The administrators called in at Solus Garden & Leisure gave GTN Xtra assurances yesterday that deliveries were continuing as normal ahead what looks likely to be a peak trading week-end.

Price Waterhouse Cooper’s PR spokesman Kathy Maginn told GTN Xtra that the supply situation would be reviewed after the administrators had dealt with urgent staff issues. “Key suppliers will be contacted with an update next week,” she said.

Rob Hunt and Tony Barrell of PwC were appointed joint administrators on Thursday, ending weeks of speculation about the company’s future. They said a number of potential purchasers had already expressed interest.

Solus had failed to find additional investment following “difficult trading conditions”. Considerable interest had been shown in the business but no offers had provided a solvent outcome and as a result, the directors decided to place the company into administration.”

Talks with one potential partner, Scotts, broke down last month at an advanced stage of negotiations.

Solus, whose head office is at Hunnington,Worcestershire, had turnover of £29.3m in the six months to 30 March 2014. It has a workforce of 250.

It’s key wholesaling operation is complemented by a range of well-known brands, including Yeoman, Joseph Bentley, ChapelWood, Garden Nation, Botanico and Bermuda.

Tony Barrell said PwC’s immediate priority was to engage with employees, key customers and suppliers so Solus could continue to trade. This, he believed, was achievable. Employees would continue to be paid “for work done prior to our appointment and whilst they continue to work”.

Ross Yealland contacted GTN Xtra last night to pass on a message from his father, Simon, and explain as much as he could about the move of Solus Garden & Leisure into Administration.

Ross explained: “The sales process over the past six weeks has resulted in a number of parties being interested in buying Solus. However this has been unsuccesful as a solvent business. Therefore on Thursday the board made the decision to allow Administrators to manage the next stage of the sale process. No third party was instrumental in putting Solus into Administration.

“Thursday was very painful for the family and the staff.  I believe there is a good chance of the business surviving but there will be some difficulties along the way.  Administration doesn't mean liquidation, and the Administrators PwC will now manage the sale process.  Selling as an entirety is still an option at this stage.”

“In the meantime Solus has over £10m of stock and PwC will be managing the continued supply to our valued customers, which include The Garden Centre Group and Dobbies.

Ross then passed on a message from his father, Simon Yealland: “ I remain grateful to all of Solus’s employees for their unbelievable dedication and hard work. The business's priority continues to be the supply of products to our many loyal customers.”

Only the directors will ever be able to shed full light on why one of the garden industry’s pivotal and most-admired businesses – which only two years ago was voted the GCA’s supplier of the year in the GIMA Awards (see picture) – should have today found itself in administration.

For now, all we have to go on is an assurance (less than 24 hours after the news broke) from the commercial director that the stakeholders are still supportive while the administrators continue their bid to sell the company as a going concern. As is his prerogative, chief executive Mark Pearson, appointed after the departure of MD Nick Davies (who had worked for Solus for 29 years) has remained silent, except to tell us that they would be investigating a complaint received from one garden centre that their regular delivery had not turned up.

So the events leading up to this week’s dramatic development remain the subject of conjecture. But when the post-mortem begins, these will surely be among the issues on the agenda.

1.The balance sheet… Why did a business with turnover in the range of £84m to £96m in the years 2010 to 2012 (the latest published accounts) take such a turnover hit in 2013/14. Turnover for the six months to March 2014 had slumped to £29.3m (according to PwC, the administrators), which some believe is around £20 million adrift from where you might expect it to be. That would be a big hit. The Garden Centre Group’s decision to set up its own distribution centre may well have contributed to the pain. Ironically, good weather has produced one of the best trading springs for years…

2. The sales force… Solus began shedding experienced sales staff at this time last year and by the year end had parted company with Davies, who announced he was setting up a new joint venture, backed by Westland. We can only assume that Solus had identified a need for big change. But will it have turned out to be too much, too soon…? The loss of so many experienced, senior staff in such a short space of may well have upset the balance of the business, to the detriment of its sales performance.

3. Re-inventing the wheel… If Solus saw the need to ‘modernise’ to meet the needs of younger consumers now widely courted by the retailers, were they aiming at the right target? The garden retail market is still largely driven by the ‘grey pound’ and will probably continue to be so. Its needs are pretty basic. “Let the retailers do the polishing,” some might argue. “Just deliver in the products.”

4. The Scotts saga… Retailers and suppliers alike agreed that Scotts and Solus would have made a strong partnership, giving Solus the extra investment it needed. After the prospect of a deal had been made public, Solus withdrew. If the directors were waiting for a better deal around the corner, this may turn out to be the biggest regret of all.

Sam Bosworth, Bosworth Nurseries & Garden Centre and chairman of Choice Marketing, said:

“Choice is probably Solus’s biggest single account since The Garden Centre Group left. We have contracts with Solus for wholesale supplies, 100 per cent for birdcare and some own brands.

"Although we are aware of what has been going on, we have stuck by our contracts but in view of developments we felt we should have contingency plans so we additionally opened accounts for all our members with Decco.

"We also opened accounts with third party suppliers. Solus supply Choice members with 100 per cent of their birdcsare and 80 per cent of birdcare accessories so we have been negotiating with others suppliers. We now have offers for our birdcare business and will make a recommendation after meeting them both next week.

"A final decision will be made at our conference in Daventry on 10-11 June. Garden centres interested in joining Choice can apply to attend (email: info@choice-marketing.co.uk).”

John Findlay, CEO at the Decco wholesale group told GTN Xtra:

“Solus has been an important part of the garden trade for many years and has given strong support to both manufacturers and retailers. It is regrettable that they now find themselves in their current position and it is not good for the industry as a whole. While many suppliers may be adversely affected we should be particularly mindful of the impact that the situation will have on Solus employees and their families.

“That said, we do however have to deal with the reality of the situation. The next three weeks will decide how good the year will be for most garden centres and at Decco we have good stock levels and the resources are in place to get products delivered to retailers.

David Hibbert, joint MD, Stax Trade Centres, said

“When Spread went out of business some years ago we saw it as an opportunity to get a foothold in this market and we have grown steadily ever since. Obviously we were seen by the industry as the third of three players behind Solus and Decco, but at some point we thought we could move up – but not in this fashion.

“It is very sad for the market and especially for the staff and their families. No-one wanted this to happen and everyone you talk to speaks well of Solus

Barry Page, chief executive, Town & Country, said:

“It is with regret that we hear that Solus are now in administration. It is a sad day for the industry. They are a key player and extremely supportive to garden centres.

“We wish to assure the industry that Town and Country are 100% fully stocked and have the facilities to deal quickly with the situation.

GIMA Director Vicky Nuttall has admitted that news of Solus going into administration will hit many of its members hard.

"It’s very sad that despite this year’s buoyant season Solus were unable to find a way forward out of their troubles," she said.

"This news will hit many of the GIMA membership hard, particularly the smaller companies, not to mention the impact on the Solus employees.  

"Let’s hope that despite this disappointment, the season continues to shine on us all and we can trade through it over the next few months."

Martin Stewart of Stewart Garden Centres said:

“Having dealt with Solus and their predecessors, Gibbs Palmer, as our only wholesaler since 1983, I find this particularly sad, not only for the team of people at Solus, but particularly for the Yealland Family. Simon Yealland was so supportive of us over the last three decades. What  they have had to endure over recent years is truly unfair. My thoughts are with Simon and Sue right now.

The trade will survive, it will adapt, as it always has done and will continue to do so.

In fairness, Solus is not as critical a supplier as it was even five years ago. We will continue to do business with them until we know more about what the future holds. Meanwhile the spring continues to be the best for many years. That’s ironic."

Derek Bunker of Altons Garden Centre, said:

“I am decimated by the sad news. Solus was such a good supplier for so long and previously of course as Gibbs Palmer. It is amazing the sadness throughout the whole industry, not least of all by many competitors.

“You need experience to run a business in the garden industry so I think the whole trade is praying that whoever takes over at Solus has the know-how to run it properly and that we can get some stability in the trade once again. Life without any form of Solus is not something I look forward to.”

Nigel Wallis, Baytree Nurseries Garden Centre, confirmed that Baytree received their normal delivery this week. Their birdcare is  exclusively Chapelwood and they take other Solus own brands. The centre had been getting 95% or 100% deliveries lately.

Recent research conducted by the UK’s number one weedkiller brand Roundup has shown some interesting facts on how Roundup Gel is changing the weedkiller market.

Even though consumer purchases of Roundup Gel increased by 90% in 2013, 65% of those sales were to customers who hadn’t bought Gel before.

Perhaps the most remarkable finding of the research was that 14% of those that bought Gel in 2013 hadn’t purchased a weed killer in recent years, if ever. This is on on top of 12% declaring this in 2012. This shows that the unique benefits that Gel offers, most specifically Accuracy and Control have attracted around 200,000 new customers into the weed killer category so far, with many more new users likely to follow in coming years as the award winning Roundup Gel TV advertising campaign continues.

The good news continues….

• Gel is such a handy product to use, it more like a weeding tool. Due to this 80% of customers are using Gel at least once a month and 24% are using it one a week for weed control!
• While Gel is such a unique product, some gardeners will undoubtedly still want and need to use a traditional spray in larger areas. This is great new for retailers, with these customers, 56% in fact, continuing to purchase another product, which helps to increase sales further.
• Finally, the satisfaction rating for Roundup Gel is extremely high with 89% saying they intend to purchase Gel again in 2014. So with high purchase intention, new users and more than half buying Gel as well as their current product, Roundup Gel is giving the weed killer market an incredible boost.

Gary Philpotts, Roundup Lawn and Garden UK Business Director, said: “This research clearly shows the huge potential of Roundup Gel to keep growing in popularity. To capitalise on this, we’d advise all retailers to make sure Gel is very visible to customers by ordering Gel display units, as well as stocking Roundup Gel at the cash desk through the season to secure further sales from this extremely in-demand product.”

To find out more about the UK’s leading weed killer brand and how it can help you increase sales this season, visit www.roundup-garden.com/trade or call 01483 410334.

Roundup® is a registered trade mark of Monsanto Technology LLC.

Leading European private equity firm Terra Firma, owners of The Garden Centre Group, is sponsoring “101 Plants from China,” designed by Burncoose Nurseries, at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The British gardening public remains largely unaware that so many of the most popular everyday plants in Britain’s  gardens were in fact first discovered only 100 or so years ago in Southern China and its historical outlying provinces.

“101 Plants from China” will showcase many plants which were brought to Britain by the great plant hunters Ernest Wilson, George Forrest and Frank Kingdom Ward who travelled to China after 1905 on often dangerous and difficult expeditions to collect seeds from new and unknown species of plants. The garden will be designed as a rocky Chinese ravine featuring the plants which the great British plant hunters would have seen for the first time.

Guy Hands, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Terra Firma, said: “It is wonderful to see so much rich history and personality poured into this garden design. The impact that China has had on gardening in Britain today is immense and surprisingly unknown. The Burncoose garden is a wonderful illustration of how many of today’s most common plants came from China to our shores and into our gardens.”

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Terra Firma and Burncoose Nurseries partnering for the Chelsea Flower Show. Terra Firma also has a longstanding relationship with The Prince’s Trust and uses its sponsorship at RHS Chelsea to support the work of the charity. This year’s Prince’s Trust Ambassador, Jerry Hall, will be visiting the Burncoose stand at Chelsea on Monday.

About Terra Firma
Founded by Guy Hands in 1994, Terra Firma is one of Europe’s leading private equity firms. Terra Firma specialises in the acquisition and fundamental transformation of asset-backed businesses in essential industries, focusing on investments in transformational private equity, operational real estate and infrastructure. Over the last 19 years, Terra Firma has invested over €16 billion of equity and completed transactions with an aggregate enterprise value of €45 billion. www.terrafirma.com

About Burncoose Nurseries
Burncoose Nurseries is one of the UK’s largest and most respected providers of top quality plants. Burncoose nursery is part of the Caerhays Estate which is managed by current owner, Charles Williams. The quality of Burncoose’s plants can be seen in the company’s long history of scooping gold medals from Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) shows. Burncoose employs its own exhibition team and attends major horticultural shows throughout the country – including Chelsea and Hampton Court. Burncoose Nurseries has been a regular at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for more than 25 years, and has won 21 Gold medals and 10 Silver Gilt medals over the years. Most recently the Burncoose Nurseries’ ‘Gardens of Cornwall – A Mining Heritage Garden’ won Silver Gilt in 2012.

About The Prince’s Trust
The Prince's Trust supports 13- to 30-year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by The Trust are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health problems, or they have been in trouble with the law. The Trust’s programmes give vulnerable young people the practical and financial support needed to stabilise their lives, helping develop self-esteem and skills for work. Three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training. The Prince of Wales’s charity has helped 750,000 young people since 1976 and supports over 100 more each day.

With the World Cup now only a month away we can start to dream of a Brazillian summer – a summer full of BBQ parties, re-creating great goals on the lawn and basking in the sunshine as though we were on Copacabana Beach.

After a great spring for garden centre sales, we actually only need an ‘average’ summer now to reach the half year at 6% up for volume sales.  

Our latest GTN Bestsellers prediction would even take total volume sales for the first six months to above the levels of 2011 and 2009 by nearly 2.5%.  

If the weather is better than ‘average’ and England get past the group stage of the World Cup, the feel good factor could send sales booming even higher.

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

• Garden Products – down 9%
• Veg 2 Gro – down 44%
• Growing Media – down 25%
• All items index – down 16%

• Gardman Solar Stainless Steel Border Light retains No 1 spot in the chart while Smart Solar Flutterby Butterfly is the highest climber, moving up 19 places.
• Westland Eraza Slug Killer has increased sales to move to No 13.
• Westland Nutri Tomato Feed is the highest re-entry at No 22 while Scotts Levington Tomorite is at No 3.

After working with its traditional mystery shopper programme for the past eight years, Bents Garden & Home has launched a new customer initiative which enables the Warrington-based centre to generate direct feedback from over 3,600 customers per year.

The new programme, thought to be a first in the industry, allows Bents to capture feedback and act upon it immediately; helping to improve quality and service on a continual basis.  Crucially, the information gathered is from actual customers as opposed to pretend ‘mystery shoppers’ who previously visited the Centre each year as part of its previous programme.

Having worked with a traditional mystery shopper programme, which measured service levels based on pre-determined questions and situations, Bents wanted to radically transform the situation and generate direct feedback from actual customers by asking what they considered to be good service.

The team from Bents approached several companies with their idea and joined forces with Shopper Anonymous who shared their expertise and together helped create a new tailor made programme. The new programme is split into three distinct categories with data collected three times per month.

Says Dawn Chalmers, Customer Service Manager at Bents Garden & Home: “We wanted to create a completely new initiative which would allow us to engage more closely with our customers. The new programme provides us with the opportunity to generate direct feedback helping us to respond quickly and effectively to whatever comments are put forward. It is already proving very beneficial to the business and our customers both in terms of immediate service levels and future planning.”

The new programme involves:  an on-site audit, which checks basic service standards such as parking, trolleys, cleanliness; a telephone survey; and exit surveys with customers which ask 3 simple questions about their experience ending by asking ‘if there was one thing they could change about Bents what would it be?’ 

Says Dawn:  “By asking this question we are empowering the customer; allowing them to give direct feedback about their visit which is immediately fed back to the management team and, if needed, we can act straight away.”

Bents has already been approached by other leading brands with a request to share information and feedback on the new programme.  Bents believes the new initiative is not only innovative for the garden centre industry, but for retail in general and is keen to share its new approach with other like-minded retailers.

For more information visit www.bents.co.uk

As part of their community outreach programme, Scotts Miracle-Gro have encouraged more than 10,000 school pupils to embrace and enjoy gardening and horticulture for the first time.

More than 100 schools have taken part in the Chelsea Challenge 2014 to grow plants good enough for the company's  display at the world’s most prestigious flower show. Plants grown by these 10,000 Miracle-Gro’wers will be exhibited on the Miracle-Gro stand GPA/3 in the Great Pavilion as part of the Discovery Area.

"As our three gardens are part of the educational Discovery Area, we have to have an educational theme that will help visitors understand some of the fundamental lessons of good gardening. So the gardens, graphics and children will tell how composts, feeds and garden care products can make a big difference to the plants we grow," said a Scotts spokesperson.

"Primary schools throughout the country have been growing flowering plants for our first Chelsea garden using different composts and garden soil. These experiments will show that using a good compost will help to grow bigger and better plants when compared to other growing media.

"The vegetables for the second garden have also been grown by primary school children, but this time the experiments undertaken show how plant feeds encourage strong, healthy growth.

"Our third garden, created and grown by secondary schools, shows the results of experiments with the best temperatures for plant growth and other care regimes including draughts, hard or soft water and light levels.

 New plants

Scotts' gardens will also feature some new plant varieties that the children have grown, some of which will be put forward for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Best New Plant Competition. All the children that have grown them have their fingers crossed with expectation.

These include: 

Alstroemeria Inca Smile (Koncasmile)

Unlike other alstroemerias, Inca Smile has giant flowers, at least twice the size of many other alstroemeria varieties, which have much more impact than similar dwarf varieties. The flowers stand well above the neat foliage. It is an amazing border plant, for the front of the border, but is also perfectly suitable for patio containers, somewhere that has previously been difficult to establish. The blooms are incredibly beautiful, like orchids, and this strain represents the first of a new line of big impact patio Peruvian lilies.

Gerbera Garvinea Sweet Series

In all respects, Garvinea is a true innovation. Garvinea is a revolution in garden plants – with a generous flowering period of three long seasons from early spring until the first autumn frost. Plants produce more than 100 flowers creating a beautiful spectacle in the garden and they can be picked and enjoyed as cut flowers. The large-flowered Garvinea Sweet Series, features Garvinea Sweet Dreams (purple), Garvinea Sweet Sixteen (pink), Garvinea Sweet Glow (orange) and Garvinea Sweet Honey (golden yellow).

Pelargonium PAC® Bermuda® Series

The PAC® Bermuda® series is a new concept in Pelargonium grandiflorum. Its early flowering from overwintered rooted cuttings gives gardeners the chance to have a very floriferous indoor pot plant that can then be transferred to the outside garden, in containers, for summer flowering. Its compact and bushy habit creates a very well formed plant with all the flowers being produced above the leaves.

Petunia Black Night

Black Night is the world’s first double black petunia. It doesn’t set seed, which means it flowers continuously throughout summer. The flowers have good weather resistance and are constantly produced, making Black Night very low maintenance. The ruffled double flowers are longer lasting and more robust than single black petunias. The two-tone velvety sheen of the petals gives Black Night a very contemporary look and feel.

Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre in Somerset has launched a new click and collect compost service, which will be available via the company's website.

Norma Moore, General Manager of the award-winning, independent family-run garden centre,at Monkton Heathfield in Taunton, explained: “These days many people are looking for a quick and convenient way to shop and simply don’t have the time to pop in for a leisurely browse.

“We’ve decided to introduce a click and collect compost service for people who are short of time. All people need to do is log on to our website at www.monktonelmgardencentre.co.uk, browse our range of composts and select the ones they’d like to purchase.

“Our helpful staff will then prepare the order and have it ready to be collected at our new collection point, which is located just off the main drive inside our entrance gate.”

When people visit the garden centre to pick up their purchase they will need to sound their horn and a member of staff will be on-hand to help load the order into their car.

Norma added: “We ask people using our new service to allow us two hours to pick and prepare the order before it is ready for collection. Customers should bring along a proof purchase or proof of identification of the bill payer.”

“We’ve also recently launched our new late night open evenings on Thursdays. Every Thursday we are open until 7.30pm so people can make their compost orders on their lunch break and pick up their goods on their way home.”

Coletta & Tyson Garden Centre in East Yorkshire has relaunched its pet shop, 4pets, with state-of-the-art repitle and aquatics sections plus a small animal island.

“We have worked so hard to make sure our new pet department is efficient, innovative and a great place for customers to come and spend their time," said marketing manager Lauren Cocks. "The feedback so far from the customers has been great."

Alongside the animals and fish, 4pets has an extensive range of feed and care items for pets new and old. There is a large range of branded food and treats as well as everything a customer may need to train and keep their pets happy. .

From the Oasis Café, customers can see into the aquatics section and view the selection of marine, tropical and goldfish. The aquatics specialist can assist customers with their new or current tanks, and can provide a home water-testing service to check the tank has the right conditions for the fish. 

Within the reptile section, customers can find snakes, lizards, tortoises, frogs and toads, salamanders, tarantulas and spiders, stick insects and even various species of invertebrates. They can also ask questions of a specialist staff member, who is passionate about the creatures he cares for.

Since 4pets opened the garden centres has worked with the local college to provide work experience and apprenticeships for students on their Animal Management course. The students add to the team of seven staff who are all experts in their areas.

For more information visit www.colettagardencentre.co.uk

This exciting new role, based in Scotland and also covering Northern Ireland, offers a great opportunity to the right person with an in-depth understanding of horticulture and its industry sectors, including commercial production retail and landscaping.

You will be engaging with members to ensure strategies developed by the HTA remain market leading and relevant. Ensuring that the national and regional governments' horticultural policy is communicated to members and helping members benefit from any assistance given via those "policies".

Working closely within the HTA team, the role involves interaction with every department of the Association and high levels of involvement across all sectors and all levels of the trade to improve communication and help drive innovation within horticulture for their membership.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience: applicants should possess:-

•Excellent communication skills and an outgoing personality

•Commercially "savvy" - with a can do attitude to their work and life

•Strong influencing skills and a diplomatic manner enabling them to work closely with HTA members and policy decision makers alike

Please call Dianne Saunders on 07929 013910 or apply with your CV to info@morepeople.co.uk

The HTA are working exclusively with MorePeople on this assignment and any CVs sent directly to them will be forwarded on to MorePeople

Our client is a successful garden centre group who pride themselves in offering an aspirational and innovative environment for their customers to shop within. Currently they are looking for a creative and inspirational Buyer with good retail knowledge within the AB1 retail sector, as the person in this role will have responsibility for sourcing and managing a group of products within the Indoor Living/Home range.

Based at their newly refurbished Hampshire site the Buyer will select product and analyse product performance whilst ensuring they hold the optimum levels of stock in order to maximise sales.

You should have proven experience within a fast-paced buying environment. You should have experience of range building across large product areas and you should have a commercial outlook, always looking to create an opportunity to increase sales. Buying experience is essential to the role.

My client is a small garden centre group based in the London area.

They are looking for an experienced garden centre manager to lead the team of a large destination style garden centre based in a scenic and historic part of London.

You will have site management experience previously and be ready to take on a challenging role in a very competitive environment.

There is an opportunity to grow with the business.

I am currently looking for an ambitious and enthusiastic plant retailer to join the team of an established garden centre.

My client is a large garden centre group looking for a plantarea manager to join the senior leadership team of one of its centres to develop the centre and plant area.

You will need to have at least supervisory knowledge previously and must be a confident team leader.

Excellent plant knowledge is a must preferably supported by a qualification.

Walkers Bulbs will be launching a new variety of daffodil at the Chelsea Flower Show named Georgie Boy to commemorate the birth of HRH Prince George of Cambridge.

It will be officially launched by Rachel de Thame on Monday, and £2.50 from every 10 bulbs sold will be donated to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

The President of The Royal Marsden is Prince William, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, a position previously held by his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. The Duke of Cambridge recently said “I am extremely proud to be President of The Royal Marsden, an incredible hospital and a world-class cancer centre carrying out groundbreaking work influencing the treatment of cancer patients all over the UK.”

Daffodil Georgie Boy is classified as a division 2 narcissus, it has a large golden trumpet with white petals. Flowering at a height of approximately 35cm, Georgie Boy has been grown in South Lincolnshire on the farm of Taylors Bulbs, the parent company of Walkers Bulbs.

Johnny Walkers, Quality Manager and manager of the specialist daffodil collection at Taylors Bulbs said: “I am delighted we are launching this tremendous variety at the Chelsea Flower Show and it adds to some exciting recent events including producing daffodil flowers for use on the Royal Barge at the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in June 2012 and for the Coronation Festival at Buckingham Palace in July 2013 where Taylors Bulbs exhibited as Royal Warrant Holders to H.M. The Queen.”

Daffodil Georgie Boy is available to buy at £10 for 10 bulbs, or £18 for 20 bulbs through Walkers Bulbs either at the Chelsea Flower Show or on www.bulbs.co.uk. 

Roger Taylor, one of the Directors of the family owned Taylors Bulbs, added “We have been growing up this variety in the Taylors Bulbs trials for a number of years so we know it will make a dramatic statement in the garden. Growing in South Lincolnshire where there is little protection from the elements tests the resolve of many new varieties we introduce and we look forward to this variety becoming a favourite for garden use and raising valuable funds for The Royal Marsden.”

Major (Retd) Kenneth George Mayhew RMWO, bearer of the highest Dutch military Medal of Valour, has officially baptised the new Liberation Tulip at a ceremony at the Residence of the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Ms Laetitia van den Assum. The red-yellow Triumph Tulip was cultivated by bulb-grower JUB Holland for this occasion, which marks the first step in commemorating the liberation of the Netherlands in 1944-45 by the Allied Forces, which started with Operation Market Garden in 1944.

Major Mayhew (97), who played an important role in the liberation of the Dutch cities of Venray and Weert and in the battle of Overloon, baptised the tulip on behalf of all Allied Forces who were involved in the liberation of the Netherlands.

Representatives of British, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, Polish and US forces were also present, as was  Major-General Hoitink, Director of Operational Readiness, on behalf of the Dutch Chief of Defence Staff.

The launch of the tulip was the first milestone in a flower-themed commemoration project that will run until May 2015, when 70 years of freedom will be celebrated in the Netherlands. The Tulips for Liberators project is a collaboration of the Liberation Route Europe, Keukenhof Holland, JUB Holland and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UK.

The next step in the project will be the planting of two flower mosaics this autumn, one of which will be in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London and the other in Lincolnshire, from where the RAF carried out Operation Manna. This was the first relief operation, which  began on 29 April 1945 and lasted till 8 May. Countless sorties were made and tons and tons of food dropped over the Western part of the Netherlands, for which the Dutch are still deeply grateful. Ceremonies will be held at the Kew Gardens and Lincolnshire sites on the occasion of the planting and flowering of the mosaics.

Liberation Route Europe: www.liberationroute.com

Keukenhof: www.keukenhof.nl/en/

JUB Holland: www.jubholland.nl/en/

There’s a wide variety of young plants dominating this week’s GTN Bestsellers Veg-2-Gro chart with Quantil Runner Bean White Emergo emerging as the front runner.

Other star performers:

• Quantil Lettuce Little Gem is the highest climber, jumping 24 places to No 13.
• The highest re-entry is Quantil Strawberry Cambridge Strips at No 30.
• There are only two seed products in the Top 50 – Beetroot Boltardy from T&M and Suttons. This compares to 23 in the same week of 2009.

Wyevale Nurseries has re-organised its business from three separate limited companies to one to enhance service, broaden its product range and offer customers a ‘one-stop-shop’.

Wyevale Containers, Wyevale Trees and Wyevale Transplants in Herefordshire have officially re-launched this month under the generic name Wyevale Nurseries.

The new company will be overseen by Managing Director, Andy Johnson (left). He said: “Wyevale Nurseries is embarking on the start of this new journey with renewed passion and determination to become market leaders in the supply of trees, transplants and container grown plants into the British market place. We continue to strive to be the customer’s first choice.

“We aim to be the ‘one-stop-shop’ for the landscaping and retail markets and are focused on reaching a potential new audience and widening the customer base trade contacts that we currently have.

“The reorganisation will free up the team’s time to concentrate on and further enhance innovative production techniques and trialling new varieties, sustainable long into the future.”

Wyevale Nurseries was established in 1928 by Harry Williamson, a horticultural pioneer and accomplished entrepreneur. It became the company it is today under the leadership of his son, Peter, who sadly passed away in 2011.

Andy added: “The Willliamsons were innovative growers who seized the opportunity to sell their product to an undeveloped retail market, creating one of the first garden centres and then a chain of them.

“In 1987, it became apparent the retail side needed to expand and the then 19 garden centres were sold as a PLC.

“The family then concentrated its focus on its true passion – growing as Wyevale Nurseries Ltd. Wyevale Nurseries continues to be a family-run business with ownership and joint chairmanship passing to the third generation: Heather and Simeon Williamson.

“The policy remains the same and they plan to pass ownership onto the fourth generation in due course. Wyevale Nurseries is a name the family is extremely proud of, along with the strong history of the company, and it is this heritage that gives us a solid base from which to expand and embrace the future.”

The family has wholeheartedly supported the existing investment plans.

Wyevale Nurseries’ Joint Chairman, Heather Williamson (right) said: “Building the business – having grown up with it but observing it from the outside – it was apparent that to ensure it had a long-term future, it made sense to bring all the production divisions together to provide the ‘one-stop-shop’ customers are looking for these days.”

Heather and Simeon recognised the vast experience, skills and expertise each of the separate production companies, Wyevale Container Plants, Wyevale Transplants and Wyevale Trees, had built individually.

Andy continued: “Heather and Simeon saw the potential in bringing all this together – re-incorporating Wyevale Container Plants, Wyevale Transplants and Wyevale Trees as production divisions within Wyevale Nurseries.

“The re-organisation into one company will focus us on enhancing customer service through improved flexibility and internal efficiencies. We have always believed quality, range and service to our customers is paramount but now we can develop this further.”

All the key members of staff remain from each division and they are still responsible for its running and production, ensuring continuity of each specialism.

Andy concluded: “By unifying the divisions and having clear objectives across the board, we will capitalise on synergies created and will vastly broaden the product range available to all our customers.

“Our portfolio covers an extensive range of transplants, field and container grown trees and container grown hardy nursery stock.”

For further details about Wyevale Nurseries, which is based in Hereford, call 01432 845 200 or visit www.wyevalenurseries.co.uk

Smart Solar has reorganised its sales team to manage the sharp increase in sales of its products with garden centres this season and in anticipation of new product launches planned for 2015.

Paul Knott now has full responsibility for the garden centre sector as Director - Garden Centre Sales, and will be dedicated exclusively to this key area of the business.

At head office, Sam Hayter and Cait Brogden have been appointed to the sales support team to ensure that trade customers continue to receive outstanding levels of customer service. From order taking to delivery and beyond, these new appointments will help the office administration team to provide an efficient service to garden centres and additional support to the field based sales managers. 

Paul Knott commented: “As the company continues to grow and add new products to our ranges it is essential that we reflect this success by growing our office support team to ensure that customers continue to get the very best service.

"I am very proud to be leading the garden centre team and look forward to an exciting few months as we get into the summer season, and planning the addition of new product categories for next season.”

Growing media sales are up week on week but there are no indicators that the volumes are getting back to the high levels of 2009 or 2011.

The year-to-date figures show Top 50 volumes are 32% down on 2011 and 21% down on 2009. Do you have any theories? Let us know by email: trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

• This week’s highest re-entry is GroWise Multipurpose Compost (20 litres).
• The highest climber is Scotts Miracle Gro Potting Mix (40 litres).

Young representatives of the horticultural industry are preparing to take part in the next round of the Garden Centre Association’s 2014 Rising Stars Programme next month.

The second of three masterclasses to be held throughout the year will take place at Westland Horticulture in Peterborough on Thursday, June 5.

Iain Wylie, GCA Chief Executive, explained: “The first masterclass included a session on merchandising, opportunities for business growth and managing the seasons to make maximum sales and profits.

“The second round will see all of the candidates put what they’ve learnt to the test. They will also receive more extensive coaching and mentoring on working in the horticultural industry and we’re hoping to arrange a trip to Van Hage Garden Centre in Peterborough on the day too.”

Twenty-eight candidates are taking part in the competition, sponsored by Westland Horticulture, and from the original 28, just 10 will then be selected in September to take part in the third round.

From those 10, five will be chosen as finalists to attend the GCA Conference in Chester in January.

Iain added: “At our conference they will make a presentation on what they have achieved during the year. A winner will then be chosen by conference delegates before being presented with his or her prize at the GCA’s annual gala dinner on Tuesday, January 27, 2015.”

The GCA Rising Stars 2014 Programme has received a record number of entries from garden centre staff looking to get ahead in the world of horticultural retailing.

The initiative is now in its sixth year and has been welcomed by the industry and participants alike.

The next masterclass will be held on Thursday, June 5 and the third on Thursday, September 11. The venue for the third masterclass is yet to be confirmed.

For further information call 0118 930 8918, visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/pages/Garden-Centre-Association orfollow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.

Garden centres and nurseries can now print their own colour plant labels on-site thanks to a joint venture with Easitill and the Scandinavian brand Floralabels.

Easitill, a family-run business assisting horticultural companies with their EPoS requirements, has this spring (2014) launched the service in the UK to help growers and retailers save money on labelling.

Managing Director, Rob Gardner explained: “The making of a colour label is now easier and faster than ever before. With our unique solution, you can produce high quality colour labels with a picture, bar code, price, description and company logo on the same label.

“We have put together a complete package consisting of our easy-to-use label software, an effective OKI colour laser printer and the full range of Floralabels labels. This package will help growers and retailers save money, as it allows them to print just the labels they need, thus enabling small print runs if needed and no wastage.

“Having the equipment on site allows for last minute changes to labels for promotions and rush orders. Growers and retailers can enhance their own brands and ensure they stand out from the crowd without relying on a supplier or designer.

“Our labels are also very durable and are made to last. They are resistant to frost, sunlight, humidity and wear and tear. The surface is pleasant with an easy tearing off feature too, perfect for the gardener who purchases the plant.

“Our Easitill label programme is designed for nurseries in mind with its unprecedented user-friendliness. Its visual and self-explanatory nature means it takes only a matter of minutes before you can use it.”

Floralabels is a speciality label supplier based in Denmark.

Easitill helps small to medium-sized garden centres and nurseries with EPoS, website, mobile and mail order and e-commerce solutions to improve the profitability and quality of their business operations.

The company also has a database containing more than 20,000 plant records and descriptions and 15,000 photographs to help garden centres create plant labels.

For further details, please call Easitill on 01604 882030, email floralabels@easitill.co.ukor visit www.easitill-horticultural.co.uk.

Sales and negotiation expert Steve Jones from ReSharpen will provide visitors to the HTA National Plant Show (June 24-25 at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire) with hints and tips on how to strike the best deal when it comes to buying and selling plants.

In his talk on Wednesday 25 June (10.00-10.30) titled ‘They sell themselves don’t they?’ he will explore what goes on behind the scenes to ensure that plants are on sale at the right place, in the right numbers and in the right conditions for sale. Steve will examine some of the crucial deals which need to work for both sides before the customer makes their choice from the display bench.

The Seminar Area, sponsored by Barclaycard, will host three diverse presentations over the course of the Show which focus on a theme of adapting to challenges and change. The HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak which celebrates its fifth birthday this year, takes place at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry on 24 and 25 June 2014.

David Arnold, Project Manager for the Garden Industry Marketing Board will share key messages from the latest research into what 30-45 year olds want from their gardens during his seminar at the HTA National Plant Show at 3pm on Tuesday 24 June.

Organised by the trade for the trade the Show provides visitors with the opportunity to see thousands of plant varieties from over 100 UK growers all under one roof. With its back to basics approach to exhibiting, the Show focuses purely on plants at the best time of the year for visitors to plan their ranges for the following season.

Exhibitors already signed up include: Dorset Plant Company Ltd, Parkers Nurseries Ltd, Cobbins Nursery, Country Herbs and Plants Ltd, Ravensworth Nurseries, Yorkshire Plants Ltd, Hillier Nurseries Ltd, Wyevale Nurseries Ltd. For a full list of exhibitors visit www.nationalplantshow.co.uk.

Visit http://www.nationalplantshow.co.uk/index.php/visitors/visitor-registration  and secure your place now at the show where the plants do the talking.

Alan Titchmarsh has joined forces with Plantlife to launch a UK-wide campaign to save the nation's threatened native wildflowers...

The campaign aims to stop councils mowing down native wild flowers on our road verges.

"There is nothing more beautiful than seeing primroses, cowslips and wood anemones and orchids an other native wildflowers popping up along our roads, lanes and hedgerows , a sure sign that spring has finally arrived! But every year councils mow down these beautiful wildflowers almost as soon as they appear and for no apparent reason," said a spokesperson for Plantlife.

"Since the 1940s, 97% of Britain’s wildflower meadows have been lost so road verges are the last refuge for our wildflowers. Yet mindless cutting sprees by councils mean wildflowers don’t have chance to set seed, which wipes colour from the countryside and deprives wildlife of a vital food source.

"Alan is throwing down the 'Alan Challenge' to councils and asking them to delay cutting their road verges until later in the year. He also wants the nation to join 'Alan’s Army' so together we can encourage councils to do more to protect the wayside flowers in their care."

For more information visit www.plantlife.org.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 upto date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 01733 775700, e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

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

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

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

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