Garden Re-Leaf Day blossomed into a buzzing week of events – some of which are still taking place. Over £57,000 has already been pledged thanks to the creativity and commitment of garden centres, suppliers and dedicated individuals from the garden industry.

24 hour Plant-athons

Current total raised: Over £23,000

Hillview CEO and Greenfingers Trustee Boyd Douglas-Davies came up with yet another original fundraising idea that has so far  raised over £20k for Greenfingers.  Demonstrations on how to pot plants took place as customers watched – and even got involved – with the experts potting on and arranging plants which are now being sold to raise further funds for Greenfingers.  Some exceptional Plant-athon displays took shape with Flora Media producing special labels for each plant pot.

Boyd got his hands dirty with a team from Studley Garden Store (so far raising £3,466 excluding gift aid) that included guest appearances by gardening expert Derick Walker and gardening presenter David Domoney.  https://www.justgiving.com/Boyd-Douglas-Davies

Fryer’s Garden Centre made the most of the PR opportunity the Plant-athon presented, with BBC Radio Manchester and BBC Radio Stoke as well as the local press getting right behind their event. With help from Blue Diamond Managing Director Alan Roper and planted well over 1,200 roses to sell on, raising over £565 excluding gift aid.  Alan has also agreed to donate £10,000 ahead of the plant sales to enable Greenfingers to start creating new hospice gardens immediately.  https://www.justgiving.com/BlueDiamond

Altons Garden Centre’s Andy Bunker orchestrated its Plant-athon which saw local school children and Southend FC Manager, Phil Brown, join in the fun.  Andy’s fundraising efforts resulted in raising over £1,500.  https://www.justgiving.com/pete-lowis

Byrkley Park (part of The Klondyke Group) raised over £6,000 from donations and sales of potted containers.  The group’s chief executive, Bob Hewitt made the front page of his local paper as he planted throughout the night.  Bob also called for the event to take place again calling for 50 garden centres take part next year . https://www.justgiving.com/Bob-Hewitt1

Squire’s split its Plant-athons between two of its stores – Badshot Lea on Thursday 17 March, joined by children from the local primary school - and Twickenham the next day, where Managing Director Dennis Espley was joined by gardening guru Andy McIndoe and the President of Chartered Institute of Horticulture, Andrew Gill.  Squire’s have so far raised £2,358, excluding gift aid. https://www.justgiving.com/squires-24-hour-plant-athon

Flora Media and many other suppliers backed the Plant-athon by supplying labels, pots, plants and composts, all ensuring the event was a great Garden Re-Leaf Day success.

QVC

After Garden Re-Leaf Day had finished, the fundraising and awareness continued over the weekend with presenters Richard Jackson, Craig Rowe,  Michael Perry and Jackie Kabler all helping to raise money from sales of products from suppliers De Jager, Hayloft, Plants2Gardens, Montrose of Guernsey, Thompson & Morgan, Ergo Gardening, Wet and Forget, Growing Solutions, and of course Richard Jackson’s Garden.

‘The Great Garden Re-Leaf Walk’

Current total raised: £9,000

Over 30 people from the garden industry walked 20 miles through the Berkshire countryside on the second annual Garden Re-Leaf walk. 

Starting and ending in Theale, home of hosts HTA, walkers tested their endurance by making their way through woodland, farmland and along the Kennet and Avon canal – all raising much needed funds for Greenfingers’ children’s hospice gardens. 

There were some interesting extra challenges for some, with GIMA Director Vicky Nuttall putting her dog through it’s paces, and Robbie Cumming from Hornby Whitefoot PR, raising over £500 carrying a hand painted Garden Re-Leaf plank and then stepping off it into the freezing waters of the canal afterwards. 

Special thanks to Cadix who raised over £2,000 through its Justgiving page and Chris Houfe from British Cards who raised over £1,000 in cash.  Matthew Mein and the i2i team raised over £1,500 through cakes sales and other fundraising activities in the office with Martin Simmons and the rest of the HTA team so far at £1,185 and counting. 

Kelkay Sales Director Richard Pyrah has raised over £500, with Jackie Eades and Sharmini Martini from Briers, GCA Inspector Alyson Hayward, DLF’s Guy Jenkins and Sutton’s Chris Ramsden also adding to the final total.

Quiz: Once again the quiz was a popular choice for garden centres in the South East and Wales, with Millbrook, Longacres, Paradise Park - who also had a loose change collection, BBQ competition and cake sale, Perrywood - who also held a raffle, and the Old Railway Line who had its now famous ‘Curry and Quiz’ as well as a £150 raffle prize donated by Scott’s Miracle Gro.

Cake sale: With the nation’s interest in baking still at it’s peak, garden centres such as Haskins held staff cake sales at Snow Hill, at the head office in Ferndown and at the West End store which singlehandedly raised over £878.  Barton Grange made the most of demand for its afternoon cream teas by donating £5 from each one sold.

Raffles: Still one of the most popular Garden Re-Leaf Day events, raffles were held in various forms by most garden centres, including Monkton Elm who created a vast array of goodies for customers, with £1 raffle tickets on sale in the run up to the day and cleverly placing the winning tickets on display urging customers to return to see if they’d won.

Sponsored cycle: Pughs Garden village enjoyed their 60 mile in-store cycle to the Carmarthen Botanical Gardens, involving both staff and customers – coupled with refreshing hot drinks from the café with each cup raising 50p for Greenfingers.  Coolings’ Sponsored cycle was inspired by her majesty the Queen’s 90^th birthday – with the team cycling the distance of 220 miles from Buckingham Palace to Sandringham, all within the comfort of the shopfloor.

Gluvies: Once again Briers supplied special Greenfingers gloves with 35p donated from each pair sold, as garden centres such as Hollybush, Thetford and Palmer Gardens helped to get the #Gluvies hashtag to reach over 20,000* people all over the UK.  Briers also launched a new product to benefit Greenfingers this year, in the form of a children’s gardening set that included a fork, trowel and gloves adorned with the #Gluvies hashtag to further boost awareness for the cause.

*Source: Keyhole.com

Gardman Charity doormat. solar lights and hanging basket liners

Gardman supported Garden Re-Leaf Day this year through a range of produces including a special charity doormat for garden centres this year, with 50p being donated for each one sold.

Crest Tool Exchange

A new initiative for 2016, the tool exchange, whereby customers were encouraged to donate old gardening tools in exchange for 20% off Crest’s Kent and Stowe range, was trialled by Thetford Garden Centre in Norfolk, who also held a tombola and donated £1 from each soup sold in the café.  All donated tools will be sent away by Crest to be auctioned as part of Greenfingers’ long-running ‘Old into Gold’ campaign.

Losing Lbs to raise £££s

GTNXtra’s Trevor Pfeiffer started his Garden Re-Leaf challenge way back at the GCA conference in January, bravely announcing he would lose 2 stone by 18^th March.  A week before the event he still needed to shed a few pounds but using the Theale walk as an extra boost he managed to overcome all the odds and has so far raised over £110 for Greenfingers.  He is continuing with his fundraising by aiming to lose another stone by the Chelsea Flower show.  https://www.justgiving.com/Trevor-Pfeiffer.

A number of other companies - and even a school - joined in this year.  Corby & Fellas donated three laptops and a PC to help boost the effectiveness of communications, social media and fundraising this year. Brookes & Co held a bake sale and Boston Academy had pupils designing their very own Greenfingers ‘Gluvies’.

Bridgeman opened a new garden furniture store in Amersham and supported Garden Re-Leaf Day during their first week of sales.  Jamieson Page and his Town and Country sales team organised a collection box distribution amongst garden centres and Fallen Fruits helped Van Hage raffle off one of its Dog Benches worth £150.

This year Greenfingers launched the ‘A Million Moments Appeal’, which aims to raise £1 million, over the next three years.  With the help of events such as Garden Re-Leaf Day, the charity is aiming to bring the precious gift of a garden to at least 5,000 children, and their families, who spend time in hospices across the UK.    

Find out more

For event listings information, go to www.gardenreleaf.co.uk and search via the navigation bar at the top of the page, or email Linda@greenfingerscharity.org.uk

• Garden Products - down 2%
• Veg-2-Gro - up 4%
• Growing Media - up 10%
• All Items Index - down 4%

Garden Organic this week stepped up its  campaign to persuade the EU not to renew the licence for glyphosate – the  most widely-used active ingredient in farm and garden weedkillers – because of the risk that it might be carcinogenic to humans, wildlife and the environment.

Earlier in the week, the European Parliament’s Environment Committee passed a resolution by 38 votes to six urging the European Commission not to give glyphosate a proposed 15-year approvals extension without any restrictions.  The commission is due to consider the matter in April.

Garden Organic is urging its supporters to write to Vytenis Andriukaitis, the EU’s Health and Food Safety Commissioner, asking him to consider the independent scientific evidence that glyphosate alone, as well as in chemical formulations, causes genotoxicity in humans and animals.

Gary Philpotts at Monsanto, the makers of glyphosate, is reported to have said that a that a ban would be unlikely because of the enormous impact it would have on food production in Europe.

A decision on the future of glyphosate in Europe was postponed after re-approval was opposed by France, Sweden, Holland and Italy, because of doubts raised by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which classified glyphosate as being “probably carcinogenic to humans”.

With the earliest Easter since 2008 it’s still not too late to make the most of an egg-stra special deal on the the UK’s bestselling growbag sundry, the Growpot® - from Garden Innovations.

Not only are they holding the price for their ‘Award Winning’ product for yet another year, if you order within the next few days they can provide carriage-paid delivery in time for the early April, Easter school holiday, weekends… but you’d better get cracking!

Unlike other growbag sundries which have been diluted into large supplier sundry ranges, the Growpot® is proud to remain a standalone and standout product.

It’s recognised brand name and superior design maintains its greater ‘perceived value’ in the eyes of the consumer. Not only has it has it won numerous industry awards for its technical and environmental qualities, the Growpot® was a recent ‘Winner’ of the ‘Best Buy’ product for a grow bag, conducted by ‘Garden News’. In the independent and impartial test the magazine said: “The Growpots produce the best results and their neck fits snugly inside the bag so no water is lost”.

This is proof positive that the Growpot® is the best ring culture system available: they produce stronger, healthier plants and bigger fruit yields - up to 40% with tomato plants. They fit all types and size of grow bag, and use 30% less water than traditional growing methods.

Growpots® are available in full and half-pallet size weather-proof correx displays, complete with full colour point-of-sale header. Each set of pots comes with a peelable waterproof vinyl instruction label and a winter storage clip,

Growpots® continue to represent great value compared to other grow bag sundries and with Garden Innovations offering free delivery on any top-up orders throughout the season, Easter school holidays are the time to secure those early Spring sales.

For more information call 01903 859100, email info@garden-innovations.co.uk or visit www.garden-innovations.co.uk

Westland Horticulture is proud to be sponsoring the GroMór Campaign, a nationwide campaign to get Ireland growing.

The campaign, which aims to make gardening accessible to all is being launched in association with Bord Bia and encompasses 65 Retail Excellence Ireland Garden Centres and 17 Nursery Growers.

It will offer practical advice on growing, highlighting the many benefits of gardening as a pastime and encouraging novices to dig out their wellies and discover their green fingers.

Westland Horticulture, based in Northern Ireland and is the manufacturer of Aftercut, Gro-Sure, Peckish, Resolva and the recently acquired J. Arthur Bowers, New Horizon, Growing Success and Deadfast brands, is a key sponsor.

It will get involved by replicating the hugely successful Rising Stars Programme in a bid to ensure garden centre staff get the most from this nationwide campaign.

Keith Nicholson, Marketing Director said: “GroMór is a great opportunity for the whole of Ireland to get outside in the fresh air and start growing.

“Our Rising Stars Programme will ensure garden retailers are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to make gardening appealing to all those who walk through their doors.”

Job Description: Merchandiser/ Area Representative.

Area:   Scotland and N East

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: £20,000 per year

We are currently seeking a hard-working, dedicated full time merchandiser/area representative to look after our accounts across Scotland and the North East, merchandising our dedicated display stands. Previous merchandising experience is preferable, as is some experience of customer service, although full training will be given and the ideal candidate would be located in the North East of England, or southern Scotland.

You will be responsible for approximately 60 customers who will need visiting every 4-6 weeks. These customers are a mixture of garden centres, High Street retailers and out of town retailers.

The work can be physical.

This vacancy would suit a person with experience of FMCG.

Sales or merchandising experience in the Garden Centre retail sector a distinct advantage.

You will be confident, have a smart appearance with the ability to develop good customer relationships.

The candidate should hold a full clean driving licence. Some overnight stays will be required as well as visits to our head office in Lincolnshire every 3-4 weeks.

Company van, telephone and laptop provided. Company Pension Scheme also offered.

Starting salary in the region of £20,000 with an increase after completion of successful 3 month trial period.

Contact Mark Hall, Managing Director, Creative Products by email mark@creativeproducts.ltd.uk

• Hitting and exceeding the new business revenue target
• Delivering new revenue streams
• Increasing average order value and customer growth year on year
• Delivering on set KPIs and agreed measurable targets
• Increasing conversion rate customer retention and activity to deliver expected new business revenue

Rigorous sales planning ability and exceptional customer skills are vital alongside ‘hunter’ mentality to win the sale and a dogged determination to unearth new business opportunities.

Experience required:

• 2-3 years sales experience, preferably in an exhibition sales role
• Effective sales planning skills
• Proven new business hunter skills and target-driven approach
• Evident of developing impressive new business from scratch
• Strong understanding of effective pipeline management
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Customer focus
• Current clean driving license

Email your CV to: jobs@i2ieventsgroup.com (Reference No. i2i – 220)

• The ideal candidate will understand both the category and customers, possess strong  communication and negotiation skills and have a passion and enthusiasm for customers and products.
• They should an excellent team player focused on driving sales and profitability.

• Relationship building with sales prospects and influencers in target markets.
• Increase sales to existing customer base.
• Identify and secure new customers in the target market.
• Set up and manage network of distributors in target markets.
• Research and identify new sales and market opportunities.
• Present the company and its products face-to-face at trade shows and sales presentations.
• Negotiating terms of agreement and closing sales.
• Active participation in the development of company sales strategy.

• The candidate will have a positive 'can do' attitude.
• An inquisitiveness to learn and be challenged.
• A warm personality and sense of humour.
• Willingness to work hard and beyond the remit when necessary.
• A grasp of 'green' principles and understanding of the importance of sustainability.
• A proven track record in taking new products to market.

Plant Area Manager (Full time, including alternate weekends)

West Horsley KT24 6AR

Squire’s is a family owned group of 15 garden centre’s based in Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex and Berkshire. We are committed to growing our business and to promoting the highest standards in horticultural retailing. We want our staff to enjoy working with us in a friendly, energetic customer focused environment.

West Horsley, a traditional GCA garden centre and nursery with a strong horticultural background set deep in the beautiful Surrey countryside between Guildford and Leatherhead.  An enthusiastic team who know their customers as well as their subject and who strive to make the centre a hub of the local community.  

• You will be responsible for managing the outdoor plant department which has an extensive and well stocked plant area.
• You must have experience and/or horticultural qualifications and garden centre retail experience.
• You will be able to manage your department to achieve sales and profit targets whilst motivating your team to maximise all sales opportunities and inspiring them to offer the highest standards of customer service.
• You must have the ability to thrive in a fast paced environment, have a passion for plants, be highly motivated, commercially aware and able to create dynamic, inspirational displays.

Free parking on site.

To apply, please visit our website www.squiresgardencentres.co.uk 

Bedding Department Head (Full time, including alternate weekends)

West Horsley KT24 6AR

Squire’s is a family owned group of 15 garden centre’s based in Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex and Berkshire. We are committed to growing our business and to promoting the highest standards in horticultural retailing. We want our staff to enjoy working with us in a friendly, energetic customer focused environment.

West Horsley, a traditional GCA garden centre and nursery with a strong horticultural background set deep in the beautiful Surrey countryside between Guildford and Leatherhead.  An enthusiastic team who know their customers as well as their subject and who strive to make the centre a hub of the local community.  

• You will be responsible for the bedding plant department at our West Horsley Garden Centre which has an extensive and well stocked plant area.
• You will have extensive knowledge and experience of working in a retail bedding department and/or a horticultural qualification.
• A passion for customer service and the ability to thrive in a fast paced environment are essential.
• You will be flexible, enthusiastic and highly motivated, commercially aware and have the ability to create dynamic displays.

Free parking on site.

To apply, please visit our website www.squiresgardencentres.co.uk 

• Be able to deliver the level of grounds care demanded by the client within the strict deadlines and budgets of the contract.
• Liaise with clients when needed.
• Be aware of health & safety and quality procedures on site.
• Supervision of Teams

Plant Area Sales Assistant (Full time, including alternate weekends)

Twickenham TW2 5PA

Squire’s is a family owned group of 15 garden centre’s based in Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex and Berkshire. We are committed to growing our business and to promoting the highest standards in horticultural retailing. We want our staff to enjoy working with us in a friendly, energetic customer focused environment.

Squire’s oldest site with a new centre built in 1993, and is about to undergo a significant facelift.  A garden centre that takes a very high turnover for its size, with a strong horticultural focus in plants and sundries, often winning GCA category awards, with the recent addition of new Pets & Aquatics and Craft areas.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated individual who is quick and willing to learn and who sees customer service as their main priority.

• The ideal candidate will be self-motivated and energetic, have a passion for plants and an eye for creating exciting detailed displays.
• Horticultural experience or equivalent qualifications desirable.
• The role will involve bending and lifting some heavy items therefore applicants must be physically fit.

Free parking on site.

To apply, please visit our website www.squiresgardencentres.co.uk 

• Scotts Evergreen Complete takes the No 1 spot this week. The 360 sq m pack climbs three places to the premier position.
• Stewart Premium Seed Tray with Holes 20cm Dark Green has the biggest sales increase to re-enter at No 21.
• Chicken Manure climbs into the Top 10 for the first time this year as gardeners get growing outside.  Westland Organic Pellets 2.25kg jump 11 places to No 8.

To subscribe to GTN Bestsellers email karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

• One litre Rosemarinun Officinalis from Bridgen Nurseries leads the way at No 1.
• Quantil Strawberry Symphony in strips is the highest chart re-entry at No 14.
• Beetroot seeds continue to be popular, Suttons Beetroot Boltardy climbs 33 places to No 11.

• Westland Top Soil, 35 litre bags, moved up seven places to No 3.
• Scotts Levington Organic Choice Farmyard Manure increased sales by 159% to move into the Top 10.
• Growise Multipurpose with John Innes 56 litres is the highest chart climber, up 28 places to No 15.

Garden giftware company, Fallen Fruits, whose themed, designer collections are inspired by nature, has introduced a variety of pet-themed prints to its current range of umbrellas, completing its expansive Nature Print range.

The new collection of Cat and Dog themed Umbrellas features a choice of eight adorable designs.  Dog devotees can choose between prints including a Beagle and Labrador whilst the charming ginger and silver Tabby motifs will have feline lovers smiling like a Cheshire cat! Retailing at £9.99, the products make for a great gift purchase and are the perfect impulse buy for consumers wishing to avoid the April showers this spring.

Fallen Fruits managing director Michael Hall explains, “These delightful pet-themed Umbrellas are ideal for the animal lover and fashion conscious alike!  The products are of the highest quality yet still reasonably priced, making them a well thought through additional product range for any garden centre.”

Alongside the Cat and Dog Umbrellas, Fallen Fruits has also launched four new children’s Umbrellas, which feature a variety of Kitten and Puppy motifs. Together with the adult-sized Umbrellas, the collection ensures that the whole family can stay dry this season, even when it’s raining cats and dogs!

Reporting to Sales and Marketing Director, Tony Fasey, the department now comprises Head of Marketing, Rob Giles, Trade Marketing Manager, Antony Barrett, Category Manager, Jaya Mehmie and Brand Manager, Anika Bahia with the most recent addition to the team- Commercial Manager, Rob McClelland.

Commenting on the present developments, Tony said, “Major research in the last 18 months has resulted in some exciting marketing developments.  We have listened to the trade and consumer feedback in order to supply these audiences with a more current offering with real points of difference.  We are committed to making these recent changes a success by building on these developments with continuous improvement across product development and marketing support for the brand.”

The expansion of the marketing department ensures that Grange stays ahead of the competition and allows the company to continue with its plan for growth into the New Year, providing customers with stunning products, quality service and a real opportunity to maximise their consumer appeal.

Retailers interested in working with Grange should contact the company on 01952 588 088 or email sales@grangefen.co.uk

The application period for the young designer competition, unique youngstar 2016, ends in 10 days' time on 1 April 2016.

All entries on the competition theme 'Outdoor Living' will then be in the running for one of the 15 exhibition places at spoga+gafa, which is taking place in Cologne from 4 to 6 September. Because those designers, who are able to convince the jury with their ideas, have the chance to exhibit their prototypes at the leading international garden trade fair and thus present them to an international audience - including the opportunity to establish new business contacts. At the same time, the 15 nominees also have the chance of walking off with the title unique youngstar 2016 and prize-money totalling 7,000 Euros (first to third place as well as a public prize). So, take part now quickly and win: The application form can be found at www.gardenunique.de/en/youngstar. The entry deadline is 1 April 2016.

The up to 15 nominees will be in the best of company in Hall 10.2, because the top outdoor brands are represented in the product segment garden unique. The exhibition of the prototypes will be located in direct proximity to exhibitors such as Glatz, Houe or Nardi. The opportunity to establish new and international contacts here is thus extremely favourable - a chance that none of the young designers should miss out on. The winners will be announced and the award ceremony will take place during the unique hour at 2:00 p.m. on 4 September in Hall 10.2. 

The spoga+gafa 2016 is open to trade visitors on 4 and 5 September from 09:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m. and on 6 September from 09:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. Further information is available at www.spogagafa.com. 

The Garden Day 2016 is open to end-users and trade visitors on 3 and 4 September from 09:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m. Further information is available at www.tagdesgartens-koeln.com. 

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 2014 as well as 2015 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 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.