The latest project planned by the Preston-based, family owned Barton Grange group has been given the go-ahead by Wyre Borough Council.

The proposed ‘Flower Bowl’, a multi-purpose leisure complex, will sit alongside Barton Grange Garden Centre and Barton Grange Marina on the site at Brock on the A6 between Preston and Garstang.

The £6m development will offer premium entertainment, dining and leisure facilities, including only the second Curling Rink in the whole of England.  It will generate at least eighty new jobs for the area.

Managing director Guy Topping (left) said: “Ever since we revealed our plans for the Flower Bowl, we’ve had really positive feedback, so we’re obviously delighted that they’ve been given the go-ahead.

“Now the hard work really begins as we start planning the work itself. We’re hoping to start early next year with a view to opening in early 2017.”

Facilities will include a four sheet Curling Rink, luxury Ten Pin Bowling, a premium cinema and two Crazy Golf courses, one indoors and one outdoors, constructed to an exceptionally high standard.

Dining options include a diner-style restaurant, a Fish and Chip restaurant and an Ice Cream and Coffee Shop. There will also be a shop for the purchase and hire of kayaks for use on the Lancaster Canal.

The Flower Bowl will be a single storey building with a grass roof, which might eventually have sheep grazing on it.

“This is a major new development which will bring much needed entertainment and leisure facilities to the area,” said Guy.

“Our main target audience is the more mature market, although there will of course be many opportunities for families with young children to come along and get involved.

“We’re particularly excited about bringing curling facilities back to the north of England after a long absence. Our curling rink will be used by club curlers, social curlers and, we hope, local schools. Our intention is to develop a Centre of Excellence and maybe even discover and train some future Olympians!”

Loch Lomond Homes and Gardens has had a great response to its offer of using a large greenhouse free of charge to anyone who fancies planting and nurturing fresh produce to help those in need.

The garden centre, located just outside Balloch, is providing everything the volunteers need, including tools, soil, compost, seeds and plants.

Since news of the initiative first appeared in the Daily Record, general manager Thomas Callaghan has been contacted by people wishing to take up his offer. 

He said: “We’ve got this space and it really isn’t being used. It’s a shame it’s sitting there empty.

“So we posted on the company’s Facebook page asking the community if there were any projects that would benefit from using the greenhouse.

“And one girl, Claire Chilcott, suggested the foodbank, which I thought was a great idea.”

Thomas put the idea to the owners  – the Shaw family from Dunoon – who agreed to go ahead with the scheme.

“We could have broken down the greenhouse and sold it but I thought it would be better to make community use of it.

“The idea is that people volunteer to come up and nurture, feed and water the plants that we have bullied our suppliers into giving us.

“I’ll be asking them to supply tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries and that kind of thing free to us to pass on to the volunteers to grow.

“There must be keen gardeners in the area who could make the most of this.

“We will supply soil and compost, seeds and plants. They will want for nothing.

“We’ll even make sure they have all the tools they need and the growing media they need to work with.” 

Thomas can be contacted on 01389 752947.

Pictured: Thomas outside the greenhouse. (Picture courtesy of the Daily Record)

Garden and more: that is what the international garden fair spoga+gafa 2015 promises.

Around 2,000 exhibitors from over 60 countries will present their new products in the Cologne exhibition halls from 30 August to 1 September and offer trade visitors from all over the world a top international level innovation show. In addition to a comprehensive exhibition spanning around 225,000 square metres, this year's supporting programme also offers the trade fair visitors information and inspiration.

From target group-specific lectures to industry get-togethers, through to shows and practical areas: In addition to the new products of the exhibitors, spoga+gafa has plenty of other events on the agenda.

With its prominent location on the trade fair, this year the Garden Café is the central Speakers' Corner. Numerous lectures and discussion rounds will take place here 'round the clock' and will offer the trade fair visitors amusing entertainment 'without detours'. The Taspo Talks will be staged daily at 11:30 a.m. as well as at 3.15 p.m. on Sunday and Monday. The trend agency Chlorosphere (France) will also be holding various trend lectures in the Garden Café. These can be heard and seen daily at 10:00 a.m. as well as at 1:45 p.m. on Sunday and Monday. When no lectures are being held, the team of the 'maibeck Für Dich' (maibeck for you) restaurant and 'Kult; Büro Köln' (Cult; Cologne Office) will be demonstrating their culinary skills. The top gastronomists Jan Cornelius Maier and Tobias Becker will be presenting vegetarian dishes from the local and seasonal vegetable and herb kitchen daily at 12:30 p.m. and 4.15 p.m. (Tuesday, 1 September, 3:15 p.m.).

For the first time this year, spoga+gafa is holding an exhibition that focuses on the theme sustainability. Here, not only the well-known ecological aspect will addressed. Social and economic sustainability will also be dealt with in the course of the Sustainability Exhibition. Visitors are heartily welcome to gain their own impression of the premiere in Hall 5.2.

After its successful premiere in 2014, the cooperation with the Callwey publishing company (Garten+Landschaft / Garden+Landscape) is also being continued. Together with industry experts, a lecture programme that is specially designed for garden and landscape architects will be offered. The half-day congress kicks off with a lecture entitled 'Wood, water, tiles - room concepts and materials for the planning of private gardens' on 31 August 2015. The trade visitors can look forward to the following themes and speakers on the Monday of the fair in Hall 10.2:

- 10:00 a.m.: 'Room concepts for the private garden' (Michael Horeis, Horeis + Blatt Partnerschaft Garden and Landscape Architects BDLA, Bremen)

- 10:45 a.m. 'Water in the garden - calculation of the pump performance' (Maximilian Colditz, landscape architect, Category Manager and Technical Consultant at OASE GmbH, Hörstel)

- 11:30 a.m.: 'Professional construction of terraces made of wood and wood-based materials‘ (Wolf D. Meyer-Ricks, Meerbusch; landscape architect, publicly appointed and sworn expert for garden and landscaping)

- 12:15 p.m.: 'Professional tile laying outdoors' (Manfred Vaupel, master tiler, PCI application technology, Augsburg, West Construction Chemicals Retail Europe, Hamm) The event, for which training points will be awarded, finishes at 1:00 p.m.

The winners of the young designer competition, 'unique youngstar', will also be selected at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday in Hall 10.2, garden unique. The expert jury will select the first three prize-winners from among the 16 nominees and the prototypes on the theme Outdoor Living exhibited in Hall 10.2. The finalists are also in the running to win a public prize. This link leads to the public voting: http://www.spogagafa.de/spogagafa/Landingpages/Contest-youngstar-garden-unique/Contest-Youngstar-Garden-Unique-Voting.php

Once again in 2015, things will be heating up in the Grill Park (outdoor area between Halls 7 and 8)  In addition to numerous product placements, which reflect the entire spectrum of the grill industry and the barbecuing process, together with celebrities from Cologne, Sebastian Morgenstern, 2012 German Vice Grill Master, will ensure tasty entertainment with his grill show at 12:00 noon and 15:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Of course, the Barbecue Industry Association Grill (BIAG) is also strongly represented in the Grill Park. New this year: The BIAG is offering professionals, buyers and customers a forum, comprising of a 'get-together' and exchange of news among the grill industry during the BIAG Buyers Brunch at spoga+gafa on Monday, 31 August 2015, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

There are also plenty of opportunities for networking at this year's spoga+gafa thanks to numerous, successful industry get-togethers: Exhibitors, visitors and media representatives are heartily welcome to attend the 'IVG Garden Party' on 31 August, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at the stand of IVG in Hall 5. In the Plant Park, traditionally the location of the Association of German Garden Centres (VDG), everything revolves around the living green and current garden centre themes. The closing of spoga+gafa is at the same time the starting signal for the BHB Garden Summit on 2 September 2015 (CC North, Koelnmesse). This year the participants can look forward to a varied congress programme following the motto 'Looking beyond the garden fence'.

The spoga+gafa 2015 is open to trade visitors on 30 August and 31 August from 09:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m. and on 1 September from 09:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. 

The Garden Day 2015 is open to end-users and trade visitors on 29 and 30 August from 09:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m. 

Further information is available at www.tagdesgartens-koeln.com. 

Banbury-based Stewart Group, the British manufacturer and distributor of gardening products, catering supplies, homewares and bespoke technical solutions, is now set for significant expansion and growth following a £11 million funding deal with Santander Corporate & Commercial. Stewart was advised throughout the deal by Leamington Spa-based law firm Wright Hassall.

Stewart’s key business channels are garden centres, DIY outlets, major retailers and trade, the latter encompassing housewares, catering and technical solutions. The firm reported a 25% growth in business in the 2014 financial year and, having secured the £11 million in funding from Santander Corporate & Commercial, plans are now in place to support the company in further strengthening its brand leader position by driving growth via additional manufacturing capacity and launching a strong pipeline of new product introductions.

Market share gains have been achieved through the use of category management techniques, which have allowed Stewart to be present in over 1,600 outlets across the UK and Eire. These include DIY outlets such as Homebase, Wilkinson and B&Q and garden centres such as Dobbies and Klondyke/Strikes, Wyevale and over 600 independent garden centres. Stewart manufactures 95% of its products within the UK and is proud to be a strong contributor to both the local Banbury economy and playing its part in the resurgence of UK-based manufacturing companies.

Established in 1945, Stewart is now in its third year at its state-of-the art Banbury manufacturing facility (above), which followed a £15 million investor buyout supported by ECI Partners in 2012-13. Stewart relocated from its original Croydon, South London location to the purpose-equipped, 178,000 sq. ft. production facility, and this new base has been the key to supporting the recent growth of the business. Significantly, the Banbury facility has room for further expansion, with the potential to doubling output if needed.

Andy Burns (left), Managing Director, Stewart Group, said: “Stewart is a true UK manufacturing success story and we have strong aspirations for the future. We have a robust growth strategy in place, and the funding and support from Santander and Wright Hassall will be instrumental in helping us implement this comprehensive plan across our core sectors.”

Steve Bateman, Relationship Director, Santander Corporate & Commercial, said: “We’re delighted to be working with such a well-known and high profile brand such as Stewart. The company’s facility in Banbury is one of the largest and most efficient plants in Europe, and it is clear that the firm’s products are winning over an increasing number of clients.”

Christopher Jones, Banking and Finance Senior Associate, Wright Hassall, said: “We’re pleased to be supporting a progressive company in Stewart in its expansion plans. Stewart has built a strong reputation as a leading player in the gardening, home and professional catering markets and is well placed to continue its expansion and growth following the completion of this deal. The deal also shows the great appetite that many banks, including Santander, have to provide financing to British companies as the economy continues to recover from the downturn of recent years.”

Plant sales are the main driver to sales volumes being up on both of the last two weeks as we reach the half year. 

At The HTA National Plant Show this week, most garden centres were expecting plant sales to continue at record levels through into July.

That was certainly the feedback from the winners of GTN’s The Greatest Plant Retailing Awards, presented at The HTA National Plant Show on Tuesday, who were all reporting double digit plant sales increases during May and June.

Gold Award winners in GTN’s The Greatest Plant Retailing Awards were: Scotsdales, Cambridge, Cowells, The Old Railway Line, Fron Goch, Coolings, Bents and Hillier Nurseries. See the full results in GTN Xtra.

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

• Garden Products – up 2%
• Veg-2-Gro Products – up 75%
• Growing Media – up 15%
• All items index – up 18%

Bargain plants at the garden centre entrance are one of the keys to plant sales success for the Gold Award winning team at Scotsdales, Cambridge.

Lizzie Gage said: “We always have a ‘must buy’ plant offer right at the front door so that customers have to pick one up and once they’ve done that the next thing they are looking for is a trolley or basket, which makes it much easier for them to buy more during their visit.”

When GTN met the team as part of the judging for The Greatest Plant Retailing Awards the offer was a Chrysanthemum for just £1.

How many times a year do you have a bargain plant offer at your front door?  If you buy well from your suppliers it is possible to do all-year-round, according to Lizzie.

Salvia Love & Wishes from Darby Nursery Stock & Kernock Park Plants has been crowned best in show at the New Plant Awards on the opening morning of the HTA National Plant Show which took place yesterday and today (23 and 24 June) at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry.

Judging Panel member and RHS Director, Jim Gardiner, comments, “All the judges were unanimously in favour of this plant, not only winning Best in Category, but also Best in Show.

Salvia Love & Wishes is a great performer in the garden, either in a container or in a sunny position in the garden.

It flowers continuously from May to September, which can be extended depending on weather conditions. The flower spikes extend beyond the foliage with the initial point of interest being the dark plum colours calyces, shortly followed by the beautiful long lasting claret coloured flowers.”

This year’s awards, sponsored by RHS, attracted over 90 entries across five categories. The gold medal winners and Best in Category plants are…..

Annuals

Gold

• Benary – Begonia tuberous Nonstop Joy
• Ball Colegrave Ltd – Osteospermum ‘3D’ series
• Cobbins Nursery – Gerbera Garvinea Sweet Surprise
• Cobbins Nursery – Patio Gerbera Volcanoes
• Channel Island Plants (UK) Ltd – Nemesia French Connection Bonnet
• Channel Island Plants (UK) Ltd – Bidens Beedance Painted Red

Best in Category

• Channel Island Plants (UK) Ltd – Bidens Beedance Painted Red

Herbaceous Perennials

Gold

• Fairweather’s – Scabiosa Kudo
• Profitplant UK – Itoh Peony
• Darby Nursery Stock & Kernock Park Plants – Salvia Love & Wishes
• Darby Nursery Stock – Geranium Pink Pouffe

Best in Category

• Darby Nursery Stock & Kernock Park Plants – Salvia Love & Wishes

Houseplants

Gold

• Profitplants UK – Little Kolibri Orchids Victoria Falls
• Garden Centre Fresh – Phalaenopsis Formidablo N-17 XXL

Best in Category

• Profitplants UK – Little Kolibri Orchids Victoria Falls

Shrubs and Climbers

Gold

• Whartons Nurseries Ltd – Rose “Eye of the Tiger”
• Hilliers Nurseries – Cotinus ‘Candy Floss’
• The Bransford Webbs Plant Company – Hebe Marshmallow
• The Bransford Webbs Plant Company – Hebe Sangria Sensation
• The Bransford Webbs Plant Company – Hebe Pink Fizz
• John Richards Nurseries Ltd – Clematis macropetala ‘Elgar’
• Javado UK – Viburnum f.tomentosum plicatum Kilimanjaro Sunrise
• Javado UK – Hydrangea Deep Purple Dance
• Javado UK – Hydrangea macr. Rendez-Vous’ French Cancan’
• Farplants Sales Ltd – Hibiscus Rose Moon

Best in Category

• Javado UK – Hydrangea macr. Rendez-Vous’ French Cancan’ 

Trees and Conifers

Silver

• Frank P Matthews Ltd – Cherry Stardust

Best in Category

• Frank P Matthews Ltd – Cherry Stardust

A full list of medal winners is available at http://www.the-hta.org.uk/file.php?fileid=2851

The New Plant Award judges were HTA President Stan Green, Jim Gardiner and Mark Heath from RHS, Marc Rosenberg from Amateur Gardening and Colin Dale from Notcutts.

All New Plant Award entries can be viewed at the show and visitors too can have their say by taking part in the Visitor Vote Awards, sponsored by Floramedia. The winner of the Visitor Vote Award will be announced at 3.30pm on Wednesday 24 June.

Salvia Love & Wishes from Darby Nursery Stock & Kernock Park Plants has been voted the Best New Plant by visitors to the HTA National Plant Show. The Visitor Vote Award, sponsored by Floramedia, proved extremely popular and with over 90 entries in this year’s awards visitors were spoilt for choice.

Salvia Love & Wishes also took the best in show title at yesterday’s judged awards, sponsored by the RHS.

Full Visitor Vote results

Best in Show: Salvia Love & Wishes from Darby Nursery Stock & Kernock Park Plants

Best Annual: Patio Gerbera Volcanoes from Cobbins Nursery

Best Herbaceous Perennial: Salvia Love & Wishes from Darby Nursery Stock & Kernock Park Plants

Best Houseplant: Lilium Rose Lilly Samantha from Garden Centre Fresh

Best Tree and Conifer: Cherry Stardust from Frank P Matthews Ltd

Best Shrub and Climber: Clematis macropetalia ‘Elgar’ from John Richards Nurseries Ltd

This year’s HTA National Plant Show hosted the launch of the Breast Cancer Now ‘Time to Live’ rose by TV present Nicki Chapman.

Julie Robinson opened the launch by discussing her personal experiences with breast cancer and how it has affected her and her fellow ‘Breakthrough Babes’ from the Sutton Coldfield regional group.

Peter Hull from Nursery Fresh then discussed how they got involved with the project at the start, bringing the rose to market and making the rose available for garden centres to retail.

HTA chief executive Carol Paris then introduced Nicki Chapman, who talked about her own experiences, bringing home the fact that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lives.

Launching the rose, Nicki said “The rose is a celebration in remembrance of those lost and survivors, and brings hope to those that are still being affected.” The rose will help Breast Cancer Now in their efforts to ensure that by 2050 everyone affected by breast cancer survives.

£1 from every sale of the rose will be going to Breast Cancer Now and their fundraising efforts, with the option to donate an additional pound upon purchase.

Every day over 135 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. It is only with continued funding that Breakthrough Breast Cancer are able to invest in vital breast cancer research that ensures these women, and all others diagnosed with breast cancer, receive the best possible treatment.

The rose will make a significant difference to the lives we are able to save. It is possible within 35 years to stop all women dying from breast cancer. This will be an incredible achievement, but it is only possible with continued fundraising support. Breast cancer has already taken too many lives. It’s time to put an end to it.

The Breakthrough Rose had been available to purchase at the show, and it sold out before the launch had even started.

Key Essentials took home the award for the best ‘Plantie’ at this year’s HTA National Plant Show.

The competition, sponsored by Blooms of Bressingham, celebrated the beauty of plants through plant selfies taken by the exhibitors.

Amanda Smith from Key Essentials was thrilled to receive the award, which includes a bottle of bubbly and £1,000 worth of advertising in HTA News.

She says: “Thank you for making our show one to remember, receiving the Best Plantie was the perfect way to end a very successful and enjoyable couple of days."

Exhibitors were invited to enter their best plant pictures, which could be as creative or conservative as they liked. For example: plant close ups, plants in situ - a border, hanging basket or a pot, plants in an environment - nursery, retail space or garden, or plants with pals - capturing the relationship between plants and people and animals.

Entries were on display at the show and visitors were asked to vote for their favourite, with the Best ‘Plantie’ announced on Wednesday 24 June.

The Old Railway Line, Scotsdales and Cowells were Gold Award Plant Sales Team winners in The Greatest Plant Retailing Awards presented at The HTA National Plant Show yesterday.

The Greatest Plant Retailing Awards are all about teams of people, for planteria teams that excel in garden centres.  Yesterday during The HTA National Plant Show at Stoneleigh Carol Paris and Trevor Pfeiffer announced the the results of The Greatest Plant Retailing Awards following expert judging visits to 40 nominated planteria teams across the country.

Awards organiser Trevor Pfeiffer said "from the many teams we met on our judging journeys it is clear that garden centre plant retailing standards are being pushed higher and higher – with teamwork and the drive for excellent customer service giving our customers some of the best plant buying experiences in the UK.  Garden Centre plant retailing is simply GREAT!"

The Greatest Plant Sales Teams

Finalists

• Altons
• Aylett Nurseries
• Barton Grange
• Bents
• Burston
• Coolings
• Cowells
• Fresh @ Burcot
• Fron Goch
• Frosts Woburn Sands
• Groves of Bridport
• Halls of Heddon
• Monkton Elm
• Old Railway Line
• Percy Throwers Wyevale
• Perrywood
• Polhill, Sevenoaks
• Scotsdales, Cambridge
• St Peters, Worcester
• Stewarts
• Van Hage Great Amwell
• Woodside Plant Centre

Bronze Awards

• Small PlanteriaTeams:  Woodside Plant Centre
• Mid Sized Planteria Teams: Monkton Elm
• Large Planteria Teams: Bents and Van Hage, Great Amwell                                              

Silver Awards

• Small Planteria Teams:  Halls of Heddon
• Mid-Sized Planteria Teams:  Alton
• Large Planteria Teams: Coolings and Perrywood

Gold Awards

• Small Planteria Teams:  Old Railway Line
• Mid Sized Planteria Teams:  Cowells
• Large Planteria Teams:  Scotsdales, Cambridge

While we visited all of the centres for The Greatest Plant Retailing Awards, our experts asked them “Who is your greatest Plant Retailing supplier of this year.  40 centres were asked and 24 different plant suppliers were nominated.  A number of the votes were for “Our own nursery” and clearly local plant suppliers have very special relationships with Planteria Teams. 

Three plant suppliers stood out from the crowd.  The plant supplier with the most votes and Gold Award winner was Hillier Nurseries and there was a tie for the Silver Award which was shared by Allensmore and Farplants.

The Greatest Plant Supplier of the Year

Nominated Suppliers

Allensmore, Barsfold Nurseries, Bransford Webbs, Bridge Nurseries, Cobbins, Darby Nurseries, David Austin Roses, Farplants, Garden Centre Fresh, Garden Centre Plants, Gardeners Kitchen, Hillier Nurseries, Ivan Ambrose, Javado, Marchants of Wimborne, “Our Own Nursery”, Pacific Nurseries, R & S Barnwell, Rushmere Nurseries, Veen Plant, W D Smith and Son, Woodlark Nurseries, Wyevale Nurseries, Y & S Humphries.

Gold Award

• Hilliers

Silver Award

• Allensmore
• Farplants

"Really focused on linked sales outside in the planteria and they back that up with excellent information boards about the products as well as the plants" was the judges comments about the Gold Award winning Linked Sales Team at Coolings.

Percy Throwers Wyevale and Van Hage Great Amwell both won Silver Awards and Cowells the Bronze Award.

Trevor Pfeiffer said: "Garden Centre Planterias are fast becoming the places of choice for customers to buy all they need for their planting project and from what we saw there is a great opportunity for garden centres to increase linked sales business and provide a real point of customer satisfaction – provided it is done well and above is clearly communicated."

The Greatest Linked Sales Team

Finalists

• Aylett Nurseries
• Baytree
• Bents
• Coolings
• Cowells
• Fresh @ Burcot
• Fron Goch
• Frosts Woburn Sands
• Monkton Elm
• Percy Throwers Wyevale
• Scotsdales - Cambridge
• Van Hage Great Amwell

Bronze Award

• Cowells

Silver Award

• Percy Throwers Wyevale
• Van Hage Great Amwell

Gold Award

• Coolings

The Greatest Pot and Plant Sales Team – Top of the Pots - Sponsored by Elho

Finalists

• Aylett Nurseries
• Bents
• Brechin Castle
• Coolings
• Frosts Woburn Sands
• Old Railway Line
• Perrywood
• Van Hage Great Amwell

Bronze Award

• Old Railway Line
• Frosts Woburn Sands

Silver Award

• Brechin Castle

Gold Award

• Bents

Pictures from the judging visits and background to all of the winners will be published in future issues of GTN and GTN Xtra.

The most smiley, most helpful Plant Advice team the judges met - they are so well liked by their customers they have an office stacked full of wine and cake bought in for them - and they all speak Welsh as well as English won the Gold Award for The Greatest Plant Advice Team at Fron Goch Garden Centre in North Wales.

Coolings won the Silver Award with Bronze awarded to the team at Burston.

The Greatest Plant Advice Team

Finalists

• Aylett Nurseries
• Barton Grange
• Baytree
• Bents
• Burston
• Coolings
• Fron Goch
• Monkton Elm
• Old Railway Line
• Perrywood
• Scotsdales, Cambridge
• Van Hage Great Amwell

Bronze Award

• Burston

Silver Award

• Coolings

Gold Award

• Fron Goch

The Greatest Outdoor Living Categories

• The Greatest BBQ Sales Team of the Year
• The Greatest Garden Decoration and Lighting Sales Team of the Year
• The Greatest Inspiration for New Gardeners Team – Love The Plot You've Got Award
• The Greatest Outdoor Leisure Sales Team of the Year

The Greatest Garden Centre Team Awards Categories

• The Greatest Garden Care Retail Team of the Year
• The Greatest Garden Centre Customer Service Team of the Year
• The Greatest Garden Centre Training Team or Initiative of the Year, sponsored by MorePeople
• The Greatest Garden Centre Merchandising Team of the Year
• The Greatest Gardening Supplier of the Year
• The Greatest Garden Centre of the Year (Public Vote), sponsored by National Garden Gift Vouchers

As usual The Greatest Awards team of experts will be out and about meeting nominated teams, gathering information and taking photos of their work so that the Gold, Silver and Bronze Greatest Awards winners can be chosen.

Plus your team have the chance to become The Greatest Garden Centre Team of 2015 by involving your customers in the public voting later this summer.  The Greatest Garden Centre Teams, small, medium and large will be the teams that have the best relationships with their customers and generate the most votes (taking size of centre into account) and in the event of a tie, the centre with the most complimentary comments form their customers.  To take part in the public vote please e-mail trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call The Greatest Awards on 01733 775700 to request an in store voting pack.

As this issue of GTN Xtra goes to press the expert judges are meeting to decide the winners of The Greatest Plant Retailing Team Awards in advance of The National Plant Show.  Make sure your Outdoor Leisure, Garden Care and Garden Centre teams are nominated for visits later in July and August.

The Greatest Awards would like to thank sponsors, Elho, National Garden Gift Vouchers, MorePeople and The HTA plus the event organisers at The HTA Catering Conference, National Plant Show, GIMA Awards and HTA Futures for agreeing to be presentation venues for The Greatest Awards ON TOUR 2015.  The date and venue for The Greatest Outdoor Leisure Awards will be announced in a future issue of GTN Xtra. 

Sponsorship opportunities are available for product and service suppliers seeking to gain the highest possible exposure between now and November this year.  Please contact mandy.atkin@tgcmc.co.uk for details.

Garden Centre Manager | South London | Newly Developed Site (ref:BP7468)

Location: London
Salary: £32,500 to £36,000
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

Garden Centre Manager

The Business

My client is a national business with a good reputation in horticulture. They are currently redeveloping a large retail site that is part of one of their managed properties. They are looking to continue to develop this site in accordance with the groups strong retail offering.

The Role

This role will take on the day to day leadership of the operations team at this scenic centre. The site has been redeveloped recently to take on the companies branding and to promote a better more linked consumer experience across the property. The site is very strong on plants and is plant led in a lot of its retail space. It benefits from being able to offer a full range of stock in a historical setting.

The Person

I need a leader for this role first and foremost. The operations team on site are very strong but need a directing force to keep them moving in the right direction. The role will likely change as the site develops and we will need a candidate who can be flexible and adapt. A more analytical brain will be needed to take on strategic planning for the site and to formulate plans to be approved by senior management. 
This is a retail role first and foremost and that is where we will expect the background of the candidate to come from.

Please submit your CV in the first instance, or to discuss further contact Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530

Plantarea Manager | Hertfordshire | Group Centre (ref:BP7397)

Location: Hertfordshire
Salary: £17,000 to £20,000
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

Plantarea Manager

The Business

This client is a well-established and forward thinking industry name. A large garden centre group that has focussed on improving retail practices and standards to be the best in the industry. They look for the best people from the retail and the horticulture sectors and train them through their in house training programmes to develop strong teams throughout their centres.

The Role

The Horticultural Manager will be responsible for delivering excellence within their department; developing and leading their team; continually improving operational retail standards and delivering industry-leading standards of customer service, plant quality and display.

The Person

We need a leader with superb retail experience to lead this busy department. The plantarea is the focus point of any garden centre and your standards for customer service, merchandising and the little details that make a department special will make you stand out. Plant knowledge is essential but we are open minded about an academic qualification.

Please submit your CV in the first instance, or to discuss further call Brad Peck at MorePeople on 01780 480530

Assistant Commercial E-Commerce Manager (ref:DS7471)

Location: Worcestershire
Salary: £18,000 to £20,000
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

Assistant Commercial E-Commerce Manager 

Reporting to the Commercial Manager 

The Business

Our client is an exciting e-commerce business who source and supply a range of wonderful garden products and plants to a discerning mail-order audience across the UK. They wish to appoint an enthusiastic Assistant to help support the commercial manager. 

The Role

This person will assist in the day to day tasks in support of the commercial sales team who undertake the promotion of sales to the magazines and newspaper readers offers 

The Person

Horticultural training or a passion for horticulture and good plant knowledge
Be computer literate with experience of administration
Be well organised and capable of paying great attention to detail and accuracy
Have a natural sales and marketing ability with good commercial acumen
Great communication skills, drive and with plenty of get up and go!

Our client is willing to look at experienced administrators with a passion for gardening as well as horti graduates who have a good level of administration skills and the desire to work in the on-line horticulture sector 

Salary £18-20,000 depending on experience

Please submit your CV in the first instance, or to discuss further contact Dianne Saunders at MorePeople on 07929013910

Landscape Project Manager (ref:DS7460)

Location: East of England
Salary: £25,000 to £30,000
Job Type: Full-Time
Duration: Permanent

The Business

Our client is a leading Grounds Maintenance and Soft Landscaping Contractor based in East Anglia who carry out a wide range of commercial and domestic contracts throughout this region.

The Role

They are currently seeking to recruit a Soft Landscaping Projects Manager to oversee commercial landscaping projects throughout the Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire area. 

Reporting to the Landscape Director 

The ideal candidate will currently be employed in a similar role or be seeking to take their next step into a more senior management role.

Responsibilities will include :
Installation of projects to strict deadlines and budgets
Assisting in development and bidding for new works, including estimating
Liaison with clients, main contractors and designers
Implementation and management of health & safety and quality procedures
Supervision of Landscaping Teams
Maintaining contract files

The Person

The successful candidate should hold a relevant horticultural or landscape qualification 
A full driving license is essential.
They should also have significant experience in managing commercial landscaping contacts, estimating and developing business in this sector. 
Be a superb communicator and capable of delivering excellent customer service 

Salary range: £25,000 - £30,000 - dependent on experience and more for an exceptional candidate

Please submit your CV in the first instance or to discuss further contact Dianne Saunders at MorePeople on 07929013910

Next is planning to open a huge new home and garden store in Plymouth selling fashion, homeware and DIY products - the first of its kind in the South West - creating 156 new jobs.

The retailer is investing £6million in the store which will be built opposite its current site at Marsh Mils - if plans are approved.

Next says its store at Drake Circus will be unaffected by the huge new out-of-town shop.

The shop is part of a new concept being rolled out by the Midlands-based retailer.

A spokesman said: "Next aims to deliver an attractive and striking building with an interior design and layout that will provide an exceptional shopping experience."

The store will feature a huge range of Next fashion alongside a homewares department, a DIY store and a garden centre.

A public exhibition is to be held at Next's current Marsh Mills and Drake Circus stores.

Squire’s Garden Centres are growing their own, with two new people selected to take part in their 'Grow Our Own' apprenticeship scheme. Will Challis, age 20, and Ross Humber, age 21, were chosen from a number of applicants to take part in this popular scheme.

Squire’s “Grow Our Own” apprenticeship scheme will introduce them into a world of horticulture, allowing them to earn while they learn and combine academic study with on-the-job training and stimulating work experience.

The apprentices will attend Merrist Wood College, undertaking the RHS Level 2 Certificate in “The Principles of Horticulture”, and then will complete the RHS Level 3 Certificate in “Practical Horticulture”, both of which are nationally recognised qualifications.

“Will Challis and Ross Humber were chosen because they are both very passionate about horticulture, and it is clear they want to make it a career path. They are very excited by the prospect of gaining their RHS level 2 and 3, and are really showing a commitment to do well, said Squire’s HR Manager Jo Ripley.

Will and Ross are currently based at Squire’s in West Horsley, but will visit various centres over the year.

Deputy chairman Sarah Squire commented: “As horticulture is fundamentally important to our business we developed our horticultural apprenticeship scheme 'Grow Our Own', so that we could train and nuture employees that work in our plant area, giving them the necessary skills and knowledge to advise customers. 

"Apprentices in horticulture lead exciting and varied working lives. They will have a blended learning approach and comprehensive training, which is put into practice whilst working at Squire’s Garden Centres. 

"They will also have the exciting experience of being involved in the running of Squire’s Show Garden at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 29th June-4th July. Once their career develops Squire’s then offers them extensive and continuous training.” 

If you are interested in becoming the next Squire’s “Grow Our Own” apprentice then visit www.squiresgardencentres.co.uk or email your interest to hr@squiresgardencentres.co.uk.

A company director and his construction company are to stand trial after an internal wall at an Irish garden centre collapsed, killing two men.

Two others were seriously injured in the collapse of the wall at the Connacht Gold DIY and Garden Centre at Farneyhoogan, Athlone Road, Longford, on January 29, 2013.

The prosecutions against all three accused have now been brought following a two-year investigation by the Health and Safety Authority.

State solicitor Kieran Madigan, told Longford District Court that the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed that Michael Vincent Ruane, of Carrowreagh, Bonniconlon, Ballina, Co Mayo; Vincent Ruane Construction Ltd, Church Road, Ballina; and Aurivo Co-Operative Society Ltd of Ballina Road, Tubbercurry, Co Sligo should all be tried by indictment. All are alleged to have breached the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

The offences charge that Mr Ruane and his company failed to ensure that restraints were provided at the head and end of the internal blockwork wall, as result of which the structure collapsed, following which Sean Mulleady and Patrick Gaffney died and Padraig Galvin and Richard Bailey suffered personal injuries..

Aurivo Co-Operative Society Ltd is prosecuted for failing to appoint a competent project supervisor for the design process and construction phase of the building work at the premises.

Mr Madigan said he was applying to have the matter adjourned until September 1.

Solicitors representing Mr Ruane, his company and Aurivo Co-Operative Society Ltd indicated that they were consenting to the adjournment.

Father of three, Sean Mulleady, 47, from Drumlish, Co Longford and Patrick Gaffney, 67, a father of two, Tarmonbarry, Co Roscommon, died as a result of injuries sustained when the 12 metre high wall collapsed.

Glee has benefitted from a revamped website (www.gleebirmingham.com), which will place product at the forefront whilst also offering better access to the show’s exhibitors and features.

Created to better reflect the changes that are taking place at the annual garden retail exhibition, the new website will feature more content than ever before.  Product is one area which is set to take centre stage.  The homepage will now feature regular product updates, and will be the first place to source the latest exhibitor product news.  Imagery and photography will feature heavily, with an exciting ‘buying tool’ offering a new and interactive element. This new live chart will showcase the top 100 most viewed products on the site, with the chart constantly updating as more and more products are viewed.

i2i’s Matthew Mein, Glee event director said: “The new live product chart is an exciting addition to the website and one which I hope will encourage greater interaction with the site from both suppliers and retailers. 

"The chart will be constantly changing, and we believe this will provide a barometer of sorts, in that it showcases which products – from the hundreds and thousands on offer from Glee’s 500+ exhibitors – are appealing the most to our visitors.”

 From a shorter registration form, to a more streamline design, it has never been easier to access info about Glee and its exhibitors. What’s more, the website has been designed to be used as 365 day resource, thanks to the new focus on innovation and product.

 Matthew added: “It’s not just exhibitors that can benefit from the enhanced website - it also has a number of features that make it even easier for visitors to find what they are looking for.  The website brings Glee directly to their doorstop, helping them to source suppliers, find new products and contact exhibitors directly. 

"The website marks a really exciting opportunity for both us and our exhibitors. We really hope that exhibitors will invest the time needed to optimise their online profile. 

"We’ve already seen many exhibitors reaping the rewards of having an improved profile and expect that many others to see the benefits of the service as well.”

Registration for Glee 2015 is now live!

Online registration for Glee is now live, enabling buyers and retailers to get online and book their free ticket to the leading showcase for the garden and leisure industry.  Register online today to save yourself £20 and receive free parking and show catalogue.

To make sure you don’t miss your place at Glee simply visit the show’s dedicated website www.gleebirmingham.com and click on ‘Get your ticket’.

Renowned actor, presenter and comedian, Rufus Hound has been announced as the host of this year’s GIMA Awards.

Along with his regular TV appearances on ‘Celebrity Juice’, ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’, ‘Would I Lie To You’ & ‘8 Out of 10 Cats’, Rufus is also building his reputation as an accomplished actor on stage and screen with roles in ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ at London’s Savoy Theatre, ‘Cucumber’ on Channel 4, ‘The Wedding Film’ & ‘One Man Two Gov’nors’ to name just a few. 

His dry wit and sharp humour will be on display when he hosts this year’s hotly contested GIMA Awards on Thursday 16th July, which are returning to the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport South Wales.

Places are filling up fast, so don’t miss out on joining us to see who’s won this year’s top honours. To book places at the Gala Dinner visit www.gima.org.uk/gima-awards.

The GTN Bestsellers Garden Products Top 50 chart is still being dominated by lighting lines although slug and snail control products are also selling well in garden centres.

Star performers this week include:

• Westland Eraza Slug & Snail Killer is the highest climber, jumping 17 places to No 21. Vitax Slug Gone has also returned to the Top 50 bestselling items.
• Smart Garden LED Lattice Lantern Cantle is the highest new entry, jumping straight in to No 1 spot.
• Another new entry is Gardman Standard Bracket for 35/40cm Hanging Baskets (Black).
• Smart Garden Window Lantern with LED Candle is the highest re-entry at No 7.

Quantil Tomato Shirley (8cm) is the highest climber in this week’s GTN Bestsellers Veg-2-Gro chart, jumping 24 places to No 4, but there is a wide variety of young plants showing up in the Top 50.

Star performers include:

• Quantil Radish is the highest re-entry at No 22.
• Other returning items are Sweet Pepper Snack Pepper at No 23 and Chilli Pepper Jalapeno Hot Shakira at No 41.
• Farplants Bean Wigwam also returns to the chart.
• Runner bean White Emergo retains the top spot.

Scotts Levington Organic Choice Farmyard Manure (56 litres) is the star performer in the Growing Media chart, claiming the highest climber accolade and jumping 21 places to No 7.  Vital Earth Chelsea Mix (50 litres) is the highest new entry.

Other star growing media performers this week include:

• Scotts Levington Multi Purpose Compost (50 litres) has moved in to No 1 posiition.
• GroWise Multipurpose with John Innes (56 litres) is this week’s highest re-entry.
• Scotts Levington Rose, Tree & Shrub Compost (56 litres) is another returning product after doubling its sales.

Crest Garden have revealed their range of autumn winners, offering consumers great value for money on essential products for use at this important time of year. 

The Kent & Stowe autumn collection includes Loppers, Secateurs, Hedge Shears, Saws and Hand Tools. Gardeners purchasing the General Purpose Lopper for £17.99 will receive Hedge Shears worth £12.99 free of charge. There are similar value added deals on other K&S products, all of which are fully guaranteed, offer a point of difference and are endorsed with the brand philosophy ‘Built on tradition, crafted for life’ 

In addition to practical products such as the galvanised wheelbarrow and expanding lawn rake, the Crest Garden range includes particularly useful items such as the long handled automatic bulb planter and the extra-large hand leaf grabbers. 

Whether gardeners are cutting, tidying, planting or simply enjoying being out in the garden, Crest Garden can make life a little easier with well designed products that offer real value for money. Attractive packaging with great consumer appeal combined with full colour POS will ensure that these offers fly off the shelf. 

Full details of these offers are in the Crest autumn brochure, order now for delivery between August and November 2015. 

The launch of the new David Colegrave Foundation (DCF) Phalaenopsis Orchid Collection has raised £1,000 for students at the HTA National Plant Show.

DCF and Garden Centre Fresh (GCF), the orchid supplier, worked together to promote the collection at the show held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry.

Jessica Laurent, ex-horticulture student at Writtle College who was part of the orchid selection team,and DCF trustee Nigel Wait, from Barnsfold Nurseries, were also part of the show team.   

Visitors could take an orchid home for a donation with the funds going directly towards scholarships for students studying horticulture in the UK.

As well as raising enough money to provide a £1,000 scholarship, the collection which offers a distinctive fusion of summer colours and striking markings was very well received by retailers.  

The Blue Diamond Group was the first to sign up to stock the collection. James Nuttall says: “We are pleased to be able to support this project and will be stocking the DCF collection in our centres. Blue Diamond strongly believes in supporting young students in horticulture and by supporting projects like this we can play a part in raising the standards in our industry."

Van Hage will also be taking the collection. John Morgan says: “We need to bring ‘young blood’ into our industry, buy stocking the collection Van Hage can play its part in supporting young horticulturists."   

Following the successful launch at the show the collection has also been sold into Southdown’s Nurseries, Stratford Garden Centre and Orchard Park among others.  

Nigel Wait, DCF Trustee says: “We are delighted at how well the DCF Orchid Collection was received by retailers at the show. We have already raised enough money to support a student on their horticultural journey just from the show and are excited to see the collection’s progress in store - with every sale we can offer more support to students."  

For retail information on the orchid collection contact Brian Redman, Garden Centre Group Specialist at GCF, at brian@gardencentrefresh.co.uk or on 07931 464 008.   For more details on The David Colegrave Foundation visit www.davidcolegravefoundation.org.uk.

Retailers can drive up sales by showing gardeners how to ‘grow to show’ with Baby Bio Vitality.  

“Retailers can create an in-store display focused on the Baby Bio® Vitality 2-step feeding programme that shows gardeners how to ‘grow to show’.  It’s a great way to drive up fertiliser sales,” explained Bayer Garden Product Manager, Alison Mulvaney.   

“County and village shows are now only a few weeks away.  Gardeners have been carefully nurturing their prized vegetables and flowering plants for a few months.  Garden centres that show customers how to grow award winning fruit, vegetables and flowers with Top Taste or Top Bloom will see sales increase.”

The Baby Bio Vitality range combines bio-stimulants and nutrients in one product.  Designed to optimise a plant’s development, this mix creates the Activator Effect, unleashing nature’s full potential by ensuring the plant absorbs the right nutrients at the right time in its life cycle.  

For accelerated, balanced growth gardeners should use Top Growth Flowers for plants and flowers or Top Growth Edibles for fruit and vegetables from the beginning of the growing season.  As the flowers begin to form adding Top Bloom to the feeding regime will result in long lasting, bright petals.  Top Taste added to the feeding regime as the fruit and vegetables begin to form will improve ripening and flavour.   

The Baby Bio Vitality Range

Top Growth Flowers encourages fast and balanced growth and plants fed with it produce up to 70% more flowers*.  

Top Bloom, has a special blend of micronutrients that produces bright, colourful and long lasting blooms with thick petals and a more uniform colour*. 

Top Growth Edibles encourages fast and balanced growth.  In Bayer’s own trials yields were up to 35% higher than crops fed with standard NPK fertilisers.

Top Taste is specifically formulated to improve ripening, produce better flavoured, nourishing vegetables and sweeter, tastier fruit**. 

Top Defence is perfect for those moments in the season when your plants need a little extra boost.  With preventative and curative actions and usable indoors and out, Top Defence keeps plants in tip top condition, guarding against the negative effects of cold, drought and transplanting. 

* compared to not feeding.

** compared to feeding with a standard NPK formula.  

"The perfect gift for gardening friends and family," is how Johnsons' Helen Clayton describes the two new Seed Tin Collections the company has launched for the 2016 growing season. 

The Perfect for Pollinators Flower Collection and Award Winning Vegetable Collection comprise 10 packets of Johnsons seeds attractively presented in a smart, high quality, reusable tin.

"With a recommended retail price of £14.99, each has a high perceived value and represents great value for money," adds Helen. 

"The tin can be used time and again to keep seeds cool and dry, or for other gardening bits and bobs in the potting shed or greenhouse."

Other great gift ideas from Johnsons include its Designer Garden Collections, Microgreens and newly introduced Micro Snips, plus the Little Gardeners range of fascinating kits to encourage youngsters to take an interest in growing plants

To find out more about Johnsons range of seeds and gift ideas, log on at www.johnsons-trade.com or telephone 01638 554111.

The award for Best Plant Display, sponsored by Flowering Plants Ltd, announced on the second morning of the HTA National Plant Show, has gone to Wyevale Nurseries for their ‘Bringing the inside out’ themed display.

Wyevale Nurseries cleverly used planted up furniture and a fireplace setting to create an outdoor room focusing on the use of the garden as a place to entertain and an additional room to decorate with plants.

Parkers Nurseries were highly commended for their boldly coloured display tying in the colour themes of their Garden Cocktails range with parasols, picnic plates and cutlery, cushions and sweets.

Gedney Bulbs were commended for their clean and fresh display of tiered alpines and bookcase of bulbs which made a great use of space.

Key Essentials were commended for their innovative display of air plants using boat shaped units, crates and hanging branches demonstrating how even small products can be displayed effectively.

The judges for 2015 were Marcus Cousins from Aylett Nurseries, Kevin Waters from Kevin Waters Consultancy and Trevor Pfeiffer from Garden Trade News.

Presenting the awards judge Kevin Waters comments, “There are some fantastic plant displays at the show this year with the standard being incredibly high. Some of the most effective and innovative ideas do not involve spending a lot of money and are easy to replicate in a garden retail setting.”

He adds, “The winning display from Wyevale Nurseries really demonstrates how a simple idea could easily be translated into a plantarea providing inspiration for customers about making greater use of their outdoor room.”

For further information visit www.nationalplantshow.co.uk

Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts and weekly bestsellers sales tips.

The full charts which provide useful insight into product sales peaks, new trends and new link sales opportunities are published in the weekly GTN Xtra printed newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2012 as well as 2013 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

Access is by subscription only.  For £145.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most up-to-date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 01733 775700, e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

Highlights of the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers chart for last week are here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro Products Bestsellers chart for last week are here

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for last week are here

WARNING the GTN Bestsellers Charts seriously improve the business of our subscribers.  Invest 15 minutes each week in improving your sales using the GTN Bestsellers charts and your turnover and customer satisfaction will improve too.

Catering Design Group (CDG), the award winning restaurant and commercial kitchen design company for the hospitality industry, has completed the first phase of a partnership with Raemoir Garden Centre, one of Scotland’s leading independently managed garden centres. 

Raemoir Garden Centre has been helping and advising gardeners for almost 25 years. Its catering operation is considered the ‘engine room’ of the garden centre and currently accounts for 30% of the garden centres revenue, against an industry norm of between 15-20%.

The Garden Restaurant and Raemoir Café with 100 covers, enjoy an enviable reputation for providing visitors with an extensive offering of creatively prepared dishes, using quality, seasonal produce and whenever possible, locally sourced ingredients.  A dedicated team operate across the kitchen, bakery and front of house to deliver across the breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea services.

The brief to CDG for the first phase of the partnership was to find a solution that would create synergy between front and back of house and drive footfall 12 months of the year. The existing coffee bar area was tight, crowded and poorly located between the kitchen area and restaurant. The space around the pass was restricted, causing issues for the chefs and front of house teams, whilst the kitchen space was limited to plate up.

CDG answered the brief by conducting a feasibility report for the entire catering operation, defining an 18 month strategy with processes which would allow Raemoir to improve communication and flows between front and back of house, whilst also giving the business the space to evolve the catering operation at a pace they were comfortable with.

Working within a very tight timeline of just three weeks, CDG completely re-designed the front of house operation, removing the existing servery counter to improve the synergy between front and back of house to make the two operationally efficient. A new coffee bar area was created to allow greater space for customers and for the business to use as a display area, complemented by the latest coffee making equipment. A large, contemporary, chilled ambient display space was incorporated to showcase home baked items and the creation of a new ‘double-sided’ hot pass is now a focal feature of the restaurant space with additional storage - maximising efficiency for waiting staff when collecting and collating service orders, whilst also providing the chefs with an improved plating and serving area.

CDG used an innovative mix of materials to give a natural, soft, yet robust feel.  Counters were clad in an engineered board, more typically used for flooring, with a greyish wood finish, offset by a stone-effect Corian counter top.  Bespoke shelving was added to the back bar to maximise storage; and a display area with a whitewashed wood-effect laminate finish was included to complement the natural tones and provide durability and ease of cleaning.

Philip Howard, Managing Director Catering Design Group commented: “It was a huge honour to work in partnership with Raemoir Garden Centre to resolve the operational issues they were facing and this is typical of how we like to work alongside our clients to make sure that we deliver a design solution which ticks all of the boxes in terms of visual appeal and functionality. We know the strategic plan and processes we have put in place to further evolve the catering business at Raemoir will ensure continued growth of their catering business in the future.” 

Testimonial Elliot Mair, Managing Director, Raemoir Garden Centre, Banchory, Scotland

I read some great insight given by Catering Design Group (CDG) in a trade industry publication about the importance of creating synergy between front and back of house – an issue we were experiencing ourselves. As a business we choose to work with a close network of trusted specialists, who take the time to really get under the skin of our business, listen carefully to what we want to achieve and then deliver on our brief. CDG is such a company, from our initial meeting it was clear that they weren’t working to their own sales agenda, but were genuinely focused on working collaboratively with us to deliver our brief.

Over the past 25 years, we have grown Raemoir to a decent level and catering is one of the most successful areas accounting for 30% of our overall turnover, which we appreciate is far higher than the current industry standard. However, we were at a stage in our journey where we required a strategic plan to evolve our path for the future and would help to drive footfall 12 months of the year.

The brief to CDG was to take a strategic look at our overall operation and create an evolutionary plan which would allow us to grow our catering business in stages, without impacting on the day-to-day running of our business. As a crucial and already successful part of our operation it was important to us that we didn’t compromise our winning formula, but continue to evolve for the future. We are very aware that customer expectations have changed dramatically over the last 5-10 years and are far more sophisticated than we could have ever imagined at the outset.  We feel we need to keep abreast of eating-out trends and customer habits to ensure we continue to grow and this is an area of expertise in which the team at CDG particularly excel.

Managing Director, Philip Howard, created an 18 month strategic plan with processes which will allow us to drive the project at a pace we are comfortable with.  Stage one has seen them address our key issue - creating synergy between front and back of house, which has been meticulously resolved by the creation of a new pass to link the kitchen with front of house.  CDG took great care to source specialist equipment that suited our requirements, and not simply what they wanted to sell to us. They have also delivered a fantastic refurbishment to our front of house and public areas.

Part of our strategy for phase one involved introducing a full waitress service. CDG gave us guidance on the development of our existing EPOS system, advising us on the latest integrated, handheld/tablet devices now available, which we hugely appreciated, because they were already thinking about how we needed to evolve in the future. This is the level of expertise that we truly value, as it gave us the confidence to take the next step with our EPOS supplier.

Our partnership with CDG has exceeded our expectations. Our catering space is the engine room of the garden centre. Already having 100 covers, we didn’t want to put any pressure on our existing infrastructure by increasing the number - we simply wanted to make the operation and the customer experience slicker. We know that if we get the engine room right, this will pave the way for further expansion. Our relationship with CDG is not short term, quite the opposite, this is about the long term evolution of our business and I very much look forward to the next phase in our partnership.

Sunday 1 November marks the return of Nordic Organic Food Fair to Malmö, Sweden. With its focus on new innovations from across the organic food and drink sector, this popular two-day event is an essential calendar date for thousands of retailers and foodservice professionals from across Scandinavia.

The Nordic region’s only dedicated international trade show for organic food and drink, Nordic Organic Food Fair has enjoyed strong industry support from the outset.  Since its launch in 2013, it has enjoyed significant year-on-year growth and been shortlisted for two best trade show awards along the way.

For 2015, it’s on track for its biggest sell-out edition yet.  Thanks to rave reviews and a 13% increase in attendees last year (it welcomed 3,558 natural and organic industry professionals from 51 countries), the 2015 event will boast an unprecedented 200 exhibiting companies.  That’s a 53% increase in exhibitors showcasing a vibrant choice of healthy, sustainable, natural, raw, certified organic food and drink, and speciality ingredients.

Valued at over €3.1bn (up from €2bn in 2011), the Nordic organic food market is big business.  Organic food and beverage sales in Sweden and Denmark alone, home to 81% of the show’s visitors, have both reported significant increases over the last five years (151% and 62% respectively).  From ambitious government plans to double organic farmland in Denmark by 2020 to KRAV’s target of a 20% share of Swedish grocery sales for its KRAV-labeled food (also by 2020) – the market is poised to get even bigger.  And it is new innovations – like the ones being showcased at Nordic Organic Food Fair – that are helping to feed that growth.

“This is the fair that everyone in the organic sector wants to participate in – it’s the perfect place to make contacts and get a good sense of the market,” says Mimi Eriksson Dekker, ‎project leader at EkoMatCentrum.

“I enjoyed the show,” says Niki Bønnelycke, head of fruit & vegetable department at Nemlig.com.  “It enabled me to broaden my network of contacts and speak to suppliers from around the world.  Finding new products from countries such as Spain, without having to travel far, was ideal.  I will definitely visit again.”

The latest organic innovations

So, what can visitors expect from the show’s biggest edition so far?  Well, more new companies for a start.  As ever, the show’s exhibitor line-up is comprehensively eclectic – filled with a who’s who of companies that will be helping to shape the future of organic over the next twelve months.

Biodynamiska Produkter, Biolab Vegetarian & Vegan Organic Food, LOOV – Power of Nature, Intellifood Sweden AB, Biova Organic Food, Sonnentor, Pukka Herbs, and World Wide Cheese are just a few of the returning exhibitors confirmed so far.

Whilst Ecoturca (Turkey), Oately (Sweden), Les Jardins De Gaïa (France), fresh vegetable producer Nautilus Organics (The Netherlands), Region of Castilla La Mancha (Spain), Havera OU – Liivimaa Lihaveis (Estonia), Pronatec (Switzerland), Natessen (Sweden), and Plenish Cleanse (from UK) are all busy preparing to make their debut in Malmö this year.

In addition to a host of new companies, new features for 2015 include The Wine & Beer Tasting Zone, plus pavilions from Belgium (hosted by Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia) and Greece (Novacert).  They join returning pavilions from Menigo, with its Organic Marketplace for Fresh Produce (featuring their own chef doing live demos throughout the show), KRAV, Biofood, Agrarmarkt Austria, Andalusia, Italy, Soil Association Certification, and Organic Denmark (which has already sold out).

With a focus on promoting fresh organic produce from Danish suppliers, this year’s Organic Denmark Pavilion will feature Is fra Skarø/Biosynergy, Mejnerts Mølle, Fynbo Foods, Q-Kaffe & Kakao, Valsemøllen, Nordic Chufa, Biogan A/S, Herrens Mark, Skee Ismejeri, Smily Rainbow, Solhjulet A/S, Tea2you – Tremendous Taste of Tea, Them Dairy, and Tvedemose Champignon.

Industry trends & innovations

The show’s Organic Theatre is renowned for attracting ‘inspirational’ big names from across the organic industry.  This year’s line-up already includes Netto’s COO Thor Jørgensen, Green & Black’s co-founder Craig Sams, and Johan Girdo, commercial director of Oatly already confirmed.   The full programme (including essential market updates) is set to be unveiled within the next month.

Save the date for 2015

Exciting, inspiring, important and relevant – that’s the verdict from Nordic Organic Food Fair 2014.  This year’s show already looks set for more of the same.

Nordic Organic Food Fair (1-2 November, MalmöMässan, Sweden) is co-located with Natural Products Scandinavia, which means visiting food buyers also benefit from access to the latest natural food and drink products from world-leading brands like Clipper, Planet Organic, Lifefood, and Veganz.

To register for a free trade ticket, please visit www.nordicorganicexpo.com and quote priority code NOFUK122 (direct link: www.eventdata.co.uk/Visitor/Nordic.aspx?TrackingCode=NOFUK122).

A new Garden Kitchen restaurant, which concentrates in-season ingredients sourced locally, has been opened at Northampton, a Wyevale Garden Centre.

Garden centre manager Richard Durrant said: "The Garden Kitchen Restaurant is a wonderful addition for us at our Northampton garden centre.

“As a garden centre, we have the utmost respect for freshly grown ingredients, and our new menu and new-look restaurant is a natural development for Wyevale Garden Centres, giving us the opportunity to celebrate our link with the garden and nature and share that with our customers.

“We know that they are always looking for fresh food cooked with great British ingredients and we look forward to surprising them throughout the year, with our changing menu and delicious dishes.”

Garden centre catering is big business. The latest HTA/ Ipsos Moris statistics show that over 50% of garden centres now offer on-site catering facilities, with an estimated 55 million visits to garden centre cafes taking place in 2011 alone. 

Here, Catering Design Group – an award-winning restaurant and commercial kitchen design company and exclusive partners of Glee’s Food & Catering Zone during 2015 - shares its top 10 do’s and don’ts for garden centres to consider when running a catering operation. 

Top advice from Philip Howard, Managing Director, Catering Design Group:

1. Do take the time to research what is happening on the high street and in your local area. The high street will always have a major influence on eating trends within garden centres, so use the opportunity to draw inspiration from both
2. Don’t ignore the importance of provenance. Provenance is king and at the forefront of consumer thinking. It is all about the use of fresh, seasonal produce from local and ethical sources. Ludlow Kitchen is a fine example of this, with virtually all the food for the restaurant being sourced in-house from Ludlow Food Centre, just 100 metres away
3. Do ensure you capitalise on the highly lucrative UK coffee shop market which is enjoying current growth rates of more than seven times that of the British economy. It is predicted that the total UK coffee shop market will exceed 20,000 outlets and £8bn turnover by 2017. Customers now expect a premium coffee offer, and if done well it can provide operators with fantastic income and margin opportunities
4. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to transform your restaurant into a destination. Great design can increase your revenue, profit, footfall, spend per head and drive loyalty. It can draw customers in and encourage purchasing in all areas of the store that might otherwise have been made on the high street or online
5. Do take the time to consider the ambience of your restaurant or café. The right ambience will create a ‘feel good’ factor which in turn encourages cross-selling and increased spend
6. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all you have to do is choose a swanky counter, your favourite furniture and a sophisticated colour scheme to create a successful dining space. The reality is very different
7. Do take the time to carefully consider the use of your restaurant space. There is absolutely no point in having a fantastic looking retail or eating space if it is difficult to operate and doesn’t deal effectively with customer traffic. Consider queue management, speed and delivery of service, together with retail opportunities en-route
8. Don’t underestimate the power of the customer journey and experience. Define your space with the clever use of furniture and materials.  It is possible to direct customers by creating interest, pathways and focal points. Zones work in the same way, subconsciously leading the customer through the space to ensure maximum engagement with their environment
9. Do pay careful attention to seating. Choose your seating based on how long you want customers to linger. Opt for soft seating if you want your customers to stay longer and hard or high level seating for shorter visits
10. Don’t forget to maximise opportunities provided by outside spaces. It sounds really obvious, but you’ll be amazed how many operators neglect to make good use of their outside space for their food offer. Alfresco dining can offer your customers a completely different experience and is the perfect way to showcase and promote sales of other products. The key is to ensure the design is consistent with your indoor space and also complements your overall offer

Since 2012, the Food & Catering Zone at Glee, has become a ‘must-see’ feature for those thinking of setting up a catering facility from scratch, or in need of ideas to reinvigorate an existing one. This year, to drive further content and catering inspiration, Catering Design Group (CDG) has come on board as exclusive partners of the Glee Food & Catering Zone.

Talking about the exclusive partnership, Philip Howard said: “We’re delighted to be returning to Glee as the exclusive sponsors of the Food & Catering Zone in 2015. We’ll be bringing along our great team of experts across design, kitchen planning and project management to give visitors advice and answer any questions on all aspects of restaurant design and build. We’ll also be sharing an abundance of hints, tips, trends and insights to enable visitors to create a destination catering space, so do pop by and say hello!” 

This year the Food & Catering Zone is set to be better than ever, and will be a rich resource for any retailer wanting to expand their catering facilities.  As always this dedicated area will address key issues via an unrivalled workshop programme, with details of the full schedule set to be announced shortly. 

Additionally there will be a wealth of big name brands and niche suppliers covering areas of expertise including catering services, confectionary, kitchen equipment, kitchenware and café/restaurant design consultancy. Key names to look out for include: Bon Bons Wholesale, Findlaters Fine Foods, BBQ Gourmet, Chaucer Foods, The Cutlery Polisher, and Tudor Coffee.