Blue Diamond celebrated their annual awards last night at Chateau Impney in the West Midlands with Fermoys and Le Friquet winning the Acorn and Oak Cups for Blue Diamond Garden Centres of the Year.  Trelawney and Redfields won the Blue Diamond Restaurant of the Year Awards and Managing Director Alan Roper was presented with a special award to recognise his 20 years at Blue Diamond.

Over 500 staff from the 30 centres were joined by suppliers at the prestigious evening where winners were lauded across the group activities from Stock Management to Pastry Chef of the Year. Full list of winners below.

On receiving his special award from Chairman Simon Burke and Life President Geoffrey Dorey, Alan said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute. There are 500 people in this room and there is a strong bond and strong connection between everyone of you. The energy, the sense of achievement and all being proud to work together as a great team. All I can do is lead, but you need a great team of people.  Without exception you’re just brilliant.  Thank you.” 

Earlier in the evening Alan announced a new centre development had been agreed at Elevden in Suffolk with further developments in progress at Totley in the Peak District, Tewkesbury and Scotch Corner.

“The group increased like for like turnover by 33% to £128m excluding Wyevale acquisitions and East Bridgford  in 2018 and projected sales for 2019 are £170m.

Full list of Blue Diamond Award Winners 2019:

Stock Management Award: 3 Shires

Home Award: Carol Spain - Fermoys and Sarah Thompson - Redfields

Christmas Award:  Dennis Risdon - Trelawney and Matt Gouveia – Le Friquet

Visual Merchandising Award: Suzie Young – Redfields

Fashion Award: Helen Danning – Trelawney and Amanda Brown-Reed – St Peters

Garden Care & Décor Award: Julie Sills – Harlow and Clye Hooper – Le Friquet

Garden Features & Containers Award: Andrew Lloyd – 3 Shires

Wild Animals Award: Suki Crook – St Peters

Furniture & Outdoor Leisure Award: Tracey Uphill – Chatsworth and Matt Gouveia – Le Friquet

Seeds & Bulbs Award: Fergus Keating – Brambridge Park and Tina Luker – Trentham

Seasonal Plants Award: Martina Mallett – Matlock and Anna Lancaster – Redfields

Hardy Plants Award: Peter Shirley – Fryers and Gemma Woods – Derby

Indoor Plants Award: Katie Wardell – Newbridge and Kevin Fleming – Trentham

Best Garden Centre for Social Media Engagement:  Grosvenor

Best Garden Centre for Customer Engagement and Loyalty:  Fermoys

Customer Service Superstar: All Blue Diamond Customer Service Managers

Head Chef of the Year: John Waldron – Newbridge

Pastry Chef of the Year: Tracey Miller – Chatsworth

Restaurant of the Year: Trelawney and Redfields

Core Garden Centre of the Year, The Acorn Cup: Fermoys

Destination Garden Centre of the Year, The Oak Cup: Le Friquet.

The awards in each category were presented by the group specialist teams based on performance over the whole of 2018 against the Blue Diamond BPI measures (Business Performance Indicators including profit per customer.)  Centres are grouped according to size with smaller “Core” centres grouped as Acorn and larger “Destination” centres as Oak.

Smart Garden Products is delighted to confirm that the following staff have joined Smart from Briers:

Tara Truman – National Account Manager

Charlotte Prentice – Key Account Manager

Domenic Guglielmucci – Assistant Category Manager

April Raven – Graphic Designer

Emily Swindells – Data & Content Controller

Jonathan Stobart, Managing Director, comments "We're delighted to welcome this cohort of Briers personnel into our business which will help us integrate the Briers product ranges into Smart and develop the brand.

"We now have a firm grip on the supply chain for gloves & boots and are rebuilding stock levels as fast as we can to help customers with supply ongoing."

After Red Nose Day for Comic Relief it's time to go Green for Garden Re-Leaf Day and the Greenfingers Charity.

Garden Re-Leaf Day is only 5 days away on Friday 22nd March 2018.  It's your opportunity to get the season going again with fun activities in store to increase footfall, generate extra local publicity and raise some money for Greenfingers to help our industry charity build more gardens at Childrens Hospices in their 20th year.

In July 2011, Hillview Garden Store CEO and industry stalwart, Boyd Douglas-Davies announced the inaugural Garden Re-Leaf Day at the Garden Retail Awards in London.  Now in its eighth year, Garden Re-Leaf Day is the biggest charity fundraiser in the garden industry’s calendar and has raised over £600,000, including over £70,000 in 2018 alone.

Positioned as the garden industry’s answer to Comic Relief and Sports Relief, the aim of Garden Re-Leaf Day was to celebrate the start of the garden year with fundraising events to raise money for Greenfingers, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of children in hospices through the creation of magical gardens.

For the garden industry, the day creates valuable team building opportunities and brings more shoppers into garden centres earlier to extend the peak spring season. Garden centre managers, staff and other industry professionals tirelessly set up fun and exciting ways to not only raise money for Greenfingers, but also to promote gardening as an enjoyable pastime.

But where do these vital funds go?  Most will already be aware that the money raised is used to build Greenfingers hospice gardens which enable children and their families to enjoy special time together outside enjoying the therapeutic benefits of nature, and away from the bedside. 

Greenfingers work exclusively with each hospice to come up with a unique design that suits the needs of the children and families they care for.  Each garden is created with top industry designers and landscapers, as well as help from the local community, volunteers and gardening clubs.

In total, 55 Greenfingers gardens have been built since the charity’s creation in 1998 with many being funded by monies from Garden Re-Leaf Day.  The inaugural Garden Re-Leaf Day in 2012 raised more than £55,000 for Greenfingers, helping a specially designed, family garden to be built at both Robin House Children’s Hospice in West Dunbartonshire, and Donna Louise Children’s Hospice in Stoke-on-Trent. 

2019 is a big year for Greenfingers gardens, with a further four set to be completed. The Nest and Rest Garden at Grace House, Sunderland, is set to be made a reality under the expert eye of Sean Murray, 2015 winner of the BBC's Great Chelsea Garden Challenge. Designed to attract wildlife, this garden will utilise interactive water features, sensitive planting and sheltered areas to provide families with an invaluable outside space for respite and relaxation, as well as stimulating features that can be used for therapies and reflection.  

Over at Claire House Children’s Hospice on the Wirral, Carolyn Willetts of CW Studios, will be transforming the outdoor space into a Garden of Colour. Featuring a Creation Station, Rainbow Meadow, A Quiet Place and sensory Falling Leaves, this garden will be a feast for the senses year-round.

Little Harbour Children’s Hospice in St Austell is set to be transformed by local landscape architect and designer, Darren Hawkes. Darren takes his inspiration from the landscape that surrounds him, and his designs have a harmonious feel to them. He says "I love the relationship between plants and hard materials. The opportunity to highlight shapes both in foliage and form as well as in colour is one that I relish". His plans for the Little Harbour garden include all-weather facilities, including a covered hide out festooned with coloured glass panels.

At Richard House Hospice in London, Greenfingers is working with garden designer Andrew Fisher Tomlin from Fisher Tomlin & Bowyer to create a new special sensory garden. The brief is to 'create a sensory garden which takes families on a journey through the woodland area, starting with a colourful archway and then connecting with different sensory elements of the garden.' It also all needs to be wheelchair accessible.

Greenfingers Director of Fundraising and Communications, Linda Petrons said: “Garden Re-Leaf Day has resulted in life-limited children and families who spend time in hospices being able to enjoy precious time together in a Greenfingers garden.  It’s really easy to take part, you can sign up and participate in one of this year's organised initiatives such as the Garden Re-Leaf Walk and Cycle Challenge.  Why not organise your own event, and register it so that it can be included in all the media briefings that raise awareness of the cause?”

You can sign up to take part in 2019 Garden Re-Leaf Day events (March 22^nd) or register your own by visiting the Greenfingers Charity website www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk/gardenreleaf

Here's a list of some of the events already planned for Friday:

Altons Garden Centre – Quiz

Aylett Nurseries Limited – Goodwill Coffee Morning and Tombola, 8.30-12pm, 22nd March

Haskins Garden Centres – Raffles running 15-24th March at Ferndown, Roundstone, Snowhill and West End Garden Centres

Holiday Inn Chester South – Mount Snowdon climb on 22nd March

Longacres Garden Centre – Are holding a Sponsored Static Cyclotron in the Bagshot Branch and holding an ever-popular Raffle.

Old Railway Line – Are holding a Curry and Quiz Night

Perrywood – Are holding a Quiz.

Poplars Garden Centre – Are Having a Curry and Quiz Night, plus a Raffle on 22nd March.

Rowlawn Limited – Are hosting various events including a Mucky Dip and a Cake Sale, from 10.30-4pm on 22nd March.

Squire Garden Centres – Will be hosting a Create and Grow Mother's Day Planting Weekend from Friday 29th to Sunday 31st March at all centres except Chertsey, between 9:30am-3:30pm (10.30am on Sunday).

Sunshine Garden Centre – Children's Activities

Thurrock Garden Centre – Are holding a Raffle, plus hosting a number of free Children's Activities on 22nd March, where people can donate to Greenfingers Charity.

Whitehall Garden Centres – On Friday 22nd March they will be donating £1.00 from every hot drink and cupcake sold in their restaurants. They will also be holding a raffle from which all proceeds will be donated to Greenfingers Charity.

Plus there's the Garden Re-Leaf Day Walks and Cycle Rides that start and finish at Worlds End Wyevale Garden Centre, where the GTN team will be based for the day.

If you want to find out more about how to get involved in Greenfingers Garden Re-Leaf Day 2019, whether by putting on events in your garden centre, through sponsored solo activities or simply by donating - contact the Greenfingers office on 01494 674749 or email Linda@greenfngerscharity.org.uk.

See our gallery of photos from previous Garden Re-Leaf Days.  Enjoy and have some great fun!

As we prepare to say hello Spring, at GARDENA we’re also preparing to prune. Late Winter or Spring pruning will help ensure your plants send out new shoots from their food reserves and encourage new growth, making sure your garden looks bloomin’ lovely.

Once you know how, and what to prune it’s important to have the right equipment to make the pruning process as easy for you and gentle on your plants as possible.

Introducing the new range of pruning loppers from GARDENA, designed and created with the passionate gardener in mind.

From ErgoTec handles with soft components to allow maximum grip and easy handling, to specifically designed stop buffers to protect your wrists and joints, GARDENA loppers are ideal for pruning almost plant, tree or bush in your garden.

The super-lightweight GARDENA SlimCut lopper is fast becoming the gardener’s best friend. The innovative lopper is perfect for thinning out dense bushes and shrubs. It’s integrated transmission not only allows maximum cutting power, but also the ability to move from thin to thick branches with the simple switch of a gear.

No more bending and stretching to get to those hard-to-reach branches, the GARDENA Slimcut’s adjustable handle takes the pressure off your back and is ideal for dense undergrowth and fresh wood.

Cutting hard, dry wood after a long winter? Not a problem. GARDENA’s EasyCut range also includes a stable anvil, providing superior support and preventing excess damage to the bark.

For tougher plants and trees the GARDENA EnergyCut lopper has been designed to do the hard work for you.

The lightweight GARDENA EnergyCut lopper boasts huge reductions in cutting effort thanks to its integrated transmission and premium blade.

The GARDENA EnergyCut’s superior aluminum lever arms and non-stick coating means you are guaranteed precise cutting, straightforward cleaning and rust protection. 

There’s no need to limber up thanks to the new GARDENA TeleCut range with greater reach and more leverage for those high, awkward branches .

The GARDENA StarCut branch pruner takes away the need for that wobbly ladder with its 200-degree cutting angle, robust steel gearing and innovative hook you can cut small and large branches without getting tangled up.

With a 25 year warrantee GARDENA loppers are built to last so they are by your side season after season.

If you’re not sure which loppers are for you head to www.gardena.com/uk for more information or see in store to view the full range.

The weather was partly to blame for the drop in overall sales last week but a bigger influence was the moving of Mother's Day. 

Last year week 10 benefitted from Mothers Day providing a spike in sales despite the Beast from the East, but of course we have to wait until the end of March this year.

In the meantime we have garden re-leaf day to celebrate on Friday 22^nd March.  What have you got planned to increase footfall, sales, have some fun and raise money for the Greenfingers Charity?  #getinvolved at www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk/gardenreleaf

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 10

•           Garden Products Top 50 – up 4%

•           Growing Media Top 50 – up 26%

•           Wild Bird Care Top 50 – down 25%

•           Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – up 55%

•           All Plants index – down 14%

•           All Items index – down 8%

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

“After 25 years of working in PR in the City, I desired a change,” says Donna Zurcher, founder of Mezu Silk Flowers. Passionate about flowers and wanting to enjoy their natural colour and beauty throughout the year she established Mezu Silk Flowers so that she could personally source – and subsequently supply - silk flowers that are some of the most realistic that can be found in the marketplace today.

Five years later and Mezu’s blooms are today widely sought after and have been featured numerous theatrical and film productions such as ITV’s “Mr Selfridge” and Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”. 

The day to day business however is very much geared to working with independent garden centres and florists as well as gift shops, wedding and event planners, exclusive product launches and interior designers.

With a background in retail and design, product quality, customer service and value for money have been the three elements driving the business forward.  

“One of the most difficult elements in establishing the business was finding the quality of product that I would be proud to sell”, says Donna.   

The sourcing of silk flowers is undertaken by Donna  and her entrepreneurial son who lives in China and regular visits are paid to the supplier to ensure that quality of each bloom – in that it is authentic in shape, colour and individuality.  

Initially, they found companies who only dealt in huge volumes and who can be somewhat dismissive of smaller enterprises, however being on the ground and single-minded on their requirements, Mezu eventually found their main supplier who understood their ethos and from whom the majority of their blooms are now obtained.

All the flowers are painted and created by hand, petal by petal, leaf by leaf, in small villages in northern China. This is great for the rural economy of this often-inhospitable region, where temperatures can plummet to -36 degrees, as it means the artisans can work from home and are not restricted by weather conditions.

“It is a fair-trade cooperative,” says Donna, “with both adult women and men creating the flowers. Quality is everything – the flower’s structure and shape, the way it looks and how it can be used in creating floral arrangements and displays. “We tend to specialise in cottage garden style blooms – roses, peonies, hydrangeas, sweet peas, foxgloves and stocks to name a few.”

Mezu pride themselves  in delivering a bespoke service to their customer base.  “I get a real buzz and sense of satisfaction talking and working directly with my customers – I want to understand what it is they need and to provide the right product, at the right price, at the time they need it”, says Donna.

For further information, go to www.mezusilkflowers.com or email info@mezusilkflowers.com.

Three themes have been set for Next month’s GIMA AGM and Day Conference (10 April, Ettington Chase, Warwickshire) - Dobbies, Disruption and Megatrends.

Headlining the Conference will be Marcus Eyles, horticultural director at Dobbies Garden Centres. With 38 stores across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, Dobbies a leading garden centre chain; Marcus will outlines what Dobbies will be doing to develop the market and highlight how Dobbies works collaboratively with suppliers to create opportunities in the marketplace.

In a special session entitled ‘The UK Gardening Industry – futureproof or ripe for disruption?’, Steve Collinge, MD of Insight Retail Group Ltd and executive editor of Insight DIY, will tap into knowledge garnered from a 30-year career with companies like LG Harris, Spear & Jackson, Cuprinol and Akzo Nobel Dulux, exploring ways that the industry can prep itself for the unknown, as well as recognising its strength in a time of retail turmoil.

The effect of consumer-facing megatrends on the gardening of tomorrow will be studied in Philip Benton’s session. As research manager for Euromonitor International’s Home & Tech division, he will outline the latest ‘megatrends’ and explain how they have the power to transform and disrupt entire product categories. He will draw from Euromonitor's home and garden research to show how the gardening market is being shaped by these global drivers.

GIMA’s AGM, a closed event for members only, will take place before the conference opens.

Tickets cost £60 + VAT for GIMA members and £120 + VAT for non-members. You can book on-line here  www.gima.org.uk or contact the GIMA team by email info@gima.org.uk

Leading figures from the UK garden and leisure industries were among the delegates and speakers at the conference on The Future for International Trade, held in Stratford upon Avon on Tuesday 12 March.  The event was organised by leading trade associations, Gardenex, PetQuip  and BHETA.

Two of the successful exporting businesses that delivered export case study presentations were Spear & Jackson and VegTrug, both long-standing members of Gardenex.

Amanda Sizer Barrett of Gardenex and Will Jones of BHETA (who were joint organisers of the event) talk with Tony Grimshaw of What More UK.

Brett Russell, Spear & Jackson’s regional sales manager for the Middle East and Asia, provided a number of tips for exporters. He advised that in order to adapt to overseas markets, companies needed to have flexibility in order to allow for business and cultural differences.  He added that the cliché in successful exporting ‘If you don’t go, you don’t get’ was 100 per cent true, proving that to keep ahead of competitors it was vital to visit customers regularly.  Brett cited business exhibitions as a must for new and established exporters, both for finding new customers and also getting a brand into new markets, commenting that it was important to be persistent and exhibit regularly to keep a brand focus in international markets.

Joe Denham, the chief executive officer of VegTrug, then explained how, since the company’s formation in 2009, it now had sales of 600,000 VegTrugs around the world with over 70 per cent of the company’s revenue resulting from exports.  He said that the company prioritised exports in order to reduce seasonality issues in the business.  As a regular exhibitor at spoga+gafa in Cologne, Glee in the UK and the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, Joe emphasised the importance of trade shows in the growth of his company’s sales.  He advised delegates that reliable research was vital, as was the need to seek help through the DIT and he stressed the invaluable support, information and sales leads he had been given by trade associations. “In fact the help Gardenex has given has been a vital component in our export growth.”

‘Ask the Expert’ desks at the event covered translation and interpreter services, government funding, consumer trends consultancy, overseas trade fair organisers, consumer and design trend forecasting agents, business travel agents, international trade consultants, UK freight fowarding and logistics services and the event’s industry sponsor, UK garden and outdoor living trade show, Glee.

During the day the packed audience enjoyed a number of highly informative presentations that investigated the possible paths that the convoluted Brexit negotiations could take and their effects on British exporters.  

The opening speaker was John Arnold, a Government lobbyist with an in-depth knowledge of government and the political scene, who provided a fascinating and entertaining backdrop to the current political situation.  There were then incisive and illuminating presentations from international trade consultant Strong and Herd, Rathbone Investment Management and the director of legal advisors Dechert LLP, which has a top international trade for business department.

Moving the focus to the long term future opportunities in export, Euromonitor explored global megatrends and the effect they have in shaping product design and retail developments in consumer markets worldwide.  

(Left to right) Ivo Darnley of Rathbone Investment Management, Tim Hiscock of Strong and Herd and government lobbyist John Arnold were among the top-level speakers.

Richard Tauwhare of Dechert commented after the event: “I thought it was a really first-class event  with a great line up of speakers, lively discussion, excellent networking opportunities, some very interesting experts available for consultation and highly efficient administration.  I enjoyed meeting some of the delegates, from a fascinating range of backgrounds, and learning from the other presenters, particularly the case studies, which really help to bring the issues to life.

Further guidance and in-depth export information and advice was provided throughout the one-day conference by a wide range of experienced export service providers and experts specialising in translations, logistics, trend analysis, business travel and research grants among many. Representatives from the DiT and trade exhibitions were also on hand, and Glee was the event’s industry sponsor.

Brett Russell (left) of Spear & Jackson and Joe Denham of Vegtrug are joined by Amanda Sizer Barrett prior to their export success presentations.

Commenting after the event, director general of Gardenex and PetQuip, Amanda Sizer Barrett said: “Our aim in organising the conference was to assure businesses in our product sectors that -- regardless of the outcome of the protracted discussions on our country’s departure from the European Union -- there is a raft of expert help and guidance available through our trade associations and our wide range of associate service providers to help smooth the path for continued export growth in the long term.  Trading internationally remains an important element of the majority of companies’ long term stability and success, and suppliers in the pet supplies sector can be assured that in Gardenex they have direct access to a dedicated team that is delivering essential advice, exclusive research, business information and international sales contacts that current member companies are turning into new business globally.

 “New export initiatives we are delivering are hard on the conference’s heels: this month,  Gardenex has invited garden product buyers from Germany, Sweden, Spain and The Netherlands to meet with UK suppliers at a ‘Meet the  International Buyers’ event on 27 March.  Then, at the beginning of May, the association will be organising the British exhibitor pavilion and industry information stand at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas.”

Companies can benefit from the comprehensive range of advice, business benefits and services that Gardenex offers its member firms by contacting the Gardenex team by phone or email. 

Networking was an important element of the conference.

A Harrogate charity shop and garden centre saw its takings plummet to just £3 last Monday because of roadworks outside.

The road was closed temporarily and some drivers were turned away, even though the shop, which can take up to £350 in a day,  was billed as open for businesses as usual.

Steve Scarre (pictured), chairman of the Horticap charity that runs the shop and garden centre, urged drivers to insist they be allowed to access the shop if workmen try to prevent them.

He said the roadworks could result in a loss of up to £5000 if things continued.

“‘We rely on income from the sale of goods in our shop and tea room, but we’ve had no passing trade because we’ve had no passing traffic,” her said. “The roadworks are causing deadlock in Harrogate; it’s not a good situation. I understand that the road needs doing, but we could have had more notice, and it could have been managed better.”

 He has urged shoppers to continue to come because, despite ‘road ahead closed’ signs, people can still drive into the shop car park. “There is an arrangement for anybody wants to go to Horticap and the contractors have been helpful in the main.”

Horticap provides adults with learning disabilities training in horticulture, crafts and rural skills.

A North Yorkshire County Council spokesman said: ‘I am very mindful of the effect which the road closure is having on this very worthy charity. If there were a way to carry out this major road repair without a road closure we would do it.”

The horticultural industry can look forward to welcoming more bright students to the trade with the backing of the David Colegrave Foundation (DCF) through its scholarships.

Scholarships worth £13,000 have been awarded to 10 students with interests that include research, sustainability, crop management, breeding, horticultural therapy and commercial wholesale.

Jeff Colegrave comments: “This year we received a record number of applications from horticultural students studying at 22 colleges across the UK. We believe we have selected some excellent candidates who are very worthy recipients of the David Colegrave Foundation Scholarships.”

The winners include:

The £2,500 Horticultural Research Scholarship winner is Rakhee Dhorajiwala - Cardiff University. Rakhee is the first recipient of this award that supports applied research within the horticulture industry.

Rakee is completing a Doctor of Philosophy (Biosciences) at Cardiff University. Her area of interest lies in the study of postharvest physiology - the maintenance of (often) commercially sold horticultural products. These products, being high value and in many cases easily perishable, have research focused on their physiology once picked to improve their shelf life and quality. Rakee would like to have a career in horticulture and is passionate about being able to support the food and flower industry in providing consumers with the best quality fruit, vegetables and other commercially sold cut flowers and bedding plants in a sustainable way.

Rakhee comments: "I feel very lucky to have won the DCF Horticultural Research Scholarship. I am currently growing lilies for some sugar analysis experiments! I’m eager to continue my research and hopefully make some novel discoveries about how lilies open and how to improve their vase life."

Supporting Rakhee’s application, Jeff Colegrave, DCF Chairman, adds: “Rakhee is a very talented student and I am delighted to encourage further horticultural-related research through this scholarship that will contribute to the development of new tools and approaches.”

The £1,500 John Gibson Environmental Scholarship winner is Juliet Turner - College of Agriculture Food & Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). Juliet is the first recipient of this award that supports environmental solutions and sustainable applications as applied to commercial horticulture.

Juliet is completing a Foundation Degree Horticulture at CAFRE at the Greenmount campus in Co. Antrim, N. Ireland. Juliet has an interest in living walls which are a real growth area in the industry. The DCF Trustees were impressed by her vision and her interest in a commercial application of horticulture that would contribute to a sustainable environment.

Juliet comments: “I am deeply interested in exploring how plants and horticultural techniques can be used sustainably to create welcoming, healthy and climatically responsible urban environments, particularly through the use of living walls. I am delighted and grateful to receive The John Gibson Environmental Scholarship to fund further training in this area”.

Supporting Juliet’s application, John Gibson, adds: “Congratulations to Juliet, a very worthy recipient of this scholarship. Juliet made an excellent presentation for the scholarship and as it is the first of these awards, I am delighted to give her my full support. I certainly think living walls have a great future in the UK. We have so many city centres that need brightening up. Juliet mentions Singapore where they are well established, and I have always been impressed with them when I have been passing through the city. I wish her good luck with her project.”

The £1,000 Student Scholarships winners are:

·         Áine Gilchrist - CAFRE College
Áine is completing a Foundation Degree Horticulture at CAFRE at the Greenmount campus in Co. Antrim, N. Ireland. Her interest lies in the production of bedding plants throughout the seasons, as well as horticultural therapy and horticultural production within the community and voluntary sector. This has led Áine to volunteer at a community garden, supporting the planning and production of bedding and container planting.

Áine comments: “Being awarded the DCF Student Scholarship has been a really exciting and encouraging experience.  As a mature student changing career, this support further inspires me to take full advantage of my horticultural studies and experiences, as well as boosting my confidence in pursuing a career in horticulture.”

·         Richard Murray - CAFRE College
Richard is completing a Foundation Degree Horticulture at CAFRE at the Greenmount campus in Co. Antrim, N. Ireland. He also works at Woodlawn Garden & Lifestyle in Carryduff, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Plant production is of particular interest to Richard, especially large-scale production and the wholesaling of ornamental plants. He hopes to own his own nursery one day.

Richard comments: “This Student Scholarship will allow me to experiment with growing more plants than I would have been otherwise able to, through the purchase of horticultural supplies, as well as increase my knowledge base by allowing me the finances required to attend certain horticultural short courses, such as the ones provided at the Walled Garden, Helen's Bay.”

·         Cody Smith - Myerscough College
Cody is completing a worked based apprenticeship - Level 2 Diploma in Work based Horticulture (Production Horticulture) at Myerscough College in Bilsborrow, Preston while working at Abi and Toms Garden Plants, a plant and tree nursery in Witherslack, Cumbria. He is particularly interested in growing for commercial nurseries.

Cody comments: “I am absolutely delighted to have been chosen for the DCF Student Scholarship. This is going to make a tremendous difference to my studies and future garden designing as I will now be able to have the technology and resources to help me do so. I really am truly grateful to be given this scholarship.”

·         Franziska Goeckeritz – SRUC

Franziska is completing a BSc Horticulture at SRUC at the Edinburgh campus and works as a Horticultural Assistant at Dobbies Garden Centres. She has a particular interest in the commercial production of ornamental plants and one day, hopes to have her own ornamental nursery producing healthy specimen container grown trees and shrubs.

Franziska comments: “I cannot describe how incredibly grateful and honoured I am to have received this DCF Student Scholarship. The money will allow me to develop my knowledge in production horticulture and it may be used to fund a trip to the Netherlands where I would hope to learn more about ornamental plant production after the completion of my studies.”

·         James Hunter - Writtle University College
James is completing a BSc Horticulture at Writtle University College at Chelmsford, Essex while also working at Joseph Rochford Gardens a hardy plant nursery based in Hertford, Hertfordshire. James has a keen interest in commercial production, with a specific interest in pest and disease management,especially with regards to the introduction of new invasive species as a result of factors such as climate change and global trade.

James comments: "I feel extremely grateful to the DCF for selecting me for its Student Scholarship and look forward to utilising the money to expand my horticultural knowledge and experience. Having a keen interest in pest and disease management, this scholarship will contribute towards travel that will broaden my understanding of global crop protection."

Three Sponsored Scholarships were also received for The £1,500 Ball Colegrave Sponsored Travel Scholarship, The £1,000 British Protected Ornamentals Association – Peter Seabrook Bursary and The £1,500 South West Growers Show (SWGS) Sponsored Regional Scholarship. News to follow.

The next DCF Scholarship season opens in September 2019.

More information on DCF can be found at www.davidcolegravefoundation.org.uk

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is calling on gardeners to help locate a beneficial garden slug that could be on the verge of extinction in the UK.

The Yellow Cellar Slug, which feeds on decaying rather than live plant material and has been found in UK gardens for more than 130 years, is thought to be being usurped by the Green Cellar Slug. Since its arrival in the 70s, Yellow Cellar Slug numbers have dropped sharply.

Above: Yellow Cellar Slug (left) and the suspected usurper, the Green Cellar Slug.

As slugs return to gardens this spring, the charity is keen to know more about the two species’ interactions and any commonality in the places they frequent, with a view to understanding what it might mean for the future of our gardens and how they can be encouraged and protected.

While both slugs have large, green-yellow, patterned bodies, the Yellow Cellar Slug has a long yellow stripe running along the centre of its tail. As slugs are nocturnal, people are being asked to don torches and step out into their gardens after dark in the hope of recording them.

The RHS is asking gardenrs to:

• Take photographs showing the top view of each slug
• Match your slug to the ID guide on the RHS website to see what species you have
• Keep a note of how long you spent searching and how many of these slugs you found
• Also note if you find these slugs on a plant and what type of plant it is
• Record your findings on the RHS’ iRecord page

Imogen Cavadino, Research Assistant at the Royal Horticultural Society, said: “Of the 44 species of slug known to exist in the UK only nine are serious pests. Most are important composters and feed on fungi, lichens and algae. Slugs are also a valuable part of the garden ecosystem because they serve as an important food source for birds, hedgehogs and other garden visitors. A garden without slugs and snails would certainly be a different place and understanding the prevalence of some species is important in protecting them for the future.”

For more information about slugs and snails in gardens and to take part in the study, click here. 

The team at Haskins in West End presented Countess Mountbatten Hospice with a cheque for £1,408.20 last week.

The money was raised from events at the centre during 2018 and collected from Haskins' 'Wishing Well'.

Countess Mountbatten Hospice was the garden centre's nominated 'Charity of the Year' in 2018 and the support will throughout 2019

The charity provides care to those with life-limiting illnesses.

Left to right: Peter Callaway (centre manager), Sophie Lyall (assistant team leader for customer services), Rachel Rawlings (corporate engagement & partnerships fundraiser at Countess Mountbatten Hospice)

Each month Squire’s Garden Centres reward their employees for making a difference. Team members are nominated by their peers or by customers and one (or a group) is selected by a panel for making a difference to the business – whether that is coming up with a great idea, offering outstanding customer service, going over and above normal duties, or thinking of an initiative that has grown or inspired the business.

The 2018 winners of Squire’s ‘Made A Difference’ scheme each received a gift and were recently thanked with a special lunch served by the Management Team at Squire’s in Badshot Lea at which the overall winner for the past year was announced.

Martin Relf, Nursery Manager at Squire’s in West Horsley was selected due to his dedication and hard work in ensuring that Squire’s annual plant show is always such a success.

Sarah Squire, Chairman at Squire’s commented; “Martin Relf was chosen as the overall winner of our ‘Made A Difference’ scheme as he always goes above and beyond the call of duty. He ensures that our plant show in West Horsley runs smoothly by clearing all the space in the large glasshouse, arranging delivery times with suppliers, and helping them set up on the day. He has come in on his day off and comes in extra early to make sure that everything goes to plan. He does an amazing job, not just for the centre, but he also gives professional and efficient service to our suppliers, who always comment on how well the day is run and how welcoming Squire’s are. All of our 2018 winners are great ambassadors for the company and I’d like to thank them for their commitment, hard work and enthusiasm.”

Pictured below: Martin Relf (centre) was the overall winner of Squire’s 2018 ‘Made A Difference’ scheme L-R: Colin Squire OBE, Martin Relf and Sarah Squire

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Glee will introduce an app this summer designed to help suppliers and retailers to get the most out of their time at the show.

Developed in response to the industry’s feedback, the new AI-powered  event matchmaking solution - from market-leading experts Grip – works on a platform that has already proved its worth at leading events across the globe.

Visiting retailers will be able to better measure – and even increase - their ‘return on time’ spent at the show through personalised exhibitor recommendations, and an easy to use meeting scheduling function. The app will also include an overview of the exhibition’s wider educational content and seminar programmes.

For exhibitors, it provides a powerful new way to generate leads and manage meetings.. Exhibitor-focused features include the ability to filter and refine visitor recommendations via smart recommendations, as well as meeting delegation across the sales force.  The smart meeting link makes it easy to invite existing clients to meetings, and an inbound leads section highlights the retailers interested in your company.

The app is fully integrated with Outlook, Google Calendar and Apple iCal.

Glee’s event director, Matthew Mein, said: “We’re excited to announce the introduction of the new Glee app. The industry has been calling for such a tool for some time, but we wanted to ensure we had the best possible platform at our disposal before launching. Grip has a great track record, and utilises responsive, live data to provide the most efficient and hardworking ‘matchmaking’ tool for both our exhibitors and visitors, helping to improve and increase the exhibition ROI for both. We look forward to rolling out the Glee app, and working with the market to make it go-to tool.”

The app will be available on Apple and Android from early June and a web-based platform will ensure accessibility across all platforms and devices.

It’s difficult to make comparisons with the same week last year for plant sales as although we were in the grip of the Beast form the East, Sunday 11^th March 2018 was Mother's Day and we have to wait until the end of March this year for that effect. 

That really accounts for the year on year drop in sales as young veg plants were scooped up as soon as they went on sale.

• Tomato plants were the most popular young veg plant overall climbing 39 places to No 6 overall.
• Young Pepper plants saw the biggest percentage sales increase to re-enter at No 26.

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

An application to redevelop the Squires Garden Centre site in Windsor has been withdrawn withdrawn. Plans to build 39 homes at the site were due to be heard at the Windsor Urban Development Management Panel.

Acting on behalf of applicant Bewley Homes and Square Bay (No5) LLP, planning consultancy Turley had been seeking permission to develop 39 homes on the Maidenhead Road site.

A submitted document from Turley planning consultancy to a Royal Borough principal planning officer confirms the withdrawal of the application. In the document Turley also requests a meeting with the officer.

Bray Parish Council originally recommended the application for refusal at a meeting in February and were intending on speaking in objection to it at Monday’s meeting.

Even though the weather was wet, windy and colder than we saw in February it wasn’t cold or severe enough to generate high levels of Wild Bird Care sales. 

Sales volumes of the GTN Top 50 were down by a quarter on the same week last year.

• Tom Chambers Luxury Fat Balls-6 Pack No Nets were the highest chart climber, up 39 places to No 6.
• Jacobi Jayne’s Flutter Butter Buggy 330g was the highest re-entry at No 19.
• Gardman’s Heavy Duty Squirrel Proof Seed Feeder more than doubled sales to re-enter at No 35.

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

Both Aldi and Lidl had submitted planning applications to build stores on the site of the Malmesbury Garden Centre off the A429, which were determined by Wiltshire Council's Northern Area Planning Board on Wednesday last week.

Aldi applied for permission to build a store on the site, with a request for outline permission for a replacement garden centre and other employment sites, while Lidl wanted to build on a green field site on the other side of the road to the Waitrose car park.

To read the full story click here

Last week saw a big drop in growing media sales from the first week of March but sales were still up by 26% on the same week last year.  So, the good start overall for growing activity continues with GTN Bestsellers Growing Media Top 50 sales volumes currently up by 24% on last year and 26% up on 2017.

• Westland New Horizon Veg Compost, 50 litres, is the highest new entry of the week, in at No 19.
• Evergreen Garden Care Levington Tomorite Giant Planter with Seaweed was the highest chart climber, up 20 places to No 19.
• Kelkay RHS Horticultural Potting Grit increased sales by 18% to move up 10 places to No 35.

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

Entries for this year’s GIMA Awards, which returns for its 39th year this summer (4 July, Celtic Manor), are now open.

Recognising excellence and innovation, the GIMAs have grown into the industry’s largest annual gathering of retailers and suppliers.

There are nine product awards, three marketing awards plus Special Achievement, Supplier of the Year and Export Achievement awards. The overall product winner award, the Sword of Excellence (awarded to Neudorff in 2018) completes the array.

Previous winners have included Gardena, Fallen Fruits, Willow Wand, Primeur, Burgon & Ball, Deco-Pak, Smart Garden Products, Apta, Vitax and Evergreen Garden Care (previously The Scotts Miracle Gro Company) Each has benefitted from the exposure that comes from being named a GIMA winner, including access to a panel of influential industry judges, recognition in front of hundreds of industry peers, and coverage in trade and consumer media.

Vicky Nuttall, GIMA Director says the awards have gone from strength to strength in recent years. “The calibre of entries continues to raise the bar, reflecting the innovation that is driving our industry forward season after season. I’ve no doubt that this year our judging panel – made up of top UK garden retailers and consumer and trade journalists, reflective of the omnichannel nature of our industry, will have their work cut out for them as the scale and quality of entries will continue to rise.”

If you have a product or service that you believe deserves industry recognition in one of the 14 categories,

Visiting this link 

Closing date for entries is Friday 17 May, with the judging day confirmed for 18/19 June. The same web page can be used to book your place at the 2019 awards ceremony.

Garden Product sales fared well considering the footfall drop caused by the wet and windy weather and Mother's Day moving to the end of the month.  Garden Lighting and propagation lines featured in many shopping baskets. 

Four new lighting lines came into the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers chart and there were eight seed propagation lines in the Top 50.

• Gardman’s Premium Seed Tray, 25cm, moved up 9 places to No 3.
• The Gardman Solar Stainless Steel Bollard Light, Carry Pack of 5, was the highest new entry at No 8.
• Garland’s Propogator Lid was a re-entry at No 26.

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

Scotland’s garden tourism industry is set to bloom further as £37,000 funding has been awarded to national garden tourism group, Discover Scottish Gardens, to build on its success.

The group, which was launched in 2015 with Growth funding from VisitScotland, has been awarded the grant to help boost its member network of gardens and businesses from across the country, attracting national and international garden visitors to Scotland. 

The £37,000 grant was awarded to Discover Scottish Gardens by the LEADER areas of Fife, Angus and Rural Perth and Kinross. This, combined with the group’s membership fees and corporate sponsorship, brings this year’s funds to £61,000. The group intends to use the funds to appoint a new business development officer to support the expansion of its member network. The remaining funds will help the organisation source professional photography and support the design, print and distribution of its garden map of Scotland.

Catherine Erskine, Chair of Discover Scottish Gardens, said: “The funding from Fife LEADER and what we have raised ourselves will enable us to give Scotland’s garden tourism industry a further boost. Discover Scottish Gardens has made great strides with garden tourism over the past four years, encouraging visitors to enjoy our country’s amazing gardens and nurseries. By expanding our member network even further, we can showcase more of Scotland’s finest gardens and hidden gems to local and international tourists.” 

Since its inception, Discover Scottish Gardens has attracted over 140 members, including gardens, nurseries and related businesses nationwide, working together to showcase the country’s outstanding horticulture. Member organisations include the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Royal Horticultural Society and Forestry Commission Scotland. More significantly, many rural and independent gardens are also members.

Helen Rorrison, chair of Fife LEADER Local Action Group, said: “This is a great initiative for Fife, Perth and Kinross and Angus as well as the rest of Scotland, particularly rural Scotland, as there is so much on offer here. Collectively promoting our gardens, nurseries and local supporting businesses is a positive step towards a more recognised garden tourism offering in Scotland. LEADER is very pleased to support this project.”

LEADER is part of the 2014- 2020 Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP). It is a funding initiative supported by the Scottish Government and the European Union, which will deliver support of around £52m to economic and community development projects across Scotland.

For more information on Discover Scottish Gardens, visit www.discoverscottishgardens.org

After the warmer than usual February, young Veg plants have already arrived in centres and they are being snapped up as soon as they go on sale. 

That sent Veg 2 Gro sales up 35% week on week and up 55% on the same week last year.  Could this be a bumper year for Grow your Own?

• Quantil Strawberry Cambridge Strips were the single most popular line in the GTN Chart.
• Quantil Tomato Gardeners Delight 8cm was just behind at No 2, one of ten tomato lines in the Top 50.
• Farplants Mint Garden Herb was the highest placed single Herb variety, increasing sales by 11% at No 11.

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

The annual awards ceremony, sponsored by Bradstone, took place on Friday 15 March at The Brewery, London, to celebrate and recognise the outstanding landscaping carried out by members of the APL. 

Kingston Landscape Group Ltd, based in London, took the Supreme Winner Award for their project: Streatham Hill. This entry was also the winner of the Commercial Garden and Soft Landscaping categories.

Streatham Hill is a gated residential development built around a landscaped communal courtyard garden located in South West London. Measuring approx. 1,228m² the south facing garden is enclosed on three sides by five and six storey apartments with planting selected to provide year-round interest. Height and structure was created with 60 semi-mature trees under planted with over 6,000 spring bulbs. Scented plants and herbs were included for residents to enjoy.  The garden was constructed at first floor level above a car park with a further second floor above a new retail unit. The two levels are linked by an external staircase. Corten steel was used throughout to offset the planting and create seating, borders and to clad the three raised water features.

The judges’ commented, “A comprehensive landscape treatment with a creative use of planters, Corten steel and beautiful soft landscaping. The composition of the space made it feel like a number of smaller gardens which could be enjoyed by the residents and offered inspiration.”

This year’s judges were Richard Barnard from Hillier Landscapes (Chief judge), Steve Smith from Shore Landscapes, Bob Sweet - ex RHS Head of Garden Judging, Robin Templar Williams from Robin Williams and Associates, Rupert Keys from Keyscape Design & Construction and Phil Tremayne - APL General Manager.

The event once again drew in record breaking numbers of over 380 attendees, who heard from Jamie Butterworth hosting the event, and Landscape Institute President, Adam White, giving an insight into his illustrious career so far.

The latest in the highly successful ‘Meet the International Buyers’ events organised by the Gardenex and PetQuip associations will take place at the Federation’s head office in Brasted, Kent on Wednesday 27 March 2019.

The buyers that have been invited to take part in one-to-one business discussions with British suppliers will be seeking to source a wide range of garden, leisure and pet products.

The garden product buyers include a German mail order/online sales company, a Swedish online store and importer/distributor and a Spanish franchise group of 44 garden centres.  Also from the garden sector will be a Dutch buying organisation that services a retail franchise of 27 garden centres and a retail organisation that supports 120 independent Dutch and Belgian garden centres.

Seeking to source a range of pet products will be a buyer from a leading Lithuanian retail chain of 73 stores that is also an importer/wholesaler supplying over 700 retailers and veterinary practices.  A buyer from a leading pet food and accessories distributor based in Dubai will complete the line-up in the latest event organised by Gardenex and PetQuip.

 To ensure that you don’t miss out on the opportunity to apply for 25 minute one-to-one meetings with any of the buyers on 27 March, or to find out more about future ‘Meet the International Buyers’ events for both the garden and pet sectors, please contact theresa@gardenex.com as soon as possible.  

For further information on Gardenex or PetQuip, the trade associations that works on behalf of British companies to help them increase sales worldwide, contact telephone +44 (0) 1959 565 995

or email: info@petquip.com or info@gardenex.com

Gardenex is the trade association that works on behalf of British companies to help its members increase sales worldwide.

tel:  +44 (0) 44 1959 565995   or   fax:  +44 (0) 1959 565885 

www.gardenex.com

Shaw Trust, a charity helping to transform the lives of young people and adults across the UK that already owns Palmer Gardens Garden Centre in Trowbridge has purchased two midlands garden centres from the Hillview Group.

The centres are Billing in Northampton and Pavilion in Wolverhampton. Both are garden centres that are part of shopping villages.

Boyd J Douglas-Davies, CEO of Hillview Garden Centres, confirmed to GTN Xtra this weekend that Billing and Pavilions Garden Stores transferred to The Shaw Trust charity on Thursday 7th March.

"This is part of our on-going strategy and I'm delighted that The Shaw Trust has taken on these sites. Their unique model will suit these locations and I think they'll do very well. I wish them and our former colleagues all the best for the future"

Shaw Trust is one of the largest 25 charities in the UK. Comprising Shaw Trust, Prospects, Ixion and Shaw Education Trust, they use 75 years’ combined experience to support people to develop their potential. Their goal is to help transform the lives of one million young people and adults each year.

With 4,000 staff and 1,000 volunteers they provide joined-up services for government, local authorities, combined authorities, employers, stakeholders – including the Department for Work and Pensions, Education and Skills Funding Agency, clinical commissioning groups and NHS Trusts – and individuals.

Shaw Trusts work focuses on seven business areas:

• Employability
  Learning and skills
  Justice
  Children’s services
  Education
  Charitable services and enterprise
  Community health and wellbeing

The Trowbridge based garden centre, Palmer Gardens, not only boasts an impressive range of plant and garden products on sale to the public, and an on-site café, but also offers training and employment opportunities to local young disabled people. The Palmer Gardens Education Programme offers individuals invaluable support with their literacy and numeracy skills, helping them gain career-progressing accredited qualifications in customer service, horticulture and food hygiene. Students can then practically apply their new skills in work opportunities in the Palmer Gardens shop, café and garden centre.

Jane Lawler has joined the GCA’s team of inspectors. Jane, who has more than 35 years’ experience in marketing and business development, will be responsible for inspecting member garden centres in North Thames, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have Jane join Alyson Haywood, Michael Cole and Gordon Emslie on our team of inspectors.

“She will be integral in helping us to ensure consistency and raising standards through our membership and will visit approximately 40 of our members’ centres each spring, scoring each one to given criteria, using our detailed inspection form, and giving objective and honest feedback on what she has seen.

“She will also make presentations at our regional meetings and during our annual conference in 2020.

“The 2019 inspections for member garden centres commence on March 18 and the inspectors are out visiting them until June 14, so those in North Thames, Scotland and Northern Ireland can expect to see Jane soon.”

Jane began her career in horticultural field trials with Pan Britannica Industries Ltd and then went on to work in customer services, advisory roles and technical product development before expanding her interest in marketing.

She developed her business and marketing skills in the 1990s through Cranfield School of Management, Henley Management College, Irish Management Institute and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. From 2008 she was Marketing Director with Gardman until 2013 when she left to establish her own business and marketing consultancy.

She said: “It’s a real privilege to be able to use my years of experience in the UK garden sector to support the GCA’s continued drive for excellence in garden centre retailing.

“I’ve seen from the outside how seriously members take the inspection and awards process and how it has contributed to continuous improvement in retail standards. So, I’m delighted to now have the opportunity to support and contribute to that process personally.”

Jane has run customer service teams, technical and regulatory development departments, international new product development groups and conceived and successfully launched online businesses. Some of her most notable achievements include the creation and development of brands for garden centre distribution in the UK and across Europe.

Jane is also the past Chair of Garden Industry Manufacturers Association (GIMA) and the garden product committee of the Crop Protection Association (CPA). She also served on the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) and Garden Industry Marketing Board (GIMB).

Mike Lind, GCA Chairman, said: “Jane is very knowledgeable about consumer insight and purchasing behaviour, so she is the ideal person to inspect our member garden centres for us and the knowledge and feedback she will pass on to our members will be extremely valuable, it’s great to have her on board.”

Garden centre plant buyers were out in force and in positive mood at the Classiflora Open Days last week..

Buyers from groups and independents were making the most of Open Day offers to buy large specimen plants, trees and other stock ready for the key selling season ahead.

Judging by the red tags out in the nursery the most popular purchases on Wednesday were Betula trees and red stemmed Acer Palmatum.

See GTN Xtra's photo tour of the nursery Open Day 2019 below.

Plant sales led the way as garden centres experienced huge swings for the first week of March compared to last year. Remember the snow from The Beast from the East saw GTN Bestsellers recording the worst ever weekly sales for garden centres this time last year.

Now we can report increases of over 450% for plant sales and growing media with the overall sales increase for All Products exceeded 200%.

Comparisons just with last year, whilst spectacular are not the best to use for real sales indications, but if we compare the first week of March over the previous eight years then 2019 is within 2% of the highest week we have recorded, which was in 2012.

Without Storm Freya, which hit Sunday sales across the country, then 2019 would probably have been the best ever which is a good omen.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year (week 9):

• Garden Products – up 197%
• Growing Media – up 457%
• Wild Bird Care – down 27%
• Veg-2-Gro – up 213%
• All Plants index – up 459%
• All Items index – up 202%

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

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.

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