Musical Theatre Company flash-mobbed with a rendition from Calamity Jane.

Flash-mobbing is where a group of people assemble suddenly in a public place and perform an unusual act for a brief time.

The musical theatre company entertained custumers in Ferndale's restaurant with a rendition of The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away!).

To view and listen to the flash-mob visit https://www.facebook.com/FerndaleGardenCentre/videos/10153324304206226/

The Greatest Outdoor Leisure Awards Categories

• The Greatest BBQ Sales Team of the Year
• The Greatest Garden Decoration and Lighting Sales Team of the Year
• The Greatest Inspiration for New Gardeners Team – Love The Plot You’ve Got Award
• The Greatest Outdoor Leisure Supplier of the Year
• The Greatest Outdoor Leisure Sales Team of the Year

Runner Bean White Emergo plants are the runaway winner during May’s Veg-2-Gro sales volumes. The line from Quantil has been No 1 for four consecutive weeks now. 

Veg plant sales continue at record levels, up by 135% on the same week last year. 

No wonder sales of growing media and related plant supports and veg plant feeds are up year-on-year too.

Star performers include:

• Farplants Strawberry Rhapsody is the highest new entry at No 28.
• Quantil Climbing French Bean Purple re-enters at No 32.
• Farplants Rosemary Corsican in 1 litre pots climbs to No 3 after a 95% sales increase.

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

It may have got off to a damp start, but this year’s Chelsea Flower Show proved to be the perfect climate for Town & Country’s brand new see-through macs range. 

With the first couple of days of trading at the show being particularly cold and wet, visitors to the Town & Country stand were keen to get their hands on the stylish news macs to provide much-needed protection from the elements. 

More than 100 macs were sold over the five days, with the fitted trench-style design proving the most popular.

Designed to appeal to style-conscious consumers with an eye on quality and value, the macs range comprises three styles - Clear Fitted Mac with navy or raspberry trim, Clear Mac with Polka-Dots (navy or raspberry) and plain Clear Mac – all available in small, medium and large sizes (SRP’s £29.99 to £39.99).  

The new spring colours for cloggies, gloves and kneepads were also extremely popular, with more than 350 pairs of the lime and pink spotty cloggies sold during the duration of the show.

Comments Barry Page, chief executive:  “We have had another fantastic Chelsea and are particularly delighted with how well the new macs were received.  We sold far more than we had ever expected and we had some excellent comments from consumers.  

"Chelsea is a great barometer for us to gauge how our new products will be received by the consumer audience.  We always get a very positive reaction on stand and the feedback from visitors is extremely valuable in helping us shape our product development going forward.”

This year was the company’s 23rd visit to the world’s most famous flower show, where the latest additions to gloves, footwear and garden accessory ranges were showcased.

BBC Gardeners World Live HQ has been busy over the past few months confirming a host of exciting new features to inspire your gardening at this year’s show, at the NEC from 11 – 14 June.

Show Gardens show you how

See the colours, smell the scents, and absorb the ideas – there’s no better way to get inspiration than by seeing stunning garden designs and styles right in front of you. The new Lifestyle Garden category illustrates how gardens can be designed to suit different life stages, from first home to new family and ultimately a retirement haven. This year’s show garden designers are a hot-bed of both emerging and established talent. One to watch is Paul Harris, finalist in BBC2s recent ‘Great Chelsea Garden Challenge’, with his ‘First Home’ Lifestyle Garden.

BBC Gardeners’ World Live Theatre sponsored by Wyevale Garden Centres

This stage boasts a prestigious line-up of Monty Don, Carol Klein, Joe Swift and Toby Buckland, hosted by James Alexander-Sinclair. Budding designers, or those with a gardening project, should book seats to see Joe Swift as he talks about his design principles. Or avid Gardeners’ World viewers should see Monty Don as he discusses inspirational developments at Longmeadow. Additionally, Nicky Roeber, of theatre sponsor Wyevale Garden Centres, talks visitors thorough key looks and colour in the garden.

Right Plant Right Place

This is the place to go for planting ideas and inspiration to turn a difficult area from an eyesore into a flourishing oasis! Award-winning designer Adam Frost (RHS Chelsea Gold Medal freshly under his belt for the Homebase Garden) and landscaper Jody Lidgard collaborate to create a garden of pockets filled with beautiful plant combinations suited to different situations - from full sun to moisture loving and dry shade to aquatic.

RHS Floral Marquee and RHS Plant Village, the places to buy plants

With over 100 independent nurseries you’ll be sure to find what you’re looking for and some surprises too! Every year the show sees new plant introductions that have not been available to the public before – so you can take home a piece of horticultural history!

The Gardeners’ World Magazine Pots Zone

This new feature, dedicated to successful results from container gardening, features a stage, demo area and stunning displays. A host of experts share their ‘Container Style’ including Mary Berry (Friday) and you can pick up a ‘recipe card’ on the day to re-create the showstoppers at home! Don’t miss the Have A Go area hosted by Gardeners’ Question Time’s Matt Biggs, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine team talks, and zone inspiring you  to grow pots for scent, colour, wildlife and veggies.

Love the Plot You Got "Live", with the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL)

New this year the show has an un-missable opportunity for anyone wishing to give their garden an overhaul. Visitors can access the most experienced and knowledgeable people in the gardening industry at this show feature. The APL demonstrate techniques that can be achieved in a relatively small space on a budget, and show how the garden can be used as extended living space.

Skinny Jean Gardeners with Veg Trug

The Skinny Jean Gardeners, who are on a mission to inject fun and creativity into gardening, will be appearing on the Kitchen Garden Talks Tent in conjunction with Veg Trug, and inspiring kids to get growing with regular Sow n’ Grow demos on Family Weekend. They’ll be joined by 13-year old RHS Young Gardener of the Year 2012, Lucas Hatch, for kids Grow Your Own sessions.

The Potting Bench

Access to expert advice is what this show is all about. At the Potting Bench, in the heart of the RHS Floral Marquee, the owners of the nurseries host hands-on demos of their specialist subjects from Alpine Troughs with D’Arcy & Everest to veg plant propagation with Barnsdale Gardens.  The RHS Gardening Advice team will also be on hand to answer all your gardening questions.

Window Boxes

New this year the Window Box Competition, in association with Elho Products and Veolia Pro-Grow,showcase the talents of 24 West-Midlands based gardeners. With many of the designs taking an edible theme, visitors will be able to take away great ideas for making even the smallest of spaces productive.

Turfcare equipment specialists Godfreys (Sevenoaks) Ltd have announced they have acquired Tylers, the Sussex based garden machinery distributor.

Tylers enjoys an excellent reputation for service within the garden machinery dealer network, and recently it has strategically focused more on developing the Windmill Feeds business.

The acquisition of Tylers provides Godfreys with an established and well respected distribution vehicle to supply John Deere homeowner and other complementary brands within its area of responsibility. Additionally, through the Tylers parts portal, dealers will be able to access parts stock lines that currently are unavailable.

The business will continue to operate under the Tylers name and Tylers staff directly engaged in the garden machinery business will transfer over. Russell Kelly, formally Sales Director of Tylers Ltd, will be returning to head up the Tylers team, and, along with Mel Burch, Parts Manager and Andy Woodhams, Sales Office Manager, will be looking to re-engage with loyal customers and seek out new business.

Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Bateman of Godfreys said: “As a Tylers customer of many years, we have always appreciated the company’s first class service matched with its honest and genuine approach to business.

"We share the same values and believe the Tylers team will fill a regional requirement; supplying quality brands to dealers, supported by excellent service.

Following the appointment of David Sturges as Godfreys CEO, we are committed to growing our business within the garden machinery and turfcare sector, making John Deere and other complementary brands available through a network of authorised associate dealers.”

Andrew Tyler added: “I am very proud of what the team at Tylers has achieved over the years and appreciative of the loyalty of our customers. I am delighted to be handing over the baton to Godfreys, a company who we have worked so closely with over the years, along with the Tylers team, and will be supporting them in any way we can over the transitional period.”

The business will transfer on Monday (June 1), with parts distribution continuing to operate from the current location at Blackboys during 2015.

Pictured (from left to right):  Andy Woodhams (Tylers), Ann Gutheridge (Tylers), David Sturges (Godfreys), Marcus Funnell (Tylers) and Mel Burch (Tylers).

The anniversary edition of trade fair GrootGroenPlus, which will be held in Zundert, The Netherlands, from 30 September to 2 October, is centred around meeting, learning, and inspiring.

The theme is 'Growing Strong, Celebrating 25 Years', with the organisers promising the show will be a three-day 'one-stop-shopping' event for everyone who is professionally involved with the green market - and a great networking opportunity.

The broad scope of the exhibits is one of the main characteristics of the 25th edition of the fair. From seed to avenue tree, it will all be there, including growing materials, seedlings, bare root plants and container grown plants. Some participants sell plants as a concept, others in special shapes or applications. You will see a diverse, high-quality offer, both for creation and maintenance and for garden centre sales.

Once again, there will be three different routes around the show, with a combined length of 1km. Both red and grey route have a height of 11m, allowing room for mature specimen trees.

The grey route features a large square of 140sq.m, with nine growers from the Haaren area presenting, among other things, shrubs, ornamental grasses, bush roses, taxus, solitaries, root ball trees, heavy hedge plants, buxus, ilex, 150 different avenue and park trees, and a total offer for gardeners and export.

Alongside the blue route, visitors will find the Treeport collective, representing the interests of tree nurseries in the Zundert area, which is known for its 400 plant species, trade, and good logistics. The blue route will feature a large stand by Flora Holland and participants' from the Venlo area offering ground cover shrubs, buxus, taxus, Prunus laurocerasus, conifers, and multiple container plants.

The international section, also spread over the three routes, will include exhibitors from France, Germany, Morocco, Italy, Poland, and the UK.

Products ad services on show will include gates, soil improvers, plant food, cultural advice, biological novelties, old fruit trees, greenery for roofs and façades, plugs, mandrels and water plantsl. The tree nursery areas Opheusden (known for its avenue trees) and Boskoop, (renowned for its garden plant production) will be well represented. 

Garden stone product specialist Haddonstone was due to open its much-admired show gardens today (6 June) - joined by guest exhibitor Scotts of Thrapston.

The acclaimed jazz sax player, John Ray Driscoll, was due to perform in the exquisite Haddonstone Orangery. 

Scotts has an enviable reputation for quality timber summerhouses, gazebos and garden buildings and is one of the country's leading suppliers, with buildings to suit most requirements. One of the summerhouses used by the company at last week’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2015, where both Haddonstone and Scotts exhibit, was on display. Scotts has a wide range of timber summerhouses in various shapes - octagonal, rectangular or a corner option - and sizes to suit most requirements. Other designs in the Scotts range include equestrian buildings, bespoke joinery, timber engineering and education buildings. 

Situated at East Haddon, in the rolling Northamptonshire countryside, Haddonstone’s impressive show gardens and interior showroom offer visitors the chance to see many of the company’s designs in their intended setting.

Johnsons Seeds, one of the UK's longest-established brands, has joined forces for the 2016 season with Jekka McVicar to launch a new retail range of herb seeds. 

Jekka is the UK's leading expert on herbs and has a high and trusted profile both with gardeners and the garden trade. 

She has selected a new collection of 47 species and varieties of herbs, including well known 'classics' and more unusual names which are sure to stimulate interest in keen kitchen gardeners and adventurous cooks.

Presented in large-format packets, featuring Jekka's own varietal photography on the front and her personal sowing, growing and usage advice on the reverse, the collection is displayed on a bespoke, stand-alone unit, featuring eye-catching point-of-sale material to encourage both knowledgeable gardeners and impulse purchasers.  "No one knows more about herbs than Jekka, gardeners recognise and respect her, so we are sure they will make a bee-line for her range", comments Johnsons' Helen Clayton.

Jekka McVicar has published several books on herbs, and is a regular contributor to magazines such as Gardeners' World, The Garden and Good Food, and national newspapers.  She has also appeared on many television programmes.  In 2013 she created Jekka's Herbetum in the grounds of her herb farm near Bristol, displaying the largest collection of culinary herbs in the UK.

Information: click here for website

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 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 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.

The Greatest Catering Awards Categories for 2015

• The Greatest Afternoon Tea Experience 2015
• The Greatest Chef Team of the Year
• The Greatest Front of House Team of the Year
• The Greatest Catering Supplier of the Year
• The Greatest Garden Centre Catering Team of the Year, sponsored by National Garden Gift Vouchers

For the second year running, The Apple Tree Restaurant at Brimsmore Gardens in Yeovil has been awarded Gold in the Taste of the West Hospitality and Retail Awards 2015.

Up against 300 other establishments judged in the restaurant category, The Apple Tree, which is part of The Gardens Group, was commended for its commitment to local-sourcing, provenance, understanding of allergens and its attentive and unflustered staff.

Quality of service and meal, as well as atmosphere, were among the criteria assessed and judges found the restaurant difficult to fault on any account with comments including; “relaxing, informal, attractive and welcoming with food that is locally sourced, seasonal, well presented and tastes very good.”

From a light bite to a substantial meal, the judges felt that the menu, which uses The Apple Tree Farm Shop as its larder, offered good value for money, as well as excellent vegetarian and gluten free options.

Cath Collins, farm shop and restaurant area manager, (above right) comments: “We did it again! The restaurant team works really hard to offer a welcoming and relaxed environment, with good honest food on the menu. We are absolutely thrilled that this has been recognised by the judges and it’s given the whole team a real boost.”

The Taste of the West Hospitality and Retail Awards provide an opportunity for businesses in the West Country to gain recognition for supporting and promoting local producers.

Latest food trends, integrating catering into your garden centre offer, managing people and the growing gluten free market are just some of the key topics for discussion at Catering Matters – the HTA Catering Conference, dinner and exhibition. This popular event, sponsored by Vision Commercial Kitchens, takes place at The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands on 9 and 10 June 2015.

Workshops and seminars include:

• Boyd Douglas Davis, CEO of Hillview Garden Centres Ltd, talking about ‘Integrating catering into your garden centre offer’.
• Charles Banks, Co-Founder and Director of thefoodpeople, will talk about ‘What’s Hot and What’s Not’.
• Edwin Harrison (right) of the Artisan Coffee School will join us to discuss his experience in ‘Managing People’. 
• Rebecca Rayner, joint Managing Director of Glebe Farm Foods, will also talk on Day 2 about the growing market of Gluten Free.

Tuesday 9 June – Focus on Strategy and Operations

Hosted by Paul Pleydell from Pleydell Smithyman topics include where we are as an industry, latest trends, growing and expanding your catering offer, driving footfall and reaching out to a wider audience, managing people and how to create ambience on a budget.

Speakers include: Ron Bent (Bent’s Garden & Home), Chris Brown (Turpin Smale Consultancy), Charles Campion, (food critic and MasterChef judge), Felicity Down (Cleeve Nursery), Tim Greenaway (Highfield Garden World), Anthony Hester (Dobbies), Alan Roper (Blue Diamond Group), Jason Danciger (Wyevale Garden Centres, pictured top), Will Armitage (Armitages Garden Centre), Helen Joyce (Thirsk Garden Centre), Boyd Douglas Davies (Hillview Group) and Edwin Harrison (Artisan Coffee School).

The conference dinner, also held at The Belfry, will round off an inspirational day one. The dinner will be another chance to network and share experiences with fellow industry colleagues. 

Wednesday 10 June – Focus on Food

Hosted by Doug Stewart, CEO of Waring Stewart Associates, topics include innovation and inspiration, provenance, menu planning and cost control. Speakers include: Charles Banks (thefoodpeople), Guy Topping (Barton Grange), Tim Godwin (Fosseway Garden Centre), Rebecca Rayner (Glebe Farm Foods), Salim Sajid (Blueberry Consulting), Brian Turner (Chatsworth Estate), Emma Milton and Beverley Spindler (Mains of Drum), Sarah Dunning (Westmorland Family) and Valentine Warner (TV chef and author).

Trevor Pfeiffer from Garden Trade News and Garden Radio will be chairing the panel discussions on both days of the conference. The panel session on Day 1 will be around ‘What next for garden centre catering?’ Trevor will be leading a debate on the latest hot topics in garden centre catering, including what is new, whether to use concessions or not, chefs versus cooks, and waitress service versus self-service, amongst others. Joining Trevor will be Will Armitage, Ron Bent, Helen Joyce and Anthony Hester. 

The panel session on Day 2 will be a food-focussed debate, including family favourites versus new trends and the convenience of ‘grab and go’ offerings.  The panel will be made up of experienced Catering Managers and Garden Centre owners who have dared to try something different, amongst others, including Tim Godwin, Fosseway Garden Centre, Guy Topping, Barton Grange, Joe Ainscow, Summerseat Garden Centre and Paul Cooling of Coolings Green and Pleasant Ltd.

There are new sponsors for the event, including Mondelez, the production team behind much loved brands such as Cadbury, Kenco, Bassett’s, Oreo and Philadelphia, and Massarella Catering Group Ltd, who provide catering services within shopping centres, department stores, garden centres, retail and leisure outlets.

Alongside the seminars, panel discussions and workshops there will be plenty of time for networking, with the conference exhibition providing a great opportunity to meet with catering product suppliers.

Exhibitors include: Vision Commercial Kitchens, Garden Trade News, Haymarket (Hort Week), Illy, Barclaycard, Beanworks, R & R Ice Cream, Catering Design Group, Tea Fusion, i2i,  Towergate Insurance, Cawston Press, Creed Food Services, Eden Farm, Easitills, Swan Retail, Fentimans, Cozy Bay Furniture, Planglow, IFSE, Tea from the Manor, Destiny Foods.

Book now at www.cateringconference.co.uk

The gluten free market is ever expanding and has seen the largest growth in the free-from sector. Data from Allergy UK suggests up to 25m people suffer from some food allergy or intolerance. Pidy an innovative family owned pastry manufacturer who are market leaders in gluten free pastry have put together their predictions, opinions and statistics on the gluten free industry.

Recent data from Mintel has shown that nearly two in five of those who eat or have previously eaten gluten-free foods (38%) do so because they believe it’s better for their overall health. According to information presented at the Food and Drink’s Innovation Free-From conference the UK gluten-free market is forecast to grow by 46% to £561 million by 2017. Also according to Mintel there is still a need for gluten-free food innovation, especially within categories that typically contain gluten, including bread, pasta, pizza, snacks, and desserts.

Pastry product specialists Pidy, a Belgian company with a UK base in Northampton,  believe their latest range fits the bill. Robert Whittle, the company’s UK general manager, says gluten free products are commanding more and more shelf space. “We have ensured that our innovative recipes allow those opting for gluten free pastries to indulge in the same taste and flavour as our regular pastry,” he adds.

Pidy have challenged customers to see if they can tell the difference between Pidy’s regular and gluten-free versions. Eight out of 10 people couldn’t, either visually or taste-wise.

Whittle believes the gluten free market will continue to grow at an increased rate. “Even after 60 years of making pastry the Pidy NPD team continue to innovate to ensure that their products meet the demands of consumer diets whilst also retaining a high quality taste.”

Pidy, who specialise in dry puff pastry and short crust, fonçage dough, choux pastry and sponge cakes, have three production units in Belgium, France and the USA and can offer a day to day service and market support to customers in more than 50 countries.

Information: www.pidy.com