Alan Roper welcomed staff and suppliers to an evening event on Monday at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre to celebrate the completion of the refurbishment from a Wyevale Garden Centre that they bought last summer to a Blue Diamond Centre that is ready and raring for Easter 2019.

"Welcome to Bicester. The new Bicester. The best manifestation of Bicester in its history since it was built, I think you'll agree. We've been refurbishing many of the ex-Wyevales:  Cadbury has been going through some refurbishment, Nailsworth, my old centre has been completely finished and Endsleigh in Devon is being done currently.  It's about to start at Weybridge with a new restaurant and at Melbicks. We're working on all the ex Wyevales to get them to a standard.

"Their level of turnover when we bought them was around £38 million.  When all the work's complete over the next two to three years they will be around £82 million. That's the uplift that we're looking for. Currently they are 50% up on themselves in terms of turnover and they're heading on the right path.

"Both the staff here and the customers have been really positive about the changes that we're bringing into the centres.

"It's a big pressure on my team. They're looking exhausted. It's been a lot of work for all of them for all the centres.  I was here two weeks ago, this is the first day I've been back and the work they've put in the last two weeks is phenomenal.

"We've got Jazz Edwards as the manager of Bicester and she's been ably supported by Nick Jones who's been working long hours and keeping the team here together. I'd like to thank Nick for everything that he's been doing here. We have Max who has been working on the shop fit along with Helen Taylor, who's been with me for 20 years, and Adam has been working with me on the design.

"There's a lot of the team are here tonight and they've done a great job. It's a good looking centre.

"The next phase here is at the end of April when we're building an Atrium that will link the main building with the next building along the Avenue. We'll be taking the wall down between the restaurant and the Atrium and that will become an extension to the restaurant with trees and a nice seating area. Then in the building next door to the Atrium we're putting in a gin distillery where we'll be making our own gin for sale across all the centres.

"We've also developed a new concept cafe called Kipling. As you can see from the prose on the wall Kipling wrote about making a cake a couple hundred years ago which is where the connection with Kipling and cakes came from. You can also see my new concept for a sweet shop. We're going to get some rock made with people's names through the middle so you can choose your name.

"From tomorrow we'll be launching on social media and shouting about Bicester. Thank you for coming this evening. You are our partners. You're very important to us. I'm glad so many of you turned out and we look forward to doing plenty of business with you through Bicester and the other centres of which we have some more coming up in the pipeline. So, thank you all and enjoy the evening. Thank you."

See GTN Xtra's photo tour of the refurbished centre below

As from Wednesday 17th April 2019 the Wyevale Garden Centre Garden Club scheme is changing from a loyalty based system to a discount card that can be used every time a customer shops in a Wyevale centre.

The e-mail informing members of the change reads as follows:

"Dear Member,

Great news, on the 17th April 2019, The Garden Club is changing from a points based reward scheme to instant rewards. This means you no longer have to wait for your rewards, you’ll get an instant 5% discount every time you shop in centre and online. Plus, you can still look forward to exclusive member treats, great gardening tips and inspiring ideas!

Present your Garden Club card at the till to receive your discount in centre – it’s that simple. To use your discount online simply enter the code GC5 at the checkout. Our over 60’s members will now get double instant rewards – that’s 10% discount every Tuesday – when a valid form of ID is presented at the time of purchase. This is only available in centre.

Points collection finishes online on 15th April 2019 and in centre on 16th April 2019. All qualifying points collected will be converted to reward vouchers and sent to you in a final statement at the end of May. Even more savings for your summer garden!

Wyevale Garden Centres has sold a number of centres in recent months. Rest assured that we’re still here to provide the very best for your garden – to find a list of our garden centres click here.

So get gardening with savings on everything in centre from sensational spring and summer plants, to garden essentials, tools and our stylish outdoor living range. We look forward to seeing you shopping with us soon and making the most of your exclusive 5% discount.

You can find updated and full terms and conditions for The Garden Club here."

At the beginning of the year, the Environment Secretary announced a ban on the outdoor use of metaldehyde. Now with the deadline on the horizon, so are the replacement ideas from market leaders SBM Life Science.

Head of Business, Nick Walton says, “As brand leader* we must remind all customers about the deadline for metaldehyde on 30^th June, however we are working on some exciting new replacements - so watch this space!”

SBM Life Science LTD currently offer an alternative, Ferric Phosphate based product - Solabiol® Slug Killer. Effectively controlling slugs using a naturally occurring active ingredient, this product is ideal for use when growing fruit and vegetables and breaks down naturally into iron and phosphate to enrich the soil around the plants.

For more information about Solabiol® Slug Killer, or any other natural products within the Solabiol® range, please visit www.solabiol.co.uk

* GfK GB Panel Market, excl. Ironmongers, Slug Killer, YTD December 2018 VAL

This Christmas the team at Primeur has announced the sale of a new Christmas Glitter Coir Doormat to support Greenfingers Charity.

£1 from every purchase will be donated directly to Greenfingers Charity whose fundraising is used to create magical gardens at children’s hospices around the UK.

For people who do not know much about the charity; Greenfingers is a national charity dedicated to supporting children and their families who spend time in hospices around the UK, by creating inspiring gardens for them to enjoy.

The charity is committed to creating specially designed, stimulating garden spaces that can bring many benefits to children with life limiting conditions.  The simple pleasure of being able to enjoy a garden, and the chance to spend time together outdoors away from the bedside is precious to the children and their families.

Please find here a video which tells you a bit more about this amazing charity – https://vimeo.com/317207231

The sparkly new mats will be available to stock from August 2019 and will come in a display carton showing the customer all the details about how the purchase will support this charity. We really hope our customers, current and new, will support us in raising as much money as possible for this wonderful cause.

For more information on Primeur:

T: 01274 518800

E: sales@primeur.ltd.uk

W: www.primeur.co.uk

As the announcement came out on Wednesday about the 31 Wyevale Centres sold to Dobbies, the GTN team were checking their list to update the ones still to be sold and it's a good job we didn't print our speculation as to which ones Dobbies would be snapping up.  We'd have only go 60%!  How did you do?

Now after the biggest single deal of the Wyevale "Sale of the Century" there are 59 still to be sold ranging from Tunbridge Wells at £5 million to Wimborne at £200,000.  

We saw reported in the financial press that the Dobbies deal may have been worth £135m which means there may be some bulk discounts on offer as the "Offers based on" price as listed by Christie & Co for the 31 centres totalled £163m.

At the "Offers based on" price Terra Firma have now achieved sales of £357 million for their investors in the TFCPIII fund.  That's just £3 million short of the deal when they bought Wyevale Garden Centres back in 2012.

The big question now is what will happen to the remaining centres, listed below.  Do let us know your views on the future of Wyevale Garden Centres, e-mail: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

copy here...

Bulb buyers from Ayletts, Notcutts and Hillview garden centres joined over 500 Daffodil enthusiasts at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach last week for their Daffodil Day to celebrate the centenary of the company.

Organised in conjunction with the RHS Bulb Committee the event was probably the biggest gathering of people for a bulb event since the RHS Daffodil Exhibition at Chiswick in 1890.

Speakers at the event included Brian Duncan and Christine Skelmersdale who gave talks about the history of Daffodils and ideas for using bulbs in the garden.  The auditorium was packed for every session and included in the audience Lord Gardiner, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Bio Security plus members of the press from The Sun and Garden News along with a host of bloggers and other media.

Notcutts Head of Horticulture, Colin Dale said “That has certainly given us plenty of inspiration to do more with bulbs in store this autumn.”

The event was a huge success with many compliments being paid to the Taylors staff for their brilliant organisation, for their centenary, and for the opportunity to see and celebrate Daffodils.  Among the many thoughts left by visitors included: "Without exception the staff were a credit to Taylor’s Bulbs.  Their energy and enthusiasm for their work, and their obvious commitment to their Company, shone through from start to finish.  They were so welcoming in each area and we had some lovely conversations and learnt such a great deal."

Out in the fields at the end of the day, Adam Taylor told GTN Xtra: “When we started planning for the day we thought 100 people coming would be good.  To have over 500 people here, all smiling and enjoying the wonderful Daffodils is truly amazing.  I have to say a big thank you to all of the Taylors team.”

Read the history of Taylors Bulbs here

See GTN Xtra's photo gallery from the Daffodil Day below

Dobbies, now the UK’s biggest garden retailer with 69 outlets following last week’s purchase of 31 from Wyevale Garden Centres, plans to put greater emphasis on plants and gardening, the group’s horticultural director has revealed.

Speaking at a Garden Industry Manufacturers Association day conference last Wednesday, Marcus Eyles told delegates that the newly-re-branded Dobbies was aiming for a three-way split with catering, plants and gardening and gifts/other merchandise each accounting for a third of the business.

He appealed to suppliers to work together with the group to provide innovation and new products to inspire contemporary consumers, especially millennials. (Core millennials are defined by researchers as those born between 1981 and 1996.)

He said the influence of social media was key in identifying products and services consumers now wanted – but the garden industry itself should be setting the trends, not social media. The emphsasis should be on ideas, inspiration and support, not hard work and boring jobs – an exciting opportunity for retailers and suppliers working together and sharing information.

Eyles is on a mission to significantly upgrade the Dobbies offer by Spring 2020 and confessed the timescale was a challenge for the business and its suppliers. He said he was aiming to have next year’s product range signed off during May and June and that Glee was too late to achieve change in time.

He suggested the industry should do more to promote the potential of grow-your-own, house-plants, sleek garden decoration and outdoor maintenance products (like robotic mowers) that saved time and effort.

He also said Dobbies would need more plants, and urged UK nurseries to consider upping production so it could continue to reduce reliance on imports from Europe.

After Mother’s Day the cold weather seriously affected trade and garden centre sales dipped to below even last year’s levels. Remember it was the second Easter week but the ‘Beast from the East’ still had its grips on gardens that were undiggable. 

Perhaps we should name this spell of colder Easterly weather as the ‘Pest from the East’.  It’s stopping some people from getting outside but not deterring the keen gardener.

The Met Office is forecasting that temperatures should rise to average, turning locally rather warm in the south and west in the run up to Easter. 

Let’s hope they are right and that April sales run up year on year for the rest of the month.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year (week 14)

• Garden Products – down 14%
• Growing Media – down 17%
• Wild Bird Care – down 8%
• Veg-2-Gro – up 43%
• All Plants index – down 17%
• All Items index – down 13%

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

GTN's owners, Potting Shed Press, have signed a new agreement with ITE Events to publish the Glee Catalogue and Glee Daily News until 2022 which will mark the 20th year that GTN Team have been the Official Media Partner for Glee.

The agreement will see GTN publishing on behalf of ITE Events the Glee Planner which gets sent to all registered visitors ins advance of the show, the Glee Catalogue that is given away free to all visitors at the event, the Glee Daily News e-mail newsletter which had over 171,000 page views in 2018 and the organising of The Glee New Product Showcase and Awards.

Glee's Event Director, Matthew Mein, said: "We are really pleased to have secured the continued involvement of the GTN Team as our Official Media Partners. Over the years the Glee Catalogue, under GTN's direction, has become one of the definitive guides to the UK gardening market each year and the development of Glee Daily News as an e-mail newsletter has delivered more Glee news to more people than ever before."

Trevor Pfeiffer, Director of Potting Shed Press, added: "Our aim has always been to be the most useful media provider to the UK garden retailing market and the Glee Publications are a key component of that. We look forward to continuing to provide an excellent service to Glee and all of the Glee Exhibitors for the next four years."

Handy Distribution has announced the roll-out of a new comprehensive range of Greenworks 24v and 40v cordless garden-machinery across all Dobbies Garden Centres. 

Greenworks is one of the world’s largest manufacturers developing cutting-edge garden machinery and featuring the latest-generation Lithium-Ion battery technology. 

The large 40v cordless range provide petrol-matching performance, with no fumes or starting-problems; and far less noise and vibration.

Liz Brennan, Senior Gardening Buyer for Dobbies, said: “We are delighted to be able to expand in this category. We are seeing a significant shift toward cordless machinery and the new Greenworks display in our stores highlights our commitment to exceed our customers’ expectations by giving them quality product at competitive prices.”

“It’s important Dobbies is ahead of market trends. When compared to Ni-Cad and lead-acid units, our offer delivers improved durability, longer run times and much faster charge-times plus they don’t suffer from power-fade when not in use.”

The Greenworks range is extensive, comprising all the essential gardening equipment, from lawnmowers, strimmers, brush cutters and hedge trimmers, through to blowers, chainsaws and much more, all of which have been designed and built to the exacting standards retailers and consumers worldwide have come to expect from the innovative pan-global brand.

Another benefit of the Greenworks range is that these are one-battery-fits-all machines. All machines in the Dobbies range are supplied with battery and charger, making it is possible to run every product in that voltage bracket from the same battery.  Having a second battery enables the user to effectively have endless power due to the quick one hour charge time.

David’s Garden Centre by Cherry Lane in Martin Hussingtree, Worcester, is celebrating its first birthday as part of the Cherry Lane family with the creation of a new on-site nursery.
 
The nursery is one of three operations within Cherry Lane which grows plants and shrubs for the Group’s ‘Grown By Us’ range. The addition has created three jobs, with staff already growing more than 17,000 plants for the new gardening season to be sold at David’s and other Cherry Lane garden centres across East Anglia, Yorkshire and The Midlands.
 
Cherry Lane acquired David’s in early May 2018 and, since then, has made many alterations and upgrades to the garden centre. These include improvements to the main undercover plant area which has been fully tarmacked with new polytunnels and 100 new plant benches added. Cherry Lane’s signature great value products  have been brought into David’s including new garden furniture and solar lighting ranges, not to mention a brand new Scallywags Pet store, plus wild bird care and clothing departments, all featuring big brands at great prices.

With an even bigger selection of fantastic value plants, new outdoor living and homewares ranges, David’s by Cherry Lane promises customers more choice, great quality at amazing prices. Boddington Koi Aquatic Centre and the garden shed concession continue to trade within the garden centre and the much-loved Olive Grove Café serves delicious, freshly made food, with a new outdoor seating area added just in time for warmer weather.
 
David’s by Cherry Lane employs 33 people, including nine seasonal temporary staff who have just been appointed in preparation for the new gardening season.

 
Sarah Battrick, manager at David’s Garden Centre by Cherry Lane, said: “We are delighted to open the new nursery in time for our first birthday and the new season. Grown By Us is a fantastic opportunity for us to nurture and provide high quality British plants at great value Cherry Lane prices – not only for customers here at David’s but at other Cherry Lane centres too.

"Over the past 12 months, the entire team at David’s has been working hard to improve our garden centre and enhance the shopping experience. We can’t wait to show customers around our new look garden centre – they will be amazed at the transformation and Cherry Lane prices too! There has never been a better time to come and see us to start getting your garden ready for summer.”
 
There are even more exclusive deals and discounts all year round for Cherry Lane Reward Card holders. Simply pick up a free card in-store or ask for details.
 
Cherry Lane is the UK’s eighth biggest garden centre group. For more information, visit www.cherry-lane.co.uk

Zest 4 Leisure has revealed that its pre-season preparation is already paying off.
 
The unseasonal short burst of warm sunny weather in late February and March proved to be an excellent dress rehearsal for the forthcoming peak season. With temperatures making it feel like summer, the garden industry sprang into action with orders flooding in from across the UK, resulting in an increased flow of goods being dispatched from the Saltney warehouse and distribution centre.
 
Commenting on the pre-season spike, Alwyn Williams, Head of Zest 4 Leisure, said: “The warehouse and distribution centre at Saltney had a busy start to 2019 with orders pouring in from Zest 4 Leisure garden centre customers nationwide, looking to reorder and replenish their stock of timber garden products. The picking and packing dispatch teams did a great job, ensuring products were delivered in a matter of days.
 
“This ability to cope with the unexpected spike in demand is thanks to the many improvements and investments in time and resources we made at Saltney at the end of the 2018 season. The warehouse has been restructured with a maximum emphasis on LEAN and 5S implementation. We also moved towards zonal picking which increased our distribution and delivery capacity.”
 
The team at Zest also worked on improving services at Saltney and created extra loading bays for efficient unloading and loading of goods. Site traffic flow and pedestrian safety improvements were also put in place and the goods arrival method was enhanced allowing for even more robust quality control procedures.
 
Alwyn concludes: “We have made great strides forward in terms of improving our processes and procedures and the use of the new SAP system, also building capability through training and project team initiatives, all of which are already paying off.”
 
“Zest 4 Leisure is gearing up for another busy year so this level of performance showed us that the progress that has been made to deal with the surges in demand, has paid off.
 
“This early increase in demand shows we are much better equipped than previous years to cope with seasonal fluctuations and surges in demand.”

Pictured (from left to right): Linda Pace, Paul Haynes, Alwyn Williams and Steve Morgan from Zest 4 Leisure.

Garden suppliers and retailers are being warned to watch out for a bank account email scam.

The scam was brought to the attention of LifestyleGarden, highlighting new bank account details. The company’s Paul Cohen believes that other suppliers have been subject to the same scam.

Whilst most retailers will be wise to such emails, Paul wanted to flag it up to make sure the industry is vigilant of such emails.

The advice from Paul and his team would be to contact your accounts point of contact should you have any concerns.

Haskins Garden Centres has announcefd the launch of its new Garden Gang Facebook page, designed to get children outside and involved in gardening.

The Facebook page provides parents with regular updates suitable for children, including how to encourage wildlife into the garden, an array of fun and educational worksheets, sowing seeds and a selection of gardening games.

Lisa Looker, brand director at Haskins, commented: “Family is rooted into our core here at Haskins so we feel we have a responsibility to help parents encourage their children to get involved in gardening. 

“With Easter holidays upon us, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the fun that gardens hold for kids. Gardening is a great family activity and the Garden Gang section of our website in addition to our new Facebook page, will help provide parents with free gardening projects and activities for their little ones.”

The Garden Gang section of the Haskins website launched in 2016, to provide parents with gardening ideas for children. Due to its success, Haskins decided to launch a new Facebook page to develop its child-friendly Garden Gang offering.

Visit www.facebook.com/HaskinsGardenGang for more information.

Tong Garden Centre has partnered with Leeds based garden designer and ITV's Love Your Garden presenter, Katie Rushworth for a third consecutive year.

Of the renewed collaboration, Tong Garden Centre's Marketing Manager, Jo Dales said: "We're thrilled to be working with Katie again as her warmth, passion and knowledge make her a natural fit to work with the team here at Tong."

"This year, Katie will be giving her Show Garden a fresh new look with new planting themes and creative ways to make your outdoor space an extension of your home. She'll be sharing her expertise in store with both events and plant guides as well as creating more engaging videos to help customers to make the most or their garden. We're also looking forward to announcing the date for a Katie Rushworth masterclass in our new event centre later in the year."

Katie, who works alongside Alan Titchmarsh on ITV's Love Your Garden and Love Your Home and Garden, is delighted to be working with Tong again:

"I'm really looking forward to working with the team at Tong again. I love inspiring people and sharing my plant knowledge and garden design expertise with Tong's customers."

Henry Bell & Co, the family-owned and leading quality animal feed producer, has announced the release of its own brand: Henry Bell Wild Bird Care.

Henry Bell 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.

The company has now combined its strong expertise and knowledge to launch its own high-quality range of products specially designed to provide health and wellbeing for wild birds.

The Henry Bell Wild Bird Care range is comprised of over 100 products catering for every type of garden bird. Created to meet their specific needs, includes mixed seeds, straights such as peanuts, sunflower seeds and mealworms, suet and fat balls – available in various sizes and formats.

Complementing the food range, the company is also introducing The Henry Bell Wild Bird Care Collection, a range of bespoke and adaptable accessories. It includes the ‘Essential’ and premium ‘Heritage’ collections which feature a broad range of feeders and feeding stations at market-leading prices.

Tom Lee, Henry Bell’s MD, comments: “We’ve built strong pedigree in the animal feed industry and with decades of expertise, it was a natural step for Henry Bell to launch its own brand.

"Henry Bell Wild Bird Care is focused on excellence and we worked hard at designing a range that places the wellbeing of birds centre stage. We know that both the superior quality and attractive packaging of our food and accessories will resonate with both professionals and consumers alike - and will get wild birds coming back for more."

Henry Bell also unveils new branding which focuses on its 175 plus years of experience and strong heritage as a British business. The range showcases an eye-catching and modern packaging design that’s reflective of the quality of its feeds and complementary accessories.

Henry Bell Wild Bird Care will be available across the UK in garden centres, pet shops and mainstream retailers from July 2019.

For sales queries please contact: Trudi Austin - trudi.austin@henry-bell.co.uk - 07982 634646

WilkinsonEyre has started construction of the new National Centre for Horticultural Science and Learning at RHS Wisley in Surrey.

Already one of the UK’s most visited and best loved gardens, with over 1 million visitors per year, the new scheme will support the delivery of RHS’ new Science Strategy, enabling high-quality new scientific research and the sharing of best practice through learning and public engagement in Horticultural Sciences.
 
The RHS was awarded £4m by the National Lottery Heritage Fund towards the five-year transformational gardening project. The major upgrade in facilities at the new National Centre for Horticultural Science and Learning will provide state-of-the-art scientific laboratories, extensive public exhibition space, teaching studios, an events hall and new facilities for the RHS’s nationally significant Herbarium, science and library collections.
 
The 4,750sq m building is located at the existing Hilltop site within the garden, which will become a major hub within the 97 hectare site, comprising a Health and Wellbeing garden which is integrated with the main entrance; a west-facing World Kitchen Garden; and an east-facing Wildlife garden. WilkinsonEyre conceived the two-storey Centre to blend seamlessly with the new science gardens, enabling learning to take place both inside and out.  New landscaping has provided for specialist science and educational gardens, which will act as living laboratories, allowing for the sharing of ‘best practice’ within the gardens.
 
The Wisley site houses four of the internationally important RHS National Plant collections: living, herbarium, entomology and pathology. WilkinsonEyre’s design will provide the essential environmental conditions needed to preserve and nurture these hidden collections.
 
The Centre’s accommodation will be arranged within two concrete and steel framed volumes linked by a double-height glazed area for public exhibitions and interpretation. The east volume will contain science and knowledge facilities including laboratories and library collections, with activity and education spaces located within the west wing. Both wings will be clad in naturally weathering sweet chestnut timber, which has been sustainably sourced. The pitched roof will be clad in standing seam metal with a matt finish.
 
The structural grid of the two perimeter wings will be articulated on the main long elevations as recessed demarcations on the ladding finish. At first floor level, the windows will have an expressed frame which projects from the timber cladding to provide solar shading. The central public engagement space will have a bifurcating pitched roof and cantilevered canopy which reaches out into the landscape as the primary architectural feature of the north entrance.
 
Wherever possible, the Centre will maximise visual connections to the work of the RHS, with controlled views offered from the public spaces. Facilities with more restricted access such as the Herbarium Suite and Research Library will be located away from public access.
 
Geoff Turner, Associate Director at WilkinsonEyre said: “The building is designed to seamlessly integrate with the gardens to accommodate learning both inside and out. We hope the new Centre will enable a better public understanding of some of the hidden collections of the RHS as well as providing optimum facilities for the important horticultural science work it undertakes.”
 
The National Centre for Horticultural Science and Learning is due for completion in 2020. The building is designed in line with a wider landscape masterplan for the whole Wisley site, initially created by Dan Pearson and then developed by Christopher Bradley-Hole, and now designed in detail by Matt Keightley and Ann-Marie Powell.

Having completed the purchase of their second garden centre at Hilgay on the A10 near Downham Market the Baytree family team held their Grand Opening Event this weekend.

Baytree MD, Jutta Whitworth Biehler, told GTN Xtra: "I’ve never spent so much time cleaning as we have over the past six weeks. Getting a five star inspection this week was a brilliant result for everyone’s hard efforts."

The garden centre and farm shop has been fully stocked with all the immediately useable retail space spruced up and Baytree merchandised. Sales have been growing every week and early furniture an BBQ’s are above expectations.

The 260 seat Oak framed Barn table service restaurant is a wonderful asset - it’s fully booked every Sunday- that will enable Baytree to pull good footfall and develop increase product and plant sales.

The car park has already been resurfaced and extended, a new Entrance is being constructed off site to add some theatre at the front door. With other buildings that can be used for retail along with a coppice and grass paddock on the 10 acre site Hilgay could quickly become another destination venue for the Baytree team.

See GTN Xtra's photo tour of the centre taken on Friday afternoon as the team completed their set up work for the Grand Opening Weekend.

What would you expect from a Hillier centre? Authoritative ranges of products and plants, crisp merchandising, and expert staff. That’s exactly the delivery at Botley plus there’s the Rosemary and Thyme restaurant concept that is now being rolled out across the Hiller estate of centres. This classy, counter ordered but table served concept will be a huge benefit when the Wyevale centres just purchased get an upgrade from their current Garden Kitchens.

Out in the Planteria the customer care extends to trees where the team retain the use of their Christmas tree netting equipment to net all trees purchased to help customers get their valuable trees home safely.

In garden care they were selling plenty of grow houses with displays that included the Veg Trug wooden version at £99. At Botley they were still to sell one of the Veg Trug versions when we visited at the start of April - it’s a spot on Hillier customer product but time will tell to see if people want a more expensive wooden framed grow house.

See GTN Xtra's Photo Tour taken at the start of April 2019

Billed as "Farnhams Favourite Garden Centre", Forest Lodge has loads of competitors around them so it’s no surprise they are giving themselves an edge by stocking wide ranges of products - really deep gardening ranges and plants with the extra dimension of Garden Style plants where large specimens can be bought by gardeners and landscapers alike.

In garden furniture Forest Lodge report good early sales, particularly the small corner weave sets and the metal framed lower couch style furniture from Life “it’s appealing to the younger audience looking for some style on their patio”

The extended Forest Lodge restaurant has a wonderful conservatory feel overlooking the extensive Planteria. With friendly staff and a great menu no wonder this is a favourite destination for many.

See GTN Xtra's Photo Tour, taken at the start of April 2019.

Van Hage has an exciting job opportunity within our family-owned company. We value our employees and are committed to their development whilst also growing our business. We have ambitious plans so it’'s a great time to be joining us.

We are currently seeking a Category Manager for Horticulture, who will play a vital role in group purchasing, achieving a strong stimulus for sales growth.

Key points

• Sourcing innovative product ranges and identifying key trends in the market place
• To target and improve on sales and margin trends in line with industry and best practice
• To analyse sales, reacting to information and taking appropriate action
• To support and influence the creation of inspirational displays at each site

Must haves

• Excellent communication, interpersonal and negotiation skills
• Excellent negotiating skills able to respond quickly to trends
• Have a good relationship with suppliers to secure the best possible products & terms
• Able to optimise sales and profitability through store layout and design
• Happy to travel across the UK and abroad as required

Please send your CV with a covering letter to: Liz Whale - liz.whale@vanhage.co.uk

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GIMA has announced the appointment of four new Council members following their appointment at the recent AGM, which took place at Ettington Chase Hotel, Warwickshire, on Tuesday.
 
The four new members welcomed onto the council include Guy Jenkins from DLF, Jenny Douthwaite from Primeur, Martin Tompsett from Rollins Tools & David Nicholson from Elho.
 
During proceedings it was confirmed that both Richard Pyrah of Kelkay and Simon McArdle of Westland Horticulture would continue in their respective roles as President & Vice President for a second term . 
 
These latest appointments complete the GIMA Council for 2019/20 which is now at full strength with 12 members made up of the following
 
Richard Pyrah, Kelkay - President
Simon McArdle, Westland Horticulture – Vice President
Chris Ramsden, Hozelock – Past President
Craig Hall, Deco-Pak – Honorary Secretary
Matt Jackson, Mr Fothergill’s Seeds
Mark Butler, Vitax
Neil Sims, The Evergreen Garden Care Company
Dan Durston, Durston Garden Products
Guy Jenkins, DLF
Jenny Douthwaite, Primeur
Martin Tompsett, Rollins Bulldog Tools
David Nicholson, Elho
 
The Association also reported a strong financial position with a healthy surplus being recorded.
 
Membership of GIMA is open to all manufacturers and suppliers of products to the garden retail sector, with a UK or EU base.
 
For further information about GIMA and the benefits membership brings visit www.gima.org.uk or contact the GIMA office on 01959 564947 or email info@gima.org.uk

As young tomato plants lead the way in the GTN Bestsellers Plants Chart it’s good to see plenty of linked sales activity to keep tomato feed at the top of the Garden Products Chart for the third week running. 

Plant feed products make up all of the Top 5 bestselling garden products lines this week.

Other highlights were:

• Gardman’s Kneeler Cushion was the highest placed chart re-entry, back in at No 12.
• Smart Solar’s 3 lumens Martini Stake Light is the highest new entry at No 14.
• Plantworks Empathy Rootgrow 150g climbed 17 places up the chart to No 26.

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

While tomato plants grab the headlines, outselling all other plant types last week, cucumbers, courgettes and peppers are also increasing in sales. There were 17 tomato varieties in the Top 50.

Highlights were:

• The first grafted tomato plant sales came through last week. Quantil Grafted 10cm Tomato Mini Gusta was the highest new entry at No 44.
• Grafted cucumbers sold through faster with Quantil Grafted Cucumber Derby 10cm and Grafted Cucumber Baby Rocky 10cm re-entering the chart.

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Growbags were the lines that increased sales last week despite most other growing media lines cooling off after the Mother’s Day weekend.

As with garden products this suggests there is plenty of good linked sales activity going on to ensure planters are bought with young plants.

Highlights were:

• Evergreen Garden Care’s Levington Original Gro-bag increased sales and moved up from No 16 to No 3 in the GTN Bestsellers Growing Media Chart.
• Westland’s 60 litre Tomato Planter climbed eight places to No 17.
• Glee New Product Award winning Bloomin Amazing Soil Enricher, 70 litres, re-enterd the Top 50 at No 48.
• Westland Gro-Sure Lawn Seeding Soi, 30 litres, was the highest re-entry at No 34.

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Relative to the drop in footfall Wild Bird Care sales fared well last week with the cold winds prompting more feeding activity.

Highlights were:

• Gardman Nyger Seed 0.9kg was the highest GTN Chart re-entry at No 14.
• Westland Peckish Complete 1kg moved furthest up the chart, flying from No 45 to No 20.
• Tom Chambers Sunflower Hearts 2.5kg climbed 6 places to be the No 3 bestseller.

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

Sales of young tomato plants outstripped sales of all other plants in the first week of April, according to garden centre Epos data analysed for GTN Bestsellers.

Sweet peas were the second most popular garden centre plant purchase with more than double the sales of the same week last year.

Highlights were:

• Nemesia was the highest chart re-entry of the week, back in at No 17.
• Young cougette plants also increased sales dramatically, up by 150% on last week.
• Young bean plants climbed highest up the chart, soaring from No 49 last week to No 23 this week.

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Representatives from the horticultural industry visited Viridor’s Plastics Recovery Facility in Rochester, Kent to find out more about the plastics recycling process and the demand for polypropylene for recycling.

Attendees included members of the HTA Nursery Working Group, plant pot manufacturers and representatives from the charity RECOUP. RECOUP and the HTA are working together on a campaign to ensure Local Authorities accept non-black plant pots in their kerbside recycling schemes.

The visit allowed those businesses in the industry working with the taupe pot and other recycled / recyclable pots to see how the plastics recovery process worked and to track the journey of plastic through the waste stream and back into circulation.

Attendees included Farplants, Bransford Webbs, Allensmore, Aeroplas, Soparco and Popplemann.

The facility receives material from a variety of sources but mainly through MRFs (Materials Recovery Facilities) through the country and uses NIR scanners to identify the different plastic polymers and filters them out at each step, including Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE or PET), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), and Polypropylene (PP). – PP is the polymer used in the production of taupe plant pots.

Viridor, a founding signatory to the UK Plastics Pact, is committed to advising all sectors on how to ensure greater recyclability, helping the UK to choose recycled materials over virgin plastic and achieve its circular economy goals. The company is working with the HTA and the charity Recoup on trials to achieve greater plant pot recycling.

The company advised that the demand for non-black Polypropylene material is high and that the future inclusion of plant pots in all kerbside recycling schemes, in conjunction with Viridor’s local authority partners, could be a welcome development for them.

The day was organised by RECOUP, hosted by Viridor and supported by the HTA. The HTA would like to thank everyone involved for making the day so informative.  The Nursery Working Group are planning on meeting again in the coming months to discuss the next stages of the work with local authorities and materials recovery facilities (or Multi re-use facilities), to increase the acceptance of plant pots at kerbside recycling.

Hillier Nurseries has announced the appointment of Adam Dunnett to its board of directors. He will also continue in his role as amenity sales director.

Chairman of Hillier, Robert Hillier, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Adam to the board; he brings with him a wealth of industry experience. Our top-quality trees have always been a huge part of Hillier business and our amenity team continues to go from strength to strength. We are delighted to have more representation at board level and are excited for the future.”

Adam joined Hillier in 2018. As amenity sales director, he leads the sales team and helps drive tree sales across all key customer market sectors, promoting Hillier Trees as the leading supplier of high quality, UK grown semi-mature trees.

Horticulture is a passion that runs in Adam’s family — his father was managing director of Blakedown Nurseries for over 40 years. His own career started with an apprenticeship at the tree and shrub grower Ellis Brothers Nurseries then, after college, to Webbs Of Wychbold where he held a number of roles, culminating in running the wholesale division for more than 10 years. A move into retail followed, as plant buyer for both Blooms Garden Centres and then Wyevale Garden Centres. His last position before joining Hillier was with Wyevale Nurseries as its sales and marketing director.   

“Hillier is a business I’ve admired for more than 30 years, either as a competitor or customer,” said Adam. “I feel honoured to now be part of the board of this wonderful family business, who have been part of horticulture for over 150 years. The team I’ve joined are full of experience and more importantly have massive enthusiasm to continue driving the business forward. As one of the few UK growers of semi-mature trees, we have a very exciting future ahead of us.” 

The team at Haskins in Snowhill presented Alzheimer’s Society with a cheque for £2,715.33 this week. All money raised from events held at the Snowhill centre throughout 2018 and collected from Haskins’ ‘Wishing Well’ was donated to the charity.

Alzheimer’s Society was the garden centre’s nominated ‘Charity of the Year’ in 2018 and the centre has chosen to continue its support for the charity throughout 2019 as well. The charity is the UK’s leading dementia support and research charity, relying on the generosity and support of organisations like Haskins in order to continue its vital work to lead the fight against dementia.

Pictured: L-R: Andrew Cornwall (Chair of the East Surrey Fundraising Group for Alzheimer’s Society), Julie Mohacek (Fundraising Volunteer for Alzheimer’s Society), Emily Duplain (Haskins Indoor Assistant Team Leader), Brenda Gillingham (Haskins Customer Services Team Leader), Hayley Carter (Senior Retail Assistant), Jess Hillicks (Community Fundraiser for Surrey and West Sussex Alzheimer’s Society).

Pam Rhodes, author and BBC Songs of Praise presenter, will be visiting Sherborne in Dorset on Saturday 25 May, as part of a book tour to promote her latest release, Arthur’s Garden: Up the garden path, down memory lane.

In association with Winstone’s Books, Castle Gardens will host the special author event and book signing from 7pm in The Butterfly House.

A collection of heart-warming songs and poems, along with advice on managing an English garden, this is a gardening book with a story to tell.

Told through the life of Pam’s great-uncle Arthur, the book covers the life of an ordinary English family from 1906 to the present day.

Tickets cost £5 and are available to purchase at Winstone’s Books on Cheap Street, Sherborne and at Castle Gardens on New Road in Sherborne. Free refreshments will be provided by The Walled Garden Restaurant.

Case studies from growers and garden retailers will provide insight on how they are dealing with environmental issues at the HTA Sustainability Matters conference on Tuesday 30 April at Horticulture House in Oxfordshire. Book now at www.hta.org.uk/events to secure one of the remaining places.

Mike Burks from The Gardens Group will talk about how they seek to encourage customers to garden in an environmentally sound way. In 2009 they linked up with Dorset Wildlife Trust to launch a Wildlife Friendly Garden competition which celebrates its 10^th anniversary this year. Wildlife gardening is a vehicle for gardening and living in a more sustainable way and allows them to get across positive environmental messages.

Natalie Porter from Porters Fuchsias will talk about the problem we face as an industry which relies so heavily on plastics, as well as the solutions they have implemented to help mitigate their eco-footprint.

Colin Jones from Carr Farm Garden Centre on The Wirral will provide examples of the ways in which they are making their business more sustainable. So far they have installed 6 biomass heaters, recycle all their cardboard and are also looking into harnessing storm water to re-use for plant watering.

Also, joining the programme is GMA Committee member Steve Harper from Bord Na Mona who will provide an update on the Government’s position on peat and talk about the Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media which looks at all products equally enabling customers to make informed purchasing choices.

The one-day event, chaired by George Bullivant of Garden Forum, includes speakers from the British Retail Consortium, RECOUP and Hubbub along with a panel session on plastics.

Further programme details include:

Consumer Insight – How sustainable should you be?
David Denny, HTA Marketing and Insights Manager and Laura Jeffery, HTA Marketing Executive provide an introduction into the current climate for ‘being sustainable’ and the opportunity for businesses of engaging with consumers and the local community.

Retail Sustainability – What are your business options?
Leah Riley Brown, Sustainability Policy Adviser, British Retail Consortium will look at the options currently available for British retailers who want to achieve a more sustainable business as well as cross-industry initiatives that also affect growers and landscapers.

The Plastic Packaging Recycling Journey
Stuart Foster, CEO of recycling charity RECOUP (RECycling Of Used Plastics Ltd), will look at the plastic packaging recycling journey from design to re-manufacture. He will cover practicalities around eco-design, collections, recycling, consumer engagement and legislation, providing examples relevant to the horticulture sector.

Trewin Restorick, CEO, from environmental charity Hubbub will talk about different community sustainability initiatives that he has been involved helping to inspire businesses to do the same.

There will be a cross industry panel session on plastics which will continue the discussions around industry initiatives including the introduction of the 100% recyclable taupe pot.

Panellists confirmed so far include HTA Policy Executive Sally Cullimore, Nick Mathias from Floramedia, Shaun Herdsman from Modiform, David Chilvers from The Bransford Webbs Plant Company and Matthew Appleby from Horticulture Week.

Dobbies Garden Centres has announced today that it has agreed to acquire a further 31 centres from Wyevale Garden Centres.

The acquisition increases the Dobbies estate to 69 centres, taking annual sales to over £300m and making it the largest garden centre operator in the UK.  The store portfolio is highly complementary to Dobbies’ existing estate.  Completion will be phased across May and June 2019.

Graeme Jenkins, Dobbies CEO, said: “We are very pleased to have agreed this acquisition from Wyevale and we look forward to welcoming our new customers, as well as 1,400 new team members to Dobbies as we drive the growth of the business and deliver against our Strategic Plan.”

Andrew Bracey, Dobbies Chairman, said: “We are delighted to have now acquired a total of 37 garden centres from Wyevale.  Since acquiring Dobbies in 2016 we have doubled it in size, expanded Dobbies’ national footprint and strengthened our position as the UK’s leading garden centre operator. All of this will benefit Dobbies’ customers with broader ranges, national coverage, a leading online offer and great prices.”

Anthony Jones, Chief Operating Officer of Wyevale Garden Centres said: “We are pleased to have agreed the sale of these centres to Dobbies and look forward to working closely with the Dobbies team as part of the transition. I’d like to thank all of our colleagues at these great centres and wish them well for what I’m confident will be a bright future with Dobbies.”

The sale of 31 Wyevale centres to Dobbies Garden Centres for an undisclosed sum is the third transaction with Dobbies following the sale of five centres, plus a single site sale, both in October 2018.

The centres include: Altrincham, Andover, Beaconsfield, Brighton, Bury St Edmunds, Cadnam, Findern, Galton, Gosforth, Hare Hatch, Harlestone Heath, Havant, Hungerford, Keston, Leicester Rowena, Lelant, Marple, Moreton Park, Northampton, Pennine, Poppleton, Royston, Rugby, Shenstone, Stratford upon Avon, Stockton, Swansea, Swindon, Telford, Thornbury and World's End.

The centres will continue to trade as WGC over the coming weeks with completion of the sales phased from late May through to the end of June.

Following the sale to Dobbies, WGC remains a top three garden centre operator in the UK with 60 centres and a further four centres that are operating under licence. The announcement comes as WGC reports strong trading in the first quarter of 2019 with sales up 26% year on year, profitability significantly improved and high levels of liquidity. 

Anthony Jones, Chief Operating Officer of WGC, said “We are pleased to have agreed the sale of a portfolio of our centres to Dobbies Garden Centres. We would like to thank all of our garden centre colleagues for their contribution to Wyevale Garden Centres and wish them well for the next stage of their growth and development with Dobbies. I am delighted with our strong start to the year and am excited about trading for the rest of the main gardening season. Meanwhile, we also continue to evaluate a wide range of options as part of our ongoing sale process.”

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies, said: “We are very pleased to have agreed this acquisition and look forward to welcoming our new customers along with 1,400 new members to our team.”

Separately, WGC today also confirms the commencement of a collective consultation process with all colleagues at its Syon Park Customer Support Centre (“CSC”). This process is required due to the potential reduction of at least 20 roles at the CSC and commences with the nomination and appointment of employee representatives before a 45 day collective consultation can begin.   

Anthony Jones, Chief Operating Officer of WGC, said “I appreciate the commencement of a collective consultation process is unsettling for our CSC colleagues. We are committed to keeping all our colleagues informed as the consultation process progresses and any potential impacts are clarified.”

Christie & Co, the specialist business property advisor managing the sale process on behalf of WGC, have run a two-phase process that has achieved considerable interest from a wide variety of buyers. The opportunity to run one, a small group or a portfolio of garden centres has ignited interest within the sector and beyond, and there are still opportunities to acquire strongly located well-performing centres.

Last Friday's announcement of centre sales to Hilliers and Otter Nurseries has taken the value of sold Wyevale Garden Centres to £194.05m, using the "Offers Based on" price as listed by Christie & Co, since Terra Firma put all 145 centres up for sale in July 2018.

Dobbies top the list of spenders so far at £67.85m and Blue Diamond are the second highest spender at £36.6m.  Sales to developers have raised £35.5m, of which four centres are still trading as Wyevale Garden Centres under licence.  Here's our list of the Top 10 buyers by "Offers Based on" value:

1  Dobbies £67,850,000
2  Blue Diamond £36,600,000
3  Developers £35,300,000
4  Hilliers £8,300,000
5  English Salvage £8,000,000
6  British Garden Centres £7,950,000
7  Rochmills Group £6,500,000
8  Otter Nurseries £5,900,000
9  Tates of Sussex £5,200,000
10 In-Excess £4,600,000

With Crowland closing later this month there are now 90 centres still to sell that total a potential £254.6m using the "Offers Based on" price.  As we reported last week rumours abound about how many more centres Dobbies may be interested in buying and we believe negotiations are ongoing with many other potential purchasers.  

If you've got a spare few minutes this weekend, here is the list of centres still to be sold so you can join in the speculation as to which centre will be sold and to whom.

Wyevale Garden Centres has today announced two transactions for a total of six centres to garden centre groups Hillier Nurseries Limited and Otter Nurseries Limited.

The four centres: Cheddar, Dorking, Marlow, Lechlade will be sold to Hillier Nurseries Limited. The two centres: Jack’s Patch and Taunton will be sold to Otter Nurseries Limited.

The deals are expected to complete during June and July.

Anthony Jones, Chief Operating Officer of WGC, said: “We are pleased to announce the sale of a further six centres to garden centre operators. The colleagues at these centres have played a key role in the success of their centres and I’d like to thank them for their continued passion and expertise, and wish them well for the future with their new owners. Meanwhile, we continue to evaluate a wide range of options as part of our ongoing sale process.”

Chris Francis, Retail and Wholesale Director of Hillier, said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of four new garden centres joining the Hillier family business, growing the group to 16 garden centres serving customers across the South of England. The Hillier team look forward to working with our new colleagues and getting to know the local gardening communities, inspiring them with our great quality products and wide range of home-grown plants, all backed by renowned Hillier expertise.”

Jacqui Taylor, Managing Director of Otter Garden Centres, said: “As an independent, family run group of five garden centres in the South West of England, we are pleased to welcome Taunton Garden centre and Jack’s Patch Garden Centre to the team. We have three plant growing nurseries and look forward to expanding their plant growing production, supplying these two additional garden centres with their own home-grown plants.”

Christie & Co, the specialist business property advisor managing the sale process on behalf of WGC, have run a two-phase process that has achieved considerable interest from a wide variety of buyers. The opportunity to run one, a small group or a portfolio of garden centres has ignited interest within the sector and beyond and there are still opportunities to acquire strongly located and well performing centres.

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 2016 as well as 2017 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 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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The Engine Room Restaurant at Poundbury Gardens near Dorchester has received a Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) Business Champion Plaque from Damers First School’s Eco Crew for its commitment to reducing single use plastic and replacing it with sustainable alternatives.

Recognised for using biodegradable cups, wooden cutlery and paper straws for takeaways, The Engine Room was commended by the pupils of Damers First School, who have been working with Dorchester Town Council, Dorchester BID and Litter Free Dorset to achieve SAS Plastic Free Community Status in Dorchester.
 
Targeting businesses in the town, as part of this national campaign, which aims to inspire, unite and empower communities to protect oceans, beaches, waves and wildlife, Damers Eco Crew is hoping to sign up at least 12 businesses so the town can receive SAS Plastic Free Status by June 2019.
 
Lisa Bond from Poundbury Gardens (pictured above), explains: “Looking after the environment is at the heart of what we do at The Gardens Group and we have implemented many green initiatives at all three of our centres, so we were delighted to be a part of Damers Eco Crew’s campaign.

"It is so refreshing to see the next generation taking the future of their planet into their own hands, encouraging and inspiring businesses to think about their impact on the environment. We wish them the best of luck in helping Dorchester Town Council achieve plastic free status by the summer.”