GTN Xtra - GTN Xtra Issue 22 2018

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Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700

GTN's Greatest Christmas Awards 2107
are sponsored by:

and raise money for the Greenfingers Charity to build magical gardens at Childrens Hospices across the UK.

See GTN's photo tours of 30+ garden centres this Christmas including Bents, Barton Grange, Brookside, Castle Gardens, Planters, Scotsdales, Silverbirch, Ruxley Manor and Whitehall using this link

From record low to record high in 10 weeks - GTN Bestsellers reports an all time record for Bank Holiday week

Only 10 weeks after we reported the lowest sales week in UK garden centres, GTN Bestsellers can now report that the week beginning with the May Bank Holiday Monday 2018 was the highest week ever for garden centre sales volumes...

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Bosworths expand to 2 centres with The Walled Garden at Elton Hall

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Bosworths of Burton Latimer, near Kettering, have expanded to two centres by re-opening The Walled Garden Garden Centre at Elton Hall, near Peterborough...

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Smart Garden Products named in the FT 1000

A Special Report in the Financial Times in April 2018 has highlighted Smart Garden Products as one of the fastest growing companies in Europe...

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Home and Garden UK Ltd still alive and trading

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Home and Garden UK Ltd, suppliers of garden sculptures and ornaments, would like to inform everyone that the company is still alive and trading...

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Record high still to be broken...

This week’s GTN Bestsellers headline EPOS data analysis only includes two of the three Bank Holiday weekend trading days and as we reported on Monday, that appeared to be the best of the three...

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Blue Diamond buy Orchard Park Garden Centre

Blue Diamond celebrated the acquisition of their 21st garden centre last week following the completion of the purchase of Orchard Park Garden Centre in Gillingham, North Dorset...

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Summer planting goes mad at last

The GTN Bestsellers plants chart tells us that Summer is here! Summer bedding and basket plants saw huge sales increases last week with all of the Top 17 plant groupings seeing significant volume growth...

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World Bee Day creates a buzz at Poundbury Gardens

Celebrating everything from hives and honey to the Queen and her worker bees, gardeners of all ages will be able to mark World Bee Day, a global initiative which raises awareness of the importance of protecting bees, at Poundbury Gardens near Dorchester on Sunday 20 May from 10am-4pm...

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UK garden product suppliers to meet buyers from Germany, Poland and Baltic States

Influential buyers from a German garden and pet product mail order company and online shop, a Polish importer and distributor of garden items as well as buyers from a leading wholesaler/distributor of garden and horticultural products across the Baltic States are to meet with British suppliers in the latest ‘Meet the International Buyers’ event organised by the Gardenex and PetQuip associations...

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Report highlights uptake and benefits of primary school gardening

Ahead of this year’s National Children’s Gardening Week (26 May-3 June) a report has been published by the HTA on the uptake and benefits of school gardening in UK primary schools...

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Hawley Garden Centre are finalists in The Greats and The Retas

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Hawley Garden Centre is one of the best gift retailers and card retailers in the UK, and has been selected as a finalist in The Greats Gift Retailer Awards 2018 and has reached the finals of The Retas 2018 greeting card retailer awards...

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All the latest news from the world of garden centre catering

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Millbrook Mill to open in 9 weeks

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The Mill Restaurant, at Millbrook Gravesend, is looking great and on schedule for opening in July...

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Crest Garden repeat successful trade shows

Crest Garden Ltd have announced that they will be repeating their successful regional Trade Shows with Westland Horticulture in June 2018. They will showcase their Autumn ranges and launch a new concept in creative gardening gifts inspired by Imperial War Museums...

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Gardening can relieve stress and anxiety says Thrive

During Mental Health Awareness Week (May 14-20) Thrive is urging people to use the garden as a place of relaxation, fascination and as a place to enjoy gentle exercise and simply breathe in the fresh air...

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Garden centre directors raise £3,400 riding the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire challenge for charity

A team of cyclists from Tong Garden Centre completed the challenging Maserati Tour de Yorkshire ride last week and raised £3,400 for Candlelighters in the process...

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Pershore High School Students Grow for Gold at Chelsea Flower Show

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Students have produced seventy Tea Pots of Mint, many of which will be seen as part of the display that will be viewed by people from all over the world at the show in London from the 21^st to 26^th May, and will receive many hours of TV coverage...

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GTN May 2018 Issue. To view a digital version click here

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Garden product sales lagging behind...but why?

Garden products continue to lag behind plants with the GTN Bestsellers Top 50 volume sales index still sitting at 15% down year on year. One of the highlights was Smart Solar Crystal Glass Stake Lights, which re-entered the chart at No 12...

Veg plant sales hardest hit

Veg-2-Gro Top 50 sales volumes are not recovering as fast as the rest of the market. Still running at 33% down year to date, sales increased last week but this sector seems to be hardest hit when it comes to replacing missing March and April sales...

Growing media sales bounce back

Growing Media sales bounce back up along with the temperatures. You’d almost think people have found a great way to use composts to keep cool!

Wild bird care lines from Gardman return to Bestsellers list

Eight Gardman Wild Bird Care lines return to the GTN Bestsellers Top 50 this week as deliveries from King Lynn keep growing week on week...

Japanese horticulturist aiming to save Blenheim’s Unique Garden Heritage

A Japanese horticulturist has been enlisted to help restore Blenheim Palace’s historic Walled Garden...

Summer celebration of art, creativity and imagination at Borde Hill Garden

Borde Hill is celebrating its 125^th year since Colonel Stephenson Robert Clarke purchased the estate and created the Garden. This summer will feature an event programme offering a feast for the senses, celebrating art, creativity and imagination throughout July, August and September...

The best of last week's

If you missed last week's GTN Xtra, below are the most-read stories...

Record sales on record breaking Bank Holiday - updated with figures from Dobbies

Phew, what a scorcher! After four glorious days GTN Xtra reports on Bank Holiday trading across the country with comment from: Alton's, Aylett Nurseries, Baytree, Bents, Bosworths, British Garden Centres, Brechin Castle, Brookside, Cherry Lane, Dobbies, Fron Goch, Green Pastures, Haskins, Klondyke, Langlands, Newbank, Notcutts, Perrywood, Planters, Ruxley Manor, Scotsdales, Stewarts and Torwood...

Bids start coming in for Bunnings/Homebase

Sky News has reported this morning that Opcapita has tabled an offer for Homebase...

Blue Diamond staff get naked for pictures on social media

Blue Diamond joined in the spirit of World Naked Gardening Day on Saturday as some of their brave staff undressed for the occasion in many of the group's plant areas. Pictures of those taking part were then posted on the company's social media platforms...

See gallery of pictures

Carol Paris launches new garden centre group Somerton

Carol Paris, the former CEO of the HTA, has announced the launch of a new garden centre group called Somerton Ltd. Developing garden centres in Southern England, the business will focus on high growth sectors, including fresh local food and table service restaurants...

Decco appoints Andrew Ballantine as new Chief Operating Officer

Leading home improvement and garden wholesaler, Decco has appointed Andrew Ballantine as its Chief Operating Officer, following the departure of Charlie Lacey...

Cherry Lane acquires David's Nurseries in Worcester, as revealed by GTN Xtra

Value garden centre group, Cherry Lane, has completed the purchase of David’s Nurseries in Martin Hussingtree, Worcester, as exclusively revealed by GTN Xtra earlier in the week. The acquisition of David’s Nurseries on Ash Lane takes place with immediate effect, and makes it the 12th garden centre in the group owned by QD.