Wyevale Garden Centres appeared on a list published by the Daily Telegraph of what it says are some of the worst companies to work for in the UK, based on ratings on the job site Glassdoor.

The Financial Ombudsman, Laura Ashley and Ladbrokes were also among those fingered in the article.

The website offers company reviews curated by employees.  The Telegraph browsed dozens of company profiles on the platform and randomly selected, in no particular order, 10 that had a rating of 2.6 out of 5 or less. The average overall rating across the site is 3.3/5. The paper stressed they were not the 10 worst rated firms on the site, but a randomly selected sample.

Wyevale Garden Centres scored 1.9/5 on Glassdoor, with employees citing poor pay and lack of staff. One employee wrote: “Personally I do not feel I am going to have an opportunity to excel in anything other than customer service despite showing dedication to the company."

Others, though, say the atmosphere is friendly and the staff hardworking, with generous benefits and a 30pc discount when shopping in store.

A Wyevale Garden Centres spokesman said: “Colleague engagement is critically important and we actively encourage two-way feedback across the business. We are committed to creating an environment that supports all our employees and recognise the need to get things right for them in order to deliver the best for our customers.”

See the full list at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/07/04/10-worst-companies-work-uk-according-employees/

• Garden Products - up 22%
• Veg-2-Gro - up 21%
• Growing Media - up 50%
• All Plants Index - down 15%
• All Items Index - up 2%

karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

Haskins garden centre group buying director Conna Powles successfully completed a sponsored Wing Walk last week-end, raising an amazing £6,200 for the Greenfingers charity.

“What wonderful friends and family and an amazing industry that is garden centres and their suppliers. xxxx,” said a message on her JustGiving page. Conna easily smashed her initial fundraising target of £1,000.

“I like to complete a challenge or host an event every year for a cancer charity, having lost my brother recently and my sister is in remission,” she told the charity before the walk. “To date I’ve completed a parachute jump, an abseil and The Moonwalk and I now just need to tick off wing walking. After watching a video about the benefits children and families get from having a beautiful space to go to, Green Fingers seemed the obvious choice to support.”

This year, Haskins has also raised £3,000 for Greenfingers from donations and a raffle and £2,945.00 from sals of plastic carrier bags.

Zest 4 Leisure is set to astound attendees at SOLEX with its impressive two-tier stand and a range of new innovative products.

Building on the existing range of winning products, Zest will be showcasing seven new products at stand 555 including a children’s picnic table, alfresco dining set, corner bench and more.

Zest’s new products include:

• The Madison Children’s Picnic Table
• Denver Arbour Swing
• Sophie Bench
• Emily Coffee Table/Bench
• Emily Corner Bench
• Madison Picnic Table
• Bahama Large Round Table & 4 Stool Set

Steve Morgan, Managing Director of Zest 4 Leisure, part of the P&A Group is delighted with this year’s new products.

He said: “Customer satisfaction and product design are at the heart of everything we do. We listen to our customers, and for 2018 we have taken some of our bestselling ranges and introduced new products, such as the Emily Corner Bench, as well as creating completely new products.

“Zest 4 Leisure has a hard-working, forward looking team with a flair for design. Come to stand 555 and let us show you what we do.”

From matching outdoor furniture comprising of a variety of seating options and side tables to arbours to picnic tables, BBQ shelters and swings, Zest has a wide range of outdoor furniture products that will be in pride of place in gardens across the UK next summer.

The award-winning Zest 4 Leisure is known for the reassuring quality of their timber garden products. Manufactured from pressure treated timber all of Zest’s garden furniture will stand the test of time with a 10-year guarantee against rot. The timber used is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and has been harvested from responsibly managed forests.

‘The House of Christmas Inspiration’ feature at next month’s  Plantarium trade fair in Boskoop, Holland, will highlight the Christmas trends of 2017.

The design of the House of Christmas Inspiration is based on the circle of life. The centre of the circle is located in the middle of the space, with the circle connected to the four corners by decorative cloth. Each corner has its own theme, which matches a particular target group/life cycle. Each target group will have its own display, based on a moodboard/sales presentation that can be used by garden centres. The design, colours and materials used are co-ordinated within each theme, producing a complete concept.

The arrangement of the other four Houses of Inspiration features is in full swing. With names like The Magical Experience and Urban Gardening, expectations are high.

Plantarium will be held from 23 to 26 August 2017 in the Plantarium building at the International Trade Centre Boskoop-Hazerswoude.

Information: visit the website.



Above: a display in last year's House of Inspiration at Plantarium.

Entrepreneur Billy Reilly is seeking funding through the Kickstarter fund-raising plantform for his Pop-Up Garden business, which supplies distinctive wildlife and birdcare products for  home gardens.

His goal is the provision of five million wildlife habitats globally in five years. Billy's 30-day campaign went live on 23 June at this link.

Kickstarter is the world's largest funding platform for creative projects.

Pop-Up is also sharing a product wholesale royalty with the international wildlife charity Buglife, which in return is offering a free one-year membership coupon which includes an Eco goody bag with posters, two copies of Buzz Magazine, stickers and much more, all in a cotton tote bag.

Billy says his enterprise brings a fresh/hip new approach to nature by adding style and function to the design of muchg-needed habitats.

Information: visit the website

A celebration of one of the nation’s favourite blooms runs until Tuesday (11 July) at one of the north-west’s most beautiful garden centres.

For its first ever Rose Festival, Lady Green Garden Centre at Ince Blundell has become a sea of roses, with a huge selection of varieties on display including fragrant climbers, shrub roses and rose arches.

Visitors are being ‘wowed’ by the stunning displays and new rose garden created in the outdoor plant area. There are opportunities to enjoy new and limited edition varieties, including the 2018 Rose of the Year.

On Tuesday there is a Rose Talk and Afternoon Tea with David Austin Roses (tickets £15).

More than 250 people attended a preview evening with live music, refreshments and a garden tour for the Klondyke group’s Grow Rewards members.

Anthea McIntyre MEP is delivering keynote speech at GrowQuip 2017 - the international conference, dinner and industry showcase organised by Commercial Horticultural Association (CHA).

Impressive additions to the roll-call of speakers announced; key sponsors support second edition of this pan-industry event

Following the critically successful first conference in 2016, the Commercial Horticultural Association will once again be featuring a wide range of inspirational speakers from the commercial horticulture industry at GrowQuip 2017.

The roll-call of speakers taking part in the GrowQuip 2017 Conference, dinner and industry showcase has been enhanced with the addition of Anthea McIntyre MEP, and major sponsors within the industry have endorsed  the event.  

In addition, the CHA is pleased to announce that GrowQuip is now registered for BASIS points.

GrowQuip is the cross-industry commercial horticultural conference focusing on the key issues facing growers of fruit, vegetables, salads and ornamentals. Under the banner Equip Yourself for Success, the cross industry event will take place at the conveniently located four-star Stratford Manor Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire from 1 to 2 November 2017.

The subsidised, all inclusive package for delegates of £265 plus VAT includes entrance to the full day’s programme of distinguished speakers,  access to the industry showcase,  lunch, dinner with an entertaining after dinner speaker, overnight accommodation at Stratford Manor Hotel and breakfast plus refreshments during the event.

There will be ample opportunity for delegates to visit the industry showcase and network with fellow growers and suppliers during the conference and at the reception and dinner.

The GrowQuip event encompasses a themed conference programme --Equip yourself for success-- which will bring together the best brains in commercial horticulture to provide growers with help in overcoming some of the common challenges they face in the day-to-day running of their businesses and inspiration from a distinguished line-up of speakers.

Amanda Sizer Barrett MBE, Director General of the Federation of Garden & Leisure Manufacturers, will be opening the conference and introducing the speakers. A taster of the calibre of the speaker line-up includes:

Markus Kobelt of Lubera, Switzerland  and Felicidad Fernandez of East Malling Research will deliver a joint presentation, illustrating how countries can work together to produce new varieties which benefit the grower community and the industry.  

George Beach, Managing Director of Mudwalls Farms Ltd, will tell delegates how he has transformed  his multi-generational family business into a modern, branded retail and catering supplier of local fruit and vegetables.

 Jack Ward, Chief Executive of the British Growers Association will give an overview of how Brexit is affecting the grower community to date, with particular emphasis on staffing and wages.

Professor Simon Pearson of LIAT (Lincoln Institute for Agri-Tech), part of Lincoln University, will be speaking about the effects of light manipulation on crop growth and development, including the development and application of glasshouse spectral filters and LED lighting systems.

Anthea McIntyre MEP will bring the audience up to speed on the results of her Government lobbying and what problems we may be facing on R&D, Pest & Disease and many other horticultural issues connected with Brexit.

Contact Pat Flynn for details and to book your places at the conference, dinner or your industry showcase presence. E-mail Pat@cha-hort.com  or ring Pat on 07778 313623 or contact the CHA secretariat head office on 01959 565995.

The British Furniture Confederation is hoping to kick-start the stalled review of Britain's flam regs with a proposal it believes offers the industry an optimal solution.

In an effort to get the government's review process - the first in nearly 30 years - back on track, the BFC has put forward its own document proposing updates to the Furniture & Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, as amended (FFFSR).

These are based on industry-wide consultations with its affiliated membership, which includes the Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association (LOFA) and the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers (WCFM).

The proposal document has this week been submitted to the Minister in charge of consumer affairs, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Margot James, MP.

In a letter to the minister, Jonathan Hindle (pictured), chairman of the BFC, said: “In our view the current BEIS proposals would fail to deliver the stated aims of maintaining current safety levels while at the same time minimising the use of fire retardant chemicals on cover fabrics. We want a set of regulations that protect consumers from fire, health and environmental issues and after widespread consultation across the industry believe our proposal will be accepted by most stakeholders as the optimal solution for making progress on a review process that seems to have stalled."

The BFC has long campaigned for a full revision of the 1988 regulations to reflect modern materials and manufacturing processes and iron out unclear elements in the legislation.

Said Jonathan: “Our proposal is supported by manufacturers, importers, retailers and re-upholsterers and we need to get on with these changes and updates. If adopted, we think it can achieve the triple aim of maintaining product safety, reducing the levels of fire retardants in products and also being achievable by industry.”

High Street gifts and greetings retailer Clintons says sales of cards designed for those in their 70s and above increased by 116% last year.

They expect more than 100,000 cards will be sold to those celebrating 90th, 95th and 100th birthdays in 2017.

Half a million people in the UK are aged 90 and above, with 14,570 of them centenarians – a 65% increase over the past decade. An estimated 1,000 are aged 105 and over, double the figure 2005.

It is estimated that there are currently 14 million grandparents in the UK, 1.5 million of whom are under 50 [2]. A large proportion of this group will go on to be great-grandparents. The Queen sends around 2,000 cards to centenarians and people aged 105 and older each year, with a special team of staff in a Government department dedicated to the task.

Tim Fairs, VP of marketing at Clintons said: “Most people of my generation have no memory of their great-grandparents, yet today many play an active role in family life. It’s great that younger generations have access to the love, experience and history of their elderly relatives and it’s fascinating that demographics are shifting so rapidly.The Queen already has quite a task signing all those letters and cards each year.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, more cards are bought for senior mums than dads but twice the number of cards are sold to Husband than Wife over the age of 70, suggesting that women never lose the ability to remember those important occasions.

Currently, you can apply to get a free birthday or anniversary message from the Queen. This applies to all birthdays from the 105th onwards and every wedding anniversary following the 70th (Platinum) though some have complained at receiving the same card design each year. According to publicly available data, the Queen sends around 2,000 birthday messages to qualifying centenarians each year.

Two new scientific studies published in the journal ‘Science’ suggest that neonicotinoid insecticides are doing profound damage to wildlife and beneficial insects...

Buglife has called on Defra Secretary of State Michael Gove to consider the new evidence and undertake a review of the Government’s resistance to measures designed to protect bees from pesticides.

Buglife says the two studies paint a picture of a global agricultural landscape heavily contaminated with persistent toxins that are destroying populations of wild bees and harming captive honeybee health.

The CEH Study (Woodcock et al. 2017) was brokered by Defra and funded by Bayer and Syngenta, and has been touted by many as the study that could provide conclusive evidence about the role of neonicotinoids in bee decline. It is the first properly replicated winter-sown oilseed rape field study, with 33 sites examined in the UK, Germany and Hungary.

However, the study was seriously limited by the single exposure source examined – pollen and nectar from oilseed rape. In real life bees are also exposed to high concentrations of neonicotinoids in widely dispersing dust produced during the planting of treated seeds and the ploughing of land, and through pollen and nectar in wildflowers near arable fields; which can contain higher levels of neonicotinoids than in the crop flowers.

Although the CEH Study looked only at one narrow source of bee poisoning, the authors still found that honeybees and wild bees were all significantly impacted, with big reductions in honeybee colony size and reduced reproduction rates in wild bees.

The second paper, a Canadian study on neonicotinoid treated maize (Tsvetkov et al. 2017), found that neonicotinoids killed honeybee workers, reduced bee hygiene activity and resulted in queenless hives. The bees were not getting poisoned primarily by crop pollen and nectar, however. The main route of acute exposure was neonicotinoid contaminated dust and the biggest exposure throughout the year was from neonicotinoids in wild flowers.

The Canadian study also found that the common fungicide boscalid almost doubled the toxicity of neonicotinoids to bees. This, says Buglife, is significant because a recent paper showed that 70% of the plants that people buy from garden centres to help garden bees contain neonicotinoids, and 48% also contain boscalid (Lentola et al. 2017). “This suggests that gardeners may be unknowingly poisoning pollinators in their efforts to try to help them, a factor that may be associated with recent declines in numbers of urban butterflies,” said a statement.*

Buglife CEO Matt Shardlow said: “The horror story is clear, we have contaminated our land and water with persistent neonicotinoid pesticides, already 40% of UK wild bees have been effectively exterminated across large parts of their range.  We are calling on Michael Gove to review the Government’s position and to get fully behind international efforts to secure a global ban on the use of these toxins; let’s get them out of our meadows, streams and gardens and give our bees, butterflies and birds a chance to recover.”

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will decide in November whether the current  temporary three-year ban on neonicotinoids should become permanent.

Prof Richard Pywell, from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxfordshire, who carried out the research, told BBC News the findings were a cause for serious concern. “We've shown for the first time negative effects of neonicotinoid-coated seed dressings on honeybees and we've also shown similar negative effects on wild bees,” he said.

Both Bayer and Syngenta maintained the findings were inconclusive. Bayer said the pesticides were not bad for bees when used responsibly, while Syngenta said that if bee habitats and pollinator health improved, “the impact of neonicotinoids can be minimal".

The Gardening Club at Stanford in the Vale CE Primary School at Faringdon, Oxfordshire, is rounding off a summer filled with Gold Awards at RHS Wisley and nominations for ‘RHS Gardening Team of the Year 2017’ with another win – Wilkinson Sword’s Gardening for Schools Champions.

In September of last year, primary schools across Oxfordshire were approached to take part in the competition, which saw them charged with designing their ideal fruit and vegetable garden for their school.

The popularity of the project and quality of the applicants took the organisers by surprise.

Stanford in the Vale impressed all of the judges with their imaginative and competent design (above). They are due to be presented with their prize, a Wilkinson Sword Garden Tools hamper, on Tuesday. There will also be a fruit-growing masterclass from RHS Young Gardener of the Year (2012), Lucas Hatch.

• Yorkshire Flowerpots Antique Bell Pot 27cm was the highest new entry at No 2.
• Town & Country Ladies Gloves was the highest re-entry at No 7.
• Smart Solar Eureka! Lightbulb Lantern was the highest climber, jumping 22 places to No 20.

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

• Scotts Miracle-Gro Gro-Ables Basil Seed Pod was the highest new entry, jumping straight to the top spot.
• Quantil Lettuce Lollo Rosso was the highest re-entry at No 6.
• Quantil Carrot Chantenay Strips was the highest climber, jumping 43 places to No 4.

• Bord na Mona Growise Multipurpose Compost (20 litres)was the highest new entry at No 5.
• Westland John Innes Repotting No.2 (30 litres) was the highest climber, moving up 26 places to No 16.
• Returning products were Scotts Levington Ericaceous Compost (20 litres) and Scotts Levington Seed & Cutting Compost (20 litres) at Nos 7 & 8.
• Scotts Levington Multipurpose + John Innes (56 litres) stayed on top of the chart.

• Delphiniums are the highest climber, up 30 places to No 14.
• Phygelius are the highest new entry at No 23.
• Angelonia are also a new entry at No 46.

For the second year running, Stewart Garden is playing a major supportive role at the Settle Flowerpot Festival taking place in the Yorkshire town throughout July and August.

In 2016 the company installed a giant flowerpot man called Stewart on Castleberg Crag, a limestone cliff that overlooks Settle. Stewart was highly visible from the town as he ‘climbed’ the crag.

This year, Stewart is donating hundreds of planters, including selected products from its Palladian and Cilindro ranges, to feature in displays in the town.

A beer festival will also coincide with the event.

The vibrant Settle Community Partnership, the voluntary organisation that organises the Festival, expects the event to attract thousands of visitors.

• The Garden Centre Association
• Gardenex
• MorePeople
• The HTA
• PTMD Collection
• Hornby Whitefoot PR
• Maryanne Stokes

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 2014 as well as 2015 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

Access is by subscription only.  For £195.00 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 Veg-2-Gro 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 UK's first dedicated vegan trade show – an opportunity for garden centre catering managers to catch up on a fast-growing trend – is now open for registration

The free-to-enter VegfestUK Trade  takes place on Friday 20 October 20 2017 at Olympia London (10am-6pm).

VegfestUK Trade is ideal for: 

* People working in the catering and hospitality sectors looking for tips on catering for vegans.

* Health professionals seeking health and nutritional advice from world-leading doctors and nutritionists.

* Independent retailers sourcing new vegan products.

* Beauty and bodycare professionals looking to discover vegan beauty and bodycare brands

* Bloggers and vloggers covering the latest news stories and celebrities from the vegan scene. 

Small business owners are especially encouraged to attend the show where they can network with like-minded entrepreneurs, attend workshops on all aspects of managing and growing a business whilst tapping into the expanding vegan market.

The Trade show consists of up to 160 stalls, alongside six featured areas with different focus on running vegan businesses, namely the Vegan Business Support lounge, the Plant-Based Chef Corner, the Vegan Health Clinic, the Vegan Celebrity Zone, the Independent Retailers Lounge and the Vegan Bodycare Pavilion.

Confirmed exhibitors include independent vegan businesses such as Tyne Chease, Buddha Beauty, Badgers Dairy Free, The Raw Fix, and Watts Kork, alongside established brands like The Health Store, Suma Wholefoods, Bute Island Foods, JASON Natural Care, Plamil Foods and Moo Free Chocolates –  a unique variety of brands for potential buyers.

Industry experts present include representatives from The Health Store and Veganuary, chef and radio host Aldo Zilli, head chef Ben Asamani of 222 Veggie Vegan, physician Dr. Milton Mills, nutritionist Gareth Zeal, chef and author Christine Bailey, MP Kerry McCarthy, plus many more. 

Show sponsors are Yaoh, So Free Chocolate and Bute Island Foods.

VegfestUK Trade is open from 10am - 6pm on Friday October 20th 2017 at Olympia London Central Hall on Level 1. 

You can register here. https://trade.vegfest.co.uk/registration