The run-up to Christmas this year sees the launch of Illumination Street, a national campaign to brighten up the streets of Britain with Christmas cheer.

Created by Cultivation Street, Britain’s most successful Community & School gardening campaign (now in its eighth year), Illumination Street will motivate the nation to brighten up their front gardens with the spirit of Christmas.

Organised by TV gardener David Domoney, it is sponsored by Safestyle and backed by the Sunday Mirror. The campaign is designed to enhance and celebrate the magic of Christmas with lights, plants and community spirit, which will coincide with National Illumination Street Awareness Week from 9th to the 15th of December 2019.

From the 3rd November 2019, Cultivation Street Ambassador Garden Centres will benefit from free national publicity as ‘must visit’ destinations for lighting ranges and advice, plus plenty of Christmas ranges to embellish the homes and streets of Britain.

The publicity surrounding the campaign includes Illumination Street TV, National Newspaper coverage, TV news coverage, online blogs, advice and a full package of social media platforms to encourage the nation to engage.

David Domoney, the campaign’s founder, said: “it’s a perfect campaign to recognise and celebrate the great spirit we experience during the Christmas period. I remember as a child, the neighbourhood’s homes leaving their curtains open to show the lights on the Christmas tree to passers-by and as kids it was magical to see. Today, with the advance in technology, outdoor Christmas lights make a spectacular display; lifting our hearts and giving warmth to the community and neighbours. We want to encourage and inspire the nation to brighten up their front gardens and streets this Christmas. Garden centres are the best port of call for someone to get started and we will be encouraging the public to visit Cultivation Street Ambassador Centres for the best advice and home and garden Christmas displays.”

Martin Troughton, from Safestyle UK, said: “We are proud to support Illumination Street and the many people who bring a little light to our lives at a wonderful time of year. We are in awe of the incredible displays people create, some of which raise money for charity and light up people’s lives.”

Cultivation Street Ambassadors now number over 300 and are affiliated with industry-leading garden centres including Notcutts, Bents, Webbs, Dobbies, Ayletts, Hilliers, Klondyke, The Old Railway Line.

Like Cultivation Street, the Illumination Street campaign will be holding a highly anticipated national competition with a substantial prize pot up for grabs. There are no special requirements to enter, it’s open to the public and everyone who wants to spread the joy this festive season.

CATEGORIES

Best Front Garden Large Outdoor Display

1st £1000, 2nd £500, 3rd £100

Best Front Garden Small Outdoor Display

1st £1000, 2nd £500, 3rd £100

Best Community Christmas Tree

1st £500, 2nd £250, 3rd £100

Best Children’s Window Display

1st £200, 2nd £125, 3rd £75 and 10 runners-up £25

Best Front Door Display - New front door

Online Best Children’s Window Display

1st £100, 2nd £50

Online Best Front Door Display

1st £100, 2nd £50

GET IN CONTACT

Illumination Street is looking to grow its Ambassador network and any garden centres that would like to get involved can contact us on 01926 641 997 or email info@illuminationstreet.com

Even though the wet weather of last week and the weekend deterred many from outside gardening activities, Christmas and indoor gardening had a great week which meant overall garden centre sales volumes, according to the GTN Bestellers All Epos Products index was up by 3% year on year and stays up 3% year to date.

While other sectors of retail are facing Christmas 2019 with trepidation the early indications are that garden centres are faring well.  Whatever the result of Brexit over the next few weeks, garden centres look to be the place of choice for people to go for some winter cheer.  Watch this space to see how the season pans out.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 41

• Garden Products Top 50 – up 3%
• Growing Media Top 50 – down 23%
• Wild Bird Care Top 50 – down 6%
• Christmas Top 50 – up 23%
• All Plants index – down 13%
• All Items index - up 3%

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

A bumper week for Christmas puts our GTN Bestsellers Top 50 Christmas products index at 8.3% up year on year after the first three weeks of the garden centre Christmas season.

Personalised Christmas products once again dominate the top of the Christmas chart taking five of the top 6 most popular lines. 

The Lindt Chocolate Teddy Bear is the only non personalised product in the Top 5.

• Suki’s Personalised Reindeer Hanging Decorations climbed 20 places to be at No 5.
• Kaemingk’s Flower On Clip with Glitter Silver is the highest new entry at No 12.
• Premier Decorations Colour Your Own Characters Tree Decorations were the highest chart climber for the week, up 21 places to No 28.

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

The importance of storytelling and the need to be authentic in your social conversations were just two of the key points made at the HTA Marketing Forum which took place at Horticulture House, Chilton, on Wednesday.

With social media and digital technology becoming such an integral part of consumers’ lives, the need to be active in the ‘social’ arena is more relevant than ever.

David Denny, HTA Futures & Sustainability Manager spoke about new online tools which provide us with extra targeting capabilities enabling us to deep insights into customers on a scale never seen before. 

Julie Hall from The School of Marketing highlighted the fact that social media is about building community and engaging with your customers. ‘It is a relationship tool, not a sales tool – it is about relevance, context and connection’, she said.

Simone Bonnett, from The Social Managers, spoke about the importance of treating social media as your shop window as first impressions count. She emphasised the need to get all the basics right on your profile and include important information such as contact details, opening hours and including an image.

Across all the different platforms storytelling was a key theme. People relate to people and so on podcasts and video people want to know about you and your business.

‘Keep your videos personal, in the moment and authentic’ said Huw Richards from Huws Nursery, with Skinny Jean Gardener, Lee Connelly encouraging all to ‘do something different to stand out and don’t be afraid to share your opinions’. 

When it comes to writing online Alan Down shared his experiences from writing his Down to Earth blog. ‘Keep it light and chatty but authoritative and make sure you use bright relevant images and keep your content topical for maximum impact.’

Summing up the day HTA Council Representative Neil Grant from Ferndale Garden Centre, who chaired the day, comments, “It is clear from this insightful day that digital marketing is such a key component of our marketing strategy and we need to embrace it within our businesses. As an industry we have such great stories to tell – about our plants, our people.  We all need to make time within our businesses to ensure we are maximising the opportunity the power of social – in all its forms.” 

Many thanks to event partners Alpha Packaging, Eight Days a Week, Garden Connect and Swan Retail and Frobishers for providing refreshments.

Gardeners are now more likely to use the latest technology to source plants for their plots before they visit their nearest garden centre but also when they are in-store too...

Cutting edge software innovations and hardware installations are helping boost website visits and plant sales, according to one Norfolk garden centre.

Nick Haydon, who manages Fakenham Garden Centre, said: “We introduced Joy of Plants’ Plant Finder software two years ago and our plant department web page is now one of our most visited, along with the coffee shop and our opening hours sections. Previously it didn’t get much traffic, but now it comes in each month at either second or third after the coffee shop and opening hours, which is fairly significant, as you’d expect those two pages to be top anyway. So, its performing better than all the other pages.

“As well as using the Plant Finder on our website and buoyed by its success, we also installed, 11 months ago, two freestanding, Joy of Plants’ Plant Finder touchscreen kiosks in our shop and outdoor plant area, labelled up as customer information points. These provide an easy way of giving customers further information about the plants we have on display.

“It also helps staff and customers pick plants for their specific requirements. It’s also useful for our non-plant, in-store experts, as they can stand in front of the screen with customers and clearly talk about each plant as required.

“Customers feel unpressured when looking at plant details, as the screen isn’t all about the hard sell, but instead gives useful and invaluable information to the gardener. Also plant lists can easily be created by customers and sent directly to our plant manager by email, and we have definitely picked some business up here.”

Joy of Plants, which is a plant information company, created the Plant Finder and Touchscreen Kiosk for garden centre’s websites and plant areas, so customers can have an easier and familiar garden centre experience. 

Nick added: “We’ve so far found many benefits of using the plant finder on our website. For example, when a customer phones in with a plant-related question, we ask if they have access to the internet. We then talk through how to find and use the plant finder, highlighting the way each plant is explained in terms of care, features and placement. We also go through how the customer can use the various search functions to find the right plant for them and the space they wish to fill.

“And, if our plant experts are not on hand to answer specific plant questions, our other staff members can use the plant finder to help with customer questions or queries. Our landscaping and design team also use it to design plant schemes for clients’ gardens too, so it has many uses across departments.”

Joy of Plants has created a library of more than 14,300 garden plants and trees and offers a platform of tools to help garden centres, retailers and growers maximise their plant sales.

The company has spent the past 25 years photographing and documenting plants to provide information in many forms including Bed Cards, Apps and Plant Finder technology for websites and its Touchscreen Kiosks.

Terri Jones, Managing Director of Joy of Plants in Twyford, said: “The Plant Finder Touchscreen Kiosk guides customers to the plants a garden centre sells and it’s like having a new team assistant in the plant area ready to answer any plant related questions.

“The home screen can be personalised to certain plant groups, such as easy-care plants, houseplants or trees for small gardens and there are buttons to quickly find plants by name or criteria to meet a customer’s precise needs.

“People who are time poor can also use the kiosk, as it will save them trying to find a member of staff to help provide plant information.

“As well as customers using the kiosk staff members can also use it to help find answers to plant questions quickly and efficiently.”

Garden centres can also use the Touchscreen Kiosk as a digital advertising tool while the Plant Finder is not in use. Customers can be made aware of seasonal offers, promotions and daily specials. Content can be scheduled any time of the day and kiosks can run targeted campaigns to a single screen or to a network of units across multiple sites.

Joy of Plants has been working with Review Systems Digital Signage Ltd in Preston on the hardware for its Plant Finder Touchscreen Kiosks. The company offers bespoke and off the shelf digital signage solutions to the horticulture industry.

For further details about Joy of Plants, please call 07717 532 323, visit www.joyofplants.com, follow the company on Twitter at @JoyofPlants or on LinkedIn via www.linkedin.com/company/joy-of-plants.

Rebecca Pow MP, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Environment, will address the garden industry at the Cultivating Retail conference on 19 November at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham.

With the conference theme of ‘creating a sustainable future for the garden industry’, Rebecca’s involvement will enable members to hear directly from Government on the 25 Year Environment Plan, highlighting how the garden industry can contribute in a positive way.

Rebecca Pow, who has been MP for Taunton Deane since 2015, took up the role of Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Environment in September after previously serving as a Minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

She has also held parliamentary private secretary roles with the Department for Communities and Local Government and DEFRA, as well as playing an active role in several environment focussed committees.

Before her political career Rebecca worked as a journalist specialising in environment, farming and gardening matters. Her responsibilities at DEFRA include the Environment Bill, the 25 Year Environment Plan and resource and environment management.

HTA Chairman James Barnes comments, “A great advocate of the benefit of plants and gardening we are delighted to be able to welcome Rebecca Pow to Cultivating Retail. Rebecca is the latest high-profile speaker to join the first-class Cultivating Retail programme which includes former Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy and Just Eat Chief Operating Officer Graham Corfield.”

A milestone event in the horticulture calendar Cultivating Retail provides a unique opportunity to network with industry leaders and peers.

Visit www.hta.org.uk/cultivatingretail for further programme information and to book your place at Cultivating Retail.

Christmas at Bents has been kept strictly under wraps for the past ten weeks, but on Wednesday the wait was over and this year’s themed displays were unveiled. 

Hundreds of customers joined Bents for the occasion and followed Father Christmas - who made a special guest appearance for the occasion - into this year’s magical wonderland.

Said Matthew Bent, Managing Director:  “Christmas has been a part of our family business for as long as I can remember and it never loses any of its charm or excitement, especially when we’re surrounded by such beautiful and inspirational displays.

“We have our very own team of set designers and joiners who work together to create our magical scenes and once again they have delivered another fantastic wonderland for our customers to enjoy.”

Bents were joined for the occasion by the Cllr Maureen Creaghan, Deputy Mayor of Warrington, who helped with the opening, and actor Daniel Jillings from Bents’ Charity of the Year, Once Upon a Smile who drew the raffle for two beautiful Christmas hampers.

Bents 2019 centrepiece, Make it Magical, is a stunning combination of blush pink, silver and white decorations and is just one of many expertly designed show-stoppers, which are full of inspiration and ready to be re-created at home.

Now that Christmas at Bents is open there is a full calendar of festive events planned at the Centre, starting with Father Christmas’ Arrival on Saturday 9^th November at 10am.

As the demand for specialist products continues to thrive, Vitax will add to its key brands for 2020 as customers look for specific solution-solving products.

Showcasing a range of new products at Glee this year, Vitax has made additions to both the Q4 and Nippon range, as well as introducing Box Tree Moth Trap and Rose Guard Rose Tonic, both which generated great interest and demand at the show along with Liquid Q4 All Purpose Plant Food.

Box tree moths are a relatively new insect to the UK, but have a devastating effect on buxus. Designed to protect buxus from attack, Vitax Box Tree Moth Trap and Vitax Box Tree Moth Trap Refills are already a pre-season favourite with a strong order book.

Similarly, the addition of Liquid Q4 All Purpose Plant Food to the trusted Q4 range was a huge hit as was Rose Guard Rose Tonic, which includes potassium phosphite along with seaweed and the trace element copper, a natural enemy of diseases such as mildew and black spot.

Vitax will also be launching Vitax House Plant Leaf Shine in addition to Moss Remover No Rake, Nippon Ready-To-Use Mouse Killer Bait Station and Organic Rooting Gel.

Mark Butler, national sales manager at Vitax, says: “The response to the new products has been fantastic.  Both the Box Tree Moth Trap and Liquid Q4 has generated a lot of interest along with the Rose Guard Rose Tonic. 

“Over the past few years we have focused on developing the specialist feed range, which has been a huge success.  For 2020 we have turned our attention to expanding key ranges with products we know gardeners are waiting for.”

Vitax will also be super-sizing some of its products for the new season. Vitax Buxus Feed will be available in a 5kg tub in addition to the existing 1kg pouch with Vitax All in One Feed, Weed and Mosskiller available in a box which will treat 90m² of lawn as well as a tub which will treat up to 300m² and a bag to treat up to 652m^2.

The popular Organic Liquid Seaweed will also now be available in a 2 litre bottle, with Vitax House Plant Feed in a new 250ml bottle.

With concern escalating over the amount of time that children spend staring at phone and computer screens, Deco-Pak is leading the way in helping retailers to provide innovative solutions that encourage kids to engage in fun pursuits that reconnect with the natural world.
 
As demand for creative hobbies continues to grow, Deco-Pak is throwing the spotlight on its popular Rockin Pebbles – a hobby that’s rockin’ the nation! Now available for retailers in a new eye-catching display box, the fun craze of decorating pebbles and leaving them for others to find is catching on fast.
 
Rockin Pebbles form part of Deco-Pak’s strategy of encouraging both children and adults to get hands-on with creative projects, joining a growing movement for less screen time and more green time. A BBC report, which focused on research from Childwise, revealed that children aged five to 16 spend an average of six-and-a-half hours a day in front of a screen, compared to just three hours in 1995. Similarly, a report in The Independent newspaper claimed that young children spend twice as long looking at screens as they do playing outside. By the time they reach the age of seven, the newspaper said, children will have spent the equivalent of 465 days staring at electronic screens.
 
With retailers looking for fun solutions that offer the perfect antidote to screens and technology, Rockin Pebbles are ideally positioned to capture a share of the growing market for hobbies and gifts – a rapidly expanding sector at garden centres nationwide.
 
Deco-Pak Director, Craig Hall, said: “Deco-Pak is at the forefront of consumer trends and natural play solutions that reconnect children with the outside world are forecasting to experience growth in demand as parents seek out activities that will lure kids away from phones, tablets and computer screens. The year-round market for hobbies and gifts is a key growth area for garden centres and retailers,  Rockin Pebbles appeal to consumers by promoting fellowship through acts of kindness, while combining creativity in a healthy pursuit that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.”
 
To further enhance the play experience, Deco-Pak has introduced Rockin Pens – the perfect accessory pack will help to keep kids entertained for hours. The acrylic pens complement the Rockin Pebbles range, each containing eight brightly coloured, UV-resistant pens that are non-toxic and safe for children to use. As the pens are both water and weather-proof, they’re ideal for decorating any stone or pebble with a long-lasting, brightly coloured effect.

The Royal Horticultural Society has announced its endorsement of the entire range of Plankbridge shepherd’s huts – multi-purpose living spaces based closely on the proportions of original Victorian shepherd's huts.

The hand-built, practical and durable accommodation once allowed shepherds to live near their flock. Today the concept has inspired modern shepherd’s huts that have been adapted for a range of contemporary uses. The Plankbridge range appeals to a wide customer demographic, as a garden retreat, an extension, a garden office, a retirement studio, a spare room or a teenage den.

The shepherd’s huts are also popular with leisure and holiday businesses, including hotel groups and glamping companies, which offer them as holiday lets. Most are made to order, although Plankbridge offers some that are made to popular specifications and supplied ready to buy.

The RHS-endorsed range was made available in September. The huts can be obtained online or through in-person orders via the Plankbridge workshop.

The endorsement will be indicated by an RHS logo, which will be displayed on a small plaque on the door of each hut. Plankbridge is the only shepherd's hut maker endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society.

From spring 2020, the RHS Garden Wisley’s Heather Garden will house one of Plankbridge’s shepherd’s huts, giving visitors a chance to see for themselves the craftsmanship and skill behind these elegant dwellings.

Plankbridge shepherd’s huts are made by craftsmen at the company’s premises in Dorset. They are built to last for generations.

The Plankbridge team has supplied a wide range of shepherd's hut designs to several National Trust properties, the award-winning Pig Hotel group and Hampton Court Palace garden and annually exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Strongly influenced by the best Victorian hutmakers and the Arts and Crafts movement, Plankbridge keenly supports heritage craft skills and apprenticeships.

Richard Lee founded Plankbridge along with his partner, Jane Dennison, with the aim of making the ‘finest quality huts in the UK’. He remains strongly influenced by the best Victorian hutmakers, whose design and craftsmanship informs the range of contemporary shepherd’s huts Plankbridge builds today. Plankbridge huts are now shipped all over the world – to New York, Portugal, France, Switzerland and beyond.

Richard Lee, Plankbridge, says: “Having been exhibiting at RHS Chelsea Flower Show since 2012, when we did an Artisan Garden, we have been impressed with the quality and philosophy of the RHS. We see this endorsement as a significant milestone for Plankbridge, a feather in the cap for the team who work so hard and diligently and a vote of confidence in our products that will appeal enormously to our customers.”

Cathy Snow, RHS Licensing Manager, added: “Plankbridge is an ideal fit for the RHS, not least thanks to the craftsmanship and attention to detail of its wonderful shepherd’s huts. We are delighted to be able to endorse this example of UK heritage craft skills that has a strong appeal to a worldwide audience.”

The superlatives flowed thick and fast after the two-day AQUA 2019, and among the words being used to describe the event were ‘excellent’, ‘innovative’ and ‘fantastic’.

A total of 1,502 visitors attended the show at Telford International Centre, and they were greeted by over 80 exhibitors – clear evidence that AQUA 2019 has been a huge success for everyone concerned.

As the doors closed on another memorable event, Mark Winter, managing director of Aqua One, summed up the mood in the exhibition hall, saying: “This year’s show has exceeded my expectations with the opening day being the busiest day ever at an AQUA exhibition.”

Mark, who celebrated after picking up a Lifetime Achievement Award and New Product Award at the AQUA dinner, added: “I’m so proud to be associated with such a successful event.”

And Steve Davies, managing director of Plimat UK Ltd, was equally enthusiastic about the outcome of the event. “It’s our first time exhibiting at AQUA and I have to say wow! There is so much that attracts the eye – bright and enticing stands plus the diversity of all the products. It has been a great show for us, more than we could have expected.”

Another first-time exhibitor was PM Aquatic Wholesale, whose Jeremy Gay commented: “We’ve only got a small stand but it has really worked for us with lots of leads, both from existing and new customers. It’s been so good we’ll definitely be back next time.”

Juwel Aquarium made a return to AQUA and the company’s Kevin Allen said it had proved to be the right decision. “We’ve had lots of comments from customers saying they were glad to see us back at the show so I’m glad we’ve returned. It has been an excellent show for us and we’ll definitely be back in two years time.”

International companies have also given the show the thumbs-up. Marcel Pellekooren, director of AquaLine from The Netherlands, said: “We visited the show two years ago and afterwards made the decision to exhibit this year, and we are so pleased we did. It has provided us with the opportunity to forge new business.”

Satisfaction among visitors was equally high. Stuart Pell, owner of Angel Aquatics, North Walsham, Norfolk, said: “It’s great to see the whole industry coming together under one roof. I particularly like the fact that you can compare products and make an informed judgement about what to buy. It definitely formulates my buying strategy.”

Rick Johnson, manager of Sunny Bank Koi, Congleton, Cheshire, said: “It’s the first time I’ve attended an AQUA show and it has been fantastic. I love the way the show is set out – it’s bright, colourful and enticing. We’re looking to expand into tropical fish, and AQUA has been the perfect place for us to source new products in this sector of the market.

Andrew Stratton, managing director of Pelagic Aquatics, Kent, commented: “It feels a busier show this year with more variety of products and more information, which is good to see and good for the trade. This show gives us the opportunity to see our existing suppliers but also the chance to meet new companies.”

And Matt Hogg, of Custom Reef Aquariums, Surrey, added: “AQUA is brilliant. It provides visitors with an opportunity to see what’s around and what’s coming up. It’s essential to attend this show and I never miss it.”

One of the main talking points was the AQUA dinner attended by 500 guests after day one of the show.

Jo Bladon, who organised the dinner, said: “It was a great evening with an amazing number of exhibitors and visitors enjoying themselves,” a comment echoed by one guest who remarked: “Wow, what a fantastic event. I’m astounded that so many people from the industry were able to attend.”

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While the rain effected outdoor gardening and plant sales last week, Garden product sales benefitted from indoor, greenhouse and potting shed gardening activity. 

With the GTN Top 50 Garden Products volume index showing an increase of 3% on the same week last year, the sector maintains it’s year to date growth of over 5% which is a great indicator for the future.

• Growth Technology Orchid Pot Clear 12cm is the highest chart climber, up 23 places to No 10.
• Growth Technology Cactus & Succulent Focus 100ml is the highest re-entry at No 11.
• Vitax Hormone Rooting Powder 50g is a re-entry at No 43 after a 46% increase in sales.

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

Another week of very wet ground prompted a sharp slump in outside gardening activity and a resultant drop in growing media sales. 

As we’ve seen already this year that should be corrected if this weekend is dry, so make sure your growing media sales areas are looking good.

• Evergreen Garden Care Levington Essential Multi Purpose, 50 litres, climbed 27 places up the chart to No 9.
• Westland GroSure Easy Container, 25 litres, doubled its sales to re-enter the GTN Top 50 at No 39.
• Growth Technology Orchid Focus Repotting Mix, 3 litres, increased sales by 50% as gardeners turned their attention in-doors away from the rain.

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

Autumn and winter colour planting took a hit last week as the heavy rain deterred people from getting out into the garden, or the planteria.  As a result sales dropped by 23% week on week and were down 13% on the same week last year.

• Heuchera sales increased by over 50% and moved up to No 14.
• Calathea sales benefitted from a switch to indoor gardening, re-entering at No 33.
• Pepper plants were the highest climbers as gardener picked up some end of season grow your won bargains.  Up 22 places to No 22 in our chart.

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

If you’re a student with a passion for ‘green’ horticulture you may be the right candidate to apply for the £1,500 John Gibson Environmental Scholarship.

Part of the David Colegrave Foundation Scholarship Season, this award wants to know your interest in environmental solutions and sustainable applications and how you see them advancing commercial horticulture.

Juliet Turner won the John Gibson Environmental Scholarship last year while studying the Foundation Degree Horticulture at CAFRE - Greenmount College. She comments: “Winning the John Gibson Scholarship gave me the financial freedom to pursue a number of horticultural interests. The support was extremely useful in helping to fund college tuition and accommodation fees and covering travel expenses for a number of training opportunities. I used some of the funding to attend two training courses and I am sure that being the recipient of the Scholarship also helped in gaining two paid horticultural positions over the summer in a beautiful private garden and with the National Trust.”

Juliet adds: “Thank you very much to the David Colegrave Foundation and to John Gibson - you have helped me learn and experience so much in the last enjoyable few months and I am very grateful to have had the financial support to help continue developing my horticultural skills. I am excited to explore the opportunities a career in sustainable horticulture will open up for me.”

This scholarship recognises John Gibson’s keen interest in environmental solutions that can advance commercial horticulture in a sustainable manner. John dedicated 65 years of his life to the industry, forging a fine international reputation. After starting his career at Bees Seeds, John went on to work at Colegrave Seeds with the late David Colegrave and was at the forefront of the development of the market for hybrid seeds and seedlings. In his time, John has seen the beginning of the trial grounds at West Adderbury, which are now part of Ball Colegrave's annual new variety showcase, he has spent 30 years judging the trials grounds at Wisley Gardens, and since his retirement he has served as a Trustee for the David Colegrave Foundation until recently stepping down.

The David Colegrave Foundation Scholarship Season is open now until 31 January 2020.

Applications are already coming in from the likes of The University of the Highlands and Islands - Argyll College UHI, The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise - Greenmount campus, Harper Adams University, Walworth School of Horticulture, Eden Project Learning, Nottingham Trent University, Myerscough College, Pershore college and Broomfield Derby college.

More colleges are encouraged to get on board and get their horticulture students applying.

To apply visit www.davidcolegravefoundation.org.uk

A Production Manager at one of the UK’s leading nurseries based in Hereford has successfully completed a competency exam to become an Associate on the Plant Health Professional Register.

Kyle Ross from Wyevale Nurseries has joined the register organised by the Royal Society of Biology, which aims to develop plant health skills and create a community for plant health professionals.

The 25-year-old explained: “I am delighted to have been accepted as a registered Plant Health Professional. I submitted a competency exam of some 10,000 words, which covered a wide range of topics on the biosecurity spectrum.

“I hope that this achievement will show our customers and other horticultural business’ that, at Wyevale Nurseries, we are 100% dedicated to plant health.

“I will use this platform to enhance our already robust biosecurity protocols even further and develop the plant health skills of our on-site staff. I would highly recommend other growers in the UK to have a representative on the Plant Health Professional Register if possible.”

The Plant Health Professional Register was established in 2016 in response to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Government Office of Science reports recommending development of plant health skills and creating opportunities for a wider community of trained plant health professionals.

The Plant Health Professional Register demonstrates skills against the GB Strategy for Plant Health and Biosecurity and encourages continued professional development in plant health. There are three levels of the register – Associate, Registered and Senior.

The register acknowledges an individual’s competencies and helps signpost training and career development opportunities. It provides the Chief Plant Health Officers with information on plant health expertise in the UK, for speedy responses to disease outbreaks. ​Together this helps protect the UK and businesses from the harm that pests and disease can cause to plants. ​

In 2018, a pilot exercise engaged with the Horticulture sector to extend the register to all relevant horticulturalists and is now being incorporated into the plant health assurance scheme being developed by the Horticultural Trades Association. 

Wyevale Nurseries’ main business is to supply garden centres, landscape contractors, local authorities, foresters and landowners with a comprehensive array of trees, shrubs, hedging, herbaceous and specimen plants.

The product selection available from Wyevale Nurseries is envied across the industry and the talented team regularly introduces new award-winning plant varieties.

The company's trading statement said profits of £7.6m in the first six months of 2019 were a record, driven by strong trading in the core business and the addition of nine centres acquired from Wyevale last year.

The trading statement in full:

"Blue Diamond, the UK's second largest operator of garden centres, has reported record profits for the first six months of 2019.

The Group produced a profit before tax of £7.6m, which was a 56% increase on 2018, and was the result of strong trading in both the core business and the nine garden centres purchased from Wyevale in the second half of 2018.

Total sales increased by 57% whilst like for like sales also grew by 12%, driven by outperforming the industry across most major categories and the generally benign weather.

The nine former Wyevale stores delivered average sales growth of 37% against their performance under previous ownership in 2018, with some centres achieving nearly 60% sales growth, and they contributed significantly to EBITDA. They have all received investment and have seen good improvements in their profits and standards.

In September, Blue Diamond completed the acquisition of seven further garden centres from Wyevale, including Bridgemere Garden Centre in Cheshire, one of the most famous and largest garden centres in the UK. These centres generated an EBITDA of £2.6m in 2018 and were purchased for just over £7.5m, plus stock, fees and taxes.

Alan Roper (pictured above), MD of Blue Diamond, commented, “We see a significant opportunity to continue to grow profits in the short, medium and long term from a combination of driving trade in the core business, optimising the performance of the newly-acquired 16 former Wyevale centres and the further greenfield sites we have identified.”

Trading has remained positive since the end of June and the Board is optimistic about the full year outcome.

The Group is privately owned but there is an active market in the trading of its shares. There are currently shares available to purchase from existing shareholders and any person wishing to make enquiries about becoming a shareholder in Blue Diamond should contact the Finance Director, Richard Hemans, by e-mail or telephone 01481 210285 in the first instance.*

https://www.bluediamond.gg/investor-relations

*It is the Board's policy that there be an active market in the Company's shares. The Company facilitates transactions between shareholders and third party investors but does not act as an agent of either the seller or the buyer. Any person wanting to become a shareholder must be approved by the Board."

Woodlodge won the Choice Marketing Sundries Supplier of the Year Award, presented at the Choice Annual Trade Show and Dinner, held last night at the Jury's Inn Hinkley Island Hotel.

History & Heraldry won the award for Home and Gift Supplier of the Year and Allensmore Nurseries won the Best Plants Supplier Award.

The Choice Marketing Group now represents £145m annual turnover.  "We will be looking to add more centres next year," said Choice CEO Michelle de Lavis-Trafford at the dinner.

See GTN Xtra's photos from the Trade Show and Dinner below:

WATCH THE VIDEO CASE STUDY HERE

A flagship ‘Community Fibre Partnership’ between Cornwall’s Burncoose Nurseries, Openreach, Cornwall Council and private funders is to blaze a trail for the rollout of full fibre broadband to remote and rural businesses in 13 locations across the UK.

The move comes after The Chancellor, Sajid Javiid, announced a £5billion rollout of full fibre, 5g and other giga-bit capable networks, at The Conservative Party conference, to 20% of the hardest to reach parts of the country. 

The rollout will be made more possible thanks to some of the innovative engineering used at Burncoose Nurseries and Estate by Openreach to install full fibre broadband in its stunning location near Redruth, Cornwall, which is paving the way for other rural communities to get fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP).

Burncoose is the fourth biggest plant mail order business in the UK, winning 24 gold medals at Chelsea, with much of its recent growth driven by the introduction of online mail order. 

Established in 1984 by Charles Williams, it began life by exhibiting and taking written orders at numerous flower shows throughout the UK. A pioneering move online 21 years ago, when Burncoose created its first website, transformed the business.  Today over 80% of the business is online with 1.5 million visitors to the website each year, drawn to the extraordinary range of over 4,000 different varieties of ornamental trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

Despite slow broadband speeds due to its remote location, online orders grew by almost 46% per year in the last 10 years, with a surge in the last four years as the website expanded its content to give customers detailed and practical and pictorial advice on growing their plants.  

But as office staff at Burncoose struggled with connections of 1.25 mbps, the process of expansion had become a nightmare. 

Burncoose Nurseries had added over 40,000 photographs to its website in a decade. This exercise had been a time consuming and expensive challenge not experienced by competitors. Discerning gardeners like to make telephone contact with their suppliers to discuss their potential plant purchases but Burncoose’s staff struggled to access the information online to answer enquiries because speeds were so much slower than that of their customers. This at times made staff feel that they came across as inept and unprofessional. Even tracking a parcel after dispatch was a slow and frustrating business.

A fast broadband connection had become business critical for the business to continue to grow. So in April 2017 the community began discussions with Openreach to consider installation of fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) or “full-fibre” technology onsite.  Full-fibre broadband connections can deliver download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second - enough bandwidth for a family of four to all stream ultra HD or 4k quality movies or TV simultaneously, without interruptions, waiting or buffering. With these speeds, downloading a typical HD film takes less time than it takes to make a cup of tea.

The funding was agreed through a combination of private funding, funding from Openreach and local grant scheme run by Cornwall Council.  The design/contract negotiation period took six months then the build, which took eleven months, involved connecting and extending fibreoptic cables from Openreach’s local node point to the Burncoose site.  This wasn’t without its problems as the cables needed to be installed on a main road involving road closures adding a three-month delay.

The initiative will benefit a “business cluster” beyond the nursery itself: Burncoose Nurseries is part of a micro-community which includes Burncoose House, a spectacular wedding and holiday venue completely reliant on online bookings; a building company, KPK Builders employing over 30 people, and several homes and businesses.  There are around 70 people employed in businesses on the Burncoose Estate.

These businesses on the Estate are now reaping the benefits of full fibre.  Horticultural enthusiasts can now find all the information they need online, meaning that the phones no longer need to be manned by plant specialists.  The connection is resilient in inevitable winter storms and even the phone lines are clearer with no drop-outs or interference. KPK Builders has opened a new maintenance division and entrepreneur Ellie Bradshaw has just launched Wild Life Botanicals, a new range of low-alcohol, high end sparkling drinks from a converted barn on the Estate.  And at Burncoose House, guests hiring the property for weddings, events or holidays now enjoy Georgian splendour with 21st century connectivity in the spectacular Cornish countryside.  And the success of these businesses means more jobs for local people, which is great news for this part of Cornwall where wages are still well below the national average.

Charles Williams said, “Burncoose is delighted to help promote this long overdue improvement in rural broadband access to 10 separate private business addresses in our small business cluster.

We now have broadband speeds of 70Mbps and can deal with our existing customers, business rivals and new business on an equal footing to our competitors. We all see this as a hugely important step forward in enabling our businesses to prosper and grow in the countryside.”

Based on the success of the Burncoose and the Cornwall initiative, Openreach announced [on Friday, October 4] the rollout of a full fibre broadband pilot to 13 more rural communities, with the senior team at Openreach, including Clive Selley, CEO, Openreach, visiting Burncoose to see how it had positively impacted the local community there. 

Openreach have also created a video to tell the story of Burncoose and its broadband journey and a case study has been included in the Openreach shareholders report.

The Burncoose Estate may once have been at the heart of the industrial revolution in Cornwall, but it now finds itself at the forefront of the digital revolution with telecommunications infrastructure which will future proof connections for the businesses there for years to come.

Evergreen Garden Care, the company behind Miracle-Gro and Roundup, has launched a new UK website as part of the company’s international refresh of its digital platforms.

The LovetheGarden website has been built on the same platform as its international counterparts, creating a consistent International website presence which combines both shared and local content.

The look of the new website has also been given a sleek and modern refresh and offers improved user experience thanks to its mobile optimised web design.

With over 600 of articles, the new website is a hub for any keen gardener or gardening amateur and includes helpful tips and advice on how best to care for your outdoor and indoor space. The new categorisation of articles has helped to aid users by breaking articles into relevant topics, so users can find the help or inspiration they need with ease, whether that be how to look after indoor plants or how to create a small garden.

Headed up by Joanna Weston, Group Head of Digital Marketing, the project took six months and has already seen some great results with a 29% reduction in bounce rate year on year.

Speaking of the new website, UK Digital Marketing Manager, Frode Hernes said, “As 50% of website traffic comes from mobile users, we really wanted to optimise the mobile website to provide a better experience for users. With the new website, I think we have achieved this, as well as producing a more consistent brand across all the countries we operate in.

“We have already received some positive feedback to the changes and are looking forward to developing our digital platform more in the coming months.”

Why not take a look for yourself at www.lovethegarden.com 

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 2017 as well as 2018 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 Christmas Products 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.

Buy your subscription today and start receiving the GTN Bestsellers charts this week.