The top 100 most read stories in GTN Xtra during 2021 were:

1.  Large Fire at Longacres Shepperton - UPDATED - GTN Xtra – Issue 15 2021

2.  Tributes for Eddie Topping MBE, Founder, Pioneer, Dad - GTN Xtra – Issue 36 2021

3.  An Open Letter on the use of peat - GTN Xtra - Issue 51 2021

4.  We're Here For You - GTN Xtra - Issue 1 2021

5.  Blue Diamond to open the largest Home and Garden Centre in the UK  - GTN Xtra - Issue 3 2021

6.  Altons BBQ World, Aylett Nurseries, Barton Grange, Baytree, Busy Bee, Groves, Pengelly, Pughs, The Old Railway Line and Squires Badshot Lea are the winners of GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards - GTN Xtra - Issue 3 2021

7.  Barton Grange Christmas 2020 - Exclusive GTN Xtra Photo Tour - GTN Xtra – Issue 19 2021

8.  £31m loss reported by Dobbies Garden Centre Group - GTN Xtra - Issue 49 2021

9.  Garden centre owners share their thoughts on being open during Lockdown 3 - GTN Xtra - Issue 2 2021

10.  British Garden Centres announce 58th centre, in Harrogate, will open in April - GTN Xtra - Issue 11 2021

11.  Antony Harker to launch Altico at Glee - Read GTN's August issue on-line now - GTN Xtra – Issue 33 2021

12.  Nicholas Marshall returns... again - GTN Xtra – Issue 15 2021

13.  Four Oaks trade show director Pat Coutts sadly dies - GTN Xtra - Issue 35 2021

14.  Garden centres report busiest ever day as gardens are the focus for family re-unions this week - More comments added - GTN Xtra - Issue 13 2021

15.  Nicholas Marshalls Country House Group pulls out of Windlesham - GTN Xtra - Issue 49 2021

16.  Suez Canal blockage causes further delays for garden furniture - GTN Xtra - Issue 13 2021

17.  Joules acquires digitally led retailer Garden Trading - GTN Xtra – Issue 6 2021

18.  Easter thank you to growers, manufacturers & distributors from British Garden Centres - GTN Xtra - Issue 14 2021

19.  Elho takes top prize as GIMA Award winners announced - GTN Xtra – Issue 46 2021

20.  Sustainable decking brand invests in technology to aid its stockist partners - GTN Xtra - Issue 26 2021

21.  Bill Bickerdike, one of "the gang", has died - GTN Xtra – Issue 33 2021

22.  Westland call for reality to be brought to the peat debate - GTN Xtra - Issue 12 2021

23.  Picture Special of the glitzy GIMA Awards evening - GTN Xtra – Issue 46 2021

24.  Dobbies buy Johnsons of Boston - GTN Xtra – Issue 15 2021

25.  Government publishes plan to ban peat sales by 2024 - GTN Xtra - Issue 20 2021

26.  Signs of growth for after lockdown - GTN Xtra - Issue 4 2021

27.  Has the sales volume bubble burst? - GTN Xtra – Issue 16 2021

28.  Dobbies No 71 opens in Boston, Lincolnshire - GTN Xtra - Issue 18 2021

29.  Nicholas Marshall interview and Solex On-Line Preview in GTN July 2021 Issue, live on-line now - GTN Xtra – Issue 27 2021

30.  £1.8m reward for Choice Marketing members - GTN Xtra - Issue 26 2021

31.  Smart, Kaemingk and Allensmore are Choice Marketing Suppliers of the Year - GTN Xtra – Issue 41 2021

32.  Alton's praised for tough stance on facemasks - GTN Xtra - Issue 2 2021

33.  Former LOFA secretary Phil Gibbs receives prison sentence for fraud - GTN Xtra – Issue 42 2021

34.  Blue Diamond acquires Mere Park Garden Centre - GTN Xtra - Issue 43 2021

35.  UK’s largest garden centre should get green light, say planning officers - GTN Xtra - Issue 26 2021

36.  GIMA Golf Day Photo Exclusive - GTN Xtra – Issue 24 2021

37.  Cherry Lane acquires Langford Garden Centre - GTN Xtra - Issue 13 2021

38.  Who have been the best buyers of the past eighteen months? - GTN Xtra – Issue 28 2021

39.  Industry prepares for a peat-less future - GTN Xtra - Issue 20 2021

40.  Derek Bunker adds his thanks to suppliers for "their efforts throughout this amazing period in garden centre history" - GTN Xtra - Issue 14 2021

41.  Shed prices set to soar - GTN Xtra – Issue 23 2021

42.  David Isaac says farewell to Johnsons of Boston - GTN Xtra – Issue 16 2021

43.  Europlants founder Renato Canale dies, aged 78 - GTN Xtra – Issue 21 2021

44.  East Yorkshire garden centre sells for £1.5m  - GTN Xtra - Issue 14 2021

45.  Petition to get Garden Centres in Scotland and Wales open again as soon as possible gains momentum, but they still need our help - GTN Xtra – Issue 6 2021

46.  BGC's Harrogate centre opens - Exclusive photo tour - GTN Xtra - Issue 22 2021

47.  Tong gets go-ahead to build £14m garden centre - GTN Xtra – Issue 23 2021

48.  57 garden centres vie for Christmas Greatness in GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards - GTN Xtra – Issue 48 2021

49.  Garden Re-Leaf Day 2021 FUNdraising goes past £35k and is still growing... - GTN Xtra - Issue 12 2021

50.  With eight weeks to go until Glee 2021, show organisers unveil a new date for next year’s event - GTN Xtra – Issue 28 2021

51.  Online petition launched to get Welsh garden centres re-opened – sign it NOW! - GTN Xtra – Issue 5 2021

52.  Farewell to the Eddie Topping, the Preston pioneer - UPDATED - GTN Xtra - Issue 37 2021

53.  GCA Christmas competition winners announced - GTN Xtra - Issue 49 2021

54.  Martin Stewart leads industry tributes at Memorial Service for Eddie Topping - GTN Xtra – Issue 40 2021

55.  Joe Swift opens The Plant Room by Camden Garden Centre in Richmond - GTN Xtra – Issue 45 2021

56.  GIMA Charity Golf Day welcomes the industry back with a day of sunshine and friendly competition - GTN Xtra – Issue 24 2021

57.  Christmas Future Trends and GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards Winners to be announced during Glee's on-line Festive Focus Day - GTN Xtra - Issue 2 2021

58.  Alan Roper wins Director of the Year Award - GTN Xtra – Issue 42 2021

59.  After a fantastic three days at the NEC, the return to Glee "has been really special" - GTN Xtra – Issue 38 2021

60.  Boyd's 100km in a day and AMES Amble add to the Garden Re-Leaf Day FUNdraising for Greenfingers - GTN Xtra - Issue 11 2021

61.  Online garden products retailer sold to private equity firm - GTN Xtra – Issue 7 2021

62.  little dobbies opens its doors in Bristol - GTN Xtra - Issue 13 2021

63.  AMES UK invest more than £1m in infrastructure and people in response to increasing market demand - GTN Xtra – Issue 6 2021

64.  Garden Centres re-open in Scotland... and it snows! - GTN Xtra - Issue 14 2021

65.  Sue Allen and Tammy Woodhouse to Brave the Shave on Garden Re-Leaf Day - GTN Xtra – Issue 8 2021

66.  Little Dobbies brings Garden Centre Christmas and houseplants to Richmond High Street - GTN Xtra – Issue 45 2021

67.  Eddie Topping retires - GTN Xtra - Issue 12 2021

68.  LOFA reports increased freight rates and container crisis - GTN Xtra - Issue 25 2021

69.  Excited to be back at Glee - GTN September, Glee Preview Issue, on-line here - GTN Xtra – Issue 36 2021

70.  Private equity group acquires leading garden product firm - GTN Xtra – Issue 23 2021

71.  Pearson Memorial medal awarded to Adam Wigglesworth of Aylett Nurseries - GTN Xtra – Issue 6 2021

72.  Turbo charged gardening as February breaks all records - GTN Xtra - Issue 10 2021

73.  Record end to a record year, up 28% on 2020, up 17% on 2019 - GTN Xtra – Issue 50 2021

74.  Industry taskforce to produce roadmap for a peat-free future - GTN Xtra - Issue 4 2021

75.  AMES UK reports record revenues in 2020 - GTN Xtra - Issue 4 2021

76.  Wildlife Trusts call for immediate end to peat sales - GTN Xtra - Issue 14 2021

77.  Hillmount boss warns of disarray for gardeners in Northern Ireland as spring approaches - GTN Xtra - Issue 4 2021

78.  Christmas Future Trends at Glee's Festive Focus Day - GTN Xtra - Issue 3 2021

79.  Future proofing your garden centre for maximum flexibility and profitability - GTN Xtra - Issue 3 2021

80.  No bubble burst yet for garden centre sales volumes - GTN Xtra - Issue 17 2021

81.  Garden Kitchen by Pugh's is a unique concept - GTN Xtra – Issue 36 2021

82.  Dobbies strengthens leadership team - GTN Xtra – Issue 46 2021

83.  Hetland Garden Centre sold to Caulders - GTN Xtra – Issue 38 2021

84.  Immediate ban on peat use unrealistic, says HTA - GTN Xtra - Issue 14 2021

85.  The COVID year in numbers - GTN Xtra - Issue 1 2021

86.  Fordingbridge undertakes major work at Norfolk centre - GTN Xtra - Issue 4 2021

87.  Lull in sales before mid-Summer - GTN Xtra - Issue 20 2021

88.  New brands confirmed for Glee 2021 - GTN Xtra - Issue 30 2021

89.  The new revolutionary smokeless fire pit - GTN Xtra – Issue 42 2021

90.  Pershore School Horticultural Unit, Pershore High School, Worcestershire has unwanted visitors. - GTN Xtra - Issue 11 2021

91.  Choice Marketing readies ‘Meet the Furniture Buyer’ event - GTN Xtra - Issue 25 2021

92.  The BBQ game changer! - GTN Xtra - Issue 12 2021

93.  Sales up by 49% compared to previous nine years, despite being closed for Easter Sunday - GTN Xtra - Issue 14 2021

94.  Monkton Elm and Old Railway Line scoop top Wales & West honours in GCA Awards - GTN Xtra - Issue 35 2021

95.  Expansion for family-owned garden lifestyle business - GTN Xtra - Issue 35 2021

96.  Moving on up… slowly - GTN Xtra – Issue 5 2021

97.  One good week and gardening sales get going - GTN Xtra – Issue 7 2021

98.  Glee to return in September 2021 - GTN Xtra – Issue 16 2021

99.  Ho, Ho, Ho! GTN’s Greatest Christmas Awards are back…for real! - GTN Xtra – Issue 44 2021

100.  Dobbies reports 51% increase in sales - GTN Xtra - Issue 9 2021

Longacres have issued the following statement following the fire yesterday at their Shepperton Garden Centre:

Statement re fire at Longacres Garden Centre, Nutty Lane, Shepperton, on Tuesday 13^th April 2021

"The fire started at a premises adjacent to far end of the garden centre, next to our goods in area and storage yard.

"A member of staff spotted the fire at approximately 12:15pm and called 999 immediately. Emergency services arrived in minutes.

"The store was evacuated and closed for the rest of the day. We reopened Wednesday morning.

"We’re happy to report there were no injuries.

"The damage is still being assessed; initial checks show large amounts of damage to infrastructure (power and other cabling has been destroyed) and there was also property and stock damage.

We’d like to thank the emergency services for their very quick response and the excellent job they did in preventing the spread of the fire."

Family-run Longacres Garden Centres opened their first store in Bagshot, Surrey in 1979. The Shepperton store was opened in 2013.

Now with 5 stores and a large online presence, the company employs approximately 600 staff. The Bagshot store has been ranked the number 1 garden centre by turnover every year since 2009.

www.longacres.co.uk

Yesterday we reported on the news that a fire had broken out at the centre.

The Surrey Comet has video footage of the blaze at the back of the centre.  

Nigel Long told GTN Xtra: "Everyone is ok.  We won't know what damage to the buildings and stock until the fire service let us back in. The fire has mainly affected the storage and goods inwards area."

Surrey Fire & Rescue report: "Drone team called out to support @SurreyFRS at an industrial fire on Nutty Lane in #Shepperton. Please avoid the area and close windows/doors," while Spelthorne Beat (Surrey Police) @SpelthorneBeat
have said: "We are currently assisting our fire service colleagues @SurreyFRS with a large scale industrial fire in Nutty Lane, #Shepperton. No one is believed to have been injured at this time. Thanks to everyone for their patience while we deal with this incident..

Eddie Topping, one of the pioneers of garden centre retailing in the UK, sadly passed away peacefully with his family around him yesterday evening (Monday 6th September 2021)

Eddie started his own market garden business in 1955, before setting up a landscaping company in 1957 and then opening the region’s first garden centre in 1963 in the grounds of the then Barton Grange Hotel.  After 65 years at the helm of one of the UK's most successful garden centre businesses, Eddie Topping stepped down as Chairman of The Barton Grange Group back in March this year.

Prior to that Eddie could often be found in the garden centre chatting to staff and customers, he loved and cherished the business he had developed with his family.

Eddie was an influential character in the industry, as President of the Horticultural Trades Association and Chairman of the Garden Centre Association over the years.

Forever loyal to his Lancashire roots, Eddie always supported local charities and organisations in the Preston area and, in 2003, he was awarded the MBE for services to charity in Preston.

Eddie was also a past president of Preston North Rotary Club, of which he has been a member for over fifty years, and an Honorary Fellow of Myerscough College.

We will publish details of the arrangements later in the week.

Above: Guy and Eddie Topping in 2010 pictured for GTN's Generation Game interview.

If you'd like to add your thoughts or memories of Eddie, please use the comments link below or e-mail trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk and we'll include them in the next issue of GTN Xtra.

John Ashley writes: Eddie Topping was the Garden Industry when I joined Fisons in 1972 he was HTA GCA and his own growing business. Always welcoming and supportive and helpful to newcomers to this new industry.Eddie was a people person and always a pleasure to be in his company.
He will be missed but never forgotten. Guy is a chip of the old block so he never will be forgotten.May he rest in peace.

The undersigned feel there should be a much more open debate on the peat in horticulture issue with both for and against statements up for discussion.   It should be noted at the outset we all believe Sphagnum moss peat should not be used for soil improvement.

• It is universally agreed peat should not be used for soil improvement, there are plenty of alternatives for this use, including garden compost, well-rotted manures and leaf-mould.
• Sphagnum Moss Peat from Raised Bogs has been and remains the best constituent for seed, cuttings and potting composts.  Peat to case spawned mushroom growing media currently has no alternative.
• Moss peat use in seed and potting composts is currently, by all available measures, an environmentally friendly growing media and in most uses, results in the absorption of CO2, plus the sequestration of carbon in woody growth and the soil.
• Cut-away raised peat bogs can be restored, where water levels are raised and harvested areas re-seeded with the correct species of sphagnum. Newly planted sphagnum grows rapidly, laying down 5 to 7 cms per year, which make peat a sustainable and renewable resource.  (e.g. Beadamoss)
•  Restoring cut-away bogs and the rapid growth of seeded sphagnum absorbs carbon dioxide in great quantity.
• Most current peat-free composts need much higher rates of base fertilizer (up to four times more) to replace plant foods absorbed by breaking down fibres.  They also need more regular watering (at least double), which in turn leads to nitrates being lost in drainage water.  Peat has excellent water retention qualities and holds onto base fertilizers to feed plants.
• The growth of some plants is not as good in many of the peat-free composts currently available and this includes all the ericaceous subjects, namely azaleas, camelia, heathers and rhododendrons.
• Air dried peat can be compressed and is light in weight, so uses thinner polythene in wrappers and less fossil fuel to transport.
• Sphagnum moss peat is sterile, clean to handle, pest and pollutant free.  Unlike some of the peat free alternatives, where there is a risk of introducing weedkillers and plant diseases.
• Peat free composts are made up to widely differing recipes, so it is very difficult for home gardeners to adapt their watering and feeding practices when the compost mixes are no longer standard.  Where they experience poor growth and failures, we risk losing the attraction for people to stay at home gardening and growing some of their own food.

           Signed:-     

Sir Brian H  Donohoe Ret'd MP Secretary of the Gardening and Horticultural Group 1992—2015

Peter Seabrook, International TV Gardening Presenter/Gardening Editor, The Sun.

Robert Hillier, Director Hillier Nurseries and Garden Centres.

Jim McColl, Presenter BBC TV The Beechgrove Gardening Progammes.

Adrian Bloom, Chair Blooms Nurseries Ltd.

Jason Bloom, Managing Director Blooms Nurseries.

Bunny Guinness, Garden Designer and Broadcaster.

Andrew Tokely, Horticultural Director, E. W. King & Co Ltd.

Garry Coward Williams, Editor, Amateur Gardening Magazine.

Robert Wharton, Director Wharton’s Roses (fears unfair European Competition).

Paul Wharton, Director Wharton’s Roses.

Alan Sargent, Founder Association of Professional Landscapers.

Paul Cooling, Chair Coolings Garden Centres. (Currently not enough Peat Free alternatives).

Neil and Nicci Gow, Experienced and long-term Garden Retailers.

Steve McCurdy, Managing Director, Majestic Trees Ltd.

Kenneth Cox, Director Glendoick Nursery and Garden Centre, Ericaceous Plat Exporter.

Christine Walkden, Gardening Broadcaster and Lecturer.

Steve and Val Bradley, Authors, Social Media, National gardening Columnists.

Graham Richardson, Group Managing Director Johnsons of Wixley and six fellow directors:-

John, Andrew, Iain, Robert, Eleanor and Jonathon Whitemore.

Douglas Wilson, Director/Partner, Trioscape Garden Centre and Nursery.

Jo Davey, Horticultural Marketing Research and Development Manager.

Michael Smith, Director Grange, Nurseries and MeadowCroft Garden Centre.

Simon Crawford, Director, Burpee Europe.

Tim Kerley, Director, Kerley & Co, Plant Breeders.

Derek Jarman, Director Hayloft Nurseries Ltd.

Groves Garden Centre in Bridport has published the following very well worded e-mail to it's customers explaining why they are open during Lockdown 3:

Serving our local community

We are privileged to be able to remain open during the January 2021 lockdown.

Garden centres have been classed as an essential shop, and this is not a responsibility we have taken lightly.  Our aim is to provide the safest possible shopping environment for our wonderful customers and fabulous team during this difficult time. January is a quiet time in the garden centre anyway so there will always be plenty of space for you to shop safely.

Please ensure that you follow our guidelines when visiting 

• We ask that you sanitise your hands before entering and that you wear a face covering at all times.
• Please keep your distance from us and each other.
• Please only handle goods you intend to buy.
• Please pay by debit/credit card and where possible use the contactless facility.  There is a £45 limit for cards and a £500 limit for iPhone/Android pay.
• Please step back from the tills to give our till operators the distance to be able to scan your items safely.

In these difficult times remember that gardening is great for the soul, body and mind. Even in bad weather, seasonal houseplants and patio containers are wonderful to brighten up your home.   

January and February are great months to take stock and plan your garden for the season ahead.  We have seed potatoes, onion sets, shallots and all of the vegetable seeds you need for you to grow your own food this year.

We also offer an extensive rage of pet and farm food, wild bird food as well as household fuel such as logs and coal.

As we are all required to spend more time at home, we hope you will find your garden remains a relaxing place of calm and well-being and a good source of exercise for the body and mind.  If you are able to visit us, we will make sure our garden centre is a safe place to shop during lockdown.

We understand that some might not be comfortable visiting so please remember that we also offer a home delivery and click and collect service.  You can order items online or by telephone, 01308 422654 and both of these can be completely contact free.

• Groves Nurseries in Bridport will be open 8am until 5pm Monday until Saturday 10am until 4pm Sunday.
• Little Groves is closed for its annual winter break and will reopen on the 1st February
• Ivy House & The Cabin are closed until the lifting of COVID restrictions allow us to reopen.

Stay safe and look after each other
Charlie, Becky, Clive, Di and the whole of the Groves Team xxx

A few garden centres have taken the opportunity to close all or part of their centre for the rest of January:

• Coolings are closing all 4 centres with just a delivery service in operation,  Their Green & Pleasant Centre is being re-furbished during this period.
• Baytree have closed all but their Planteria, Farm Shop and Pet department but are running a full click & collect and delivery service.

Meanwhile the HTA and GCA have issued the following statement this afternoon:

“We support all efforts to contain and eliminate this virus. We recognise that it is unsettling times for the industry, staff and customers. Garden centres offer so many real benefits to people wrestling with the impact of this pandemic. We have seen from the huge interest in gardening since the last lockdown how engaged consumers are with gardening – this carried on in to the winter months.

"Gardening provides mental and physical health benefits, garden centres being open supports British growers and local communities and keeps people at home with something to do. First class social distancing measures are in place in light and airy environments.

"We will continue to make the case to Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for garden centres to be reopened at the earliest opportunity”.

Scotch Corner Designer Village has announced that it has just signed a lease for a 160,000 sq ft home and garden centre with Blue Diamond, which will be the largest in the UK.

This large space will showcase the company’s superb range of plants, all seasons, indoor and outdoor as well as homeware, garden furniture and fashion and will be an integral part of Scotch Corner Designer Village. The store will not only surprise and delight first-time visitors, but it will also serve as a regular pit-stop for the local community. Visitors will also be able to entertain their children in the soft-play area, enjoy some lunch or a drink in the Gin Bar.

With an increased emphasis on making one’s home a haven and creating inspirational outdoor spaces, this announcement comes at an opportune moment and demonstrates Scotch Corner Designer Village’s commitment to creating the leading outlet shopping and leisure destination in the North of England.

Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond, said: “I am delighted to have signed this partnership with Scotch Corner Designer Village. As attention to detail is fundamental to both companies, I am truly excited at the prospect of working together to create a stylish destination for tourists and the local community alike. The plants, product and food that we curate will all serve to create a memorable experience for all.”

The Blue Diamond Home and Garden Centre will extend Scotch Corner Designer Village’s luxury environment designed in the Yorkshire architectural style.

Simon Waterfield, developer and co-owner of Scotch Corner Richmond LLP, said: “Blue Diamond will be a huge asset to Scotch Corner Designer Village. It will prove to be a great resource for the local community as well as a stylish inspiration for our visitors. It will also provide a wonderful spot to relax and entertain the family.”

Scotch Corner Richmond LLP  submitted plans for the Blue Diamond Garden Centre to be built next to the Designer Outlet Village that already has planning consent, adjacent to the A1(M) and the A606 near Richmond last week.

The garden centre plans, which have a similar look and feel to the East Bridgford Blue Diamond Garden centre, allow for 10,761 square metres of new internal floorspace, bigger than East Bridgford, and 624 car parking spaces. 

Alan Roper told GTN Xtra, We are planning to be open autumn next year.  The build starts autumn this year."

Scotch Corner Designer Village is set to be the leading outlet and leisure destination in the North of England. Phase One will cover 50 acres, comprising of 80 luxury boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

Located on the major A1(M)/A66 Scotch Corner junction, the scheme will benefit from 44 million people in 27.5 million vehicles travelling through the area every year and being one of the most accessible retail and leisure opportunities in the UK. The site will be a great location for a day-out, as well as an enjoyable break in a road journey between England and Scotland.

The scheme will also benefit from an immediate catchment of 4.5 million residents within a 60-minute off-peak drivetime, with more than double that (9.8 million) within a 90-minute off-peak drivetime. The site is expected to attract annual footfall of 4.0m visitors in Phase One and will rank 4^th in the UK for estimated sales density when complete.

Located on a wider 100-acre site, also owned by Scotch Corner Richmond LLP, the developer has ambitions for further leisure and sporting facilities, a hotel, drive-thru food offer, petrol filling station and employment units. This will create a unique destination, offering a wholly different experience to other outlet centres in the North of England.

Developed by Scotch Corner Richmond LLP, the scheme is the creation of property developer Simon Waterfield and his long-standing colleague Peter Mullen, who has a wealth of retail experience having founded Thomas Pink and made Hunter the brand it is today.

The winners of GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards 2020 have been announced LIVE! on-line during Glee's Festive Focus Day today.

And the winners are...Watch the LIVE announcement during Glee's Festive Focus Day here or click below

GTN’s Greatest Christmas Awards 2020 – The Winners

• The Greatest Christmas Houseplant Team – Sponsored by Woodlodge - £500 stock for the winner – Barton Grange. 
  • Highly Commended: Pengelly, The Old Railway Line

• The Greatest Outdoor Plant and Christmas Tree Team – Sponsored by GTN Bestsellers -subscriptions worth £580 for the winner – Pughs Radyr.
  • Highly Commended: Aylett Nurseries, Barton Grange, Pengelly

• The Greatest Festive Food Hall Team – Sponsored by Garden Radio – 1 years’ service with bespoke messages, worth over £500 for the winner – The Old Railway Line.
  • Highly Commended: Barton Grange, Colemans Garden Centre, Planters Tamworth, Squires Badshot Lea

• The Greatest Christmas Sizzle Team – Sponsored by SOLEX - 2 x Hotel Rooms at SOLEX 2021 for the winner – Altons BBQ World
  • Highly Commended: Hillmount

• The Greatest Christmas Pets Team – Sponsored by Smart Garden Products, Zöon -£500 stock for the winner – The Old Railway Line
  • Highly Commended: Planters Tamworth, Squires Badshot Lea

• The Greatest Christmas Community/Charity Initiative – Sponsored by Kaemingk – A display from their UK showroom for the winner - Pengelly
  • Highly Commended: Daisy Nook, Dobbies, Perrywood, Thetford

• The Greatest Social Media Christmas Marketing Idea – Sponsored by Glee – 2 x Hotel Rooms at Glee 2021 for the winner - Groves
  • Highly Commended: Altons BBQ World, Hillmount, The Old Railway Line

• The Greatest Garden Centre Christmas Video – Sponsored by Premier Decorations - £500 stock for the winner – The Old Railway Line
  • Highly Commended: Bosworths, Glendoick, Pengelly

• The Greatest Winter Garden Care Sales Team – Sponsored by Elho - £500 stock for the winner - Baytree
  • Highly Commended: Lakeside Plant Centre

• The Greatest Covid Safe Christmas Display Team – Sponsored by Global Journey - £500 stock for the winner – Aylett Nurseries, Barton Grange
  • Highly Commended: Baytree

• The Greatest Group Garden Centre Christmas Team – Sponsored by DCUK - £500 stock for the winner – Squires Badshot Lea
  • Highly Commended: British Garden Centres Thatcham

• The Greatest Small Garden Centre Christmas Team - Sponsored by Ascalon - £500 stock for the winner - Pengelly
  • Highly Commended: Jacksdale, Lakeside Plant Centre

• The Greatest Mid-Sized Garden Centre Christmas Team – Sponsored by Kaemingk - A display from their UK showroom for the winner – Busy Bee
  • Highly Commended: Glendoick, Planters Tamworth, Sapcote, The Old Railway Line

• The Greatest Large Garden Centre Christmas Team – Sponsored by Festive - £500 stock for the winner – Barton Grange
  • Highly Commended: Baytree, Hillmount, Perrywood

• The Greatest Christmas Supplier – As voted for by garden centres taking part in The Greatest Christmas Awards - Kaemingk
  • Finalists: Festive, Gisela Graham, Noma - Leisuregrow, Otterhouse, Premier, Smart - Three Kings, Snowtime, Swift Imports

With almost 100 individual entries for the awards submitted before the New Years Eve deadline the judges spent many hours reviewing the entries, scanning websites and social media to produce the following list of Finalists:

Altons, Aylett Nurseries, Barton Grange, Baytree, Bosworths, Busy Bee, Christies of Fochabers, Colemans Garden Centre, Daisy Nook, Dobbies, Garden Centre Overstrand, Glendoick, Grange Farm Nursery, Groves, Haskins, Hillmount, Jacksdale, Lakeside Plant Centre, Millbrook, Old Barn, Otter Nurseries, Pengelly, Perrywood, Planters Tamworth, Planters Bretby, Pughs, Rosebourne - Weyhill, Sapcote, Squires Badshot Lea, St Peters - Worcester, Thatcham - BGC, The Old Railway Line, Thetford, Waresley Park.

See photos from all the Finalist centres below.  Well done to them all!

Watch out for more detail about the winners in future issues of GTN Xtra and the January issue of GTN which will be published later next week.

In advance of the launch of GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards 2020, GTN's Northern Correspondent, Steve Myatt, paid a visit to Barton Grange to bring you this first GTN Xtra Christmas photo tour.

To add your garden centre Christmas photo tour to GTN Xtra simply get snapping and enter The Greatest Christmas Awards.  See the categories here.  Send an e-mail to trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk for more details

Dobbies Garden Centres Group Limited has filed (3 December) the Annual Report and Financial Statements for Dobbies and its subsidiaries. These accounts are for the 52 weeks ending 28 February 2021.

Full accounts for the Group can be seen at: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10231465/filing-history

The accounts show an operating profit of £12.9m on reduced turnover of £224m, however after finance costs the group reported a loss of £31m.

Here is their announcement issued to the press on Saturday:

Dobbies demonstrated particular resilience and progress, despite the significant challenges caused by the Covid pandemic.

• Dobbies’ EBITDA was £37m, an increase of 60%
• We had strong trading at garden centres acquired in 2019, partially offset by Covid-19 closed periods
• Several garden centres and restaurants were refurbished - Gloucester, Huntingdon and Woodcote Green garden centres
• A wholesale food partnership with Sainsbury’s was launched - now operating in 52 Dobbies’ garden centres
• little dobbies was opened - a new small store format, opening up gardening to urban audiences
• Continued supply chain transformation - including the appointment of a new partner to provide consolidated warehousing, distribution, and home delivery services
• Acquisition strategy continued with the purchase of Johnsons of Boston garden centre in April 2021

Chairman, Andrew Bracey, said: “Dobbies demonstrated substantial resilience while navigating the challenges of Covid-19. As we move forward, our focus remains on delivering our growth strategy.

“Dobbies is the UK’s leading garden centre operator, with a broad range authority and a best-in-class restaurant experience. We have built a robust and efficient platform to support Dobbies’ future growth.”

Chief Executive Officer, Graeme Jenkins, said: “Despite a challenging year there were many positive developments including investment in new locations, refurbishment of existing stores and the launch of little dobbies in urban locations, targeting new customer segments. 

“Sustainability remains core to our business delivery. We are also establishing Dobbies as a digitally led garden centre retailer to drive our customer-first approach. I would like to thank all team members for their support and commitment over the last year.”

After the first full week of operating during lockdown 3, several garden centre owners and directors have shared their views about being allowed to be open for business.

Adam Wigglesworth at Aylett Nurseries said: “Three times the government has taken the specific decision to open garden centres. In May ahead of mainstream retail, in November and now last week. With the classification as “Essential” I believe they are looking at the science and evidence of the mental and physical benefits that gardening brings. As soon as the weather improves many people will be keen to get in their gardens and by being open we are facilitating that.

“Garden centres have been exemplars of safe retailing and we are encouraging customers to “shop and go”. Centres have packed away areas, such as their Christmas sales, to discourage browsing and because January is traditionally a quiet month customer numbers are low, allowing customers and staff even more space.  Helping to keep people busy at home, thinking and planning for lighter, brighter spring days is surely one of the things that our industry can help with.

“Our team are on site preparing for spring, as we would normally be, and it is vital that we are supporting our growers and suppliers by being here to receive deliveries and also to prepare to have the full range and stock that customers will need when spring and summer is here . There will not be capacity in the supply chain if goods cannot be delivered early in the year. We will be here to receive those goods and the team that are on site recognise this important issue . Organised retail areas leads to less customer queries, interactions and problems, reducing time spent in store and resulting in safer efficient shopping for all.

“We are offering online purchases for delivery and click and collect, but one size does not fit all. There are many customers who cannot order this way, or experience problems finding a delivery or click and collect slot from other retailers – they are pleased to be able to come in and frequently thank us for being open . Every centre will make their own decisions based on their risk assessments and circumstances – situations are changing all the time.

“However, we should also never take lightly the importance of the Governments view that we are “ essential retail “ and the responsibility this brings.”

Chris Francis at Hillier told GTN Xtra: “I fully respect any individual’s decision to do what they feel is right for their business.  I have read a number of comments recently from Mathew Bent, Adam Wigglesworth and Martin Stewart, amongst others who all make excellent comment and clearly well-judged reason as essential retailers for remaining open. The HTA have shown great leadership throughout this situation and have also made a very balanced statement.

“At Hillier, as a designated essential retailer,  we feel it is right to be available for our customers essential purchases. Fuel and Gas is currently our top selling product category (after food probably one of the most essential products at this time of year) closely followed by seed potatoes, seeds and propagation. Although the weather may not be conducive to spending too much time outdoors there are still the more dedicated hardy of our customers out in their gardens. Many gardeners are sowing, working in their greenhouses and generally getting ready for the moment the weather improves enough for them to spend more time outdoors.  We have received many appreciative comments from our customers that we have remained open for them and thanking us for, in their words not mine “being responsible in regards to their safety and our staff safety” with the measures we have put in place.

“Even in this cold weather you only have to spend an hour or two outside to know how much better it makes you feel, I am pleased we are able to assist our customers in getting outdoors and hopefully improving their mental wellbeing at such a difficult time.”

Gerald Ingram at Planters agreed with Derek Bunkers thoughts: "One of the things constantly at the back of my head is how hard the HTA have worked to keep us open and it’s a bit of a slap in the face for them if we close.   And as Derek suggests some have furloughed their workers simply to reduce losses in a month we would normally lose money anyway.   I also think it weakens the case for getting Welsh and Scottish centres open when English ones have volunteered to close.

“I appreciate Covid and how we react is a very individual response and some centres will have been touched with it more than others.   Some centres have been slow to reopen or kept their restaurants closed and it’s those same centres that have chosen to close in January and February.

“However its ironic that centres were heaving before Christmas with the potential hazards and now we are empty some choose to close.

“The teams at all three of our centres have been very supportive of staying open and inventive in ways of keeping safe at the same time delivering a first rate service.  We have been getting a lot of support on Social media for our measures etc, as well as some “how are you essential?” remarks.

“Interestingly one of the reasons we launched our call and collect service last March was because a lot of reptile owners are dependant on us for live and frozen food.   We are essential but not necessarily for the reasons most people think!  However, I do think seeds, plants, fruit bushes and trees, compost are all essential to the hardened gardener and those looking for an activity at home.

“Also, if we close we are sacrificing our trade to The Range, B&M, B&Q, Home Bargains etc, not to mention online retailers. 

“Fortunately, we have not had crowds descend on us just to spend an hour out of the house, however this is the first weekend so it may test that.

“We have split our team at Tamworth and to a degree at Bretby into two so that also helps reduce numbers in store.”

Charlie Grove, Groves of Bridport, who's "We Are Here for You" message to his customers has been used widely by other centres gave us his view on the situation: “Personally, I feel that garden centres should be staying open where they can. The HTA and GCA worked hard to get us open in the spring and like it or not we have been classed as an essential retailer, so we have a duty to do our best to remain open in a safe way.  We don’t have a food hall at Groves, but we do offer a large ranges of items that I would deem as truly essential such as pet food, farm supplies and household fuel as well as a traditional range of grow your own and these are all things that our customers rely on us for. I felt more uneasy about staying open during the November lockdown when our focus was Christmas.

“Having said that, garden centre offerings vary a lot and we all rely on different footfall drivers such as catering that are not there right now.  If you are in a particularly high COVID case area I completely understand the risk to staff verses the reward of opening just might just be too high. It’s a fine balance and we all have to be able to sleep at night.

“To be honest I am constantly reviewing the local situation and if I felt that the cases in our town were rising rapidly or things were becoming tense and unmanageably busy, like it was just before the first lockdown, then I would be prepared to close for the sake of our team but as things stand we have had nothing but positive feedback about staying open.  Customers are coming in for the right reasons in slow but steady numbers (I don’t have much heating in the shop, so they aren’t hanging around!) and it honestly does feel safe and under control in our centre at the moment.”

Sam Bosworth, who owns two garden centres in Northamptonshire also echoed Derek Bunkers comments.  “I understand we all have our own reasons for doing things, but HTA and GCA have worked so hard to get this status, it is a shame it is not being supported wholeheartedly, even if this means supported very quietly.  Some areas have bigger Covid problems than others, and our businesses are very different - plant nurseries to virtual department stores - so different approaches are understandable.

“It would be a desperate shame to be open now, and then get shut down when we desperately need to be open because we are not considered essential.  In reality, February through to June is when we really are essential to mental health due to our Gardening offering, a few weeks of keeping our heads down now may be essential to keeping us open in Gardening season.

“We all need to be stocktaking, putting Christmas stock away and getting gardening out, so it is not too difficult to serve the few customers that are venturing out, and as long as we are not actively seen to be promoting footfall at present, we should be OK.  There is no way anyone can afford to not have staff on site, so even though we may furlough some people, keeping a till open is good for everybody's sanity.”

Martin Stewart, Stewarts Garden Centres, adds: "It is impossible to lock the doors of a Garden Centre, walk away and turn off the lights.

"Plants need watering, heating needs to be on, deliveries need to be accepted in preparation for the busy spring months ahead, seasonal lines need to be packed away, admin including payroll and bill paying needs to happen. The 31st Jan is our, and many others, end of year so stock takes have to take place.

"Suppliers need to continue to move stock from their greenhouses and warehouse.  It cannot be simply ‘put on hold’ until later. Chaos would ensue. We have to be there to accept them. This of all years, with the disruption to the supply chain, is not the year to delay deliveries.

"None of the above is any different from operating an online operation except we don’t have people packing in the warehouse! People seem to forget that. Why online is deemed safer I don’t really know.

"By putting a till operator on we are able to serve the very few customers who are coming in. We are quiet and will remain so. What a sensible time to get those gardening essentials. Far better now than when we are busier after lockdown.

"Any staff that do not wish to be in are willingly furloughed, many others are keen to be in, but we don’t need many. We have so much space to socially distance and those few customers who are coming in for garden supplies are very grateful.

"We have so much to offer, we should not have to remind ourselves of the significant benefit of being able to enjoy working outside in your garden preparing for spring.

"Clearly it is for each business to decide what is best for them, their staff and customers. But for us, and we are constantly reviewing how we feel about the situation, we are remaining open."

British Garden Centres arrive in Harrogate with their 58th garden centre, due to open in April, and are looking to fill 40 new jobs.

Last week, British Garden Centres (BGC) said they are delighted to announce the location of their 58^th garden centre.

The garden centre, most recently known as Grass Roots and before that Cascades Garden Centre is just outside Harrogate on the Ripon Road. The centre has been closed for over a year but, in true BGC style, the team are working at full speed to have the centre reopened in early April.

Founder, Charles Stubbs said “I’m delighted we can bring the unique BGC offer to the Harrogate area and look forward to meeting our new customers. I’m excited by the prospect of re-opening the garden centre and we are going to pull out all the stops and open in April with our full gardening range.”

“The first thing we need to do is recruit a team, we’ll be welcoming 40 people to the family in the next few weeks,” commented Charles. “Due to lockdown restrictions we won’t reopen the restaurant until the summer but I expect that will lead to a further recruitment of 15+ colleagues.”

Tasked with getting the new centre up and running is Charles daughter, Amy Stubbs. Until recently Amy has been running one of BGCs flagship centres, Brigg Garden Centre in North Lincolnshire.

Harrogate Garden Centre is just 7 miles from Harrogate on the Ripon Road at Bishop Monkton, Harrogate HG3 3QD

British Garden Centres was started over 30 years ago by brothers, Charles & Robert Stubbs, in Woodthorpe, Lincolnshire. Over the years BGC has grown from its heartland to the business it is now with 58 garden centres spread from Carmarthen to Ramsgate, Wimborne to East Durham.

The business is still very much family led with the second generation already playing an active part. Alongside the family, 2,500 colleagues helping to grow the UKs largest family owned garden centre group.

For further details regarding the centre and the wide range of part and full-time vacancies go to www.britishgardencentres.com

Antony Harker is back - Garden industry investor embarks on a new venture with Altico.  

In the August issue of news and information for garden centre professionals:

• Patio Black Spot - Bloomin Marvellous on Patios.
• Antony Harker launches Altico at Glee.
• Made to measure merchandising from Primeur.
• Meadow View Stone Delivers.
• Miss Marple Afternoon Tea – Alan Roper’s new dining concept.
• Blue Diamond Springfields, GTN Photo Tour.    
• Downtown Grantham, GTN Photo Tour.
• Glee 2021 is ready to refuel retail.
• HTA Column – Job for life?
• LOFA Member profile – Traeger.
• GIMA Column – A Celebration of newness.

GTN August 2021 Issue

Nicholas Marshall is making a return to Garden Centre retailing at Lavershot Barns, Windlesham, Surrey.

The Country House Group, to which Nicholas Marshall was appointed a Director in February 2021, has become the latest concession to install at the Laverstock Barns scheme where they operate the plant department.

GTN Xtra understands the brief at Laverstock Barns, owned by the Wooldridge Group, was to create a fully tenanted garden centre to appeal to a high net worth demographic.

Concessions and businesses on site include:

• Lakeland
• Seasons Farm Shop
• Seasons Kitchen
• Maidenhead Aquatics
• Pavilion Interiors
• White Stores
• Replay Golf
• Pools & Spas Windlesham
• Lush Landscapes
• The Country House Group
• Car Wash

Lorrie Robertson, who worked with Nicholas Marshall at The Garden Centre Group (renamed Wyevale Garden Centres) and at Dobbies, has been a Director of The Country House Group since May 2018.

On the Country House Group website it says: "We are developing and building a network of plant centres, estate farm shops, restaurants and children’s play areas at some of the finest historic country houses and estates in the UK, supporting the best of British products. We are resolutely committed to environmentally and ecologically responsible and sustainable practices."

GTN Xtra has learned of the sad passing of Pat Coutts, the long-time event director of the Four Oaks trade show.

It is understood that Pat had been suffering from cancer and had been in hospital for the past five weeks. She died on Monday.

Friend and former colleague Pat Flynn, trade association manager of the Commercial Horticultural Association, paid tribute to Pat.

“As well as being a wonderful person, Pat was the ultimate professional. She worked incredibly hard and really cared about her exhibitors.

“Pat was always looking at ways at enhancing the exhibitor experience, including being the first show director to introduce free packed lunches on the exhibition stands.

“We worked together at Nexus Media in the late nineties, and it was a joy to be alongside her at events and shows. I spoke to her just over a week ago and she said she was hoping to leave hospital and spend time at home.”

Pat added: “Four Oaks was due to celebrate its 50^th event but unfortunately the show was cancelled this year and last year because of the pandemic. It’s such a shame that Pat wasn’t able to see this milestone being reached.

“She will be sadly missed by everyone who knew and worked with her.”

Gardens are the main stage for family re-unions as England moves to the next stage of the Roadmap today, and garden centres have been reporting their busiest ever day on Saturday this weekend.

Despite continued tight management of customer numbers and social distancing GTN received various reports for garden centres across England of Saturday 27th March being their busiest ever with furniture sales featuring large in those sales figures.

British Garden Centres had its best day ever for the group, overtaking the record days of May 2020.

Alan Roper, Blue Diamond, commented that it was an "industry wide phenomenon," with centres reporting record levels of furniture sales.

Derek Bunker at Altons in Essex told GTN Xtra: "We had our busiest day ever on saturday.  Everything went crazy. Garden furniture, bbqs, outdoor plants,house plants landscape materials. It was absolutely amazing and the weather here was not particularly good with cloudy skies and a cold wind.  The trick now is to restock when most suppliers have little stock."

At Baytree Garden Centre in Spalding, Nigel Wallis described Saturday as "Blooming marvellously crackers!"

Gerald Ingram said: "Planters and Bretby both had their busiest ever days.  Planters up by about £7,000 and Bretby up by at least £15,000!  Its been unbelievable and that’s before the restaurants re-open!  Furniture accounted for 20% of all sales last week."

Some garden centres had been so busy they were unable to comment on actual sales levels yesterday; "Haven't got a bloody clue! Reported Sam at Bosworths near Kettering. "I'm too busy trying to find more stock and working out what has hit me." 

And in the South West, Charlie Groves told us: "I think it was a record day, especially if you take catering out of the figures.  It was certainly the busiest ever March day.  The customers all seemed to be very excited to see the sun come out and a chance to get back in the garden.  It was great to see plants and core gardening going so well. The only down side was the amount of furniture enquires we had and the lack of furniture we have been able to get hold of but I guess you can’t have it all."

John Ainscow at Summerseat Garden Centre, that featured on BBC Breakfast on Friday, (pictured above) said: "It was our third busiest day ever at Bradley Fold only beaten by a day last May and one last November.  Apparently Monty Don was sowing tomato seeds last Friday, quite correctly, end of March.  We’ve been selling tomato plants, not seed, which we grow ourselves, for over four weeks. To back-up our hard hit supply we contacted Quantil and Colourgrow and both said no plants available due to incredible demand. Really is amazing, we’ve probably already sold approaching 2,000 plants between our two centres, marked up of course, “Protect from frost”.  Bit ominous for the summer bedding season."

After Summerseats starring role on BBC Breakfast on Friday there was a feature on BBQ's on ITV's Good Morning, numerous local radio slots about gardens and gardening and the over the weekend as well as the usual, now regular gardening programming there was a long feature about houseplants as part of Channel 4 News on Saturday evening.

No wonder the airwaves this morning are full of stories about how people have been preparing their gardens so they can have family re-unions this week.  And to cap it all we now have three days of glorious weather forecast.  Gardening is not just centre stage right now, it is the main stage!

New comments added post e-mailing the newsletter.

Justin Williams at Fron Goch, who were only able to re-open on March 22nd says: "Everyday last week was better than any previous best days.  Furniture and trees and shrubs playing a major part of course. The furniture demand is incredible - I imagine this year is a once in Lifetime situation for gardening demand. Customers comfortable within the centre and very happy to be back. Great to see happy customers once again in the centre."

At Klondyke, who still have garden centres that have been unable to re-open yet in Scotland, David Yardley comments: "We had a very busy week last week but as the Scottish centres are closed it wasn’t our busiest ever but was our best ever week in March. We had two centres have their best day ever and best week ever but it was a long way short of the last week in May last year. We did see a jump again in ATV which is encouraging but this was caused by the increase in furniture sales more than anything else."

In the North West, Newbank's Jon Bottomley has told GTN Xtra: It isn’t just this weekend, we beat our best ever day by 30% every weekend day for the past month. We are currently trading at 4 times usual turnover since January, the decision to ship furniture in October has really paid off and we have a pre-order sheet which is like war and peace. All other departments are flying but furniture is driving the sales through the stratosphere. We honestly don’t know how we’re going to cope if this continues but we will!"

At Perrywood, Simon Bourne reports: "It was exceptionally busy and was a record day on Saturday at Tiptree. We've been busy every single day of March and for the last 10 days we've been trading at approx double our normal expectation. 

Lets hope it can continue for a few more weeks!"

Martin Davies at Raglan Garden Centre in Wales has just added: "Yes, like everywhere else Saturday was the busiest day ever and it has been unbelievably busy since we re-opened last Monday. Saturday was the perfect storm, pent up demand, money to spend and the definite feeling of get it now before it’s gone. Takings almost 40% up on our best day last May. Mark Drakeford has a lot to answer for, instead of an orderly start to the season he has created a frenzy of demand with our delayed opening, which we may not be able to cope with if this level of trade continues."

While day records weren't broken at Bents Garden & Home, Matthew Bent tells us: "it was a great weekend. We found that plants, compost, pots and gardening were selling really well.  Outdoor living, including furniture and BBQs are really booming as everyone gets ready for being allowed in their gardens.  Lets hope the spring weather is as good as last year."

Mothers Day was still the best Saturday for Longacres at Bagshot due to their on-site floristry business.  Nigel Long said however that the smaller Longacres stores were very close to their best ever Saturday this weekend.  "Bagshot has always worked on a numbers game so on a major Saturday we would have 5,000 to 6,000 customers through the door.  Obviously at the moment we are having to restrict those numbers by more than half. As with everyone else the average basket sale has increased and we have increased our opening hours in the week and on a Saturday.  So the week just gone was just shy of our best week ever!"

Did you also have your busiest ever day on Saturday?  Please use the comments link below or e-mail trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk 

Last Friday, 3rd December, new operators, Lush Landscapes, took over the running of the plant and garden centre at Windlesham after Nicholas Marshalls Country House Group pulled out.

Charlie Wooldridge, of Wooldridge Developments the landlords of the Lavershot Barns site told GTN Xtra: " By mutual agreement we've appointed Lush Landscapes who are already on the site in a design capacity to take over the running of the plant and garden centre."

The Country House Group started trading at Windlesham ealier this year with an objective of being local, sustainable, peat free and British.  It was a trial for their planned future developments at numerous country houses across England in coming years.

More than 180 ships remain blocked in the Suez Canal in both directions, unable to get through one of the busiest waterways in the world, LOFA have now learnt that the freeing of the ship may take longer than originally thought.

A huge backlog of vessels is building up amid warnings that the salvage team could need days or even weeks, to prise out the giant container ship that’s blocking the crucial waterway.

Work to re-float the Ever Given and allow passage for ocean going carriers hauling almost $10 billion of oil and consumer goods continued without success on Thursday. Tugs and diggers have so far failed to budge the vessel, and some experts say the crisis could drag on for several days. The Suez Canal Authority has temporarily suspended traffic along the waterway.

Many LOFA members have products on the Ever Given or held in one of the container ships behind the vessel, which means yet another setback for the outdoor leisure industry which is already dealing with issues caused by port congestion, lack of empty containers and rising shipping costs.

The incident began on Tuesday when the Ever Given, on its way to Rotterdam from China, faced strong winds which kicked up sands along the banks of the 120-mile canal. The waterway is less than 205 meters in some places, and can be difficult to navigate when there’s poor visibility. As gusts that reached as high as 46 miles an hour swept up dust around it, the crew lost control of the ship and it careered sideways into a sandy embankment, blocking nearly the entirety of the channel 

At about a quarter mile long (400 meters) and weighing in at 200,000 tons, the sheer size of the vessel is overwhelming efforts to dig it out. The vessel will most likely have to be lightened before it can be dug out either end. The salvors may have to lighten the ship by removing things like the ballast water, which helps keep it steady while at sea. Fuel could also be unloaded.

Container ships usually take 5-6 weeks to travel from China to UK ports, some shipping companies are now starting to divert their ships around the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, which adds about 3,500 miles to the journey and up to 12 days.

This could not have come at a worst time for LOFA Members and retailers with the Easter and May Day weekends fast approaching it will mean extra delays for products arriving in the UK. 

More detail about the Ever Given and the situation in the Suez Canal can be seen at: https://www.vesselfinder.com/news/20467-UPDATE-3-on-Suez-Canal-Blocked-by-Ever-Given-Photos-and-Videos

Joules, the premium British lifestyle brand, has announced that it has acquired The Garden Trading Company Limited (“Garden Trading”), a digitally led retailer of home and garden products inspired by the British countryside and lifestyle trends (the “Acquisition”).

Nick Jones, CEO of Joules, commented: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Garden Trading, which is a fast-growing and highly complementary brand to Joules in the attractive home, garden & outdoor category. The acquisition will help to increase the Joules customer base, broaden our product offering and strengthen our digital platform, which are three of the Group’s key strategic growth pillars.

“The Garden Trading brand shares similar design-led principles to Joules and, as has been demonstrated through its stand-out popularity on the Friends of Joules digital marketplace over the past 15 months, is highly relevant to our customers and their lifestyles.

“Garden Trading has a fantastic team and culture, which is closely aligned to Joules’. I am delighted to welcome Garden Trading’s team to the Joules family and look forward to working with them all over the coming years.”

Jon Holloway, Founder of Garden Trading, said: “We are delighted to be joining Joules, which is a business and brand I have long admired. Since we started selling through the Friends of Joules digital marketplace more than a year ago it has become increasingly clear how well our products and brand resonate with the Joules customer base. In addition, by working with the Joules team it is clear that we share similar values, culture and customer-centric approach.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues as well as our loyal customers who have helped to develop Garden Trading into the established and popular brand it is today. With the continued dedication of the Garden Trading team alongside the support and infrastructure that Joules offers, I am very confident in the growth opportunities ahead for the Garden Trading brand.”

The Joules website states:

Garden Trading designs its own range of distinctive home, garden and outdoor products that it sells through its own digital platform direct to consumers and to more than 1,000 stockists across the UK. Garden Trading has seen rapid growth in its e-commerce revenue over recent years as it has broadened its product range and increased its customer base. Garden Trading has been a leading seller on the Friends of Joules digital marketplace since Joules launched the marketplace in 2019.

Strategic rationale
The Acquisition supports Joules’ strategy to grow its customer base, broaden its product offer and strengthen its digital platform.

The Acquisition strengthens Joules’ position in the important and fast-growing home, garden & outdoor category. Garden Trading has a close cultural alignment with Joules, and both share the same design-led approach to creating distinctive, quality products that are loved by their customers.

Joules intends to continue to develop and grow the Garden Trading brand and product range whilst also seeing opportunity to leverage Garden Trading’s design and sourcing strengths to develop a broader range of Joules-branded home, garden and outdoor products.

For the year to 30 November 2020, Garden Trading delivered revenue of £16.8 million, up more than 40% on the prior year, and a profit before tax of £2.0 million.

The acquisition is expected to be earnings accretive for Joules FY22 financial year.

Transaction overview

The consideration for the Acquisition is split between an upfront and a deferred element. The upfront consideration is for £9 million subject to certain customary completion adjustments. The upfront consideration is comprised of a £4.5 million cash payment (on a cash free, debt free basis subject to a normalised level of working capital) and 2.83 million new Joules ordinary shares of 1 pence each (“Ordinary Shares”).

The deferred consideration is for up to £3.5 million (of which at least £3 million will be paid in cash and the rest either in cash or Ordinary Shares, at the Group’s discretion), subject to Garden Trading meeting certain targets over the period to 30 November 2021. Any Ordinary Shares issued pursuant to the Acquisition are subject to certain customary lock-up and orderly market arrangements.

Garden Trading’s founder and Managing Director, Jon Holloway, will remain with the business until the end of December 2021.

https://www.joulesgroup.com/

The team at British Garden Centres took the opportunity of a brief lull in trading on Easter Sunday to express their huge thanks to their industry friends for their help in the last year.

“Without the incredible support of our suppliers and industry friends we wouldn’t have achieved so much in this most unusual of times,” commented Charles Stubbs, joint MD. “We have all faced our challenges but the growers, manufacturers and distributors have worked so hard to ensure we have been able to flourish.”

“When I think back to Easter Sunday 2020, when we were deep in lockdown 1, not even my most optimistic hopes could foresee what was to come! Despite furlough, material shortages and social distancing everyone has done so well to service the needs of our ever growing customer base. Launching our ‘Family Card’ last month was a delight as it gives us an opportunity to properly welcome everyone in to the BGC family.”

Charles, Robert, Phillippa & Amy Stubbs along with Antony Harker and his family and their extended family of 2,500 colleagues have spent the last year investing time, energy and money in the group’s 58 centres to ensure they’re set to best serve their local communities. Projects have ranged from the creation of new restaurants at the likes of Tarporley, Tring and Shipley Park to the complete remodelling of Burford House and opening of Thatcham. Work is progressing well at the latest acquisition, Harrogate Garden Centre, with it set to open in late April.

Final word from Charles turns to his colleagues: “Without the amazing team, which are really all family to me, we couldn’t have got through everything so successfully in the last year. We know that many of them and our customers have had difficult times and our thoughts are with them. Thank you to each and every one of them for facing the challenges in such good spirit.”

And his final, final word… “I’ll be forever grateful to our suppliers but it doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on them when it comes to negotiating!”

Elho won the Sword of Excellence at the GIMA Awards last night with its Green Basics Veggie Wall 80cm. Other winners on a spectacular night of celebration at Celtic Manor in Wales included: Richard Jackson Garden, Stihl, Fallen Fruits, Mr Fothergill's Seeds, Onduline, Wildlife World, The Solar Centre, Woodlodge, Evergreen Garden Care, Dalefoot Compost and Meadow View Stone.

Celebrating the innovation, dedication and passion that goes into everything – from product development, to marketing campaigns and point of sale – the evening saw 17 award winners revealed and was accompanied by a much-needed night of merriment to mark the return of the awards after a two-year hiatus.

GIMA Director, Vicky Nuttall, commented on tonight’s event. “I would like to be the first to extend my congratulations to all of the winners and to all those that joined us to welcome the return of the GIMA Awards.  It’s been so good to be back and, even more so, to see that the industry has continued to grow and develop, even when faced with incredible adversity. 

“The entries to this year’s awards were of the highest calibre and demonstrate the perseverance and enthusiasm that continues to make garden retail one of the most exciting sectors to be part of.

“Our thanks also extend to our judges for lending us their expert eye and skilled opinion, as well as all of our sponsors; without whom the awards would be not be possible.”

GIMA AWARDS 2021 – THE WINNERS

The big award of the night – the GIMA Sword of Excellence – was, this year, awarded to the team at Elho for its Green Basics Veggie Wall 80cm. This all-in-one system, with frame and netting included, offers urban gardeners an instant growing solution and drew praise from the judges for its ease of use and ‘plug and play’ capabilities. The judges also said: “Such a great product, perfect for new gardeners with smaller outdoor space; and made from recycled plastics.  It really ticks all the boxes.”

The 2021 GCA Supplier of the Year Award was a hotly contested award but it was Meadow View Stone who walked away with the coveted title. The judges offered some key reasons why Meadow View deserves this leading accolade, including: “Some of best communication and supply in some of the hardest times, keeping me informed and the full range supplied on time”, and “Consistent service throughout a challenging year.  Very impressive support and supply”, 

This year, the Gardenex Export Achievement Award was awarded to Wildlife World. The judges’ comments included: “A worthy winner of this year’s Export Achievement Award, showing great initiative and success.  When developing a new sales channel in the USA, Wildlife World remarketed its bird care products for the American market, created vibrant and eye-catching instore displays and is now successfully trading with over 50 Wild Birds Unlimited stores, achieving a significant increase in sales in the USA.”

The GIMA Awards newest award – Sustainability – was also a hard-fought category, with Phoenox Textiles, Hygeia, Primeur and West Country Soil Improvement all enjoying finalist status. However, it was Dalefoot Compost who the judges selected as 2021 winner, describing it as, “a company that has sustainability and the environment at the very heart of what it does.  As well as delivering a great peat-free product, its peatland restoration work makes Dalefoot a worthy winner of this inaugural Sustainability Award.”

GIMA AWARDS 2021 - PRODUCT AWARDS

Garden Care 

Winner: Richard Jackson Garden - Plantsmith houseplant care product range

Finalists: Evergreen Garden Care - Miracle-Gro Peat Free, SBM Life Science Ltd - Provanto® Smart Bug Killer, Sipcam Home & Garden - Ecofective Plant Disease Defence RTU and Refill, REMIN (Scotland) Ltd - 10kg bag REMIN volcanic rock dust

About the winner: Traditionally, houseplant care products are packaged and sold like traditional garden care products. They’re functional but not aesthetic, you’d hide them under the kitchen sink for example. Plantsmith is a new range of professionally formulated products, designed to look as good as they perform.

What the judges said: “Great looking and well executed product that will sell well in all houseplant departments.”

Growing, Planting Equipment and Sundries

Winner: Elho - Green Basics Veggie Wall 80cm

Finalists: GARDENA – AquaBloom, Woodlodge - Honey & Wild Plant Support Collection, Capi Europe – Rain Barrel Row NL – olive green 

About the winner: It's a unique all-in-one ‘plug and play’ solution for any urban gardener wanting to grow climbing fruit, vegetables and flowers in a small space.

What the judges said: “Great all-in-one growing solution boosted by the use of recycled plastic.”

Garden Tools, Machinery and Implements

Winner: Stihl - STIHL HSA 26

Finalists:  GARDENA – Leaf Collector, Burgon & Ball - Sophie Conran for Burgon & Ball garden tool additions, Westland Horticulture – The Capability Trowel

About the winner: The HSA 26 is part of the STIHL AS Cordless System for garden maintenance. The trimmer attachments are easy to swap over in seconds and, with a battery run time of up to 110 minutes, this lightweight and manoeuvrable tool is equally good at trimming topiary or lawn edges.

What the judges said: “Great flexible tool, lightweight and helps keep everything trim and tidy.”

Outdoor Leisure 

Winner: Fallen Fruits – MGO Firebowl

Finalists: Zest 4 Leisure – Burghley Arbour, Zest 4 Leisure – Chepstow Arbour, Tramontina – Beer Barrel Grill

About the winner:  With its light grey colour and contemporary design and dual use, firebowl/BBQ is a change from the traditional metal or terracotta garden heating options. Made from magnesium oxide, it is fire resistant, strong, resistant to mould and mildew, and can easily withstand the outdoor elements.

What the judges said: “Modern and functional.  Suitable for all gardens, balconies and patios.”

Plants, Seeds and Bulbs

Winner: Mr Fothergill's Seeds – RHS Flower Mixes

Finalists: Farplants Ltd – Skimmia Perosa, DLF Seeds Ltd – Tuffgrass (Johnsons Lawn Seed), Mr Fothergill's Seeds– Johnsons Seeds Microgreens Range

About the winner:  Aimed at novice gardeners and those looking for an economic and efficient way to fill flower beds and borders with long season colour. The seed is diluted with natural buckwheat husks to aid broadcast sowing. Grow beautiful flowers in three easy steps: Scatter, Rake, Awake!

What the judges said: “They've got everything right with this range; seed selection, packaging, name, easy to use, it really stood out.”

Garden Landscaping

Winner: Onduline Building Products Ltd – ONDULINE EASYLINE DIY roof sheets

Finalists: Vitavia Greenhouses – Janssens Urban Greenhouse, Deco-Pak – Glasglo, Woodlodge – Honey & Wild Songbird Garden Arch

About the winner: With people spending more time in their gardens, introducing ONDULINE EASYLINE roofing sheets into the retail offering is creating a prime new opportunity to attract value-conscious customers who are keen to upgrade their existing garden buildings sustainably, rather than face the expense of a brand-new shed.

What the judges said: “A versatile product, ideal for small projects.”

Garden Clothing & Gifts

Winner: Richard Jackson Garden – Plantsmith Gift Boxes

Finalists: Smart Garden Products – Bees Collection, Burgon & Ball – RHS Gifts for Gardeners ‘British Meadow’ gardening gift collection, Woodlodge – Honey & Wild Bee Spiral Mobile

About the winner: You can buy beautifully packaged scented candles and beauty kits, but gardening gift kits have always tended to be practical and not particularly attractive. Plantsmith wants to change that with our houseplant care gift boxes. Designed to appeal as a gift for all houseplant lovers, especially the more style-conscious gardeners.

What the judges said: “The ideal gift for any houseplant lover.”

Pet Care, Aquatics and Wild Bird Care Products

Winner: Wildlife World – Artisan Bird Nesters

Finalists: Smart Garden – Wild Wings Feeding Station, Capi Europe - Design Butterfly Hotel, Westland Horticulture – Peckish Natural Balance Bird Food Range

About the winners: These are fantastic products for a few reasons: They are ethically produced – both in the sense of materials used – natural and recycled – and the fact that these products support woman in very poor parts of Bangladesh. These social enterprises transform local communities, pioneer upcycling, empower women, champion refugee rights and practice organic farming.

What the judges said: “Important social and environmental values embedded into good-looking, well made, practical products.”

Garden Lighting, Water Features & Ornamentation 

Winner: The Solar Centre – Kingsbridge Solar Wall Light

Finalist: Smart Garden Products – Mega SpiraLight, The Solar Centre – Salcombe Solar Wall Light, Smart Garden Products – Forli Flaming Lantern

About the winner: This light delivers everything a security light does but in a contemporary, stylish-looking light fitting.

What the judges said: “Super stylish, minimalist design and excellent quality.”

Decorative Pots & Planters 

Winner: Woodlodge – Bee Kind Honeycomb and Bumbee Pots

Finalist: Woodlodge – Bee Wall Teapot, Burgon & Ball - Burgon & Ball Malibu indoor plant pots, Woodlodge – Kensington Redstone range

About the winner: As concern escalates over pollinator decline and gardeners seek to make wildlife-friendly havens, Honeycomb and Bumbee were added to the Bee Kind range to draw attention to the plight of much-loved but endangered insects.  Highly giftable, the range is the perfect container for any nature lover.

What the judges said: “The Bee Kind range has been one of this year's best sellers and, at the same time, has supported the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, which is fabulous!”

GIMA AWARDS 2021 – MARKETING AWARDS

Best Point of Sale Material

Winner: Wildlife World – Cotswold Granaries FSDU

Finalists: Elho – Sustainability Vertical Banner, Elho – Green Basics 200L Rainbarrel POS, Westland Horticulture – Westland Specialist Feeds & Compost DQP

About the winner:  The Cotswold Granaries FSDU is a completely custom design, cut out of OSB using Wildlife World’s in-house CNC machine. The laser-engraved header, logo and shelf stripes offer a unique design, whilst cutting the environmental impact of printing! The unit is also made from 100% FSC and PEFC Timber.

What the judges said: “An attractive piece of point of sale that's natural, rustic, simple and not over-engineered.”

Best Sustainable Consumer Product Packaging

Winner: Wildlife World – Cotswold Granaries Wild Animal Food

Finalists: Sipcam Home & Garden – Ecofective Refills and Recycled Bottles, Westland Horticulture - Natural Balance range, Vitax Ltd - Vitax Organic Feeds, Hozelock – Superhoze Packaging

About the winner: No other wild animal food company has produced products in fully 100% home compostable packaging, even down to the re-sealable zip. It's a top quality, nutritionally dense range of feeds that will attract and sustain wildlife in the consumer’s garden.

What the judges said: “Attractive and well executed packaging with clear sustainable credentials.  Everything, even the resealable zips are fully compostable!”

Best Marketing Communication & Social Media Award

Winner: Evergreen Garden Care – Miracle-Gro Mental Health Awareness Campaign

Finalists: Stihl - TV ad and supporting campaign, Westland Horticulture – Peckish Digital Bird Food Campaign, Westland Horticulture – Specialist Feeds Digital Campaign

About the winner: We have not seen a mental health campaign like this in the garden care space before. We were not seeking to promote a specific product with the campaign, but instead to work to encourage open dialogue about mental health and educate about the health benefits of gardening.

What the judges said: “A well-executed campaign, which really brought the connection between gardening, mindfulness and wellbeing to the fore, as well as encouraging an open dialogue about mental health.”

This year the GIMA Awards winners were selected by a panel of industry experts, made up of Alexa Blackmore, The Gardens Group; Andy Bunker, Alton Garden Centre; Matthew Bent, Bents Garden & Home; Trevor Pfeiffer, Garden Trade News; Victoria Redshaw, Scarlet Opus; Phillippa Stubbs, British Garden Centres; and Stuart Whalley, Rosebourne. 

The UK’s leading brand of sustainable composite decking and cladding, Composite Prime, has launched an exclusive online stockist training programme. Following a huge surge in demand for composite decking products experienced by stockists during the pandemic the brand has invested in a free to use, virtual training platform. 

This means whilst Composite Prime can only offer limited face-to-face training due to national restrictions to support merchants during a very busy period, it is still able to enhance product knowledge of stockist sales teams, improve technical understanding and assist with sales and customer enquiries. 

Charles Taylor, Director at Composite Prime, said: “It is crucial that our stockist partners and their staff are able to communicate the unique benefits of composite decking products to customers that are hoping to transform their outdoor spaces. Following completion of the virtual training, stockists gain ‘Certified Prime’ status. 

“The initial feedback we’ve received on the training platform has been incredibly positive, with ‘Certified Prime’ stockists recognising the importance of the training in order to communicate the low maintenance and safety elements of the products. 

“Composite materials differ significantly from traditional timber decking, for example its durable properties allow it to stay free from cracks and splinters, significantly  increasing product lifespan - there is currently no other stockist training available on composite products that provides this key information.”

Certified Prime stockists also gain access to Prime Design upon completion of the training,  a piece of innovative software that allows professionals to independently design a garden and obtain a realistic, 3D-rendered view of their decking products, prior to installation. 

Made using 100% recycled plastic and FSC® certified oak wood flour, Composite Prime is dedicated to producing sustainable materials. Each square metre of composite decking contains the equivalent of more than 3,000 plastic bottle caps or 280 plastic bottles. In the six years of operation the brand has saved the equivalent of 151 million plastic milk bottles from landfill.

To find out more about Composite Prime visit www.composite-prime.com 

Bill Bickerdike, one of "the gang" of garden centre pioneers in the UK, has died aged 83.

He passed away peacefully last Wednesday evening at home after a short illness, with his family around him.

Bill's son Mark, who set up and runs Bikerdikes Garden Centre in Letchworth told GTN Xtra: "Dad and Bob were the old school, part of "the gang".  They were true pioneers and he often told me that they had no idea what they were doing but they had fun. Inflation was so high back then that any mistakes one year were worth more the next year.

"Sandy was built in 1972/73 solely as a garden centre, possibly the first purpose built garden centre in the UK.

"Dad retired at 59 when Sandy was sold for housing but he was always here when we needed him and continued to offer sound advice right the way through to the end.

"His motto was "Never say no... say yes to as much as you can" and he certainly lived life to the full, sailing the Atlantic after retiring and skiing through untill he was 80."

Bill's funeral will be at 10:30 on Friday 27th August,at St Swithun's Church, Sandy, Bedfordshire. SG19 1AQ

According to Debbie Bickerdike's facebook post, Bill requested a colourful funeral with no black ties.

Debbie has also shared a video from 3 years ago on his 80th birthday, so you can all enjoy his zest for life and how to live life to the full! Listen to his lovely comments at the end of the video. https://www.facebook.com/debbie.bickerdike.3

Westland’s sustainable progress highlights significant action taken to date

By Keith Nicholson, Marketing Director, Westland

Westland Horticulture is significantly ahead of our plan in delivering ambitious sustainability targets across our potting soils and composts for 2021. However, we would warn that the toughest days lie ahead for the sector unless some reality is brought to the debate around peat.  If we ignore the challenges and continue down the current track, we could see significant parts of the garden sector retract by as much as 20% and gardening participation return to levels of the early 2000s.

Westland is now using more than 75% of non-peat materials to produce our range of potting soils.  This is significantly ahead of the industry standard and a result of over 18 years continuous investment in research and development into new substrates, and over £38 million investment in infrastructure, sites, and materials.

This positive progress hides a deeper challenge around the pace of change versus the clear lack of suitable alternative materials for use in the horticultural sector.

Not only is access to high quality, local, alternative materials at a critical level, but the development time for any new materials will take between 8 and 10 years - from source, to research, to full manufacture.  It is clear that we need to collaborate with government to overcome this significant shortfall in quality materials and deliver a positive road map which avoids setting unachievable targets, or worse again, simply shifts the environmental challenges elsewhere.  Any short-term thinking will undermine the positive work done by many in the sector over recent years.

Westland is one of the creators of the Responsible Sourcing Scheme, an initiative that has brought together industry, NGOs and retail, along with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), to deliver a sustainable future in growing substrates.  This world leading programme assesses all substrates against several environmental benchmarks, ensuring the sector is making the right decisions for today and for the future.  The scheme will challenge all materials and will question substrates that have issues in relation to contamination, water use, ethical and labour conditions, excessive air miles, deforestation or habitat loss.  To avoid any damaging short-term decisions, it is crucial that the growing media sector has time to fully assess current and new materials to allow for a positive and sustainable transition.

The move from a reliance on a single material (peat) to multiple types of soilless mediums in order to germinate the 60 million seed packets sold annually and support all plants and edible production, is technically and operationally a massive undertaking for the industry. Some industry commentators assume that we, as an industry, can simply click our fingers and make another substrate available for gardeners. Clearly, this is not the case, and we must avoid decisions that will see the promotion of poor quality replacement materials that will have a long lasting impact on the gardening sector.

We need to recognise the importance of horticulture to our economy and the essential societal benefits that gardening has on wellbeing, health and biodiversity.  We must harness the increased interest in growing, propagating and planting, and use this momentum to deliver a realistic roadmap to support a steady transition to world leading sustainable substrates that meet the demands of our industry and helps our nation’s gardens to thrive.

Here’s our picture special from last night’s glitzy GIMA Awards evening hosted by celebrity Vernon Kay.  Pictures taken by Steve Burden and Trevor Pfeiffer.

Yesterday afternoon, local newspapers reported that Dobbies had bought Johnsons of Boston Garden Centre.

Read the full report on Lincolnshire Live here

In the Johnsons of Boston newsletter last week, it said "Our managing director and Johnsons owner David Isaac is retiring after nearly 23 years of building Johnsons into the business it is today. He will be handing over the reins to new owners. In David’s words ‘The company is set for an exciting phase in its evolution.’"

The garden centre has has a food store for many years, providing a key local service to the area around the garden centre which is on the East of Boston on the A52 in Lincolnshire.  GTN Xtra understands the current NISA offering will be replaced by Sainsburys after Dobbies formally take over the site on Monday 19th April.

In preparation for that switch over they are currently offering customers a chance to pick up a bargain this week.  "As we make space for new lines & get ready for a refit a general spruce up & Spring clean, we are offering customers a chance to pick up a bargain this week!" it says on the garden centre facebook page.

"Many lines are heavily reduced in Fine Foods including general groceries & beers wine and spirits. Take this opportunity to stock up and bag a bargain!  We can’t wait to tell you more! We will be making an announcement very soon watch this space for more exciting news!  Milk, bread etc available as usual and Hambletons butcher and Deli are trading as normal."

Johnsons of Boston was established as a garden centre in 1971. Prior to that it was been a specialist rose growing nursery.  In 1998, the Johnson family decided to sell up, and the garden centre was bought by David Isaac and his family.

Along with the Fine Food Hall, it has a popular Restaurant and Coffee Shop plus franchises including Studio 10 Hair Salon, Boston’s premier Aquatic and Pet store, Tufts & Tangles Dog Groomers,  Spilsby Jewellers, and Seacroft Mobility.

The Environment Secretary, George Eustice, will today speak from Delamere Forest when he will confirm that the Government will ban sales of peat products by the end of this Parliament, subject to public consultation this year.

In the England Peat Action plan, published this morning, George Eustace says: "In recent decades, progress has also been made in developing alternatives to the use of peat in horticulture, with the consistency of substitutes like coir improving. Peatland soils and the habitats they support should be nurtured, not mined, and this Action Plan sets out measures to accelerate the switch to the use of alternatives, starting first with bans on the sale of peat for amateur use by the end of this parliament, and gradually moving to alternatives for other commercial sectors over time."

The text within the plan regarding peat use in amateur and professional horticulture is as follows:

Future vision: horticultural peat

In 2011, the government set out its ambition for the horticultural sector in England to be peat free by 2030, with voluntary targets for a peat free amateur sector by 2020 and the professional sector by 2030. We note that there has been some progress by particular manufacturers, retailers and growers. For example, the UK’s soft fruit industry have successfully transitioned from using peat to coir. However, the voluntary approach has not succeeded overall; as shown by Figure 2 the total volume of peat sold in the UK is 25% lower in 2019 compared to 2011 but is still way off our ambition. The volume of peat sold in the UK rose by 9% in 2020 due to unprecedented demand throughout the year and the impact of the global pandemic on the supply chains for alternative materials. We set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan that if we had not seen sufficient movement to peat alternatives by 2020, we will look at introducing further measures. Further action is clearly required to continue to drive the transition to peat alternatives and to support the industry to overcome barriers to this transition.

We will formally consult on a range of potential legislative measures in 2021, as well as seeking views on the support the industry will require to make a successful transition. In particular, we will seek to make swift progress in phasing out the use of peat in the amateur sector and will be exploring a range of different types of measures that will achieve this.

Figure 2. Volume of peat (m3) sold in the UK between 2011 to 2019 - Growing Media Association (2021) UK Growing Media Monitor report

Two thirds of the peat sold in the UK is imported from the rest of Europe. This means we are effectively exporting our carbon footprint. We shall continue to focus on reducing demand for peat in horticulture, recognising the need to protect not only England’s peatland, but peatland in other countries affected by the current demand in England.

The UK’s amateur sector makes up ~80% of horticultural peat use. We are starting to see retailers voluntarily committing to stocking only peat-free products, and we welcome the leadership demonstrated by these retailers. Evidence suggests that consumers continue to misuse bagged peat-based products, for example using them to improve the quality of garden soil, where other products such as manure or green compost would be much more appropriate and beneficial.

We will work with the industry to identify how we can increase the resilience of the supply of alternative materials. Coir dust (from coconut husks), wood fibre and bark have shown great promise as replacements for peat and are included in many of the products on the market today. Sphagnum farming on lowland peatlands in England offers the opportunity to source more alternative materials within the UK as well as providing a more sustainable use of our agricultural peatlands. Therefore, the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force will work with the growing media industry to develop its roadmap to commercially viable paludiculture.
 
Natural England’s Peat Pilots programme recently shone a light on the practice of grass turf production on peat (which harvests thin layers of peat) and its potential impact on greenhouse gas emissions. The Great Manchester pilot estimated that there is 151.20 hectares of turf production on Chat Moss, and the East Anglian Fens pilot found several turf growers and suppliers of fen topsoil operating in the area. It has proved difficult to arrive at an estimate of the area of total turf production on peat in England and we currently have no formal emission factor for the practice. We have also identified other, less widespread, uses of peat ranging from its presence in cosmetics to its use in the English whiskey industry. These wider uses of peat require further investigation and as such our consultation will also seek to broaden our understanding of these wider considerations.

Actions:

We will consult on banning the sale of peat and peat containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this parliament. We will publish a full consultation in 2021 to examine the feasibility of the following measures, to end the use of horticultural peat in both the amateur and professional sectors:

●    Setting absolute deadlines to ban the sale of peat in both the amateur and professional sectors.
●    Introducing a point-of-sale charge for the purchase of growing media containing peat. This could use the plastic bag charge as a model.
●    Mandating all sellers of horticultural products containing peat, including plants, to publicly report on the volume of peat they sell each year (in bags or plant pots).
●    Issuing a call for evidence on the wider uses of peat and peat products in the retail sector; for example - grass turf production, cosmetics and industries where peat forms part of the production process.

We will also:

●    Continue to work with the industry to understand the implications of these proposals, identify blockages and work across government and the private sector to develop and enact solutions.
●    Work with and challenge the horticultural sector to reduce the reliance on peat in growing media and associated products in order to prepare the sector for legislation.
●    Continue to support the industry’s Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media to ensure that the environmental footprint of peat alternatives is minimised.
●    Actively promote the benefits of peat-free growing media to gardeners through public awareness and education; to help shift the demand to peat-free alternatives in advance of legislation, and to soils improvers where they are more appropriate.
●    Identify opportunities to work with the devolved administrations to develop a UK wide approach to horticultural peat and related products.

The England Peat Action Plan can be accessed here

A combination of lockdown#3 and wintry weather means that even shopping for gardening essentials stays at an all time low as far as the GTN Bestsellers Epos data tells us. 

While all of the GTN Bestsellers sales indexes are a very long way behind last year sales of seeds, compost and seed propogation products are indicative of the activity and sales that will be top of the agenda when the weather improves.

Many centres we’ve spoken to over the past few weeks have reported receiving a lot of their pre-season gardening products orders already, with some even saying they’ve got their whole years’ worth of compost in stock. 

As ever, we need the weather to improve and then some good news on the lockdown situation to allow for gardeners to get out and get growing.

This weeks GTN Bestsellers includes the Top 100 Christmas products of 2020.  We’ll include the Top 100 Garden products of 2020 in next weeks issue. Subscribe to GTN Bestsellers using this link.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 2

• Garden Products Top 50 – down 76%
• Growing Media Top 50 – down 86%
• Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – down 54%
• Wild Bird & Wildlife Care Top 50 – down 63%

GTN Bestsellers All Sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 2

•           All Plants with Barcode index – down 78%

•           All Items with Barcode index – down 76%

Has the bubble burst for garden centres increased sales volumes?  Analysis of last weeks Epos data for GTN Bestsellers shows sales dipping below or just matching previous years levels for the first week since mid February.

The drop in sales could be down to any number of factors;  in 2019 last week was Easter week, continued cold winds may have kept people out of their gardens (it's been quite Arctic here in the east) and the opening of outdoor catering and other non-essential retail may well have had an impact on garden centre footfall.

As summer bedding plants start to come into stock and sell through the only area that continues to have a great lack of stock is furniture and BBQ's.  Where other gardening products may be out of stock, suitable alternatives appear to be selling through instead.

See the full GTN Bestsellers sales analysis including the Top 50 Bestselling Garden Products, growing media products, veg 2 Gro lines and Top 50 Bestselling plants with a subscription to the GTN Bestsellers printed newsletter.  Subscribe here.

Dobbies opened its 71^st store, located in Boston Lincolnshire, on Friday 30th April 2021.

Previously Johnsons Garden Centre, the store has undergone a refurbishment in under two weeks and now offers a full Dobbies garden centre experience for customers, with plants and gardening products; pet department; home and cookshop; books, toys and gifts; as well as seasonal items. Customers are welcomed by the houseplant department as they enter the store.

A new look Sainsbury’s foodhall was also unveiled, with a range of high-quality food and grocery products to store. Shoppers at Boston have the opportunity to enjoy a range which includes a variety of ambient, chilled and frozen produce as well as other grocery and household products.

The restaurant, which will reopen in line with Government guidelines, has been given a refresh, with the Dobbies’ menu featuring seasonal dishes, customer favourites, dedicated kids’ menu and afternoon tea as well as table service for diners. For opening, a coffee shop menu will be available in an outdoor seating area.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO of Dobbies, said: “We had an excellent base to build from with Johnsons Garden Centre – thank you to David Isaac and his team for such a smooth transition.

“Our team has worked incredibly hard to enable us open at what is an important season for gardeners – well done to everyone who has contributed to this project. We look forward to welcoming customers to the refreshed Dobbies’ store.”

Within the first two hours of opening the team had signed up 2,000 new members to the Dobbies loyalty scheme.

Marcus Eyles, Horticultural Director for Dobbies, said: “There has been really great engagement with our #sustainabledobbies campaign so far and we look forward to sharing news of new sustainable products, practices and services that will be available in our Boston store. Our team is committed to helping people across Boston have success with their gardens.”

For more information visit www.dobbies.com/sustainability-policy

Nicholas Marshall is back - with aspirations to open many new plant centres.

In this issue of news and information for garden centre professionals:

• Solex Online - “exhibitors preview”
• Marshall is back… again
• Garden Re-Leaf Day 2021 raises £75,000
• New Products - Glee style
• Glee Buyers Power List - nominate your top buyers
• GIMA Golf Day - full results and pictures
• Hillier Heritage at Syon Park - GTN Photo Tour
• Signs of the times at Thetford - GTN Photo Tour
• Jam on top at BGC Bressingham - GTN Photo Tour
• HTA Column – 20/20 Vision… so last year.

Choice Marketing members are celebrating the completion of another successful year with a huge rebate of £1,800,000, for achieving agreed targets with their key suppliers during 2020.  This remarkable achievement was the result of the Group’s 42 independent garden centre members working together.

The cheque, which represents a £200k increase on the previous year, was presented at the recent Choice Marketing ‘Meet the Furniture Buyer’ event held earlier this week in Northamptonshire. A successful event which saw a good number of the membership attend and place furniture and accessory orders for next season. 

Commenting on the rebate, Tony Larkin of Ducks Hill Garden Centre and Chairman of the Group’s Sundry Forum said “This really is such an incredible result.  It shows the power of working together within an established Organisation, particularly during a pandemic, where we have certainly enjoyed record sales and fantastic support from our key suppliers, including faster deliveries.  Although all our member centres are independently owned and independently run, we do speak with one voice in our relationships with our suppliers.  Every penny of this £1.8m rebate goes back to the members”.

Choice are well on their way to even greater success in 2021. Already group purchases for 2021 are way ahead of 2020 and next year’s rebate cheque is going to be even greater. 

In addition to preferential purchasing arrangements, Choice members benefit from a comprehensive offering of marketing services, through its partner agency.   

Choice Marketing is now welcoming new members into the Group.  If you would like to know more about the benefits of membership, please contact Michelle de Lavis-Trafford at info@choice-marketing.co.uk to arrange an informal chat.

www.choice-marketing.co.uk

Last week saw the return of Choice Marketing’s annual conference and trade show after a year long absence due to Covid. Held at the Hinkley Island hotel in Leicestershire, the two day event brought together Choice members from over 40 independent garden centres across the country for what was described as “the perfect mix of supplier presentations, networking opportunities, and entertainment” combined with a trade show with over 90 trade exhibitors from the garden, leisure and gift sectors.

The conference provided Choice with the opportunity to announce a record breaking sales performance for the group, resulting in a rebate payment likely in excess of £2 million pounds, for the 2020/21 season, every penny of which will go back to the 44 members of the group. The Chairman of Choice Marketing, Terry Maywood, commented that “This is a fantastic achievement that amply demonstrates what can be achieved when independent centres work closely together and is testament to the great trading relationships that Choice Marketing have forged with numerous suppliers across our great industry”.

The event concluded with a champagne reception followed by a dinner, attended by Choice members and suppliers. During the evening, Choice presented its supplier of the year awards, voted for by its members, in three product categories. The winner of the best sundry supplier went to Smart Garden with highly commended awards for both Woodlodge and Westland.

The plant award went to Allensmore and the gift award went to Kaemingk with a highly commended award going to Widdop.

As in previous years, Greenfingers attended the event and were incredibly well supported. Suppliers generously donated prizes for both a raffle that was held during the afternoon and an auction of some top prizes during the evening dinner. The incredible sum of over £4,000 was raised for Greenfingers which was gratefully received by Colin Wetherley-Mein, who represented Greenfingers.    

CEO of Choice Marketing, Michelle de Lavis-Trafford, said “The overall response to this year’s event has been absolutely fantastic. I think everyone has really appreciated being able to get back to some sense of normality after the challenges the Covid pandemic has presented and have enjoyed meeting colleagues and suppliers face to face to catch up and do business.

"I would like to personally thank our sponsors for the conference along with the many trade suppliers and members of Choice for supporting the event and making it so successful and enjoyable”

Choice Marketing are currently recruiting new members. If any independent garden centre operators would like more information on Choice Marketing and how they can apply to join, please contact Anthony Gould – Membership Manager on  07786 030181  anthony.gould@choice-marketing.co.uk or Michelle de Lavis-Trafford - CEO on 07961 136528 mdelavistrafford@btinternet.com

Following on from publishing the Groves – We Are Here For You – story in GTN Xtra last week (by far the most read story of the issue) GTN Xtra received the following statement from Derek Bunker about the response to his COVID-19 update and his views on garden centres staying open during lockdown 3.

Derek told GTN Xtra: “We posted this message on our website on the 4th of January:

Obviously, we are so pleased that we have been allowed to continue to remain open however, we would ask you to please make sure that you always wear a mask whilst in the garden centre. If you are exempt, please bring proof of exemption and show us. We are aware that in law you do not have to show us but if you are not willing to do this then we are sorry, but we will not allow you in. This decision has been made to protect our staff from anyone claiming to be exempt when they are not.

We have checked out this decision and we are within our rights to implement this procedure.

We look forward to seeing you and please be assured our garden centre is as COVID safe as we can make it.

“The response we have had has been amazing and very heart warming. Comments such as "wish more businesses would follow suit", "thank you very much for what you're doing" and many, many more messages of congratulations on the stance that we've taken.

“The government has put garden centres in the essential class. Let's be sensible, this is not because you need to buy compost seeds, plants, etc. at this time of year. This is more for mental health than anything else. It is to give members of the public somewhere that is fairly safe so that they can get growing as soon as the weather improves.

“Are the centres that are choosing to stay shut, therefore, sending out the wrong message. If you were happy to be open throughout the previous lockdown when you were selling Christmas, are you not sending out a message that whilst it is quiet, you are going to close to save money?

“It is up to individual centres to choose what they wish to do. But after all the hard work that the HTA and the GCA have put in to allow us to open, I feel we should respect that.

“Are those that are closed now going to stay closed until the restrictions are altered, maybe not until March or April?”

On the 14 October 2021 – Phil Gibbs, former LOFA Secretary was given a 27-month custodial sentence for Fraud by abuse of position – fraud act 2006 between 01/08/2013 and 31/12/2018.

Read the full story in The News: https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/royal-navy-veteran-jailed-for-siphoning-charity-cash-in-ps117000-waterlooville-business-fraud-3423028 

A LOFA statement issued today reads:

He had been made redundant in October 2018 as LOFA needed a greater marketing input, and there were some serious concerns and disciplinary actions relating to his poor financial reporting as requested by the previous Chairman Mark Osborne and Pravin Patel.

A former Secretary seconded in an interim term discovered suspicious paperwork which then prompted the launch of a full investigation. The board appointed an accountant to conduct a full forensic investigation going back several years and once the Fraud squad were involved there was an enormous amount of work carried out over many months to retrieve the facts and allow the Fraud Squad at Portsmouth to build a solid case. Phil Gibbs was calculating and conniving and had duped a professional company of auditors for over 6 years, there are suspicions his devious activity started even earlier than has been proved.

Phil Gibbs mis-appropriated a substantial amount of money from LOFA /SOLEX and even stole money allocated by the Board at LOFA to be donated to various charities, he was arrested in 2019 but still continued to evade the legal system until the overwhelming strength of the case was relayed to him by his council and finally led to him pleading guilty. The sentencing too was delayed by his actions before justice was finally served.

Pravin Patel (current Chairman) commented: "We are saddened and appalled that someone in such a position of trust could abuse the people and the organisation that had looked after him so well. We at LOFA have already ensured that the charities who were deprived of vital donations have been sent the funds allocated to them, the long fight to retrieve some of the money stolen from LOFA and SOLEX now begins."

The Blue Diamond Group has added to its portfolio of garden centres with the acquisition of Mere Park Garden Centre in Newport, Shropshire.

Blue Diamond managing director Alan Roper said: “Mere Park Garden Centre has excellent A1 retail planning permission and is a quality freehold asset. The site has strong potential and Newport has a strong AB1 demographic.”

Owner David Brierley said: “I am delighted to have sold Mere Park to the leading garden centre operator in the UK and look forward to watching the business thrive as part of the Blue Diamond Group.”

According to the garden centre’s website, Mere Park’s 12-acre retail park offers a full range of products and services that meet its customers’ shopping and leisure needs. 

Planning officers have recommended that proposals for what’s been described as the UK’s largest garden centre be approved by local councillors.

The £16m outlet would be built at Scotch Corner and operated by Blue Diamond.

The garden centre would cover 10,761sq m and would include indoor and outdoor sales areas, as well as a cafe, restaurant and car park.

Developers behind the scheme say it will only bring “positive benefits” to the area, but businesses in the area have disagreed.

Richmond Business and Tourism Association submitted an objection saying members believed there was potential damage from the proposed development to Richmond retailers and other garden centres in a wide area.

The planning report claimed  the scheme would bring “substantial economic investment and job creation in the local area along with the ability to accelerate the creation and delivery of a true retail destination alongside the DOV scheme that would attract many visitors to the area”.

It continued: “The benefits to be derived from the scheme are significant and fundamentally outweigh the limited policy conflicts highlighted in this report to the extent that planning permission should be granted.”

Members of Richmondshire District Council planning committee will meet on Tuesday to discuss the application.

GIMA Golf Day 2021, Belton Woods, full results:

1    Zest 4 Leisure
    
2    Mr Fothergills
    
3    Imprint
    
4    Westland A
    
5    Hartman
    
6    Leisuregrow
    
7    Evergreen B
    
8    GIMA
    
9    Evergreen A
    
10    Westland B
    
11    Garland/GLEE
    
12    Sunshine Garden Centre

13    Woodlodge B
    
14    Woodlodge A
    
15    Haemmerlin
    
16    Bathgate Silica
    
17    Durston/Leon/GTN
    
18    Vitax
    
19    Smart Garden
    
20    Boughton Loam
    
21    Southern Trident
    
22    Garantia
    
23    Strawberry Corner Garden Centre
    
24    Charles Bentley

Beat the Pro at the 11th    

Nick Griffin, Stuart Jenks, Andy Bestwick, Charlie Rowe, Antony Dawson, Alan Burdon, Greg Ronald, Ian Dunmaker, Paul Facey, Simon Neate, Richard Newton, James Boodle, Dave Bullivant

Nearest the Pin at the 4th    Chris Owen
    
Nearest the Pin at the 8th    Phil Hodges
    
Nearest the Pin at the 11th    Simon Neate
    
Nearest the Pin at the 15th    James Parr
    
Longest Drive at the 18th    James Mitchell
    
Nearest the Pin in 2 at the 9th    Chris Owen

Value garden centre group, Cherry Lane, has today, Friday 26^th March, acquired Langford Nurseries & Garden Centre in Bedfordshire,, taking their group of garden centres to 15.

Langford Nurseries & Garden Centre is located on Henlow Road, Langford. The acquisition, the latest in Cherry Lane’s strategy of ongoing expansion, brings the group total to 15 garden centres across East Anglia, Yorkshire and the Midlands.

Nick Rubins, Chief Executive of the QD Group which owns Cherry Lane, said: “The latest acquisition of Langford Garden Centre is another step in the ongoing growth and success of Cherry Lane. The centre is in a great location which is situated in the heart of our region and we are very pleased to welcome the team from Langford Garden Centre, many of whom have worked there for 30+ years and have outstanding gardening knowledge and expertise. As a family run business, we look forward to continuing the centre’s rich history of serving the local community and to introducing our great value, excellent quality and ever-changing spectacular new deals.”

The garden centre, which currently employs 28 members of staff, will be known as Langford Garden Centre by Cherry Lane. All staff will be retained and Cherry Lane hopes to expand the team by recruiting a number of additional staff in the near future. The garden centre manager is Wayne Roberts, who is the current manager and will remain in this role.

Cherry Lane will be working to introduce a number of key improvements and developments to the garden centre and café over the next few months. It aims to enhance customer enjoyment and experience of the great value and quality of products with new departments being added, including outdoor living and furniture such as solar lighting, water features and barbecues, not to mention indoor furnishings and homewares, plus a brand new pet department under Cherry Lane’s Scallywags brand. Cherry Lane is continuing the garden centre’s well-established plant growing operation, which will work alongside the group’s existing three nursery operations located across the country. The garden centre will remain open to customers throughout the improvement works.

Langford Garden Centre by Cherry Lane is located on Henlow Road, Langford, Beds SG18 9SD. For more information, visit www.cherry-lane.co.uk.

After eighteen months of all the challenges thrown at buyers and suppliers due to the COVID-19 pandemic Glee will be celebrating the best buyers of garden, leisure and pet products in the Glee Buyers Power List.

To acknowledge the immense pressure buyers have been under this year across the wide range of products the feature in garden, leisure and pet retailing there are ten Glee Buyers Power List categories this year and nominations can be made in any of the categories for buyers from independent garden centres and retailers, buyers of high street and DIY retailers and buyers from on-line retailers.

Nominations are now being sought from growers, suppliers, agents and wholesalers for the following categories of buyers and buying teams:

1.            Plants buyer/buying team of the Year

2.            Garden Care buyer/buying team of the Year

3.            Outdoor Leisure buyer/buying team of the Year

4.            Landscape buyer/buying team of the Year

5.            Home & Gifts buyer/buying team of the Year

6.            Pet buyer/buying team of the Year

7.            Retail Food & Drinks buyer/buying team of the Year

8.            Christmas buyer/buying team of the Year

9.            Overall Multiple Garden Retailer Buying Team of the Year – 6 stores or more

10.          Overall Independent Garden Centre Buying Team of the Year – up 5 stores

Nominations close on Tuesday 27^th July after which voting will commence to decide the winners of the Glee Buyers Power List for 2021.  Nominations can be made using the form in the July issue of GTN or on line using this link: Glee Buyers Power List 2021 nominations  or by e-mail to: trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk.  All nominations will be handled in strictest confidence.

The Glee Buyers Power List has celebrated the excellence of buying in the Garden, Leisure and Pet markets annually since 2015, and the winners have included:

Aylett Nurseries, B&M, B&Q, Blue Diamond, Enchanted-Earth.com, Frosts, gardensite.co.uk, Grovewell Garden Centres, Haskins, Homebase, John Lewis, MacKenzie & Cruikshank, Notcutts, Perrywood, Primrose.co.uk, Richard Jacksons Garden, Stax, The Range and Waitrose.

The winners of the Glee Buyers Power List 2021 will be announced live at Glee 2021 on Wednesday 15^th September 2021.  See you there!

Nomination Form:

I nominate the following buyers/buying teams for the Glee Buyers Power List 2021:

Plants buyer/buying team of the Year

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Garden Care buyer/buying team of the Year

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Outdoor Leisure buyer/buying team of the Year

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Landscape buyer/buying team of the Year

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Home & Gifts buyer/buying team of the Year

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Pet buyer/buying team of the Year

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Retail Food & Drinks buyer/buying team of the Year

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Christmas buyer/buying team of the Year

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Overall Multiple Garden Retailer Buying Team of the Year – 6 stores or more

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Overall Independent Garden Centre Buying Team of the Year – up 5 stores

Buyer/Team Name……………………………………… Retailer Name……………………………………………………….

Why nominated:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Nominated by:…………………………………………………….of:………………………………………………………………

e-mail address:………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

All nominations will be handled in strictest confidence

Send your completed nomination form to Glee Buyers Power List c/o GTN, Potting Shed Press, Dairy Drove, Thorney, Peterborough PE6 0TX or e-mail your nominations to: trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk by 27^th July 2021 or vote on line using the On-LIne Glee Buyers Power List 2021 form

In advance of tomorrows reported publishing of the governments Peat Strategy by George Eustace, DEFRA Minister, the UK gardening industry appears to be preparing for a peat-less future.

The growing media task force, an industry group consisting of Garden Centre Association (GCA), National Farmers Union (NFU), Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Growing Media Association(GMA) and Responsible Sourcing Scheme (RSS) and coordinated by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), have announced they will publish a plan in the summer outlining how targets that include removing peat from the retail market by 2025 will be achieved.

The key organisations from horticulture have committed to end the sector’s use of peat, pledging to remove it from the retail market as early as 2025 and no later than the end 2028. For professional horticulture, the range is between 2028 and 2030. Inside the existing target date, both are dependent on government support.

The group’s ‘Responsible Sourcing Statement’ released today highlights how these targets are dependent on support from government, the availability of alternatives and a principle of exceptions for certain types of plants. It outlines the importance of the Responsible Sourcing Scheme for Growing Media initiative, which seeks to communicate the environmental impact of all growing media materials. There needs to be full consideration of what the environmental impact of other materials are when peat is removed.

Speaking on behalf of the group as new data also shows the increase in use of alternatives to peat and the percentage of peat contained in growing media continues to fall, Chairman of the HTA, James Barnes, said: "While just 0.04% of the UK’s peatlands are extracted for horticulture, as a ‘green’ industry we recognise the value of peat as a store of carbon and are firmly committed to removing its use from horticulture. Extraction from England’s peatlands has halved since 2011 and to continue this we need reliable sources of quality alternatives in the quantities required to replace peat. Members of the RSS are committed to achieving and finding new and novel materials.

“The detail around how we do all this needs reasoned and proportionate consideration. We need to make sure any change over to new materials are environmentally responsible. The industry’s RSS is fully committed to this and will not introduce materials which potentially have negative environmental impacts. We need an evidenced based approach, working closely with government to ensure there is the essential support to access peat alternatives and enable the industry to make the changes needed to transition away from peat. We must ensure our horticultural industry is enhanced, not damaged and only when these issues are addressed can the necessary change happen.”

This evening the Garden Centre Association (GCA) has issued a statement saying that it is fully supportive of the need to remove peat from amateur horticulture.

Their statement reads: "We support the Growing Media Taskforce statement and will be working alongside our colleagues in its aims.

"There is a need to assist gardeners in making the transition from peat based growing media and we believe this is possible by 2025, subject to the availability of quality peat free composts to meet consumer demand.
 
"We understand the challenge for the manufacturers, which will be to find sufficient quantities of the right materials necessary to replace peat, so that quality growing media is available to everyone.

"Growers will need a level playing field with imported plants and material support from Government will be absolutely vital, in order for both to be achieved. 
 
"Gardening is a force for good in the population’s mental and physical health and, also, for the environment. 

"The more people that are involved in gardening the more they are aware first-hand of the changes happening in the climate and, so, are more likely to respond positively to adjust the way they live."

Pictured above; the Peat Free Growing Media sales area at Country House Group's Windlesham Plant & Home Centre.

After reading Charles Stubbs Easter message in GTN Xtra on Easter Monday, Derek Bunker, who is celebrating 50 years of Alton Garden Centre contacted the GTN team to pass on his thanks to all suppliers and staff too:

"I would like to join Charles Stubbs in thanking our suppliers for their efforts throughout this amazing period in garden centre history. Nobody has ever seen anything like the demand over the last 12 months, which is still ongoing.

"Some suppliers have at last seen the light that if we are working weekends to sell their products during busy times, they should support us by also working weekends.

"I think we all accept that, although it has been a terrible time with Covid for those that have lost loved ones, we have been so fortunate to be allowed to open and give the public somewhere to go that is relatively safe.

"As a consequence, garden centres have picked up a lot of new customers. They've discovered we are much more than just a plant supplier with a few tools and chemicals.

"Without the support of our manufacturers and suppliers, we would have missed a golden opportunity. They, along with our own great staff, have helped to carry us through a very difficult period. And when we come out the other side, we should be better businesses than we were a year ago."

If you'd also like to add your thanks and thoughts please use the comments link below or e-mail: trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk

Britons could soon be paying up to fifty per cent more for their garden sheds due to a global shortage of timber.

Warm winters, an increase in home renovations and the impact of COVID19 have seen prices soar in recent months.

Now experts at leading shed manufacturer Kybotech are warning prices will rocket as summer approaches and customers could be left waiting months for their outdoor building.

They’ve vowed to lock prices on their sheds and garden buildings for now but warn an industry wide hike will eventually have an impact.

They say a combination of warmer winters, increased demand from China, inflation rates, a rise in home renovations and the impact of the COVID19 pandemic across the world have all played a part in the price hike.

And they believe smaller suppliers will be unfairly hit as they do not have the buying power of the bigger garden building manufacturers.

Warm winters in Scandinavian countries, like Sweden, have led to less trees being felled with muddy terrain being impossible for heavy vehicles to navigate.

Home renovations and DIY projects have gone up over the last year with locked down Britons stuck at home and there has been a huge increase in demand from China.

Kybotech, owner of BillyOh.com, has seen sales of Log Cabins increase by 142% over the last 12 months with an increased demand for outdoor living, working and storage space.

Kybotech founder, Charles Walton said: “We’re now in the second year of timber shortages and the impact is beginning to be felt. We’ve had two consecutive warm winters which has meant considerably less timber being felled and resulting in a massive global shortage. Other factors have come into play too which have compounded the problem.

“Combined they have the potential to push up timber prices by as much as 50% and at some point a proportion of that cost will be passed on to the consumer.

“It won’t just be businesses like ours which will feel the impact of the shortage. Construction companies and small builders will struggle to get the softwood they need to peg out buildings. It will be felt across many sectors.”

Walton continued: “We are committed to keeping our prices low for our customers, but the industry-wide price rise will directly impact our garden buildings. At some point and as the shortage worsens, we will be left with little choice but to increase our prices.

“It’s impossible to put a date on when customers should expect that, but our advice is to buy while prices are still low. Everything from our playhouses to our log cabins will inevitably be hit with a new price tag over the next few months.

“For now, we have the capability and resources to keep our prices as they are and we’re committed to doing that for as long as we can.”

Twenty-three years after buying Johnsons of Boston, David Isaac, a self-described "engineer from a family of retailers", has retired and the business sold to Dobbies.

GTN Xtra had the privilege of visiting David and his team on their last day of independent trading, Sunday 18^th April 2021, before the centre closes for a two week re-fit.

While David proudly showed us around his centre a steady flow of customers and staff came up and wished him well.  David and his garden centre are clearly well loved in the area. “Everything I’ve done at the centre has been geared to making as many reasons as possible for customers to keep coming back,” David explained.  That’s why Johnsons of Boston were one of the first garden centres to add a convenience food hall over twenty years ago.  “I remember Tesco’s tried to stop us selling food,” recalled David.  That’s rather ironic now as the Fine Foods Hall, which had been emptied by shoppers before Sunday, will now become a Sainsburys food hall within the Dobbies Garden Centre.

As we left the centre, the queue to use the cash machine, which has also been a longstanding reason for people to visit, got even longer.

The garden centre re-opens as a Dobbies Garden Centre on Friday 30^th April with all the current staff retained, but GTN Xtra understands, without any of the previous concessions that have been a feature of the centre.

Renato Canale 1942-2021

It is with the heaviest of hearts that Valerie, Fabienne, (daughters) Kiaran, (grandson), Oscar, Freddie and all the team at Europlants UK Ltd are notifying industry colleagues and friends of the passing of Renato Canale on the 17th May 2021.

Renato came to the UK in 1962 to work at Stuart Lows Ltd where he progressed to Sales & Marketing Director.  

He had a vision to develop the specimen plants & trees market in the UK and set up Europlants UK Ltd in 1991. A partnership was made with Vannucci Piante of Pistoia with Europlants being appointed its sole UK Agent. The relationship is going strong to this day 30 years on.

In 2005 he set up Riverside Nurseries in Marlow.

His nationwide contribution to the industry has been immense.  

As a much valued and well respected colleague & friend in the industry for over 60 years, Renato will be greatly missed and will leave a huge gap both personally & professionally.

Oscar Puig told GTN Xtra: "Renato hasn’t been very well in the last few months and his condition worsened at the end of last week when he was admitted to hospital. Yesterday he lost his battle and passed away peacefully with his family next to him.

"He dedicated all his life to the industry to which he was loyal and supportive until his last day. Magazines, Trade Shows, Garden Centres, Nurseries, suppliers around Europe… The industry will somehow will feel a bit smaller with his absence."

Renato with David Domoney at the Eurplants Open Day 2019.  The Europlants Open Days, started by Renato, have become a "must attend" day in the plant buying diary and have raised thousands of pounds for charities including Perennial and Greenfingers.

California Gardens in East Yorkshire has been sold for £1.5m to two local businessmen who plan to invest more than £1m in the garden centre and create 15 new jobs.

Cameron Holroyd and Rob Hardcastle have plans for a new 250-cover restaurant plus other upgrades to the centre at Howden near Goole.

Mr Hardcastle owns several East Yorkshire landscaping and horticultural businesses, including Ellerker Lodge Garden Centre near Brough.

California Gardens has been owned by the Hall family since 1879 and is one of the UK's oldest garden centres.

Rob Hardcastle said: “California Gardens is very well known by everyone in the area and we’re thrilled to have bought an important piece of local history, which has been in the care of successive generations of the Hall family for over 140 years.

“Our aim is now to make garden centre even better, with a fantastic range of plants and garden accessories and an extension and upgrade of the café, which we have renamed the Olive Tree.

"We’re currently getting ready for the café’s reopening on April 12 and later this year plan to extend the space so that it seats 250 people and becomes a full restaurant, serving great home-cooked meals.”

Garden Centres in Scotland and Wales, where garden centres are currently not allowed to open, need our support with their petitions to devolved governments to allow them to re-open as soon as possible.  

To sign the petition to the Welsh Parliament follow this link: https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/244681

To sign the petition to the Scottish Parliament follow this link:  https://www.change.org/ReopenScottishGardenCentres 

British Garden Centres 58th centre at Harrogate opened yesterday where Charles Stubbs and Anthony Harker enjoyed the welcome sunshine with the rest of the BGC team.

Harrogate centre manager: Peter Williams

Charles, Amy and Libby Stubbs welcome the Harrogate centre and their customers to the family.  Amy Stubbs led the project from start to finish.

BGC were delighted with trade on the first day.  "As the team had worked late into the night on Friday we chose to not say anything online about the opening. Over the last couple of weeks we have had potential customers stopping at the site every single day so we were confident that we would be busy enough once the signs changed on the roadside," reported BGC's Boyd Douglas-Davies.

"Last weekend we handed out 4,800 leaflets at the Harrogate Spring Essentials (Flower Show) to the public promoting the new centre and the wider group. The voucher on the leaflet started to appear yesterday, which is great."

Charles added: "Huge thanks to all of our suppliers, both growers and manufacturers for finding us a garden centres worth of stock at the busiest time of year. The merchandising teams have been fantastic and worked alongside our team to create the centre really quickly."

"BGC colleagues have helped from all areas of the business and coped with the short time frame and some appalling weather.  Thank you to them all."

Tong’s new £14m garden centre on the edge of Wakefield was given the green light today (Thursday), as council planning chiefs approved plans for the site of a former golf course.

The company now has permission to build the new garden centre and soft play area at the former Acanthus Golf Club off Thorpe Lane in Tingley, which is expected to provide up to 250 jobs.

A meeting of Leeds City Council’s South and West Plans Panel approved the scheme after a document, written by council licensing chiefs, had recommended the site be approved in principle.

The document stated: “A Travel Plan has been prepared by the applicant and the findings have been influenced by surveys that have been carried out at Tong Garden Centre.

“Tong Garden Centre is run by the applicant of this proposal and is located within a rural setting that is comparable to the subject site. The bus services and frequencies are similar with Tong Garden centre being approximately 700 metres from the nearest bus stop and this proposal being 850 metres from the bus stop to the front entrance.

“The applicant has confirmed willingness to enter into a Section 106 Agreement, which will relate to the financial contribution of £150,000 towards the provision of six biodiversity units (this provides a scheme that is policy compliant and that achieves a net gain in biodiversity), together with clauses seeking local employment initiatives and the implementation of the proposed travel plan.”

It added that, of the 150 members of staff employed at Tong Garden Centre, more than two thirds of staff travel less than five miles to get to work.

The report concluded: “The applicant has provided various supporting information to ensure that the concerns raised by panel members have been addressed.

“The supporting information further supports the original recommendation that the proposal does represent a sustainable form of development through the provision of a range of social, economic and environmental improvements to the site and wider area.”

Plans submitted to the council last year included a garden centre with a restaurant, landscaping and car parking spaces for 612 vehicles. Outdoor adventure play areas are also included, which the applicant claims can help “tackle childhood obesity”.

GTN's Greatest Awards team of experts are out in force this week and the following two weeks visiting the teams at the 57 Garden Centres nominated in this year's Greatest Christmas Awards.

The judges will be meeting the teams at the centres, listed below, to find out just what makes them so great across 14 Christmas Award categories ranging from The Greatest Christmas Houseplant team to The Greatest Christmas Sizzle team for seasonal sales of BBQ's and the like.  And with the recent changes in FaceMask wearing there's also an award for The Greatest COVID Safe Christmas Team.

Huge thanks goes to our sponsors: Woodlodge, Elho, DCUK, Solex and Global Journey for making the face to face visits possible this year.

Here's the list of the 57 nominated centres:

ACW Garden Centre, Albrighton – BGC, Altons, Aylett Nurseries, Barton Grange, Baytree Garden Centre, Bents, Blue Diamond Cadbury, Blue Diamond Derby, Blue Diamond Newbridge, Bosworths, Braintree – BGC, Bridgnorth – BGC, Brigg Garden Centre – BGC, Brookside Garden Centre - Kent, Burford House – BGC, Cherry Lane Podington, Coolings Green & Pleasant, Coolings Main Road, Downtown Garden Centre, Fron Goch, Garsons, Gates Garden Centre, Glendoick Garden Centre, Gouldings, Groves Bridport, Hetland, Hillmount Ards, Hillmount Belfast, Hillmount Cheshire, Hilmount Bangor, Lakeside Plant Centre, Little Dobbies Richmond, Millbrook Gravesend, Newquay Garden Centre, Pengelly Garden Centre, Perrywood Sudbury, Perrywood Tiptree, Planters Bretby, Planters Tamworth, Pughs Radyr, Pughs Wenvoe, Rosebourne – Aldermaston, Rosebourne – Weyhill, Sapcote Garden Centre, Silverbirch, Squires Badshot Lea, Studley – BGC, Tates South Downs, Thatcham – BGC, The Old Railway Line, Waresley Park Carden Centre, Webbs Wychbold, Woodbank Garden Centre, Woodlands Garden Centre, Woodthorpe – BGC, Woseley – BGC

And here's the list of categories they are vying to be The Greatest in:

• The Greatest Christmas Houseplant Team
• The Greatest Outdoor Plant and Christmas Tree Team    
• The Greatest Festive Food Hall Team      
• The Greatest Christmas Sizzle Team        
• The Greatest Christmas Pets Team          
• The Greatest Christmas Community or Charity Initiative
• The Greatest Social Media Christmas Marketing Idea       
• The Greatest Garden Centre Christmas Video     
• The Greatest Winter Garden Care Sales Team     
• The Greatest Covid Safe Christmas Team              
• The Greatest Group Garden Centre Christmas Team        

After all the judging visits, GTN's team of experts will be meeting up early in the new year to decide upon the winners and they will be announced and presented on The Stage at Spring Fair on Monday 7th February at 5:00pm.  See you there!

To whet your appetite for the galleries of garden centre Christmas photos we'll be bringing you in GTN Xtra and GTN magazine over the coming weeks and months, here are photos frm one of our early judging visits to Burford House - BGC.

Friday's 10th annual Garden Re-Leaf Day saw FUNdraising events taking place across the country and as this issue GTN Xtra goes to press, monies raised so far exceed £35,000 and are still growing.

Linda Petrons of the Greenfingers Charity told GTN Xtra: "Despite the restrictions of lockdown it has been an incredible Garden Re-Leaf Day this year. An event supported by the industry in a way we could never have imagined. 

"From head shaves to virtual walks, quizzes to minutes mowed, pot sales, skipping, #floralfriday and much more we really cannot thank the industry enough for their inspiration and for digging deep and putting the FUN into FUNdraising!

See our gallery of Garden Re-Leaf Day photos here and watch out for more updates in future issues of GTN Xtra.

Add your photos to our Garden Re-Leaf Day 2021 picture gallery by e-mailing trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk 

There is great anticipation in the garden retail sector for the long-awaited return of Glee (14^th – 16^th September 2021, NEC Birmingham) as an in-person event; with suppliers and retailers set to reconnect and create new opportunities at this year’s show. Building on this excitement, the Glee team has confirmed that the 2022 event will move to a new date in order to meet the ever-developing needs of the garden retail sector. As a result, Glee 2022 will take place June 28^th – 30^th.

Over several months, the Glee team undertook an in-depth consultation with key stakeholders, representing suppliers, retailers and trade associations. The outcome of these discussions was that a shift to a different time of year would better reflect, and support, the ongoing development of the garden retail supply chain and associated buying cycles.

This decision received unanimous support, and it has been confirmed that the annual Glee exhibition will take place in June, effective from 2022. The first show hosted under the new date line to take place on the 28^th – 30^th June, 2022.

The industry shows support for Glee’s new dateline

The Glee team’s realigned timing of the show has already garnered support from across the sector. Exhibitors consulted about the date change said they whole-heartedly support the move. Home and Gift suppliers have also praised the change, as they recognise that it offers improved growth opportunities ahead of the Christmas sales period. From a visitor perspective, Glee will sit more comfortably within the buying calendar, as well as within the wider exhibition cycle.

Reactions from the industry

British Garden Centres PR & Communications Director, Boyd J Douglas-Davies praised the decision and stressed the importance of Glee to the entire sector. He said: “I’m delighted to see the team at Glee reacting to the seismic shift in order patterns and moving the show to ensure they maintain their position as the foremost and most useful show for the gardening industry. As we all react to the new world order scene, we need Glee to be there for us all to ensure the industry continues to grow.”

Mike Burks, Owner, The Gardens Group, and Chair, Garden Centre Association added: “The only reason for buying in September is because Glee is in September. June is a better time for buying, and independent garden centres will adapt. Also, in recent times with the uncertainties in the supply chain, the earlier ordering can be done, the more forward planning that is possible by the manufacturers, and a much higher chance of having the right product, at the right time for the customer. Glee in June helps enormously with this" 

Perrywood Garden Centre Manager, Simon Bourne commented: “I love going to Glee and it is one of the first events to go onto my calendar at the beginning of the year. I go to meet with suppliers and colleagues, source new product and make informed decisions ready for the following year. A move from September to June will allow more time to put changes in place for our business.”

The need for earlier ordering was also echoed by suppliers, with AMES’ Managing Director, Paul North, saying: “As long-term partners with Glee, we are excited to confirm our attendance in 2022, and supportive of plans to move the show forward to June accordingly. Given the very real need of many of our customers to plan earlier than ever before, we believe this announcement will be received positively across the marketplace”

Leading pot and garden accessory suppliers, Woodlodge is another long-term exhibitor in support of Glee’s latest development. Michael Wooldridge, Woodlodge’s Director, said: “Woodlodge welcome the move of Glee to earlier in the year. With a predominately Far East supply chain and long lead times, it would allow us to showcase all of our products and gauge customer reaction whilst still having the flexibility to adapt ordering levels for the season ahead.”

Elsewhere, Mark Portman, MD of Evergreen Garden Care UK & Ireland said how much Evergreen are looking forward to Glee in 2022. He said: “Bringing the dates forward to June works well with our customer meetings and presentations for the following year and will help us with our planning for the following season.”

Importantly, Glee’s trade association partners have shown their support for the announcement. GIMA Director, Vicky Nuttall said: “With a majority of our members having previously expressed their desire for an earlier show, this latest development is welcome news and something that GIMA is pleased to support.”

The HTA echo GIMA’s thoughts. Martin Simmons, Director of Membership at the HTA, said: “The HTA has had a long association with Glee having been the main supporter of the Retail Lab feature in recent years and significant involvement in its seminar programme. Equally, Glee is a strong supporter of the National Plant Show, both organisations recognising the unique benefits of each event and what they provide for our industry. We look forward to working with Glee on what we’re confident will be a very busy and successful show season next year”

Referencing the move to a summer show, Glee Event Director, Matthew Mein said: “The new date for Glee follows a period of significant consultation with our stakeholders, including suppliers, retailers and trade associations. Glee’s role is to provide a hub for the industry we represent. The new June timing will open-up new opportunities for all, whilst – more importantly – working more efficiently within the buying cycle. It is a much-needed change that we believe will add significant value to all those that utilise Glee as a central hub for their buying/selling needs. It’s a big move but one we are incredibly excited about. As always, we will work closely with our stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition.”

Add the 2022 dates to your diary but, don’t forget, the industry has this year’s event to look forward to and the much-awaited opportunity to come together under one roof, meet face to face, make new connections and touch and feel product. See you in September for Glee 2021!

Find out more

To keep up to date on the latest Glee news visit www.gleebirmingham.com.  To enquire about exhibiting at Glee 2021 call +44 (0)203 3545 9752.

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A petition has been launched in an attempt to re-open garden centres in Wales as soon as possible.

The petition, created by Nicola Pugh (pictured above), senior operations manager at award-winning Pugh’s Garden Centres in South Wales, needs to attract 10,000 signatures for it to be considered in the Senedd Cymru, the Welsh parliament. So far 2,109 have signed the online petition.

Garden centre bosses in Wales have been left frustrated by having to close in lockdown while centres in England have remained open.

They feel there are lots of positive reasons why they should be allowed to re-open, citing the following:

• Gardening keeps people at home
• Gardening brings significant mental and physical benefits
• Garden centres are large, airy spaces with excellent safety measures in place
• The plant supply chain cannot be switched off and on. In many cases plants go to waste if they cannot reach garden centres
• Online, click and collect and home deliveries are not the answer. They are particularly difficult for independent garden centres

Now, Nicola is urging as many people as possible to sign the petition so that the Senedd is forced to debate the matter.

To sign the petition go to: https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/244681/signatures/new

When I first met Eddie Topping MBE in the 1990s, he reminded me of a mischievous schoolboy…impish grin, cheeky chat, a twinkle in the eye – yet always everybody’s idea of a perfect gentleman. But it didn’t take long to understand that behind that engaging façade was a shrewd entrepreneurial brain, which he used to fashion a fantastic legacy – one of the UK’s most spectacular garden and leisure businesses with a pre-pandemic turnover of more than £25 million.

The new-build destination garden centre at Brock – a project led with extraordinary energy by one of his three sons, Guy, who inherited his father’s flair, plus added cheek – was a far cry from the Rochdale Market fruit and veg stall Eddie took over in 1955 from his father, who (with his wife) was by then busy building up business at their newly-developed hotel at Barton near Preston.

When I interviewed Eddie in 2010 for a new GTN series on family businesses, he told me how he used to grow cut flowers, fruit and veg in the grounds of the hotel. A couple of years later, he started growing trees and shrubs and set up a small landscaping business to keep himself busy in between market days.

At the start of the 1960s, Eddie was quick to latch on to the new-fangled idea from the United States that plants could be grown and sold all the year round in containers, eliminating the seasonality of bare root culture. With containers as we know them today not yet available, he got hold of empty apricot cans from a jam factory and tins from a biscuit factory – and the container revolution was under way. It turned out to be the catalyst that sparked the development of the modern garden centre industry.

So, Barton Grange Garden Centre, with a shop area all of 16ft square, opened in 1963 in the grounds of the hotel, followed in 1974 by the formation of a wholesale plant nursery (now Garden Centre Plants, run alongside the landscaping business by Guy’s brother Peter).

After Guy joined the family business in 1989, two more garden centres were added, both since divested (as was the hotel, run by Ian Topping, the third of his sons) to allow the family to focus on the award-winnning Brock flagship centre and the more recently added Flower Bowl leisure complex.

Eddie was always keen on the notion of a family business and took pleasure in seeing all three sons join it. “I guess I hoped we would end up with a family business into the next generation,” he told me. “But I wasn’t sure it would happen. I don’t think I put any pressure on the children to come in.” Guy recalls being told as a teenager by his dad that he and his brothers had to work in the garden centre on weekends and holidays but “we never talked about joining the business.”

Eddie had already insisted that none of his sons should join the family business until they were at least 25. But Guy was only 24 and travelling in New Zealand when Eddie invited him on board. “Dad said: ‘We’ve got this new garden centre in Bolton. Do you fancy coming back and running it?’ I had two jobs at the time, working 16 hours a day to try to earn enough to pay off my overdraft, so I decided running a garden centre sounded like a cushy number. I said yes. When I got home that summer, I said to Dad: Where’s this garden centre then? He said: ‘We’ve got to build it first.’”

Eddie believed that letting his offspring get on with the job without too much interference was the key to a happy succession. “When I was their age, I was my own boss and had been for some time, making big decisions,” he says. “Now they have got to the point where they have to do it all. I don’t think I interfered too much...”

Although he stepped back from day to day matters some years ago and was succeeded by Peter as chairman last year, he continued to take a close interest. He was immensely proud of his three sons and their achievements – but getting him to admit it within earshot was an entirely different matter...

Private funeral and service of remembrance on 28 September

Guy Topping has paid the following tribute to his father:

“Dad was such a huge character who touched the lives of so many people over many, many years.

“His death is a huge loss to the whole family, and all his friends and colleagues. We have received hundreds of messages from people all over the world who knew Dad from his work in garden retail or through his huge efforts for local charities.

“He will be sorely missed but very fondly remembered for so many reasons.”

Eddie, who also had two daughters, Jane and Anne, nine grandchildren and a great granddaughter, supported many local charities and organisations in the Preston area and, in 2003, was awarded the MBE for services to charity. He was a past president of Preston North Rotary Club, of which he was a member for over 50 years, and an honorary fellow of Myerscough College.

The family have announced that there will be a private funeral and service of remembrance on 28 September. Further details will be announced in the next few days.

Barton Grange have book located at the front of the Garden Centre if anyone visiting wishes to share their memories of Eddie with the family. 

Hundreds of comments from customers about the sad news are pouring into the Barton Grange facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BartonGrangeGardenCentre//peaceful-passing-eddie.../

Garden Industry Tributes pour in 

Here are just some of the tributes received by GTN Xtra:

Warren Haskins, chairman, Haskins Group:I first met Eddie in the mid 60s when we both joined a garden centre development group which included such forefathers of our industry as Leith Hayes and Derek Bunker.  We were all working on our young businesses and were stimulated by what he was doing at Barton Grange.  Eddie was full of ideas, ready to help everybody and I have many happy memories of being with him at GCA, IGCA, HTA conferences and many other places.  He contributed so much to our industry for which we must all be grateful.

Peter Seabrook, journalist, The Sun: Is it my feelings alone, are we losing all those who made garden centre retailing and development so much fun and a very real privilege and pleasure to have worked alongside?  “Big Man” is the best description that can be conjured up to describe Eddie, big in energy, big in his approach to everything he took on and boy did he take on some challenges, big in good nature, big sense of humour, big knowledge of plants and gardening, big in his services to our industry.

What  a legacy he has left us and what a standard set for others to follow.  My deepest sympathies are extended to all his family, who must be so proud of such a lovely man and huge character.  Eddie you are sorely missed, but never forgotten by those of us who knew you and were lucky enough to share your wonderful company.   

Ron Bent, chairman of Bents Garden & Home: This sad news marks the end of an era. Eddy was an inspiration to me personally and to everyone in the horticultural world. He was also a wonderful friend to Wendy and myself and our family. We will miss him greatly. We were the best of friends but also always the best of friendly rivals in business. He taught us (eventually) that cooperation, sharing and togetherness would make us all stronger and more competitive and he created a business that is a wonderful example of his philosophy and one that many of us still benchmark against. He was one of the founding fathers of the GCA, which enabled garden centres in the UK to get together and share the very best ideas and displays and also worldwide through the IGCA, of which his family and ours were regular attenders. But he leaves a wonderful family and a great business legacy that I’m confident that Guy and Peter will carry on with, using their own style to grow the business and have lots of fun along the way.

Sue Allen, GCA past chair: For the saddest of reasons, this week, I looked at my copy of the book ‘Barton Grange - A Topping Tale’.  I hoped I could find a little anecdote that summed up Eddie, but of course I soon realised it would be impossible to choose from such a wealth of incredible stories of his life, enthusiasm and achievements. Thanks to this remarkable man and his fellow pioneers we have the garden centre industry of today. Personally I have precious memories of times shared at industry events, conferences and international congresses and learned to appreciate Eddie’s quiet ‘no nonsense’ wisdom but also his delightful sense of humour and infectious laugh. My thoughts are with all the Topping family who continue to ensure Eddie’s legacy is in safe hands. Now I will treasure my signed copy of that book more than ever.

Ian Boardman, former Garden Centre Association chief inspector: I’ve known Eddie a long time. He always came to say Hello whether for training, Masterclasses, judging or inspecting. Always pressing for firm but fair ways to drive standards ever upwards. Thinking of family, friends and all at Barton Grange at this difficult time.

Simon Brindle, former colleague: When I worked at Bolton Barton Grange as a young lad in my first job, one of my tasks was to help weed the beds with Eddie, that and try to keep a track of all the stock he would just take off sale without writing off! There’s me two weeks into my new job trying to tell the owner, ‘No, you can’t just take a fork off sale’. I went on to work at the Preston branch for many years, quite often sharing a chinwag on one of his wanders around the offices. Even had the pleasure of creating a snapshot in time for the garden centre’s 50th anniversary, photographing every member of staff at that time, all packaged up into a coffee table book as a surprise.

Cliff Gorman, former colleague: What a man - so much energy, drive, determination and vision. It was my privilege to work alongside him for many years and I learnt so much from him. A great family man. I send my condolences to all the family.

Michael Cole, former GCA inspector: Eddie was a true gentleman and a proud Lancastrian, he was truly one of the pioneers of the garden centre industry and will be sadly missed by very many people.

Andy Campbell, Andy Campbell Consulting: I only got to know Eddie in recent years but it was very clear from the outset that he was one of life’s true gentlemen and someone who really understood welcome and hospitality. Our industry has lost an inspirational force and needs to take time to recover.

John Ashley, former supplier: Eddie Topping was the garden industry when I joined Fisons in 1972. He was HTA, GCA and his own growing business. Always welcoming and supportive and helpful to newcomers to this new industry. Eddie was a people person and it was always a pleasure to be in his company. He will be missed but never forgotten. May he rest in peace. Guy is a chip off the old block.

Brian Gibbons, retired journalist: When I made the transition from Garden News to become founding editor of Garden Trade News in the late 1970s I knew little about the workings of what was about to become a massive trade. I had to rely on the friendly advice and encouragement of those pioneers who had made it all happen. One of these was jovial Eddie Topping, founder of the Barton Grange empire. Although never a comfortable public speaker, he possessed a shrewd mind and warm personality which enabled him to carry out his many trade offices with great distinction. Eddie touched the lives of so many people in a positive way, including my own. RIP Big Man.

Michael Hayes, Hayes Gardenland: A lovely man and one of my Dad's best pals. Great memories over many many years. RIP Eddie.

Roger Crookes, former GCA inspector: Garden centre legend, pioneer, encourager and gentleman. My sincere condolences to the Barton Grange team and the Topping family.

Pat Flynn, former GTN executive: Another character from the industry leaving us. He was a true gentleman with a cheeky sense of humour who I remember well from my days at Nurseryman & Garden Centre magazine and then GTN. Condolences to the family and all the team at Barton Grange.

Do please use the comments link below to add your tribute, or e-mail it to: trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk

Barton Grange Garden Centre (above) and Castle Gardens (below) have been announced as the national winners of the 2021 GCA Christmas competition.

The garden centres were judged to have the best festive displays in the country by the organisation and will receive their awards at its annual conference in January 2022.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, says: “We’d like to say a huge congratulations to Barton Grange Garden Centre in Preston, Lancashire who won in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category and Castle Gardens in Sherborne, Dorset who won in the Garden Centre (GC) category. I’d like to say an additional thank you to everyone who created some truly joyous and memorable displays.

“Last year we were unable to hold such a competition with travel restrictions and various lockdowns in place, so this year was a particularly exciting occasion to return to our annual and much-loved competition of Christmas displays.

“This year experts’ anticipated early sales and a festive boom, so our member garden centres have gone all-out to impress their customers, and the judges, with imaginative and seasonal displays, making it a real challenge to choose the overall winners this year.

“The entrants were judged on general ambience, creativity, stock range, flow and tidiness, and customer service was also taken into consideration.”

Entrants in both the GC and DGC categories were judged by Phil McCann. Runners up in the DGC category were, in second place, Bents Garden Centre and in third Garsons Esher. In the GC category in second place was Old Railway Line Garden Centre and in third place, Brimsmore Gardens, part of The Gardens Group.

David Fawcett-Ropner, Display Manager at Barton Grange, said: “It’s fantastic to hear that we’ve done it again and won Best Christmas Display in the UK in the Destination Garden Centre category. Being nationally recognised for all the hard work everyone throughout the garden centre has put in to making our displays so magical, especially during what has been another challenging year, makes it even more worthwhile.

“We start planning for Christmas a whole year in advance, and we’re so delighted to see all the effort and commitment being rewarded by the GCA, but also appreciated by our customers.”

The full results for the area winners are as follows for the GC and DGC categories.

Midlands: Gates (DGC) and Planters Bretby (GC).

South Thames: Garsons Garden Centre – Esher (DGC) and Castle Gardens (GC).

North Thames: Sunshine Garden Centre (DGC) and Squire’s Stanmore (GC).

North West: Barton Grange (DGC).

North East: Tong Garden Centre (DGC).

Wales and West: Whitehall Lacock (DGC) and the Old Railway Line (GC).

Louise Burks, Director of The Gardens Group, which owns Castle Gardens in Sherborne, Brimsmore Gardens in Yeovil and Poundbury Gardens in Dorchester, said: “To have the team’s creativity, resourcefulness and hard work recognised with these national accolades is just fantastic! With Covid considerations still very much at the heart of decision making, the team has gone above and beyond to make the displays as magical and exciting as ever, while ensuring they are safe and welcoming for everyone.

“Having Castle Gardens take first place for the 10th time is a very special achievement for The Gardens Group as a whole and one we are extremely proud of. This consistency reflects the commitment and ingenuity of our whole team, who make the transformation happen from scratch each and every year.”

The top 10 centres overall will also receive a ‘Christmas Centre of Excellence’ certificate shortly. They are:

Barton Grange Garden Centre

Bents Garden Centre

Castle Gardens

Garsons Garden Centre – Esher

Fron Goch

Gates

Ruxley Manor

Old Railway Line

Garsons Garden Centre – Titchfield

Sunshine Garden Centre

The national winners will be given their awards during the GCA’s annual conference on Monday, January 24 at the Mercure Blackburn Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa in Blackburn, Lancashire. The conference runs from January 23 until 26, 2022. Places can be booked via www.gca.org.uk.

The warmth of Martin Stewart’s tribute to Eddie Topping at the service celebrating the founder of the Barton Grange Group’s life was a moving testimony to the deep affection in which Eddie was held throughout the garden industry.

Martin told how his own father had been the first to pick up on the concept of garden centres, but Eddie had “all the skills, energy and ambition required to do it better”.

His father, an RAF pilot in World War II, had been reluctant to return to the Stewart family’s “dark, dingey and basically bankrupt” nursery business after the war but wrote home before returning from a trip delivering a plane to the United States in 1955: “I have seen the future – they are called Garden Centres.” The subsequently converted Stewart potting sheds became what was almost certainly the UK’s first embryonic garden centre.

It was in that same year that Eddie Topping took over the Rochdale Market fruit and veg stall from his father who (with his wife Ada) was by then busy building up business at the newly-developed hotel at Barton near Preston, adding a modest landscaping business two years later.  Over the decades ahead, Eddie (helped by his three sons, Guy, Peter and Ian) moulded the flourishing Barton Grange Group we know today, with the flagship multi-award winning Brock garden centre at its core, augmented more recently by the enterprising Flower Bowl leisure and entertainment centre. By any measure, it became one of the UK’s most spectacular garden retail, landscaping and leisure businesses.

When Martin Stewart’s father, Edward, was elected president of the Horticultural Trades Association in 1960, he would have met Eddie, 12 years his junior. Twenty-two years later, in the year of Edward Stewart’s death, Eddie was also to become HTA president. “He was a huge support to me at that time,” Martin recalled in his tribute. “For those of you not familiar with our trade, it is the most extraordinarily open, warm and friendly industry imaginable. It is now and it was then.”

“What a proper pioneering spirit. The finest example of his legacy can be seen within his offspring and the enterprises that they are involved with now. The Barton Grange business with its unique culture has Eddie written right through it like a stick of rock. What an extraordinary legacy.”

Martin summed up Eddie Topping as “amazing – a proper entrepreneurial pioneer, someone loved and respected more than anyone I have met in our trade. He earnt his reputation in the most beautiful, calm unruffled manner….”

Perhaps the last word should go to one of Eddie’s grandsons, Andrew, who said at the service: “I won the lottery having Eddie as our grandad.”

Read a fuller version of Martin Stewarts tribute to Eddie Topping in the upcoming October issue of GTN.

Celebrity TV gardener and designer Joe Swift, a long time customer of Camden Garden Centre, joined staff and customers in Richmond yesterday to officially open The Plant Room, a new houseplant lovers paradise on Sheen Road, just 15 minutes walk from the new Little Dobbies.

Camden Garden Centre MD, Peter Hulatt, told GTN Xtra: "We've been working on this idea for about three years and only found this shop in this location earlier this year, around the same time as Dobbies announced they were opening a Little Dobbies here too."

The plant emporium is on two floors of what used to be a rug shop with the ground floor being the main plant shop area lavishly stocked with houseplants from Javado plus cacti from Giromagi, supplied by Key Essentials.

"Houseplants have been a really vibrant part of the mix at Camden Garden Centre for 10 years now, so along with the charity trustees, we felt the time was right to set up this new venture," added Peter.

A small garden products section with seeds from Mr Fothergills, tools from Burgon & Ball and plant care from Growth Technology sits at the back of the plant displays.

Downstairs features trendy home and garden lines from PTMD, plus pot covers from Ivyline, with Woodlodge providing the terracotta pots for outside urban gardening.

With many of the staff coming from Camden Garden Centre there's plenty of great advice on hand to help both novices and experienced plant lovers.

Marking the return of in-person events, the 11th annual GIMA Charity Golf Day was a fun-filled day of friendly competition, reunions, networking, fundraising, and glorious summer sunshine. 

Held at the new location of Belton Woods Hotel & Golf Club in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the event brought together garden industry suppliers and retailers with twenty-four four ball teams competing for the highly coveted GIMA Golf trophy.

Post-golf the teams enjoyed an alfresco barbeque and drinks, where prizes were given for a series of golf competitions including nearest the pin, Beat the Pro, and longest drive, with Andy Bestwick lending his excellent compéring skills to the occasion. A raffle and auction - including generous donations from Leisuregrow and Woodlodge as well as Haemmerlin, Leon Boots, Primeur, Elho, Capi Europe, Evergreen Garden Care, A Perry & Co. and CJ Wildlife - also took place, helping to raise thousands of pounds for the event’s charity beneficiary, Greenfingers. 

The day was made possible thanks to the generosity of the many sponsors including Durston Garden Products, Rollins Bulldog Tools, Westland Horticulture, Mr Fothergill’s Seeds, Gardenforum, Zest 4 Leisure, Decco, Leisuregrow, Smart Garden Products, Hozelock, Hornby Whitefoot PR, Darlac, Woodlodge, Vitax, Imprint, and the Patio Black Spot Removal Company.

Speaking about the day, GIMA Director, Vicky Nuttall said: “What a fantastic day. The first in-person event since March 2019 certainly delivered. It was great to see the industry come together for a day of fun and networking and we are so grateful to everyone for joining us safely and securely. It was clear that such events had been missed, so it was wonderful to be able to facilitate this. A huge thank you must go to everyone that took part including our sponsors, those that donated auction and raffle prizes, and all those that dug deep and donated to the Greenfingers charity.”

Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising & Communications at the Greenfingers Charity said: “On behalf of everyone at Greenfingers Charity, thank you GIMA for another fabulous charity event. Your generosity throughout the day and into the evening is hugely appreciated by us all but more importantly the hundreds of children and families we support.”

GIMA Charity Golf Day Results

The Zest 4 Leisure team was crowned 2021 Golf Day champions with 96 points. They were followed by Woodlodge in second place and Imprint in third. The booby prize was presented to the Charles Bentley team.

Hole 11 was home to the ‘beat the pro’. The winners were Nick Griffin, Stuart Jenks, Andy Bestwick, Charlie Rowe, Antony Dawson, Alan Burdon, Greg Ronald, Ian Dunnaker, Paul Facey, Simon Neate, Richard Newton, James Boodle, and Dave Bullivant – each winning a free ‘four-ball’ at Belton Woods.

Other nearest the pin challenges took place on the holes, 4, 8, 11, and 15, with Chris Owen, Phil Hodges, Simon Neate, and James Parr winning respectively, whilst the player with the longest drive on the 18th was James Mitchell. Chris Owen was also awarded the prize for the nearest to the pin in two on the 9th.

Upcoming GIMA events

The annual GIMA Awards will be making their return in November 2021. Taking place on Thursday 11th November at the Celtic Manor Hotel, Newport, the event will be celebrating its 40th anniversary. To find out more please visit https://gima.org.uk/gima-awards/ - but be quick as tickets are almost sold out!

For further information please contact the GIMA team on (01959) 564947 or info@gima.org.uk

It’s never too early to get your Christmas strategy in order. Festive Focus Day equips you with everything you need to know to make sure your 2021 Christmas ranges fly off the shelves.

Take a look at Christmas future with forecasters, Trend Bible as they dive into the emerging trends that will define Christmas 2021, and celebrate the best of Christmas past with the GTN Greatest Christmas Awards, presented by Garden Trade News. Join us for the exclusive festivities on 21st January 2021.

At 11am Join Kate Usher, Senior Trend Consultant at Trend Bible as she outlines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the 2020 festive period and how this will affect Christmas 2021 trends. Covering celebration, gift, greetings, decoration and homeware, this all-encompassing trend presentation will bring you up to speed on the most important factors to consider when buying for Christmas 2021.

Then at 1pm the first ever digital GTN Greatest Christmas Awards will be staged. Celebrating all that’s great about garden centres at Christmas, join the Festive Focus Day for Greatest Christmas Awards Winners’ Ceremony as we bring the industry together to celebrate great work over the festive season. Hosted by GTN’s Trevor Pfeiffer, and a panel of esteemed judges, this is the perfect way to reflect on a unique year for garden centre retailing.

To register for the Festive Focus Day visit https://www.gleebirmingham.com/festive-focus-registration?GTN

The Institute of Directors (IoD) in Guernsey has announced that Alan Roper, Managing Director at Blue Diamond Group is the winner of this year’s IoD Director of the Year Awards, sponsored by JT.  The winners were celebrated at this year’s IoD Guernsey Annual Convention.

Roy McGregor, the Director of the Year Award’s coordinator, said: "The calibre of the winners’ submissions was of a brilliant quality. I’m very pleased that the winner represents the best of Guernsey directors.

"Guernsey has some of the finest directors I know and it’s important they get recognition for their efforts.  I would like to thank everyone who supported and entered this year’s awards and the judges who gave up their time to help."

The IoD Director of the Year Awards were set up to recognise excellence in leadership, proven governance skills and the individual's positive impact on the culture and success of their organisation. 

Daragh McDermott, Managing Director at JT Channel Islands, the sponsors of the Director of the Year Awards, said: "The role of leaders is constantly changing and evolving - just like the world around us, which is why JT are pleased to support this important award.  Leadership brings many challenges, and success is built around a leader’s ability to adapt, enable and empower their team to achieve collective and individual goals. The winners of this award demonstrate those skills which clearly have been central to their success, alongside a level of confidence, commitment and ambition which then followed through in their business strategy and values."

The large business award was presented to Alan Roper, as it was evident that he directly contributed to an increase in turnover and profitability across the Blue Diamond Group. He also utilised his deep industry knowledge and leadership skills to inspire and retain their local, loyal workforce.

The Director of the Year Award’s judges consisted of Stuart Falla MBE, Carol Goodwin, Roy McGregor, Gordon Wilson and Charlotte Denton. All have extensive experience across a variety of sectors.   

The garden industry was reunited in remarkable style as suppliers and buyers gathered for a memorable three days of business and networking during Glee 2021 at the NEC Birmingham. And as the door closed on a spectacular event, show organiser Matthew Mein told GTN Xtra: “It's been a fantastic three days. We've been in anticipation for this show nearly two years, after the last Glee in person, and to be back here over these three days has been really special.

“To get the industry back together, I think everyone that's attended, whether it's exhibitors or visitors, have been really pleased to be here with a smile on their face.

“I think the fact that they can engage with each other again, it's a great friendly industry, linked in with actually being able to see product and compare and contrast with all the other aspects of seeing newness, it's been it's been fabulous seeing it all take place.

“This Glee has been bursting with so much newness! I think there's more enthusiasm than ever and after 18 really good months for the gardening industry, there's a real appetite for product and ideas to continue the really good retailing that's been going on in this sector.”

Matthews Glee 2021 highlights?

“The first was the first day of the show, that throng that noise around about midday, just the aisles being busy and just seeing lots of smiling faces and people picking up product talking about ideas. I think also the 125 new companies that were at the show as well.

“And then the other highlight, was the New Product Awards on day two. The volume of new products entered, the theatre that we've had doing the pitches, it's been fun and presenting the winners in The Stage for the first time in front of a packed audience. Great fun!

“And that's the whole thing that you've seen over these three days is how sociable it's been as well.”

On the move to June next year:

“it's a decision that's taken a while to form. We were looking at some of the trends that were happening pre-pandemic and really understanding those in a bit more detail going back into early in the year.  This spring, we spoke to the industry, the retailers, both independent and multiple, to get their viewpoint of where their businesses are going to really get a better understanding.

“From that we can see the lead times are longer lead now for new products to get them supplied, manufactured and into the supply chain. And I think by changing that dateline, we make sure that the show is at its optimum time for transacting. There will be an access shift by doing this. But we've been led by the garden retailer feedback and they are really backing it. Linked into that, the exhibitors are really backing it as well. We've seen that with a really strong re-book already."

Thank you to all exhibitors and visitors:

“I want to say thank you to the efforts of all the exhibitors who have come to Glee 2021 and for putting on a great show. And thanks to all the visitors who came.

“The exhibitors that have supported this show have really got behind it. In terms of their efforts, the look and feel of the show, it's amazing the level of quality of exhibitors stands here. Some of the merchandising ideas that they're creating should look fantastic in store next season. I think consumers are in for a really good time and they can really shop off those point of sale stands.”

"See you all in June 2022."

Tomorrow (Friday 19^th March 2021) marks the 10^th anniversary of Garden Re-Leaf Day and is set to be a day full of fabulous FUNdraising activities.

24hr challenge for Garden Re-Leaf founder 

Boyd Douglas-Davies, Director of British Garden Centres and the founder of Garden Re-Leaf Day will be spending tomorrow realising that 115km is actually quite far as he tackles the distance on a cross trainer! Talking about the challenge Boyd said: “Wow, the 10^th anniversary of Garden Re-Leaf Day has come round so quickly. There’s been so many wonderful challenges accepted and completed since we ran the first Garden Re-Leaf back in 2012, so I felt I needed to do something really special this year. With British Garden Centres having just announced its 58^th centre (Harrogate), I couldn’t see a better challenge than heading there from my office in Brigg Garden Centre. In my head it didn’t seem that far, but then 115km doesn’t in a car does it?! But to make this challenge a little tougher, the car needs to be avoided so instead I am going to walk the distance on my cross trainer; the cross trainer I have avoided for the last 10 years, so this is going to be a real challenge! 115km in less than 24 hours!”

To show your support for Boyd please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/boyd-douglas-davies100

Garden quiz to test both your green and general knowledge

Don’t worry if you have left your FUNdraising plans to the last minute as the first ever virtual Garden Re-Leaf Day Quiz is taking place tomorrow night. Hosted by the ever gorgeous Greenfingers patron, Anne-Marie Powell, and sponsored by Evergreen Garden Care, the quiz will take place virtually at 7:30pm and is open to everyone. To enter simply emailGreenfingers Director of Fundraising & Communications, Linda Petrons via linda@greenfingerscharity.org.uk to secure your ticket. Suggested donation for taking part is just £10.00 per person.

Brave the shave

Tomorrow is the day when Greenfingers Chairman Sue Allen, along with Millbrook Garden Centre’s Managing Director/Greenfingers Trustee, Tammy Woodhouse, will be saying goodbye to their lockdown locks as they prepare to shave their heads all in the name of charity.Joining them will be another Millbrook mother and daughter pair, Jo and Danielle who work at Millbrook’s Gravesend Garden Centre. All donations can be given here:  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sueandtambraveshave

There and back again – 1,206 miles for Garden Re-Leaf

What started as a casual chat amongst friends has turned into a challenge of epic proportions! The Lands’ End to John O’Groats crew – made up of Hornby Whitefoot PR, Deco-Pak, Primeur, Garden Trade News, Gardenforum and GIMA representatives – have now doubled their Garden Re-Leaf virtual challenge distance, with a grand total of 1,206 miles earmarked for completion by the end of March!

The ‘crew’ have been walking, running and cycling everyday of March, and having clocked up close to their original target (603 miles – the distance between Lands’ End and John O’Groats as the crow flies) within the first 12 days they decided why not go a little bit further and tackle the return journey as well, totalling over 1,200 miles.

Kimberley Hornby, MD of Hornby Whitefoot PR who helped set up the ‘crew’ said: “We always thought 603 miles was an ambitious plan but in reality, we have been racing through the miles. As Garden Re-Leaf Day approaches, we saw us reaching our target ahead of time and decided to just keep going. With the remainder of March ahead of us to walk and raise funds, we are confident we can smash our fundraising target and would like to thank everyone who has already kindly donated.”

To donate the Lands’ End to John O’Groats crew please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/team/LandsEndtoJohnOGroatsvirtualcrew

Tomorrow also marks the day when the team from multi-discipline landscapers, Scotscape – the latest charity partner of the Greenfingers charity – complete their own Lands’ End to John O’Groats challenge. The team have set themselves a FUNdraising target of £2,000, with donations welcome via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/groundscapewalkingchallenge

Team Greenfingers hit the halfway mark!

The Greenfingers team, made up of Director of Fundraising & Communications, Linda Petrons, Director of Finance & Resources, Sally Jenkins, and Garden Project Manager, Holly Harrington, have reached the halfway mark in their one million step challenge!  With another 500,000 to go before the end of the month, why not show them your support by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/greenfingersstepchallenge

Hozelock are also undertaking the one million step challenge throughout March. Find out more at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/hozelock

Stihl’s Minutes Mowed Challenge

To celebrate 10 years of Garden Re-Leaf Day, 10 Stihl reps will be competing against a team from their Approved Dealers, Sims Garden Machinery, both aiming to mow for 1,000 minutes over the next ten weeks.  To donate £10 to support this challenge, simply text:  MOWMENTS to 70085 (Texts cost £10 plus your standard rate message).

AMES Amble - donation gets raised to £2,000 by Paul North because the team have completely smashed their steps target and already well over 100,000 pledged.

The AMES team has confirmed that tomorrow staff members from across the business will be coming together to celebrate Garden Re-Leaf Day. With 50,000 steps earmarked for completion by close of play – that’s over 20 miles – the day will be focused on bringing the team together for a common goal, with every step – whether walked indoors or out in the fresh air - making a difference.  Boosting this excellent team effort will be a generous £2,000 donation now which AMES has already pledged.

Glee-full support

Originally planning to complete the Thames Walk, Glee have had to adjust their plans to meet current lockdown restrictions, however this has not dampened their enthusiasm! Glee’s Event Director, Matthew Mein, and Commercial Manager, Daniel McAlpin, are set to walk (socially distanced of course!) between three Kent based garden centres – Coolings, Ruxley Manor and Gravesend’s Millbrook Garden Centre (where they will find four ladies showing off their new buzzcuts!). The wider Glee team will also be supporting Garden Re-Leaf Day, together (virtually) walking the distance between Hyve’s offices in central London and Glee’s ‘home’, the Birmingham NEC.  

10 km for 10years

Kate Ebbens of Capi UK has pledged to run 10km for Garden Re-Leaf Day, however due to injury she will now run on March 31^st. Capi has already pledged £500 but you can further boost Kate’s fundraising efforts by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/Kate-Ebbens2.

Klondyke’s £1 per pot

£1 from every pot sold at Klondyke stores tomorrow will be donated to Garden Re-Leaf’s FUNdraising total.

19 minutes of skipping

Hannah Powell and the team at Perrywood Garden Centre are skipping their way through March. Each day they will be adding one extra minute to her skipping, ending the month on 31 continuous minutes of skipping. This means that tomorrow will see the team complete 19 continuous minutes of skipping!  You can support Hannah and the Perrywood team here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/perrywood-garden-centre

Free garden design consultancy

Tomorrow also sees Rob Jones and his team at The Garden Design Company donate a day’s salary to the Garden Re-Leaf Day grand total. Rob, also a Greenfingers Trustee, and team will be carrying out free design consultations (in return for a donation to support the work of Greenfingers) to coincide with Garden Re-Leaf, with 10 consultations already booked!  https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/garden-re-leaf-day-2021

QVC and its vendors confirm their ongoing support

Supporters of Garden Re-Leaf Day for many years, the QVC family including Richard Jackson and Michael Perry, will continue to use their significant platform to raise funds for the Greenfingers charity. Garden product sales on March 27th will help to increase the 2021 FUNdraising total.

Risk Capital Partners, a London-based private equity firm has further enhanced their consumer-focused portfolio with the acquisition of online gardening products retailer, Primrose.

Founded in 2003 and now Europe’s largest pure play online garden products retailer, Primrose offers a ‘one stop shop’ for all things horticultural, sourced from a diverse network of international suppliers, as well as local UK nurseries and growers. The products are sold direct to consumers, via its UK and European websites.

Sales at Primrose surged last year, as the coronavirus pandemic triggered a global gardening boom. Similarly, as an online-only retailer, Primrose was able to take advantage of the significant opportunities in online sales within the sector.

Primrose was most recently owned by Rockpool, a private equity firm which backed the landmark private equity management buy-out of Primrose in 2018, led by a specialist deal team from Smith Cooper Corporate Finance (SCCF) two years ago. Risk Capital Partners then acquired Primrose in November 2020, providing working capital investment to support a continued growth in trading and online sales.

Independently owned, Risk Capital Partners focus is “working with entrepreneurs with ambition and helping them to achieve transformational growth through acquisitions, roll-out programmes and bold organic growth strategies.” Primrose was identified as a key investment opportunity, following which a growth capital deal was agreed.

Primrose will continue to trade as normal, led by its existing management team - Mark Pearson (CEO) and Ross Chester (CFO). Darren Hodson and Joshua Gurton from Smith Cooper Corporate Finance (SCCF) supported management on the transaction.

Mark Pearson said: “This transaction marks an exciting opportunity to capitalise on Primrose’s existing position as the UK’s market leader in the online-only arena. In the last few months, we’ve enhanced our product range and also invested significantly in our internal and e-commerce systems, ensuring we have robust foundations for the next phase of growth.”

Darren Hodson, Partner at SCCF comments “We were delighted to support Mark and Ross throughout this transaction. Having supporting Mark in the acquisition of Primrose 2 years ago, we already understood the business and the aspirations of its management team and were therefore well placed to advise.”

“Primrose offers favourable long term market drivers for the British and European garden product markets, and there remains plenty of opportunity for continued and strategic growth and consolidation of the fragmented sector in which they operate.”

Smith Cooper is one of the largest independently owned and preferred accountancy and business advisory firms for owner managed businesses across the Midlands. The firm specialises in providing intelligent, efficient and cost-effective bespoke advisory services to both corporate and individual clients. Smith Cooper has six offices across the Midlands including Derby, Birmingham and Nottingham.

Dobbies has opened a brand new format store in Bristol – little dobbies.

Located on Whiteladies Road, Clifton, this is the second little dobbies to open in the UK, following the success of the debut store which launched in Edinburgh in November 2020. Bolstering the Dobbies portfolio, this takes the total to 70 Dobbies’ stores across the UK. 

little dobbies Clifton core offering is horticulturally focused with a carefully curated range of convenience gardening products, ideal for those in urban areas with a compact gardening space. This is complemented by a range featuring houseplants and pots; a small selection of gifts; and selected seasonal ranges. For opening, spring and summer products will feature including bulbs, seeds and gardening tools. Freshly-ground takeaway coffee is also available.

Graeme Jenkins, CEO at Dobbies, said: “This is an exciting new venture for our team, as we expand our little dobbies offering into Bristol. The store features gardening essentials for urban residents and showcases some of the extensive ranges available at our larger stores and online at dobbies.com.

“We hope that residents in Clifton enjoy shopping at little dobbies. I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to the project.”

Opening hours for little dobbies are Monday to Saturday 09:00-18:00 and Sunday 10:00-18:00. Social distancing measures are in place across the store.

For further information visit dobbies.com

Following a record-breaking 2020, AMES UK says it is experiencing unprecedented demand from customers in the early weeks of 2021. Pre-season orders for aggregates, paving, pots, water features and outdoor heating products are, in many cases, more than double that of the same time last year.

The company already had ambitious plans for future expansion and spent much of the early lockdown investing in a series of measures to significantly expand capacity.

More than £1million has since been invested in an expanded fleet of forklifts and JCB loaders at the Pollington manufacturing site. Jon Wilson, Operations Director said “It was necessary to invest in new equipment to be able to respond to customer demand.”

New Toyota forklifts have proven to be popular with the team at the company’s Pollington site. Scott Davison, forklift operator said “They’re extremely spacious and comfortable with closed in cabs and central heating. They’re also highly manoeuvrable and the best I’ve driven.”

Further investment in headcount and productivity have helped significantly increase manufacturing capacity. Jon continues “We now operate permanent day and night shifts and we’ve significantly increased investment in Engineering to help drive productivity gains which was necessary so that we can serve the record levels of customer demand.”

Paul North, Managing Director believes the investments are worth far more to the business than the increased capacity alone. “Colleague and customer well-being is our highest priority. At AMES UK, we are committed to providing safe and rewarding environments for all our colleagues, and we are entirely focussed on supporting our customers. The investments in infrastructure to date and future investment plans will help us improve colleague engagement and better service our customers.”

After waiting patiently to be given permission to re-open, garden centres in Scotland have welcomed customers back in store this morning for the first time... and sods law has been invoked with it snowing.

Sandy at Munro's in Inverness told GTN Xtra: "Unfortunately it’s snowing here but that doesn’t seem to be stopping them... Keen gardeners here!"

In the run up to todays re-opening Dobbies Graeme Jenkins said: "We welcome this updated guidance from the Scottish Government, enabling us to reopen our stores. The safety of our team members and customers remains Dobbies’ number one priority.

“Spring is the time when people want to get back out into their gardens, and with proven health and wellbeing benefits, reopening in Scotland is a positive development.”

And Colin Barrie at Caulders posted this video message for his customers: https://www.facebook.com/caulderskirkintilloch/posts/2905323013060574

Two brave souls are daring to “brave the shave” this year in support of Garden Re-Leaf Day’s 10^thanniversary this March (Friday 19^th) and the FUNdraising efforts of the Greenfingers charity. 

Taking the plunge will be Greenfingers Chairman Sue Allen, along with Millbrook Garden Centre’s Managing Director/Greenfingers Trustee, Tammy Woodhouse, who will be saying goodbye to their lockdown locks for good as they prepare to shave their heads, all in the name of charity.

Speaking about their head-shave, Sue said: “Having become Chairman of Greenfingers just before the charity’s biggest fundraising day last year, I couldn’t believe how lucky we were to be able to hold the event just before the country locked down for the first time.  

"I am also conscious of the fact that so many of the events we would normally rely on to help raise huge sums didn’t take place last year and may not happen in 2021 - the GCA Conference in January, our own Fundraising dinner, our previously planned first-ever Summer Ball and lots more.  

"Despite all our fears, we are so grateful to so many wonderful friends of the charity who supported in so many ways. But the reality is that, even though we could be slowly beating this virus, 2021 will be far more challenging in terms of fundraising. 

“So, in an effort to make a big difference on the 10th Garden Re-leaf Day, my daughter Tammy and I have made a huge and somewhat crazy commitment to raise at least £10,000 by having our heads shaved at Millbrook’s Gravesend Garden Centre on Friday 19th March to mark Garden Re-Leaf Day.

“It has taken a lot of soul searching and self-questioning before deciding to go for it.  However, in part, it is a salute not only to some of those children and families in the hospices we help but also to friends near and far who have experienced hair loss in their battle against cancers.  

“If we can raise lots of money to compensate for the income streams, we know we have lost this year, then it will be worth the cold heads, strange looks and the agonising wait for our hair to grow again.” 

If you would like to support Sue and Tammy’s hair-raising challenge, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sueandtambraveshave 

On the same day as England played at Twickenham against Tonga, and CEO Graham Jenkins visited his newest Little Dobbies store, GTN Xtra braved the crowds and the horrendous traffic to see what Dobbies were bringing to a bustling South West London high street.

The timing of the opening of the newest Little Dobbies, in what was previously a Top Shop and Top Man store, has meant they have been able to lead of Christmas in the shop windows to draw crowds into a shop stacked with quality houseplants at the fore and a typical Dobbies Christmas offering as the backdrop.

The premise was certainly working on Saturday afternoon with a steady flow of people entering the store, browsing and buying plants, Christmas and pet treats (as with Dobbies garden centres the store is dog friendly, even on the high street.)

Compared with the other two London Little Dobbies, at Westbourne Grove and Chiswick, this store is huge and even has a small stock area at the rear.

The team is made up of managers from Dobbies garden centres in the south east and new young retailers all of whom have great confidence to answer customer questions about houseplant care.

From the customer reaction it's no surprise to learn that Dobbies are investigating up to 50 more sites across the country to bring the Little Dobbies experience to more city centre high streets.

After 65 years at the helm of one of the UK's most successful garden centre businesses, Eddie Topping has stepped down as Chairman of The Barton Grange Group.

Now in his late eighties, Eddie has decided to retire and has handed over the Chairmanship to his eldest son, Peter Topping, who runs the business with younger brother Guy.

Peter will continue to oversee Barton Grange Landscapes and the company’s various nurseries while Guy will continue in charge of the award-winning garden centre and the Group’s latest venture, leisure venue The Flower Bowl.

“As far as day to day operations are concerned, nothing will really change,” says Peter. “But Dad’s in his late eighties now, so we all agree he’s earned his retirement and deserves to put his feet up!”

A true retail pioneer in Lancashire, Eddie started his own market garden business in 1955, before setting up a landscaping company in 1957 and then opening the region’s first garden centre in 1963 in the grounds of the then Barton Grange Hotel.

While his horticultural businesses went from strength to strength, Eddie became an influential character in the industry, and has been President of the Horticultural Trades Association and Chairman of the Garden Centre Association over the years.

Forever loyal to his Lancashire roots, Eddie has always supported local charities and organisations in the Preston area and, in 2003, he was awarded the MBE for services to charity in Preston.

“Dad’s heart is still in horticulture and he has loved seeing the Garden Centre win multiple awards over the years,” says Peter. “The business would never have been such a success without his vision and drive, and we’ll miss him in the boardroom.”

Eddie is also a past president of Preston North Rotary Club, of which he has been a member for over fifty years, and an Honorary Fellow of Myerscough College.

Over the past 19 months LOFA has constantly been reporting on the operational issues faced by its members and the industry as a whole. It had hoped these issues would have lessened and the industry could have gained some respite but, according to the association, it seems these problems are now escalating even further.

LOFA can report there is yet another increase in freight rates being levied at the industry, and the new FAK* rates from Asia to North Europe are now edging towards $20,000 per 40ft container – this represents a massive 1,566% increase in the space of 19 months.

These increased rates will of course have a major impact on importers, retailers and consumers. 

Retailers will not be able to sell stock if the retail prices have to be increased due to the jump in these shipping costs.  

Importers will find themselves trapped, having to pay 16 times more for freight than last year and it would not be unlikely to expect some companies to flounder in 2022 if this situation is not resolved.

Considering many of LOFA’s members have to bring in 50-plus containers in a season this is a huge amount of extra funding they are having to generate. 

Example

2021 - 50 containers @ $20,000 per 40ft Container           $1,000,000

2019 - 50 containers @ $1200 per 40ft Container              $     60,000

Extra funding                                                                       $   940,000

LOFA members have tried to absorb these costs where they can, to assist their customers, but the association says this will no longer be possible with such a massive increase. 

LOFA says the whole market is in bedlam and there are many defining factors causing this issue, price increases aside.

• Finding empty containers is exceedingly difficult. 
• Factories are producing product but are running out of storage space because there are no free containers to load the products on to.
• There is a new outbreak of Covid which is affecting the southern China Ports where there were reported to be up to 40 vessels waiting to berth last week.  
• The availability of containers at these southern Chinese ports continues to deteriorate as carriers omit calls due to a wave of Covid outbreaks in the Guangzhou province.  According to the latest data from Container xChange, the ports of Yantian, Shekou and Nansha have been the worst hit by the container shortages.
• There are far fewer empty containers arriving back to southern China as container lines skip calls, and many shippers face long delays or higher prices for equipment if these affected ports can’t be avoided. 
• At the moment there are 5 million containers currently in the wrong position in the world and 40% less vessels for June as a result of the Suez Canal issues. 
• When products eventually arrive in the UK there is now an issue with moving goods that have docked and cleared from the quay as inland haulage rates have reached new and unexpected heights.  

Is it the shipping lines that have colluded together and seized this opportunity to increase prices whilst the demand is strong and are now reaping the benefits for no other reason than they can?  Distributors, retailers and consumers are now all paying excessively for this short-term profit gain, in real terms has Brexit, Covid and the high demand helped them to get away with their greed, and are they in effect operating as a cartel? Is there too much control in the hands of the shipping lines? 

In light of these ongoing difficulties LOFA have lobbied the Department of International Trade, the Home Office, local government and have also reported this price fixing by the larger freight firms to the Competition and Markets Authority, this report is now with the CMA legal team who are deliberating on a decision. LOFA are hoping this will lead to a full investigation.  

*FAK is an acronym used in the shipping industry that stands for Freight All Kinds. According to globalnegotiator.com, they are rates applicable to all types of goods and not restricted to any particular commodity. 

GTN September 2021 - Excited to be back at Glee, GTN's Glee 2021 Preview

In this issue of news and information for garden centre professionals:

• Westland Glee Preview.
• Retailers look forward to Glee, comment from Mike Burks, Gerald Ingram, Matthew Bent, Andy Bunker, Simon Bourne, Kev Turley, British Garden Centres, Julian Winfield, Carol Paris and John Birch.
• A Glee Greeting from Woodmansterne.
• Glee 2021 – GTN’s Preview.
• Glee 2021 Show Plan and Exhibitor List.
• Whats On “The Stage” at Glee 2021.
• Onduline success at Alton Garden Centre.
• New Products at Glee – a sneak preview of Glee New Product Award entries.
• GTN Bestsellers – August garden centre sales analysis and charts in sample issue.
• HTA Column – Boyd Douglas-Davies signs off as HTA President.

Read the embedded issue above or use this link: https://issuu.com/gardentradenews/docs/gtn_september_2021?fr=sYTI5OTQyMzYyMTc

Private equity group Duke Street has acquired COMPO, a leading producer and distributor of gardening soil, fertiliser, plant protection and lawn seeds. 

Headquartered in Münster, Germany, COMPO is currently owned by Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group Co Ltd, a publicly listed company and one of the leading fertiliser producers in China. Kingenta has owned COMPO since 2016. 

COMPO is the market leader across continental Europe, having established a wide range of technically superior products under the most respected and well-known brands in the industry. Its diverse product portfolio offers retailers and consumers ‘bio’ alternatives to traditional gardening product solutions, positioning COMPO ahead of its competitors in terms of sustainability. The organisation owns unrivalled production and distribution infrastructure, and has established brands that are widely familiar to distribution customers and consumers alike.

COMPO can trace its roots to the 1950s, and it has been supporting gardeners across Germany and Europe ever since. In February this year, COMPO was recognised as one of the ten strongest product brands in Germany, securing 6th place in the ‘Best Overall Brand’ category at the prestigious Best Brands Marketing Awards.

Duke Street is backing a very strong management team as it seeks to build and consolidate COMPO’s position in the industry across Europe. The team is led by Stephan Engster as CEO of COMPO, who joined the business in 2016 and has developed an exciting growth strategy for the company, which is underpinned by continuous innovation and aligns with Duke Street’s vision for the opportunities presented in the sector.  

The horticulture market has shown strong signs of growth as gardening boomed throughout lockdowns and has accelerated the trend of sustainable-conscious consumers seeking eco-friendly products to tend to their gardens. 

Paul Adams, Partner, Duke Street, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with management to acquire COMPO, the market leader in traditional and sustainable gardening products in continental Europe and a brand that has a clear ESG leadership position. We have seen a material increase in gardening and gardeners in recent years, with consumers embracing the broad benefits that the activity brings to their lives. We look forward to working with COMPO’s excellent management team as we implement its strategy, supported by significant investment and follow-on capital from us and our investors, that will enable the organisation to grow both organically and by acquisition across Europe.”

Stephan Engster, CEO, COMPO, said: “We at COMPO are thrilled to be partnering with Duke Street, who recognised and shared our ambition for this business. Together we are ideally positioned to build a diversified European business to better serve our customers and end-consumers. In particular, we have the right blend of experience, ability and vision to accelerate our growth by expanding our reach and providing consumers across Europe with the most extensive range of organic, sustainable and traditional products. After enjoying the support of Kingenta for a number of years, the business is poised for this exciting next stage of its evolution. Sustainability is of particular importance for Duke Street and that aligns perfectly with our careful stewardship of this business and with the growing priorities of our customers and end-consumers.”

The acquisition of COMPO follows Duke Street’s investment in Kent Pharmaceuticals and Athlone Laboratories, manufacturers and distributors of specialist generic pharmaceuticals, in 2019 and Great Rail Journeys, the world’s leading provider of escorted rail holidays, in July 2018. 

The transaction builds on Duke Street’s strong record of investment in Germany, having previously acquired A-Rosa, the German premium river cruise operator, in February 2018, and Medi-Globe, the medical diagnostics and treatment manufacturer, in 2016.

Duke Street sold Wagamama in October 2018 to The Restaurant Group plc, for an enterprise value in excess of £550 million, generating a 3.4x money multiple for the firm. 

Other successful exits by Duke Street include its investments in Baywater Healthcare (sold in 2017) and LM Funerals (sold in 2015), generating a total cash return of more than 5x and 2.6x respectively, for Duke Street and its investors.

The 2020 Pearson Memorial Medal for outstanding service to the garden industry has been awarded at a surprise, socially distanced presentation to Adam Wigglesworth, Director of Aylett Nurseries and former President of the HTA.

The ongoing Covid pandemic meant the usual level of pomp and ceremony was missing from proceedings but that did not dampen the atmosphere of pride and celebration.

Current HTA President, Boyd Douglas-Davies, visited Aylett’s Hertfordshire garden centre on Friday (5/2) and joined a staff briefing where he surprised everyone with a speech celebrating Adam’s contribution to horticulture over the years.

“You’ll be very familiar with the wonderful things Adam does here for Aylett Nurseries and this area and the community,” Boyd told those gathered.

“But let me tell you a bit about what he has done during his time at the HTA. He was on the Retail Management Committee since it began and was Chair between 2013 and 2016; he became a member of the Commercial Committee in 2017 and continues that commitment today; a Board Member from 2014 to 2019 and was President between 2015-2017. The huge changes Adam made during his time at the HTA were all for the better of the industry and it gives me immense pleasure to present you with this award.”

Receiving the award, Adam commented: “I was completely taken by surprise when presented with the Pearson Memorial medal by Boyd and feel honoured to be the recipient of this year's award. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my fantastic team, who all share the honour.”

The Pearson Memorial Medal for outstanding service to the garden industry has been awarded by the HTA on an annual basis since it was instigated in 1930 in memory of the HTA's first General Secretary, Charles Pearson.

Garden centre gardening sales broke all records in February 2021 with sales booming to near Bank Holiday levels during the last week of the month. 

The GTN Bestsellers All Sales index for the month was up by 37% on last year, and up by 37% on the average of all the previous 10 years. And that’s without any footfall for restaurants and coffee shops and all the gifting sales that usually generates.

While we know many centres got ahead of the game with getting stock in early, this unseasonal rush through the tills could start to see new pressure on orders and supplies for Easter and the Summer Bank Holidays. Let’s hope the supply issues with containers are resloved by then!

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 8.

• Garden Products Top 50 – up 137%
• Growing Media Top 50 – up 237%
• Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – up 139%
• Wild Bird & Wildlife Care Top 50 – up 31%

GTN Bestsellers All Sales volumes compared to the same week last year: week 8.

• All Plants with Barcode index – up 185%
• All Items with Barcode index – up 138%

See the full GTN Bestsellers Top 50 charts, compiled from garden centre Epos data every week, with a years subscription to the printed newsletter for only £145.00 using this link.

Garden Centre sales during the first week of December 2021 reached a new seasonal high, up by 8% on the same week in both 2020 and 2019, according to Epos data analysed every week by GTN Bestsellers.

With just two full weeks of trading left for the year, the GTN Bestsellers volume garden centre sales index for the year to date now sits at 28% up on 2020 and 17% up on 2019. 

Record high for November 2021

November 2021 garden centre sales volumes overall set a new record high for the month according to the Epos data analysed every week by GTN Bestsellers.  Sales of all barcoded products were 4% higher than 2020 and 14% higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

And that’s despite the last week of November being slightly down on last year by 5%. With three full trading weeks left for the calendar year, year to date sales volumes are now 18% up on 2019 levels.  It would appear garden centres are still winning the hearts and minds of shoppers.  Long may that continue.

Plants up by 27%

November 2021 plant sales were up by 27% on 2019 in the GTN Bestsellers weekly Epos data.

The total for the month was down by 4% on last year, but the comparison to pre-pandemic levels is the indicator everybody will be watching for potential long term market growth.

Garden Products down in November

The Top 50 Garden Products sales volumes are the one area where sales have not matched the overall sales growth post pandemic.

November Top 50 volumes this year were 11% down on 2020 levels and 35% down on 2019 levels when some new garden lighting lines sold in high volumes. 

Growing extending through to winter

November’s Growing Media Top 50 sales volumes were 13% down on 2020 but 44% up on 2019 indicating a continued growth in growing activity from new gardeners and more keener gardeners who are extending their growing activity right though to winter.

Christmas in November up by 9% vs 2019

Last week didn’t quite meet the record high of last year for the GTN Bestsellers Top 50 Christmas sales volume index but overall for November Christmas sales were 9% up on 2019 levels and just 2% down on last year.

Given the clamour to buy Christmas last year after #lockdown 1 and the issues with quite a lot of Christmas stock arriving late this year everyone we’ve met over the past few weeks is suitably happy with their Christmas trading this year.

Veg 2 Gro sales a good omen for next Spring

Veg 2 Gro sales, albeit small volumes at this time of the year were up by 20% on last year for the month of November, and up by 43% on November 2019.  If core veg growing is an indicator of keenness, this is a good omen for next spring.

Mild November hits Wild Bird Care sales

Wild Bird Care sales suffered from the mild start to November and closed the month 17% down on 2020 levels.  Garden Centres will be hoping that sales bounce back now that cold weather has set in.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week in 2020: week 48.

• Garden Products Top 50 – down 14%
• Growing Media Top 50 – down 25%
• Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – up 7%
• Wild Bird & Wildlife Care Top 50 – down 11%
• Christmas Top 50 – down 2%

GTN Bestsellers All Sales volumes compared to the same week in 2020: week 48

•           All Plants with Barcode index – down 17%

•           All Items with Barcode index – down 5%

See the full GTN Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week in the GTN Bestsellers printed newsletter.  Subscribe for just £145 a year using this link.

Unlocking the complexities of the peat debate by encouraging collaboration of the broad range of industry stakeholders to produce a roadmap the removal of peat from growing media is the focus of a new taskforce, coordinated by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). 

It aims to reinvigorate efforts to tackle the issue of peat use in horticulture, with representatives from each area of the industry producing a plan by the end of February defining a realistic timetable for achieving what a peat-free supply chain and outline the barriers that need to be overcome. This work will help inform Defra’s forthcoming England Peat Strategy.

Leading growers, representatives from retail and landscaping and experts from manufacturing will work alongside stakeholders including the Association of Professional Landscapers (APL), National Farmers Union (NFU) and Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), to represent each part of the sector and develop relevant actions within this new workplan.

The complex issue of finding suitable alternatives to satisfy the needs of professional growers and hobby gardeners alike has been the focus of efforts by parts of the horticulture sector for many years, with peat-use falling in 2020 to its lowest ever level.

Speaking of his ambitions for the new group, James Barnes, HTA Chairman, said: “The debate around peat use is nuanced and complex and to successfully negotiate a way forward we must take a more strategic approach. By working in a coordinated way with representatives from the whole supply chain we will have an aligned industry approach to peat-use for the first time. By the end of February, we will have a clear action plan, objectives across the board and timescales for when we can realistically expect results.”

The newly formed taskforce sees each part of the industry represented and responsible for tackling the relevant part of the problem. It will focus on key issues including:

•    Tackling obstacles that stand in the way of removing peat from professional growing media – how can plants be produced in less peat-based media
•    How to encourage consumers to adopt peat-free when purchasing either plants or compost products
•    Introducing a responsible sourcing scheme with logos at point of sale to inform customers of product provenance and relative responsibility score
•    Improving the quality and availability of data concerning composition

Jonathan Marquis, Head of Garden Centre Operations at Lovania and a member of the HTA’s Ornamentals Management Committee, said: “For growers, the issue of sourcing good quality growing media in reliable quantities is the crux of the matter. The industry joining forces to approach the problem from all directions, with proper coordination, is a very positive approach.”

Mike Burks, Chairman of the GCA and Managing Director of The Gardens Group, said: “Consumers have more of an interest than ever in the environmental impact of peat and, as retailers, we need to be able to respond with appropriate products and information. This taskforce is a real opportunity for the industry to offer information and education alongside choice to customers.”

Neil Bragg, Chairman of the Growing Media Association (GMA), said: “With the recent announcement from Bord na Mona confirming they are to stop harvesting peat in Ireland, there is more urgency than ever to understand the picture around alternatives and their cost and availability. I see this group as the best chance the industry has to see the work that’s been started begin to have an impact.”

Dave Sewell, Chairman of the APL, said: “As an industry we source thousands of plants each year, so the landscaping sector has an important role to play in this endeavour. By committing to being a part of this taskforce, we can make a real impact in terms of influencing the wider supply chain.”

With the HTA coordinating a joined-up approach to interacting with government, aligning policy inputs to policymakers, the stage is set for the whole supply chain to play its part in supporting real change.

Contributing representatives on the taskforce include:

Neil Bragg – Growing Media Association
Mike Burks – Garden Centre Association
Lee Abbey/Allie Hesketh – National Farmers Union
Alistair Griffiths, Royal Horticultural Society
Jonathan Marquis – Lovania (HTA’s Ornamental Management Committee)
Dave Sewell – Association of Professional Landscapers

Turnover for the AMES UK group of companies broke all the records in 2020. Kelkay, La Hacienda, Apta and True Temper all posted their largest ever trading months during the year. As a group, turnover exceeded £68m, an increase of more than 8% on 2019.

La Hacienda responded to the booming ‘staycation’ demand for outdoor heating with a record-breaking April, whilst Apta followed with sales in June that broke all previous records for a single month. Despite being forced to close for several weeks in the early part of the season, Kelkay recovered to deliver a record July whilst sales at True Temper in June exceeded £1m for the first time in their history.

The growth in sales, coinciding with the most challenging supply chain anyone can remember, meant that all four businesses put extra pressure on their teams. Paul North, Managing Director says “I have been totally astounded by the way the team responded to the unprecedented pressure we put ourselves under to keep our customers serviced during 2020. It’s incredible what can be achieved with a skilled, loyal and dedicated group of employees and I could not have wished for a better team.”

Paul also confirmed that overall, the business headcount has been extended by 10% in response, and is benefiting from an extensive programme of internal training, development and promotion to key roles from within the existing teams.  He added “I’m proud of the way we have been able to develop talent from within the team and we will be announcing further significant appointments in the coming weeks.”

A new survey shows that only one of 20 leading garden retailers contacted by The Wildlife Trusts reported that it would eliminate peat from its shelves this year – and the survey reveals an overall lack of ambition by retailers to set targets to end peat sales. Last year, the voluntary target set by the Government to end sales of peat composts to amateur gardeners was missed.

This year the Government will decide if new legislation is needed to end peat use in the horticultural sector – but there is still no sign of their long-awaited peat strategy. The Wildlife Trusts are now calling for an immediate end to sales of peat compost – further delay will cause continued destruction of peatlands worldwide.

Calls to end peat use began over 30 years ago when people began to realise that peatlands are priceless – recognising them as precious places for wildlife, and more recently as habitats which capture and store carbon if managed well.

Some retailers are doing notably better in moving away from peat than others: of the 11 out of 20 retailers that responded to the survey, all now offer peat-free composts as part of their range, and none sell soil improvers or mulch containing peat. Travis Perkins and Wickes were the only two retailers to declare an end-date for peat sales – Travis Perkins by this year, and Wickes by 2025. But while a further few plan to end peat sales in the future, no dates have been specified and others have no clear commitments at all. Just four reported stocking ranges of peat-free plants.

Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts says: “Our survey shows that most retailers’ approach to the voluntary ban on peat sales has been woeful – even though the industry has been aware of the problem for decades. The time for voluntary agreements is over – the sale of peat must end now. Countless promises have been broken, and targets missed with the result that precious peatland habitats are still being unnecessarily destroyed in the name of gardening.

“Peatlands are vital wildlife habitats and it’s absolutely crucial that they remain intact to help us tackle climate change. The Government can ensure that these important carbon stores function as nature intended by banning peat sales now.

“Only one leading retailer – Travis Perkins – is planning to eliminate peat from its shelves by 2021, whilst growers like Hillier demonstrate that you can produce compost and grow high-quality plants without peat. These retailers are to be congratulated, but we now need Government to make the rest follow their lead. The time for delay and excuses is over.”

The Wildlife Trusts’ survey found:

• Around 90% of Travis Perkins’ compost sales were peat-free in 2020 and the retailer is planning to go 100% peat-free during 2021. Wickes plan to phase out peat by 2025. These were the only two in the survey who set a date for ending peat sales.
• B&Q, Hillier, and the Blue Diamond group of Garden Centres said they were committed to phasing out peat completely but gave no date.
• Asda, Lidl and others have set themselves targets to reduce peat sales, but not yet to end them. Asda will remove peat from their own-brand products by 2030.
• Four retailers stock peat-free plants: B&Q, Blue Diamond group, Hillier and Asda.
• Hillier’s tree production is already peat-free, and the company are aiming for production of all other plants across their nurseries to be peat-free for 2022.
• Of those who gave details of their peat-free items, all are offering at least one peat-free compost, and as products containing peat are usually cheaper to buy, several are price-matching these so that eco-conscious customers are not disadvantaged.
• Last year B&Q launched their new peat-free compost made with coir and other ingredients. Hillier garden centres also introduced their own peat-free compost, and will be selling ‘Bloomin’ Amazing’, the by-product from an anaerobic digestion plant that provides eco-friendly heat, gas and electricity to 56,000 homes in Dorset. Wickes are launching a new peat-free product this year.
• Blue Diamond stores stock 22 different peat-free growing media products, some of which are trials of new items at selected stores.
• Half of the retailers contacted did not reply, and some that did respond were unable to answer all our questions.

Ten years ago, the Government set a voluntary target for the horticulture sector to end sales to gardeners by 2020 and to end professional use of peat, for example, in plant growing, by 2030. As this approach has failed, The Wildlife Trusts now believe that retailers should end consumer peat compost sales immediately and the target for professional growers should be brought forward to 2025. Monitoring showed that in 2019, peat still made up over 40% by volume of the growing media sold in the retail sector despite the 2020 target, whilst total peat use in horticulture (retail, professional and export) stood at over 2 million cubic metres.

Investment in alternatives is required to help retailers move away from peat, and a ‘Responsible Sourcing Scheme’ has been established to ensure that alternatives don’t come with their own eco-problems. Peat-free composts are now more widely available than ever and many give excellent results, with good advice also available on making your own compost at home. This means that although peat extraction is by no means the only cause of damage to our peatlands, it is one of the easiest to prevent.  

The Wildlife Trusts ask people to show the Government that they care by taking a ‘peat free pledge’ at wildlifetrusts.org/ban-sale-peat and also to support an immediate ban on peat-based products. Everyone is urged to check information on packaging to ensure that garden purchases are free of peat.

Pictured: Peat Bog, courtesy Mark Hamblin 2020 Vision

Hillmount owner Robin Mercer is calling on the government to provide assistance to the horticultural sector as gardeners in Northern Ireland face a spring of disarray due to the current situation surrounding the transportation of plants, garden furniture, gardening equipment and tools from GB and other parts of the world.

Speaking about the dire consequences for Northern Ireland gardeners Robin Mercer said: “For 80 years we have supported local suppliers and growers but the reality is that around 50% of our stock comes from outside Northern Ireland as we just don’t manufacture the goods or grow the plants here to meet customer demand.

“We have been quoted £12,000 for a container from China which would have previously cost £1,200 and although we can source plants from Holland or the Republic of Ireland, the fact is that the quality of product that customers of Hillmount expect come from plants grown in Great Britain.

“We have written to our elected representatives to appeal to them to see sense and support our industry as spring approaches otherwise families up and down the country will not be able to enjoy their gardens and benefit their mental health to the same extent that they did last year.

“As I try to juggle furloughed staff, an Eat Out To Help Out inspection, the red tape involved with trying to ship goods from China and the challenges with Customs around sourcing plants from GB I fear for our fourth generation family run garden centre business. Like many others we’re on the brink of collapse through no fault of our own.”

Fortuitously the Mercer family placed orders for garden furniture, seeds and seed potatoes ahead of time at the end of last year as they were fearful of the difficulties that lay ahead but now they are faced with having to absorb the costs of storing these items during lockdown.

Robin added: “We have even been told that the pallets the goods are travelling on even requires certification. The whole thing is ridiculous. We have been ordering the same plants, bird food and gardening tools for years and almost overnight a wooden handled trowel cannot be delivered to us. Roses can’t be shipped due to how they are grown. Yet one supplier in GB is saying they can ship our order to Europe and drive it to us via the Republic. Where is the sense in that?”

Hillmount is a fourth generation family owned gardening business with garden lifestyle stores in Ards, Bangor and Belfast.

Follow Hillmount on facebook at www.facebook.com/hillmountgardencentre, on instagram at www.instagram.com/hillmountbelfast or on twitter at www.twitter.com/hillmountgarden. Shop online at www.hillmount.co.uk.

It’s never too early to get your Christmas strategy in order. Festive Focus Day equips you with everything you need to know to make sure your 2021 Christmas ranges fly off the shelves.

Take a look at Christmas future with forecasters, Trend Bible as they dive into the emerging trends that will define Christmas 2021 using this link or click below

Who could have foreseen another lockdown post-Christmas. The stark reality is that lockdowns or not, social distancing is here to stay with us this year so it is important that any design changes you make now in your garden/farm centre reflect that, but also that those changes can be easily adaptable for a post-Covid trading world.

Garden centres hold important places in our community, and now more so than ever. With that, comes the  responsibility of keeping customers and staff safe. 

Catering Design Group (CDG) continues to advise and work with clients within the garden/farm centre market, providing a full design service, from concept to completion, based on their experience and knowledge of this market. They share some insight here on how to make the most of your current spend to future proof your business while keeping your staff and customers safe.  

A balanced approach

• With garden centres and farm centres remaining open during lockdown, there is a heightened awareness of this market now. This has the potential to broaden the customer demographic/base as people seek out destination retail/eating experiences at this time, such as young families and mums with new babies.  Garden/farm centres are fortunate to be open during lockdown but that comes with a responsibility to ensure the safety of customers and staff.
• The customer experience is still key but social distancing and the use of masks is making this challenging. With talk of social distancing possibly carrying on into next winter, the way garden/farm centre restaurants and cafes operate will need careful consideration. 
• As designers, it is our responsibility to create visually engaging yet safe environments so that any designs or food offers implemented reflect that potential changing demographic, capture the same sense of excitement and experience as pre-Covid times and support customer safety.
• As humans, we are wired to connect, and there is no doubt that we all miss the interactions we took for granted in a pre-Covid world. As we move out of lockdown, people will be keen to get out and about and will expect/want the experience to be the same, whilst feeling safe to do so. This is where good design experience is essential. It takes a professional, creative and thoughtful design approach to balance these two important elements.

Designing in flexibility

• Regardless of your budget, whatever you spend now has to be adaptable to this changing commercial reality. For example, if you are investing in new furniture, make sure that it can be easily moved, and ideally, transformed from booths/pods with divider screens into a long, fixed seating in the future.
• Keep in mind the potential changing demographic of your customer-base. Lockdowns have created a whole new generation of young gardeners and a growing interest in home-based and garden activities, from growing your own vegetables to using gardens as essential and much-loved outdoor social spaces. Think about introducing contrasting styles of furniture to suit all ages ranges.
• Consider introducing flexible counters and ambient tables that can be used for collections. Plug & play interchangeable table top equipment such as K-Pots and roll-in theatre stations have full flexibility built in for future use and can add a sense of drama and entertainment to enhance the customer experience.

Making the most of technology

• Think about new ways of operating such as ‘call order’ or Apps to minimise physical contact and the risk to your customers and staff.
• Many existing Apps can be easily tailored to reflect your branding and food offer, and will allow customers to order from their table, whilst browsing the garden centre or even when they are on route.
• Consider the use of food collection cubes or lockers for customers to pre-order and collect their meals to minimise physical contact while adding a novelty factor. Again, with the right design expertise, these can be customised to suit your brand.

At one with nature

We call it biophilic design. This is about creating designs that provide a visual connection with nature, such as natural forms, patterns and textures. These design elements can be introduced into materials, the use of colour such as earthy tones or vibrant, nature-inspired hues, natural finishes and organic shapes to evoke a welcoming and restful environment for your customers. It’s all about the customer experience and anything that can provide a momentary respite from reality is welcome at this time. This doesn’t have to cost the earth but could reap benefits in terms of footfall and reputation. Designing planting in creates an added retail element to enhance the overall design and maximise retail sales.

A taste of what this might look like

The design team at CDG has put together some concepts of how all of these elements might work together.

Catering Design Group (CDG) is one of UK’s leading restaurant and commercial kitchen design companies, offering a full design service to clients throughout the retail, leisure, hospitality and education sectors. http://www.cateringdesign.co.uk 

If you would like to know more about how CDG can support your vision, contact Steve Hutchings, director of CDG on 07736 479342 or email steve.hutchings@cateringdesign.co.uk

Sales may have dipped last week to below or just matching previous years’ levels for the first week since mid-February but the consensus is that the bubble has not burst for garden centres’ increased sales volumes.

Peter Seabrook was the first to tell GTN Xtra that it’s all down to the weather and the wind direction: “I do not think the sales volume bubble has burst, just too cold in the wind during the day and severe frost night after night. We just need the wind to move round to the South West and get some warm rain overnight.”

And Andy Bunker at Altons told us: “Yes it has slowed and trading changed a little but certainly not burst the bubble. We have already beaten April 2019 which is the best way to compare. In the bedding area I have stock but signs up basically saying don’t buy due to the continued threat of frosts!”

As summer plants start to come into stock and sell through in the GTN Bestsellers EPOS data, the only area that continues to have a great lack of stock is furniture and BBQs. Where other gardening products may be out of stock, suitable alternatives appear to be selling through instead.

Other garden centres have reported that this week has picked up well after a slight dip the week before due to retail reopening and the weather.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week in 2019: week 16.

• Garden Products Top 50 – up 9%
• Growing Media Top 50 – up 9%
• Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – down 5%
• Wild Bird & Wildlife Care Top 50 – down 10%

GTN Bestsellers All Sales volumes compared to the same week in 2019: week 16.

• All Plants with Barcode index – down 8%
• All Items with Barcode index – down 1%

See the full GTN Bestsellers Top 50 charts, compiled from garden centre Epos data every week, with a years subscription to the printed newsletter for only £145.00 using this link.

Launched in August 2021 by award winning family run garden centres, Pugh's Garden Village. The Garden Kitchen by Pugh's is a brand new unique concept in Rogerstone, Newport.

The Pugh family have been enhancing the lives, homes and gardens of South Wales for over 65 years, and they have planted new roots in the community of Jubilee Park, Rogerstone.

The Garden Kitchen is a hybrid of eatery, deli and plants providing contemporary brunch style food, a food hall with a niche selection of quality local welsh produce and  garden centre offering with cherry picked recommendations across garden care and houseplants.

Set up by Nicola Pugh, husband Matthew and Kara Pugh, the Pugh family are branching out. They have comprised key learnings and experience from their piers into a exceptionally exciting offering that the community has welcomed with open arms.

You'll step into a botanical haven and be met with what Pugh's is known for, quality gardening products, a jungle of houseplants and Food Hall and Deli counter.

The Garden Kitchen also comprises of a 70 seated restaurant where you can sample mouth-watering home cooked meals and speciality coffees.

Whether you're a budding plant parent, lifestyle enthusiast, lover of food, coffee connoisseur or just wanting a good catch up with friends and family you'll only need to visit one place; The Garden Kitchen by Pugh's.

www.pughsgardenkitchen.co.uk @pughsgardenkitchen

Below a gallery of pictures from The Garden Kitchen by Pugh's...

Dobbies has announced three senior appointments, strengthening its team as it continues to develop its platform for growth. 

Richard Hodges is appointed as Dobbies’ Commercial Director. He joins from Sainsbury’s where he was Head of UK Wholesale and International Growth. Richard will take responsibility for all trading, as well as leading the rollout of the company's small store format, little dobbies, and growth plans for dobbies.com. 

John Dunning is appointed as Dobbies’ Restaurant Director. He was most recently at Bourne Leisure, where he was Food and Beverage Director for Butlins. 

Tim Hollis is appointed as Dobbies’ Head of Buying. He was most recently Head of Buying for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Holding a key role within Richard’s team, Tim will lead the buying team and be responsible for buying across all categories.  

Graeme Jenkins, Dobbies’ CEO, said: “Richard, John and Tim bring outstanding experience from the retail, hospitality and horticulture worlds. They will be instrumental in helping continue with our growth plan.” 

Richard Hodges, Commercial Director, said: “Dobbies is the UK’s leading garden centre business - I’m looking forward to playing a major role in the next stage of the company’s growth.” 

John Dunning, Restaurant Director, said: “Dobbies has always been a great place for food – I am looking forward to helping improve the restaurant offer for our customers.” 

Tim Hollis, Head of Buying, said: “Dobbies is continually striving to offer customers the best product ranges and I’m motivated by the opportunity to drive the business forward. I’ll ensure we continue to build on Dobbies’ sustainability commitments, taking our green credentials to the next level.” 

Andrew Bracey, Dobbies’ Chairman, said: “As we grow Dobbies organically and by acquisition we are always trying to improve what we offer our customers. By strengthening the team, we will be more able to do this and continue to improve on our outstanding customer experience.” 

The appointments follow a string of developments this year for Dobbies, including the launch of four little dobbies and the acquisition of a new garden centre in Boston.  

Hetland Garden Centre at Carrutherstown, Dumfries, has been sold by owners David and Karen Wilson to Caulders Garden Centres, which currently has eight centres in Central Scotland.

David said: “Our family business of 26 years is going to be in the safe hands of another family business, Caulders Garden Centres. 

“Colin and Mandy Barrie have been good friends for many years. They have a great reputation and a lot of experience. 

“All our existing team will carry on working for Caulders, including our sons Martin and Matthew.

“We would like to thank all our brilliant team past and present for their loyalty and hard work over the years and are confident that they will have a very exciting future.” 

The couple thanked their customers for their support over the years and for sharing their journey.  Customers who have the Hetland Gift Card and loyalty points will still be able to spend them at Caulders at Hetland Garden Centre. 

“We are extremely confident that the business is being passed onto safe hands and Hetland will carry on moving forward with the investment, knowledge, and experience Caulders will give,” added David. 

“Selling Hetland wasn’t an easy decision but after a brain aneurysm and the stress of running a business through lockdown during the dark days of Covid-19 it was time to let go of the reigns. 

“However, Colin and Mandy have given Karen and myself a great opportunity in leasing the Dino Park and Soft Play business from them. This will allow us to  concentrate on the entertainment and events side of the business which is already a four-star visitor attraction.

“We wish all of our team and customers the very best.”

James Barnes, Chairman of the Horticultural Trades Association, said: “The horticulture industry fully supports alternatives to peat. Manufacturers now produce more peat-free and peat-reduced growing media than ever, which are stocked and sold by retailers, but an immediate ban on peat use is unrealistic – access to the amount and quality of alternative materials needed is not yet in place.

"While just 0.04% of the UK’s peatlands are extracted for horticulture and the percentage use of peat by the industry is at a historic low, we know more needs to be done. That is why we have come together with other industry groups to propose a way forward. This work will be published soon, including establishing meaningful and realistic peat removal targets.

"We want to work collaboratively with government, NGOs and the whole supply chain to deliver viable, responsibly sourced alternative materials. Success is dependent upon government recognising the need to support the industry to bring to market new and novel alternative materials, as well helping to unlock the lack of availability of tried and tested alternatives. Only this approach will help deliver the gains we are all trying to achieve.” 

Phew what a year that was!  Prior to garden centres closing for the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the All Garden Centre Sales Index, as monitored by GTN Bestsellers from weekly garden centre EPOS data, was running at 3.6% up year on year with indications that, weather permitting, we were heading for an above average year.

That all changed with seven weeks of closure during Lockdown 1, when nothing was sold in store and by the time garden centres were added to the list of essential retailers and allowed to re-open the year-on-year deficit had soared to 50.7% down.  That meant if sales were only the same as the previous year for the rest of 2020, we would have lost half a year’s business through being closed for seven of the key gardening weeks of the year.

As we all now know, the pent-up demand and the increased number of people making good use of their gardens created a spike in sales, which despite social distancing, saw transaction values double, furniture and BBQ’s sold out, and sales ran ahead of last year for 28 consecutive weeks by an average of just over 20% per week.

By the end of week 50 the GTN Bestsellers All Products Sales index had recovered to such an extent that volume sales for the year were only 8.9% down on last year.  A truly amazing result that makes everyone so grateful to be a part of this wonderful sector and hugely grateful for all the lobbying and PR work carried out during Lockdown 1 to enable garden centres to re-open ahead of other retail.

Read more analysis and see the GTN Bestsellers sales index graphs for 2020 in GTN's December issue below:

GTN Bestsellers is a weekly subscription service provided by GTN using EPOS data supplied by garden centres.  A year’s subscription to receive the printed newsletter with Top 50 Bestselling Product Charts every week costs just £145.  Full details and a payment link can be found here.  Or e-mail: trevor@pottingshedpress.co.uk

Fordingbridge is undertaking a major development build at Holt Garden Centre in Norfolk.

The company is adding over 15,500 square feet of covered retail space to the centre, which is part of The Kelling Estate.

The store temporarily closed on December 22nd so the area could be cleared and groundworks could begin. 

The plan includes wider customer flow points and a greatly improved plant area, with the centre re-opening next month. 

“The bulk of the works will be made up of a large triple-span barrel vault canopy, designed and manufactured by us in our West Sussex factory, which we are now assembling on site,” said Fraser Dixon, business development manager of Fordingbridge.

“As with the bulk of our structures, it will feature our Opal 60 roof, ensuring the area is naturally well lit to create a pleasant shopping experience.

“It is a true destination garden centre, off the beaten track, but well known for its quality and consistent offering. 

More information on the centre can be found at https://www.holtgardencentre.co.uk/

With just six weeks to go until mid-Summer’s day, in a pre-pandemic year with weather as cold as it has been this March, April and May, we would all have been bemoaning the weather and blaming that for poor sales of plants and garden furniture while banking on garden centre restaurants and coffee shops to keep footfall and turnover up.

The reverse has happened this year with sales continuing well above ‘normal’ levels despite the lack of warmth for people to enjoy their outside spaces. Until last week when sales dipped below 2019 and 2018 levels for the first time.  

That may be a godsend, however, as it could provide the lull that’s needed for plants to grow and stock supplies to replenish. When the weather does warm up for mid-Summer, after what we’ve seen so far this year, we could be in for another period of huge growth.

GTN Bestsellers Top 50 sales volumes compared to the same week in 2019: week 19.

• Garden Products Top 50 – down 1%
• Growing Media Top 50 – up 2%
• Veg 2 Gro Top 50 – down 25%
• Wild Bird & Wildlife Care Top 50 – down 21%

GTN Bestsellers All Sales volumes compared to the same week in 2019: week 19.

• All Plants with Barcode index – down 10%
• All Items with Barcode index – static 0%

See the full GTN Bestsellers Top 50 charts, compiled from garden centre Epos data every week, with a years subscription to the printed newsletter for only £145.00 using this link.

As the industry gears up for the return of Glee as an in-person event (14th-16th September, NEC Birmingham), there are a number of new brands which are getting ready to make their debut. Here we find out more about those companies never-before seen at the leading garden retail event.

This year Glee is set to welcome over 80 new brands, with even more expected to secure their space ahead of the September event. Made up of UK and international exhibitors, these companies represent a thriving newness that is helping to shape the future of garden retail. Featuring grass root product development and established brands that are looking to diversify and capture more garden centre customers, buying teams will want to make a beeline for these exhibitors as they may be able to source something new and unique to bolster their retail offering in 2022.

An overview: new brands to look out for

Poétic Garden is a 75-year-old family run company, based in the Lyon area of France that produces planters and accessories for indoor and outdoor use, with significant advantages such as minimum 90% recycled material, strong designs, cost-efficient production, and an effective logistical operation.

Established in 2019, Kin Ltd is a member of the Wilkinson Hardware Stores Ltd. family of businesses. The brand develops and designs sustainable products for the home and garden, taking a holistic approach to creativity, usability and commerciality; designing quality inventive products that are easy to use, effective and durable.

Biohort GmbH from Neufelden, is the European market leader for storage solutions made of metal. The product portfolio includes high-end garden sheds, handy storage boxes for the outdoor area and essentials for your garden such as raised vegetable beds. Biohort products are manufactured 100 % in Austria and provide best quality, longevity and freedom from maintenance.

Norwegian based O-Grill will showcase its portable gas grills for the first time at Glee. The company’s portable gas grills are designed to deliver maximum heat and grilling space whilst still being compact and safe to pack in your vehicle, wherever you are going.

Rouchette will be travelling from Le May Sur Evre in France to showcase its range of stylish ladies and men’s’ footwear, including garden, sailing, multi-use and casual design.

Leon Boots Co.will also be debuting at Glee with its range of ultra-lightweight wellington boots including the Garden Ankle Boot, Unisex Explorer and Ladies Montana styles. Weighing up to 65% less than traditional wellington boots and coupled with a much-lower price point, Leon Boots Co. hope to increase impulse and gifting sales potential within the footwear sector.

Dragon Den backed, Willsow, will be launching the first ever plantable children’s book at Glee 2021. Each book is made with special handmade paper embedded with real vegetable and herb seeds. When the paper is planted, vegetable and herbs will grow from the paper, making it a fun way to teach children about where our food comes from, whilst also giving the books a new lease of life.

Another new-to-Glee exhibitor will be BOOTPAC. Born during the first lockdown in 2020, the BOOTPAC was designed to make recycling easier by enabling the transport of wet or dirty items to the recycling centre to be a simpler and cleaner process.  The bag itself fits almost all cars - unlike most boot liners which are car specific - and is designed to last for years and not be part of our disposable culture.

So & Mo has chosen to launch at Glee because “of the size of the show and the attention we're going to be able to get as a new brand from retailers around the country and potentially further afield. The timing of the show gives us a perfect run up for 2022 and to start to really build some momentum to elevate the lawn care industry.” The brand wants to bring performance lawn care products to the domestic market and combine these with its 30-years of expertise to make everyone a lawn expert. The So & Mo team has developed three formulations focussed on complete plant health which we use over the 12 months for year-round performance.

Ergrownomics is a father-and-son team determined to break the mould of the gardening sector, offering quality, built-to-last products manufactured entirely within the UK. The Ergrownomics system is designed to make home-growing simple, comfortable, reliable & productive – requiring minimal maintenance and no prior gardening experience. The planters are all equipped with excellent functionality, including irrigation, filter-drainage and a patented plant-training system, and are available at a range of four possible heights, with a class-leading 10-year warranty.

PlantGrow – who playfully refer to themselves as “an eco-conscious bunch who have found a solution to many problems in today’s gardening world and horticultural trade” - is the first in the UK to produce natural plant foods and growing mediums through a patented renewable energy process. Buyers at Glee will be able to see for the first time the full range of PlantGrow products which are organic and made entirely from plants; whilst also being 100% free of peat, chemicals and animal waste. The entire range is also tested for pesticides and herbicides and is Soil Association approved.

Goodchaps will be making its debut within Glee’s dedicated pet section, PAW. The family run, eco-friendly brand specialises in dog products including healthy, high-quality treats and toys, all created whilst keeping the environmental impact as small as possible. This means all of Goodchaps’ fish-based treats are sustainably sourced from established and trusted fish merchants within the UK, whilst its toys are handmade using 100% unbleached cotton and all Goodchaps packaging is 100% plastic free and biodegradable, compostable or recyclable. The Goodchaps team don't just cater to our four-legged friends, they also offer a range of bespoke hand illustrated gifts and stationery by local artist Beth Goodwin, which also comes in 100% plastic free packaging.

Whilst long established, 2021 marks the first time that Venteo will be exhibiting at Glee. This year the company will be showcasing its retail video solutions and launching its new RootSlayer™ - an indispensable new garden tool which combines the functionality of a spade and a cutting device for ultimate control in a range of garden settings.

Concept Research based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, is a UK manufacturer of ultrasound animal deterrents. For over 25 years the business has built a reputation as a reliable supplier of quality products that deliver on their promises. With a range that includes Catwatch, the only cat deterrent tested & approved by The RSPB, Concept Research is excited to be making its debut at Glee later this year.

Other new companies set to debut at Glee 2021 will be Veritable, Urban Farm It, Tri-Star Packaging, Tripod Home, Hansa Design, Jadecliff Ltd, Loud & Clear Safety, GoodToBee, Anglo-Peruvian Trading, By Jo Crafts, NIAB, Playback Frames ltd, S&S Garden Designs Ltd, Apollo Gardening,  CJ Wildlife, Bedmax Ltd, Dansons Europe, Evercreatures, Allingham Games, The Stone & Garden Company, Teal International, Kingsley Designs Ltd, Lave-Lite, Carbon Gold Ltd, Collarways Ltd, Hornsey Hammocks, and George Rye & Sons Ltd.

Find out more

To keep up to date on the latest Glee news visit www.gleebirmingham.com.  To enquire about exhibiting at Glee 2020 call +44 (0)203 3545 9752.

If it’s the smoke you dislike then the ALL NEW Crop Candle Fire Pit is the perfect solution to warm up your evenings and increasing outdoor social events.

Our Crop Candles produce a high calorific heat similar to conventional Firepits but without the wood smoke. The Candles have NO PARAFFIN in the formular thus very little smoke, effectively the most sustainable options for outdoor living.

Simple to Light and even easier to put out in seconds. Perfect for those with close neighbours, who will be unaware of any smoke from the fire pit, and for their friends, who go home without smelling of bonfires. Ideal for properties with both small and large gardens.

Gone are the days of fetching more logs - they burn HOT for as long or as little as you want, without the need for any maintenance. Enjoy the constant therapeutic and hypnotic dancing flame. Upside is that the customer will return to the same retail outlet to purchase the refills, resulting in more traffic in your stores.

Now attracting garden centres, event organisers, garden designers and glamping companies. The Crop Candle Fire Pit is protected with Patent Pending / Design Copyright and Prior Art protection meaning our new age of fire pit are here to stay with new designs on the horizon. The new economical and sustainable form of outdoor heating. If you want to add this to your spring summer range let us know.

tim@cropcandle.co

www.cropcandle.co

Video https://youtu.be/8JmCWdaoBoM

As pupils returned to school this week under the governments ‘Roadmap’, Pershore High School in Worcestershire has also seen some unwanted visitors arrive.

The Pershore School horticultural unit, gives school students the opportunity to learn some of the skills of horticulture and gardening techniques, was broken into overnight. They could now do with your help to help replace items of equipment stolen.

Anne Watson, the teacher running the unit said: “It is heartbreaking for us all especially the students – they are having a tough enough time at the moment as it is, without this sort of thing happening."

Items stolen include:

• 5 pairs of Kent and Stowe secateurs
• 1 pair Kent and Stowe left handed secateurs
• 5 Spear and Jackson hand forks
• 5 Darlac hand trowels
• 1 Wilkinson Sword folding pruning saw
• 4 pairs of Town & Country gardening gloves
• I Kent and Stowe digging spade
• Our Stanley tool box which had all sorts of bits in there, screwdrivers, pliers, hammer, spanner set, wire cutters and that sort of thing.

"The value of things taken, probably barely comes to £200, but to us as a unit, which has to be entirely self funding, it is a big blow. We are hoping that some suppliers of gardening equipment can help us out with replacing the stolen tools.  

This year especially, we have lost so much opportunity for the students to raise money by producing plants and cut flowers for sale to staff and parents as well as growing produce for the school kitchens because of the lockdowns. We are just fortunate  the one shed, which has all our Wolf Multi-change tools, donated to us by E.P. Barrus last year and used by our wheelchair bound students,  was left untouched.”

Anne continued: “It is a setback for us, especially at this time of year when we are working hard to catch up with the students and Covid regulations mean we are trying to limit the number of students who use each tool to reduce the risk of infection. We have been very lucky in the past to have so much support from garden product manufacturers and local garden centres with even things like compost and packets of seeds, along with much of our equipment donated."

The school is one of only a few mainstream schools in the country to have its own dedicated horticultural unit where students can experience some of the skills of horticulture and gardening. Four years ago the school achieved the status of “Approved Centre for Royal Horticultural Society Qualifications”. This means that students can gain a recognised horticultural grade through the RHS assessment process which helps them into employment or further education.

Neil Gow, who many of us from the garden retail industry know, volunteers at the school as a horticultural trainer and assessor added: “Students who have gained some experience with us have gone on to further qualifications at specialist colleges and got work locally in garden centres and private or National Trust gardens. We have just heard this week that another of our students has gained a place at Pershore College of Horticulture to start his course this autumn.”

If you can help out with the supply of items, contact Neil Gow via ngow@pershore.worcs.sch.uk  or the school direct:

    The Horticultural Unit, Pershore High School, Station Road, Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 2BX

    T: 01386 552471 W: http://www.pershore.worcs.sch.uk/  E: office@pershore.worcs.sch.uk

Choice Marketing is hosting its own ‘Meet the Furniture Buyer’ event next week in Northamptonshire, where a number of its associate suppliers will be exhibiting. 

Michelle de Lavis-Trafford, CEO of Choice Marketing, said “In the absence of trade shows right now, which are an absolute necessity, we decided to create our own event for Choice members, saving enormous time travelling around the country to visit supplier showrooms.  In an informal and relaxed, covid-safe, atmosphere, Choice members will be able to browse new collections for 2022, chat to suppliers and to place orders for the 2022 season.  Long over-due member networking is also essential.”

Due to covid restrictions, space was limited and was sold out within a day.  Good membership attendance is also expected. Tim Armstrong of Highfield Garden Centre said he was looking forward to the event, which will be of huge benefit to their business and is one of the great benefits to being a member of the group.

Steve Potter of suppliers Glencrest said: “We too are looking forward to next week’s event.  To be able to see so many customers under one-roof is an enormous benefit and we look forward to continuing the growth of our business with Choice members”.

De Lavis-Trafford added “Choice has run these type of events for a few years now, and they have always been a great opportunity to put members and suppliers in touch in a relaxed and friendly environment and strengthens supplier relations”.

Garden centres who would like to know more about the benefits of membership of Choice Marketing, or are interested in meeting up at our event next week, should contact Michelle de Lavis-Trafford here.

Information: click here.

Following their launch year in 2020, Whistler Grills have made huge strides in the first two months of 2021 and are rapidly becoming a major player in the premium gas barbecue market.

The business has now moved to the next level, supported by a new expanded team, a new warehouse facility and an exciting new range including the Cirencester Modular Kitchen which was launched early 2021.

With this expansion, Whistler have also dramatically improved their customer interface. The recent launch of the brand new website offers customers every conceivable piece of information that they could need for the Whistler range, covering everything from Owners Club, to warranty information, right through to delicious BBQ recipes and top video tips. This new website is the one stop shop for absolutely everything Whistler!

Check it out here: www.whistlergrills.com

Due to the ever increasing Whistler stock requirements, Whistlers warehouse partners have invested in a stunning new warehouse facility for 2021. This modern, bright, clean warehouse is absolutely perfect for storing and dispatching the Whistler range.

Despite the incredible hike in shipping freight costs Whistler Grills is committed to holding their prices for as long as possible. The theory behind this decision is that 2021 will offer Whistler Grills the opportunity to grow its market share if it can maintain availability and hold its prices. 

As we have all witnessed, the start to this year has been unprecedented with sales that no one could have predicted. After a huge amount of persuasion and having very close association with their factory, Whistler Grills have managed to get their factory to commit to around £3.5 million worth of stock for the summer season 2021. 

The business has been working hard to support existing retailers, whilst also trying to broaden distribution across the UK. Whistler Grills have now increased their retail customer portfolio considerably over the past three months and will continue to search for suitable partners. 

2021 is going to be one amazing year for Whistler Grills! 

Top line GTN Bestsellers analysis from last week shows that for the first Easter week of 2021 total volume sales dropped by 1.4%, but as centres were only open for 6 days rather than seven that equates to being about 12% up like for like.

Most importantly sales were up 63% on the same week from 2019 and 46% higher than the average for the nine years 2011 – 2019.

See the full GTN Bestsellers analysis and the Top 50 Bestsellers charts for Garden Products, All Plants, Growing Media and Veg 2 Gro in the GTN Bestsellers printed weekly newsletter.  Subscribe here.

Monkton Elm Garden Centre was awarded Garden Centre of the Year in the Destination Garden Centre (DGC) category and the Old Railway Line Garden Centre scooped the award in the Garden Centre (GC) category in the Wales & West region.

Staff at the garden centres celebrated after scooping the awards during a presentation evening at Pugh’s Garden Centre The Vale in Wenvoe.

Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “It’s been a difficult year for everyone, but it was wonderful to hold the first of our award meetings since 2019. The Wales & West awards’ evening last night was a huge success, and it was fantastic to see so many of our members turn out for the occasion. 

“It was great to hear our GCA Inspector, Gordon Emslie’s feedback from his inspections on the centres. Now our members can take this vital information back with them to their centres and make any changes needed.

“A big thank you must go Pugh’s Garden Centre, the team there were fantastic hosts for the evening. Our next regional award meeting will take place today at Stratford Garden Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon, also with Gordon, who will present his findings for the Midlands.”

The Old Railway Line also won The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Creativity and Innovation, the GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer in the Garden Centre category and the Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service.

GCA Inspector Gordon Emslie was responsible for inspecting member centres in the Wales & West area.

He said: “People are at the heart of The Railway Line’s ethos and this comes through with the calm way that everyone is looked after. It just feels like you are visiting friends. Its level of operational consistency throughout all departments is what sets it apart from other centres.

“For the Destination Garden Centre category, Monkton Elm is a great example of a centre that focuses on its customers through the delivery of excellent customer service. Its real strength this season was its depth and range in both seasonal and hardy plants, along with strong merchandising, which really stood out when inspecting.”

Huw Lewis, Finance Director at The Old Railway Line Garden Centre and Wales & West Area Chairman, organised the regional awards evening.

“The awards were extremely well attended with approximately 45 attendees from the following centres: Pughs Radyr, Pughs Wenvoe, Brimsmore Gardens, Groves Nurseries, Monkton Elm, Raglan, Bernaville and The Old Railway Line.

“It was great to see so many people in attendance from a variety of garden centres from across the Wales and West area. My sincere thanks go to Nicola, Roger and the team at Pughs garden centres for hosting the awards and for their hospitality throughout the evening. The food was especially good and was admired by all! 

“Gordon provided us with a superb presentation. What really shone through was some of the great displays and merchandising that all the garden centres across the area had achieved despite the challenges we have faced with Covid-19, social distancing and the various issues with the supply chain. My thanks go to everyone who attended and congratulations to all those that won awards.”

The full results for the Wales & West region GCA area awards are as follows for the GC and DGC categories:

Garden Centre of the Year: Monkton Elm Garden Centre (DGC) and Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC)

The Barton Grange Trophy for Commercial Innovation and Creativity: Old Railway Line Garden Centre

The Dick Allen Award for Most Improved Centre: Pughs Garden Village Radyr

Customer Service Award for Best Customer Service: Old Railway Line Garden Centre

Environment and Sustainability Award Sponsored by Savills: Brimsmore Gardens

The GIMA Award for Best Garden Products Retailer: Cadbury Garden Centre (DGC) and Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC)

Best Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer: Cadbury Garden Centre (DGC) and Whitehall Garden Centre – Whitchurch (GC)

Best Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailer: Sanders Garden World (DGC) and Old Railway Line Garden Centre (GC)