In This Issue
Aussie bid for Homebase could intensify competition
It's getting a bit Crowdered out there....
Winter weather fuels sales of cold-weather products
Rising Stars prepare for Brighton finale on Monday
Brantano crisis could impact garden centre concessions
'Golden Age' ahead as horticulture action plan is launched
Improved performance halts Thompson & Morgan sales process
Further growth for Harrogate Christmas & Gift
New Area Sales Manager for Town & Country
Future of garden centres in the hands of a new shopper
New training bursary at Thrive in memory of the late Charles Notcutt
Andy McIndoe appointed new Trustee at Greenfingers
Are You Still Loving Your Plot?
Christmas footfall helps lifts seeds and bulbs sales
Join GTN Xtra on the HTA Netherlands Retail Study Tour 17-19 February 2016
Third GROW London show aims to inspire city dwellers
The Greatest Awards go back on tour in 2016
Loose lbs and gain £'s for Garden Re-Leaf Day
Plant Area Manager (Full time, including alternate weekends)
Horticultural/Plantarea Manager (West Yorkshire)
Bedding Department Head (Full time, including alternate weekends)
Plantarea Manager/ Supervisory (Berkshire)
Plantarea Manager/Horticultural Manager/Garden Centre
Plant Area Sales Assistant (Full time, including alternate weekends)
Horticultural/Plantarea Manager (Somerset)
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Early-bird garden product sales are disappointing
Growing media sales off to a flying start
Onions set the pace in Veg-2-Gro Bestsellers
Pictures from The Greatest Christmas Gold-winning Teams
Brookside Garden Centre
Haskins West End
Hillmount Garden Centre
Mains of Drum
Premier Decorations
Bents and Le Friquet
The Greatest Christmas Display winners
Silverbirch (Small Garden Centre Gold)
Old Railway Line (Mid-sized Garden Centre Gold)
Barton Grange (Large Garden Centre Gold)
Le Friquet (Group Garden Centre Gold)
Matt's over the moon to be a Rising Star at Squires
Coolings Rising Star Sophie loves responsibility
From watching at Blackpool, Will Clark is now a Barton Grange Rising Star at Brighton
Jack Fillingham graduates from Sunshine training scheme to Rising Stars
Barton Grange Cookshop Rising Star Kath Bailey sets her goal on winning in Brighton
Sam Clark from Cowells is "chuffed" to be a Rising Star
'Make room for gnomes' urges Squire's
Groen-Direkt comes of age!
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
Situations Vacant
Plant Area Manager (Full time, including alternate weekends)
West Horsley KT24 6AR
 
Read more»
Horticultural/Plantarea Manager (West Yorkshire)
Salary: Dependent on experience
Read more»
Bedding Department Head (Full time, including alternate weekends)
West Horsley KT24 6AR
 
Read more»
Plantarea Manager/ Supervisory (Berkshire)
Salary: Dependent on experience
Read more»
Plantarea Manager/Horticultural Manager/Garden Centre
Salary: £18,000-£24,000
Read more»
Plant Area Sales Assistant (Full time, including alternate weekends)
Twickenham TW2 5PA
 
Read more»
Horticultural/Plantarea Manager (Somerset)
Salary: £20,000-£24,000
Read more»
Send us your news and great ideas

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



GTN's The Greatest Christmas Awards 2105
are sponsored by:
























New training bursary at Thrive in memory of the late Charles Notcutt
 
Thrive has announced a new training bursary made possible by a touching and generous donation to the charity in the name of the late Charles Notcutt who passed away last year aged 81.
 
Mr Notcutt, OBE, was an inspirational and popular leader of the horticultural community and was instrumental in the rapid growth of the family firm, Notcutt’s.
 
The Charles Notcutt Memorial Bursary will enable five students to complete Thrive's Award in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture.
 
The Award combines two days of teaching with an eight week period of accompanied self-directed learning. The bursary will cover the cost of five places on our specialist knowledge programme, followed by access to the Award assignment. The ordinary combined cost of this is £550.
 
The closing date for applications is Friday 29th April, 2016.
 
Thrive is the leading charity in the UK that uses gardening to help people living with disabilities or ill health, or those who are isolated, disadvantaged or vulnerable, at their four regional centres and in the community, by using plants and gardening to bring positive changes to their lives.
 
If you have ever marvelled at the beauty of a flower, felt that sense of excitement, then satisfaction as your seedlings start to grow or feel refreshed and rejuvenated after a long walk in nature, then you have directly experienced some of the founding principles that have given rise to the profession of social and therapeutic horticulture (STH) which Thrive is the leading authority on in the UK.
 
As well as helping hundreds of people each year, the charity plays an important role in training people from a wide range of backgrounds, including health, social care and horticulture or people who are looking for a new career.
 
Damien Newman, Thrive’s National Training and Education Coordinator, said: “More and more people from different backgrounds are deciding to embark upon a new career in social and therapeutic horticulture.
 
“We offer ‘Step into Social and Therapeutic Horticulture’ workshops that provide a great introduction and provide careers advice and connect people with opportunities to volunteer.
 
“And Thrive can help people who want to take their training further, or become professional horticultural therapists, to study courses that we run in collaboration with Coventry University and Pershore College.  In total around 700 people access our training programme each year.”
 
Looking to the future, Damien describes horticultural therapy movement as being “on the crest of a wave” and as it continues to gain credibility as a proven, cost-effective treatment that could help vulnerable people with a range of support needs and save the NHS millions of pounds each year, it is little surprise that the interest of the medical profession has once again been aroused.
 
Former President of the Royal College of Physicians and Thrive Patron Sir Richard Thompson was one of the first to call for gardening to be prescribed on the NHS.
 
He said: "I have, for some time, thought doctors should prescribe a course of gardening for people who come to them with depression or stroke.
 
"Drug therapy can be really expensive, but gardening costs little and anyone can do it."
 
Dr William Bird, a GP who advises Public Health England on physical activity, believes that every £1 spent on horticultural therapy could save the health service £5 in other treatments:
 
“Some doctors have not yet accepted that something so simple can be more effective than drugs,” said Dr Bird.
 
“But we know it works; and I would say the ‘green gym’ is good for everyone, but it is particularly beneficial for people with mental ill health, depression, anxiety and dementia.”
 
“The savings made could see money being channelled in other directions such as cancer drugs.”
 
There are currently around 11.9 million living with a disability in the UK. In order to ensure that many more can experience the benefits of gardening for health and well-being, Thrive believes it is essential that a new generation of professionals and practitioners are equipped with the skills and knowledge required to offer credible, high quality therapy sessions across the UK.  
 
Damien added: “Thrive, alongside others in Green Care, the Horticultural Trades Association and RHS have been promoting gardening for health and well-being, making connections with the medical profession and trying to get Public Health to recognise the value of Horticulture for health and wellbeing.

“More calls for doctors to ‘prescribe gardening’ mean we could see a huge demand for people who have knowledge of horticulture and have been trained to use horticulture as a therapy in the coming years.”
 
For more information about Thrive and the training opportunities they offer visit www.thrive.org.uk
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Del.icio.us Digg
Email Software by Newsweaver